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'Swords and Wizardry': Stuff

Started by Narf the Mouse, June 13, 2009, 12:25:11 AM

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Narf the Mouse

...I really should have stuck them all in the same thread in the first place. Oh well, living and learning.

Some of these (Noble, Sorcerer and Foot-soldier) have been posted previously on this forum. I'm collecting them here for future convenience.

Ritualist- Click this for .pdf
'You descend the shadowed staircase, the dripping of water the only accompanyment to your soft footsteps. As you turn the sharp corner, you hear eldritch chanting -  The Mad Archmage, caught in the middle of a dire ritual....'

Ritual magic has a large and storied place in sword and sorcery fiction. This is one interpretation of such a character.
A ritualist is a specialized type of spellcaster. Rather than memorize spells or ask deities for them, the ritualist uses magical elements, arcane designs and ceremony to call upon spirits, elemental forces and magic itself.
Prime Attribute: Intelligence 13+ (+5% experience)
To-Hit: As Cleric
Hit Die: *1d6-1 (1 hp/level after 9th)
Armour/Shield Trained: Any armour, no shield (Incapable or one-half benefit)
Weapon Trained: Quarterstaff, Longsword, Dagger (Incapable of using others or -4 To-Hit)

Because the rituals that are the focus of any ritualist take so long to conduct, a ritualist is able to defend themselves against any enemy, at least long enough for help to arrive.
Ritualist Abilities
Rituals: Rituals come in four flavours; Minor, Major, Great and Ceremony. Rituals are performed in 'Circles'. These 'circles' may be actual circles, runic circles or simply a space in which to work, surrounded by arcane (And costly! Symbols).
If a ritual simulates a spell, the ritualist must pay all costs of that spell, in addition to the costs of the ritual.
The description of a ritual has no magical power of its own; it is simply a set of directions on conducting the ritual. However, only a ritualist has the trained mind needed to successfully focus the energies of a ritual.
Although this means that plain paper and ordinary ink can be used to record rituals, your rituals will still take up space in a book. Specifically, two pages for a Minor ritual, four pages for a mjor ritual, eight pages for a Great ritual and sixteen pages for a Ceremony.
Many ritualists protect their ritual books from hazards such as water, fire, rot, thieves and bookworms.
Minor rituals cost 20 gp per ritual and require either a permanent ritual circle worth 100 gp or a temporary circle worth 5 gp. A minor ritual takes twenty minutes.
Major rituals cost 100 gp per ritual and require either a permanent ritual circle worth 500 gp or a temporary circle worth 25 gp. A major ritual takes one hour.
A Great ritual costs 500 gp per ritual and requires one of a permanent ritual circle worth 2,500 gp or a temporary circle worth 125 gp. It takes three hours to conduct a Great ritual.
To conduct a Ceremony, the ritualist needs 2,500 gp and either a permanent circle worth 12,500 or a temporary circle worth 500 gp. It takes eight hours to conduct a Ceremony.
Rituals Known: A ritualist starts at level 1 with 3 rituals in their ritual book. They might be able to purchase more, but generally they are found in lost dungeons, ancient ruins and forgotten towers.
In addition, at each additional level, their research and talents allow them to discover (Or possibly invent, at higher levels) a ritual previously unknown to them.
A ritualist does not need to memorize a ritual to conduct it; they merely need a ritual book which contains the ritual.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.

Narf the Mouse

'A Noble is a wonderful thing,
Hit them on the head and they go Ding!
If you wait and carouse about,
('Fight and level about?'),
Money will sprout,
Ain't that a wonderful thing?'

Noble - Here be .pdf
A Noble is a leader of men. Wether through inheritance, aclaim, deeds or disposition, others follow and trust them to make the right decisions.
Although a Noble is capable of fighting on the field of battle, their best use is to lead, inspire and direct.

Prime Attributes: Intelligence 13+, Charisma 13+ (+5% experience)
To-Hit: As Cleric.
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+2 hp/level after level 9)
Armour/Shield Trained: All armours and shield-trained.
Weapon Trained: Swords, Spears/Lance, two other types (Incapable of using others or -3 To-Hit)


Noble Abilities
Nobles as Followers: Nobles rarely follow anyone and only a high-level Noble may have Noble followers.
For convenience, non-noble NPCs who are, for example, Fighters but possess a title such as 'Duke', 'Baron' or 'King' are counted as Nobles of their level or the minimum level for such a title. PCs who wish to be Nobles should either start in the Noble class or somehow arrange to gain it.
Title: A first-level Noble has the title of 'Squire' and may command peasants to do minor tasks with a reasonable expectation of being obeyed. Abuse of this power may result in 'passive' retaliation – One Is only a Squire, after all.
At fifth level, a Noble gains the title of 'Knight'. She may then bestow the title of 'Squire' on a single individual (Or another, if her Squire dies). Alternately, she may hire a Squire as one of her followers. The Knight may command any followers the Squire has.
At ninth level, a Noble gains the title of Lord. At this point, they may gain the services of Knights as followers and bestow the title of Knight on others.
The Knights who serve them may have Squires and followers of their own.
A fifthteenth-level Noble may become a King, able to lead and direct Lords.
If they survive to twenty-first level, they may even attain the power and rank of an Emperer, able to lead and direct Kings.
Followers: Followers of a Noble gain +1 Morale. In addition, a Noble may have +50% more followers, rounded off, than their Charisma would indicate.
Followers also charge Nobles 25% less in fees, with the result rounded up.
Tactics and Strategy: If another character obeys the direction of a Noble in battle, they gain a +1 bonus to their next To-Hit or Saving Throw roll, plus any bonus the Noble may have from high Intelligence.
Inspiration: By taking a full round to declaim, a Noble may inspire all others within the sound of her voice. They may inspire anger, such as a +1 To-Hit; uncertainty, such as a +1 [-1] AC or courage, such as a +1 or more on their next Morale roll.
A high Charisma may grant a +/- 1 bonus to their inspiration.
Stipend: A noble gains a stipend from their family, lands or patron with which to support themselves. The stipend is gained monthly and is based on their current class level.
The stipend is in excess of any moneys from taxation or other revenues.
Lands (5th level): At fifth level, a Noble becomes landed – They gain a small piece of land, such as some farms as well as the taxes from them. This land comes with the title of 'Knight'.
They are expected to admister government, justice and guidance, as well as settle disputes. In order to travel off of their lands, they must appoint a governer who must be a Noble of no less then 2nd level.
Even so, spending less than thirty days a year on their lands is asking for trouble.
Demense (9th level): At ninth level, a Noble gains a demense, along with the title of 'Lord'. Generally, both are gained from their patron or their own expenses. The demense tends to include a small village, as well as the taxes from it.
They have the power of both high and low justice for their lands and are expected to be responsible for them, even if by appointing a governer of no less than 4th level.
They are expected to spend no less than thirty days a year on their lands, even with a governer.
A Noble with the title of 'Lord' may bestow Knighthood on a character.
King (15th level): A fifteenth-level Noble can become a king, can they gain land enough. This land may be gained by fair means or foul.
A King may appoint Lords.
Emperer (21st level): At the nigh-unreachable level of 21st, a Noble may have a chance at gaining the title of Emperer, should they beat down other claimants.
Others may also claim the title of Emperer, but only a 21st level Noble can always expect to be taken seriously.
An Emperer may appoint Kings.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.

Narf the Mouse

The Sorcerer (Standard) - Click on the name for the .pdf
A sorcerer is born with a high concentration of magic in their body; perhaps from a local, haunted tower of eldritch experiments; mayhap they drank too much well-water from a stream flowing through the caverns of an ancient, dead dragon. Perhaps one of her ancestors was not of mortal birth.
In any case, a sorcerer (Magi, sage, sorcerer) is a student of the power within them. By intense study and training, they may gain and control considerable power. Although their knowledge and control is less than those who must study arcane tomes for their power, they may use the powers they know more frequently and are far more flexible in their use.
Because of the intense meditation required of them, they do not have the capabilities others do with melee weapons or armour and their bodies are frailer.

Prime Attribute: As Magi-User or Intelligence, 13+ (+5% Experience)
Hit Dice: As Magic-User or 1d6-1* (Gains 1 hp/level after 9th level)
To-Hit: As per Magic-User.
Armour/Shield Trained: As Magic-User or None (Incapable or one-half benefit)
Weapon Trained: As Magic-User or Dagger, Staff, Darts (Incapable of using others or -4 To-Hit with others)
*Minimum 1 hp/level.


Although more capable than standard Magic-Users when starting out, Sorcerers do not rise to the same heights as a standard Magic-User – Although they have an intuitive grasp of magic, it still does not beat years spent pouring over arcane texts, unlocking the secrets of decades, centuries and even millenia of time.
A sorcerer is, socially, likely to be treated as a magic-user, even once the differences are known – The differences being of little consequence to the lives of others. The sorcerer can be of immense help or call down destruction on your head – Maybe not as powerful, but more often. "Six of one, half dozen of the other, I say, and strange as any."
Sorcerer Class Abilities
Spell Casting: The Sorcerer does not memorize spells. Instead, they intuitively know and are able to cast all the spells they know, a certain number of times per day. At first level, they know five spells. At each additional level, they comprehend and are able to cast a new spell. This new spell may be of any level, up to the highest level of spell they may cast.
The number of spells they may cast per day is limited by the Spell Uses chart. Provided they have a free spell use of a certain level, they may cast any spell of that level.
In order to refresh their ability to use spells, the sorcerer must successfully meditate for one hour a day. If distracted, a saving throw may be used to continue meditation.
The spells they may cast are drawn from the same pool as the Magic-User. In addition, they may, in their intuitive understanding, develop a new spell as their learned spell for that level, provided the GM allows it.
A Sorcerer may cast spells from scrolls, as per a Magic-User. However, they may not create spell-scrolls – They lack the theoretical underpinnings of knowledge which allow this.
Sorcerer's Retreat: At 11th level, the Sorcerer gains the title of 'High Sorcerer' and may build a dwelling in an isolated area that has some sort of magical, arcane and/or supernatural significance. There, she will meditate on the source of her power and explore the bounderies of Sorcery.
In time, she will gain acolytes, some sorcerers, some wishing to be sorcerers, as well as guards and servants – As those who spend time with sorcerers often return with treasure, magic items and tales to tell.
If sufficiently powerful, she may one day succeed in the incredibly difficult task of imbuing a person – Or even a family line – With the potential well of power of a sorcerer.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.

Narf the Mouse

Foot-man (Foot-soldier): The 40% off Fighter - .pdf is avaliable here
The concept of this class is a fighter who's just not as good. He didn't get the fancy training, or the years of army experience, or going through numourous bloody fights.
 He's basically an 'Ascended Goon'. He only knows a few weapons; he can't rely on finding magic items to boost himself, since, for the most part, he doesn't know what to do with them.
If he ever 'makes it rich', it's not going to be 'As good as it gets', it's going to be 'As good as I could manage'.
In return for all that, he gets very tough and dangerous, very fast.
You are a foot-soldier, a grunt. Yours is not the glamour of magical weapons, blazing spells and a reputation across a kingdom – Or an empire. Yours is the 'humbler' fight of strength against strength, weapon against weapon, guts against guts. You have no grand abilities to help you in this, only your own grit, brains and wits.
However, should you survive long enough on your limited training, you will find yourself swiftly rising in ability, power, fame and wealth.

Prime Attribute: As per Fighter or Strength 13+ (+5% experience)
Hite Dice: As per Fighter or 1d6+2/level (Gains +3 hp/level after 9th)
To-Hit: As per Fighter.
Armour/Shield Trained: Light armour and shield (Incapable of using others or one-half benefit)
Weapon Trained: 3 weapons only (Incapable of using others or -3 To-Hit)
Magical Item Use: Weapons, armour and potions only. Gains no ability to use magical weapons and armour at first level.


Become wealthy and famous enough and you may be able to establish your own keep or modest castle and lands. Fail and only your comrades will remember your name, when they lift a toast.
Foot-soldier class abilities
Followers: Foot-soldiers may be substituted for Fighters as both followers and stronghold guards. If as followers, they demand only two-thirds payment, rounded up. If as stronghold guards, the same general principle applies – You may hire +50% more of them for the same price and/or requirement.
For example, if you would gain +1d6 * 10 Fighters as guards, you may instead gain +1d6 * 15 Foot-soldiers as guards.
Foot-soldiers have greater morale when lead by a Foot-soldier, perhaps a +1 on a 1d6 roll, a +3 on a 1d20 roll or +15% on 1d100.
Establish Fief (5th): At fifth level, a foot-soldier may gain and swear knighthood and service to a lord. In return, the lord will grant lands and either a small village or modest upkeep, as well as some level of protection. With these, the Knighted foot-soldier will be expected to protect his lord's lands, including building a keep.
The Knight will also be expected to fight at his lords bidding, with a retinue of guards, for up to thirty days per year. This service will be at the Knight's expense.
Establish Castle (9th): At ninth level, a foot-soldier may establish a modest castle and hire guards and servants. Perhaps the protection provided will attract settlers and the foot-soldier may become a minor noble or lord.
Multiple Attacks: Against creatures with one full hit die, the foot-soldier makes one attack per level, per round.
The main problem with government is the difficulty of pressing charges against its directors.

Given a choice of two out of three M&Ms, the human brain subconsciously tries to justify the two M&Ms chosen as being superior to the M&M not chosen.