weirdlet

Ran into the post limit last time- here is the rundown of classes, and organizations you could be from or aware of in my world.

Classes- (basically, anyone who would get 2 skillpoints gets 4. Class skills and limits do not change, but I think that’s a fair enough little boost without screwing or overpowering anyone)

Barbarian. Not necessarily a people, but a mindset. Anyone from the town drunk with a temper to those bastards across the river who steal your cattle.

Bard. The fae like bards- mortals can create, and bards create music, and that is especially attractive. PC elves who have picked up bardic abilities are regarded as blessed by their kin. Everyone else tends to like them as well, so long as they don’t steal the good silver or run off with the daughter of anyone important. Guild musicians would, of course, never do such a thing, but their pieces and their prices aren’t generally suited to an evening’s entertainment in the village watering hole.

Brawler. A fighter who concentrates on direct application of bare-handed brute force. A brawler trades proficiency with medium and heavy armor and shields for a monk’s unarmed damage and AC bonus progression, and trades his first-level bonus feat for Improved Unarmed Strike. (If someone wants to play a bare-handed brawler, they can do that without having to be ridiculously high-level, and in this world, monks are cloistered holy men)

Cloistered Cleric. Sometimes the gods see fit to grant power to their followers, though granting more than a gift for rhetoric is rare. Possibly this is because worship is so scattered and homogenized- most clerics multitask, caring for the shrines of the handful of gods that local people hold dear and learning more about them as they go. The Circle is said to contain all gods, with the Emperor at its center as their main face on earth, and government-sanctioned seminaries teach a multitude of different variants of writ while enforcing the Code of Life as laid down on the first Emperor’s ascent to the throne. Pick your domains and your ethos- whatever it is, there’s probably been a godling worshipped at some point, somewhere in the empire you could have picked up. Alternately, one may concentrate on Auberon, the distant elfish god, or be a part of the orcish priestesshood of the Allmother and the varying shamanic animal gods that are patron to each clan, though these tend to be more of the battle-cleric variety.

Cleric. Prettymuch as above, but with more focus on combative abilities. This is a class that has almost paladin-like overtones in the Empire, and there is indeed a special order of Imperial knights made up of just these sorts of holy warriors. The orcish shamans and priestesses also have a knack for knowing how to beat the snot out of those who would give them lip or harm their kin.

Druid. Arbitrators between the wild and the civilized. (They do need some adjustment, though. Maybe limit Wildshape to a skin you've taken from an animal)

Duskblade. A sorcerer who’s chosen to concentrate on physical combat, but still cannot help but channel his/her effervescent life-force into the blade. Such discipline as sword-work sometimes helps ease the symptoms that come about when a sorcerer manifests. Alternately, a wizard who finds that a healthy body equals a healthy mind, and has altered his regimen to include just such exercises. If playing it as sorcerous, use Charisma instead of Intelligence, but otherwise they are indistinguishable.

Fighter. Lots of fighters in Alucia. Out of Alucia. Around Alucia. If it’s not a Knight of the Empire barreling down the lists, it’s a legionnaire tromping across the field, or a bravo from the lower streets getting into a lying contest with the hulking brute down from the mountains. 4 Skillpoints + Int mod.

Ranger. Somewhere between an army scout and a druid, these hunters wander, blending with the landscape but without the literal, spiritual spin on that that druids take. Favored environment variant is permitted.

Rogue. Sometimes one’s job description requires a little bit of flexibility. And maybe a little bit of discretion, and a strategic sharp point or two. Not necessarily criminal, but not necessarily sterling, either.

Sorcerer. Some have magic flowing in their veins, cropping up every few generations from some long-distant ancestry, or an affinity with the forces of the world without necessarily a devotion to its rhythms, as the druid (some even say it’s something in the groundwater in some places- but that’s hardly a sensible notion, as any learned wizard will tell you). While hints of odd kinships or abilities are not all that uncommon, those who survive the Ordeal of manifestation intact are slightly rarer. Sorcerers are hardly forbidden- but they are, shall we say, nerve-wracking to those communities that produce them. There has been much support of the Imperial offer of scholarship to those with arcane manifestations.

(There have been a lot of different things I’ve tried to get the feel I want for them, but to avoid unnecessary pigeon-holing beyond ‘innate ability’, I’m thinking to steal KidVersimilitude’s sorcerer variant on the boards. I also very much just want to say “Take some heritage feats, celestial, fiendish, fey or draconic, because that’s generally how these things happen. Northern mountainous-type people go draconic, Akyos tends toward fiendish, the Alucian royals are celestial, and anyplace there’s been an elfish population tends to get fey-blooded magic-users.” I suppose I could present two variants, or allow this version with some selected heritage features added in amongst the choices, because ‘something in the groundwater’ and ‘my ancestry has a little something extra’ are not mutually exclusive. I don’t mean to divert over-much attention to sorcerers, I’m just trying to hash out how they’re supposed to work (and work well) in my world, same as I did with the orcs. I like the idea, the mechanics and fluff just need some tweaking.)

Kid Versimilitude’s version, pasted without knowledge or permission (If I ever actually used this, I would ask)-

HD d6

1-Eschew Materials, Arcane Gift, (does not gain familiar)
5-Arcane Gift
10-Arcane Gift
15-Arcane Gift
20-Arcane Gift

Arcane Gift-The sorcerer may choose from the following abilities (each ability may be selected once):

Arcane Body
You gain 3 hit points for every metamagic feat you possess. Additionally, you gain 3 hit points each time you select a new metamagic feat.

Arcane Channeling
You can use two spell slots of the same level to cast a spell you know that is one level higher. For example, a sorcerer can expend two 2nd-level spell slots to cast any 3rd-level spell he knows. Casting a spell in this way requires a full round action. Although it increases casting time like a metamagic feat, this gift is not a metamagic feat and is not affected by the casting time reduction of the Blood Magic gift.

Arcane Resistance
You add 1/2 your Charisma bonus to saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities.

Arcane Senses
You can use detect magic at will. Also, as a swift action, you can attempt to determine an opponent's spellcasting ability. You make a Spellcraft check (DC 5 + target's caster level). If this check succeeds, you learn the highest-level spells/spell-like abilities the target is capable of casting. This benefit grants you no insight into supernatural abilities.

Blood Magic (I’d probably call this Self-Sacrifice)
Instead of casting a spell from a higher level slot, you may lose 1 point of Con for each level increase normally associated with the metamagic feat. For example you could cast a Maximized spell at its normal level, losing 3 points of Con instead of increasing the spell level. Additionally, unlike standard metamagic, using a metamagic feat powered by this ability does not increase the casting time of the spell. You may not sacrifice more Con with a single spell than your class level. The ability loss cannot be healed by normal or magical means, but all ability points lost in this way return when the sorcerer prepares his mind for a new day of spellcasting. This ability cannot be used to cast a spell with a metamagic feat that would normally increase the spell level beyond the highest level spell you can cast. (I’m thinking I wouldn’t put this as Con, but as any ability score, so long as for a single spell it all came from the same stat. I’m also thinking not just getting it all back when you wake up in the mornings, but healing as normal, with a caster level check on the part of the healer to restore anything more quickly. You’re digging into your physical, mental, and/or spiritual reserves- that shouldn’t just blip away, otherwise there’s no point to it.)

Blood as Power
You cut yourself as a somatic component when casting a spell. The cut does 1d6 hp of damage per level of the spell, but the spell doesn't expend the spell slot. You can use this ability 3 times/day.

Imbue Spell
As a swift action, when you cast a spell, you may expend a second spell slot along with it. The first spell has its caster level raised by an amount equal to the spell slot's level. You may not use the Blood as Power gift to keep the second spell slot from being expended. You may not use Arcane Channeling in conjunction with this ability.

Mettle
You can resist magical and unusual attacks with great willpower or fortitude. If you make a successful Will or Fortitude save against a spell or spell-like ability that normally would have a lesser effect on a successful save (such as any spell with a saving throw entry of Will half or Fortitude partial), you instead completely negate the effect. An unconscious or sleeping sorcerer does not gain the benefit of mettle.

(Add in some interesting weird-but-useful features that heritage could give you should you choose to take it, and I think we’re golden) As for the Ordeal of manifestation- well, that's when someone's body is aligning itself with the natural flow of energy in the world, and believe you me, that's not fun for someone who isn't expecting it, like a wizard who is deliberately reaching out to those energies. Chills, fever and hallucinations are the norm, which can manifest itself upon reality. It also runs the risk of leaving the potential sorcerer cracked, weak or crazy. There are ways around this, but if nobody knows what to expect, it makes for exciting times.

Wizard. Some have a natural gift, while others have a natural gift for study, which they then apply to wresting control of the forces of reality for their own use. That studious ability also applies to learning in other areas, so while they may not have a natural inclination to other skills, they can work at them and learn efficiently. 4 skillpoints + Int mod.

Please, multiclass freely. I see no point in penalizing the spice of life, just be responsible for your own builds. If I’ve forgotten something here you want to try, bring it to my attention, although I’m leery of psions at this moment.

Religions-

Orcs- The most common deity amongst the scattered orc-clans is the Allmother, who is considered to be both a deity and the world itself. There are regional and needful variants to the Allmother, or different faces the orcs say She wears- when soldiers call on her, she is the Stone Bitch, unyielding and gleeful. The keeper of secrets and of death is the Dark Grandmother, the dark between the stars and at the bottom of the ocean, while the War-Mother pushes all life forward with passion and will to thrive and survive. Think Ishtar, Inana and Ereshkigal, earth and female and forest and underworld. Life and death with equal passion, pain and comfort.

Priestesses of the Allmother give wisdom, comfort and honor to warriors, keeping their history and healing their wounds, but it is the shamans who teach them to be strong and cunning, emulating their totemic beasts and learning to harness themselves for the defense of home and the conquest of rivals. The two roles can overlap, but most tribes have both. They’re both also known to sling a nasty curse or two, when the occasion calls for it.

Elves- Exiled from Underhill with little memory of their pasts, elves can be anywhere from staunch atheists to druids or Imperial clerics to remembering their ancient king-

“There is one king Underhill. Never let anyone tell you different- certainly not these silly boyars and princelings who rule each thane and glen for their own single court. One Lord, one King, and one God. Auberon watches, and waits. Amused? Who knows.”

Auberon is the High King of the Fair Ones, though few mortals know him through more than stories. A few of the exiled elves have scraps of memory of revering that shining, horn-crowned figure, with bright sword and dark eyes. He is regarded as Allfather, a distant being, but once the bringer of knowledge and the leader of the hunt.

Close to the ocean he is called Tyberon, the devil of the seas, and sailors make offerings to avoid his ire. He’s one of the older gods, and not much in common worship. When Imperial clerics offer to make room for a shrine, they are laughed at.

Humans- In the heart of the Empire, the Forty Little Gods are the mainstay of local Alucien worship, while the Emperor is regarded as a descendant of celestial beings and a representative of divine will on earth, the center of the Circle. In Svartlund there are a number of storm, forest and hunt gods, as well as some fearful worship of the Underhill denizens, in hopes that they will leave them alone. Akyos had a fire-god, a lot of small devil-cults in the past, and something they called wind-saints, while the Southwest has had nature-worshippers, but they’ve often fallen by the wayside for a sun-and-harvest god named Luc who often gets conflated with the Emperor, or at least the Imperial ancestors.

Organizations-

Imperial Knights: There are two kinds of nobility- Imperially acknowledged titles, and everyone else. In those countries that have accepted the Imperial banner, Imperial titles may be synonymous with local titles, but only those who have trained under official tutelage and passed the trials set to them will be accepted and recorded as such. This makes them officer material, as well as permitted to challenge each other to combat for personal grievances, rather than resorting to the courts. A man could be a knight of the Emperor and a prince in his own realm, a lord, a merchant, or in some rare cases a peasant who has shown enough talent to rise to scholarship in the Academies.

The Knights of the Empire serve as enforcers of the overarching law of the kingdoms, both as officers and as elite warriors. There are many branches of the service, including the heavily armored cavalry that the word ‘knight’ might conjure, but with plenty of other variants specialized for work in different environments one might find in the kingdoms.

The Legions: Exactly what it says on the tin. Imperial soldiers, made up of men from across the kingdoms and forged into disciplined, organized units. Each legion is numbered and bears a standard blessed by the Emperor’s own hand.

The Irregulars: Usually, this title refers to mixed or variant troops attached to a legion, things like scouts or fighters of unusual styles or battle mages. Unseen, however, it also refers to those who serve the empire in less visible and highly varied ways, unattached to any particular legion but answering to the Imperial spymasters.

Mercenary Guild: When those who desire enforcement cannot call upon their own men or the legions, they call upon these guys. A business model started by the orcs has spread to contain members of every race known and occasional surprises, as well. Pay what’s promised, and they’ll do good business with you. Screw them over, and you’re asking for trouble. Sometimes blamed by tribal orcs for drawing their youngsters away from the Roaming-Lands.

Bardic Guild: The mystical talents of bardship are, of course, rare and difficult to capture by mere training- but the ability to entertain, to gather and retain information, and to spread word makes the profession a rather useful one. Guild-trained bards are often employed as one half of the Missi Domini, the Emperor’s voices who travel the lands making sure that word gets out of imperial edicts and news, as well as taking stock of things as they go out on circuit.

Church of the Circle: The Imperial cult of the Circle, wherein it is intended to encompass anyone who wishes to join up and contribute. Deliberately designed to be as neutral and encompassing as possible, it maintains that the descendants of Lucien, the fabled first emperor, have a divine lineage that makes them the rightful and responsible rulers on earth where accepted, while acknowledging the existence and worship of other gods as equal, but not subordinate. They are also one half of the Missi Domini, offering blessings, witnessing unions and taking records of same, offering healing when necessary.

Arcane Universities: Great centers of study and learning, where wizards and scholars delve into history, lore and practical experimentation in order to learn the secrets of the world. There is also a move to gather sorcerous students from wherever they might be, both to keep them from being a disastrous blight on the world should they go astray, and to train useful magical citizens of the Empire.

Council of Priestesses: A more secretive and subtle net, connecting tribe to tribe, mother to daughter, elder to apprentice. Keepers of the sacred caves in the mountains, they are recorders of history and practitioners of both healing arts and dark curses. They decide, not when to fight, for fighting is a natural part of life and under the purview of the tribe chiefs and captains- but when to go to war. For the most part orc-tribes are all about doing their own thing- but the word of the Circle of Mothers is respected, and if they think it important enough to send a command, then it’s a matter serious enough to unite the clans.

They may also be in charge of a defensive line on their side of the river, intent on both keeping Rohganish ‘outlaws’ (unmarked soldiers) out and troublemakers from their own side starting fights. This has had limited success.

Thieves’ Guilds: Such a thing would hardly be permitted in the heart of the Empire. But in Akyos, this seems to be the new form of government- the nobles have died out or become so impoverished that they cannot compete.