[Class] Sage - Manse '18 Rewrite

This is the nonmagic sage rewrite for Manse '18s updates from this year. (Manse '19?)

Sage

HD- d6

Max AC- 12 /Minimum Hit-Points- 2

Saves- Every odd level, +1 to magic saves. Every even level, +1 to all saves.

You are the wise and curious among the mortal races. Beyond this, you are also a keeper of knowledge, both practical and arcane. Your “sixth sense” is the most honed of all character classes and you are the best at dealing with disquiet ghosts and spirits. You are also automatically assumed to be literate and good with a quill; add your level to number of pages you can write per season.

While not having it innately, magic is a skill you can excel in. Casting magic spells, weaving enchantments, performing rituals, summoning entities from other worlds, and so on. While abstract, you gain a +1 to all magic rolls starting at level 2, and +2 at 9^th level and beyond.

You can also identify magic items; during downtime you may roll a 1d8 on a magic item or artifact using the table here. The DM will tell you what you find out. Rolling the same number twice on the same item will fully identify it for you. You may not be able to uncover everything, depending on the breadth of your scholarly knowledge. At 4^th level you get a free roll on the identification table the moment you pick up and closely examine an item.

At levels 3, 6, 9, and 10 you gain an extra dice whenever you heal someone. Also as a Sage of any level, you can split up your healing dice to multiple targets or to multiple injuries of different types at the same time, making your healing more efficient.

At levels 1, 4 and 7, you can treat your level as one higher when commanding spirits, turning the undead, or creating wards against mystical creatures. For example; at level 6 you'd count your level as 8 for dealing with these entities.

At 10^th level, you become a Mystic. You can build yourself a magician's tower or manse in an area filled with magical energy or phenomenon, letting you study it and keep it out of the wrong hands. Most Mystics do this in far away places and live as hermits, due to the fact you will receive 1d4 annoying petitioners each season asking you to solve their problems with your awesome magical powers and cure their ills. How you answer them or what you demand in exchange is your choice. You will also receive a 1^st level apprentice Sage who seeks guidance and knowledge. You can also recruit or stumble upon other apprentices, but the one awarded by you reaching 10^th level will be especially talented.

Additionally; you gain the ability to Delve Lore. By studying your references, consulting your experts, and meditating to focus your supernatural insight you can find out a secret. This secret can be a clue to the location of a lost place, the secret weakness of a monster, a magical incantation from days of yore, etc. You can only do this during downtime and once per season.

Dumb Unnecessary AC Sources

AC rules where your characters have a base that is the same if they're wearing nothing or wearing normal clothes are a nice gameplay abstraction, but not super “realistic”. People wear clothes to protect themselves from the elements and from nature; your character is most vulnerable when nude! They shouldn't have the same AC as when they're wearing clothes. So...

For each one of these totally unnecessary rules you add, reduce the base AC of your game by -1

1. Shoes grant +1 AC when worn. Having your shoe sucked off by quicksand or destroyed means your feet are more vulnerable, making an easy target.
2. As long as you're wielding a melee weapon, gain +1 AC. You can use the weapon to parry and deflect blows. Alternatively, this only applies to weapons longer then a dagger.
3. If your character is fully clothed, add +2 AC. Reduce base AC by 2 instead of 1. Skimpy clothes like loincloths only grant +1 AC
4. Fighting with any kind of protection for your head (hat or helmet) grants +1 extra AC. You need this to keep the sun out of your eyes, and to avoid your hair being grabbed.
5. If you're fighting in a uniform or under war banner; you get +1 AC. Fighting with a group makes you more intimating and less likely to be singled out- zebra logic.
6. If your character is clean shaven or well groomed, they get +1 AC. Fighting while dirt or unwashed is a disadvantage, you're more likely to get caught on things or your own hair being used to grab and put you in a dangerous position.
7. If you're fighting in a lighting condition that favors you, gain +1 AC. This isn't exactly the same as a negative modifier to enemies striking you, you have better footing. Orcs and subterranean creatures get +1 AC in darkness, surface dwellers get +1 AC in light.
8. If you're dry, warm, and not savaged by the elements gain +1 AC. Characters who get wet or bogged down by flies or otherwise disadvantaged by nature carry this into combat. Bit of a play on the idea of using things like “Freezing cold” or “Wet” as a negative condition that fills an inventory slot, ala Skerples or Goblin Punch.

I have no idea why I wrote this. You could also use the above as a 1d8 table.

20 Warrior-Cult Gimmicks

[1] Homosexuals

They're all gay. Women are weak, and having sex with a woman just makes you weaker. Children are (forcefully) adopted or raised through surrogates of subjugated peoples. As most warriors are lovers, they often fight in pairs and get +1 morale. They also have a 50% chance to fly into a berserk rage when their lover dies, giving the warrior a -2 to AC but +2 to hit and damage and being unable to flee for 3 rounds.

[2] The Bloodless

These warriors bleed themselves dry before each battle, making themselves very lightheaded and meaning their wounds do not bleed during combat. They cannot be harmed by bleeding spells and take -2 damage from sharp weapons, but messing up the pre-battle ritual means that they won't be protected by the bloodletting and will die from it before stepping foot on the battlefield instead.

[3] Animal Companions

Each warrior has a spirit animal that they must raise from birth into becoming a combat companion. Animals that aren't that useful for a direct fight are still raised up and used somehow. Leadership of this cult doesn't believe in any of this, just assigns humiliating animals to people they don't like.

Warrior Cultist Animal Companion Table – 1d6

[1] Wolf.

[2] Horse. Metal spikes on withers and uses hooves to fight. Would be dishonorable to ride.

[3] Pig. Covered in metal plates, has AC 18. No attack, but redirects 1 in 4 attacks to itself.

[4] Crow. Picks locks.

[5] Cougar.

[6] Scorpion. The scorpion is not tamed, stings owner all the time. Owner has +4 to saves vs poisons.

[4] Shield-Bearers

Don't use weapons, just shields. Have special training letting them reflecting magical or supernatural attacks, like dragon breath and some spells. Most shields are also bladed, act as mercenaries that protect and strengthen other armies.

[5] Murderous

To ascend in the organization is to kill your master above you. While very good at what they do, also very competitive and 1 in 6 chance any given mission someone betrays someone else to gain status. Warriors of this cult get +2 to stealth rolls due to assassination training.

[6] Amputees

As a ritual upon induction, these cultists isolate all the pain and weaknesses of the warrior's body into one limb, before cutting it off. Treat their strength modifiers to grappling, to-hit, and damage bonuses as +2, but they have a wooden leg slowing speed by 25% OR making them unable to equip two weapons, a shield, or a large two-handed weapon from their missing hand.

[7] Refined Killers

These warriors are very conscious of fashion, etiquette, and the high life. After killing a few enemies they may strip down into a bloody silk garment to drink fruity drinks and discuss local theater. Their reputation is only very slightly better then other warrior cults for this reason.

[8] Flower Dancers

These warriors do not engage in killing very much. Most of their engagements are meant to be showboating, displays of force, threats and taunts, throwing spears at each other and taking captives for ransoming and so on. If a foe breaks this rule or draws blood of one of their own however they will return the favor with brutal efficiency.

[9] Demon Tutors

These warriors learn their combat prowess and secret blade arts from demons. Carefully summoned and contracted to teach, the cultists respect and fear as much as they worship and serve the demons that they summon. Most cult-like of all warrior cults, needing actual human sacrifices to to whet the demonic whetstones. The leader of the cult is transforming into a half demon, with a single cracked horn growing out of his skull that has become impossible to hide and forced him into isolation.

[10] Tempest Chains

These warriors temper their flesh and minds by subjecting themselves to torture; they are tied with metal chains in a tall tower during storms. The lightning strikes them through magically enchanted chain; keeping the blast of energy from being lethal but still quite potent and subjecting them to the power of the tempest. They become nearly immune to pain and take -2 damage from all lightning based spells and attacks, as well as gaining +1 passive AC

[11] The Bridgemen

These warriors act as guards and mercenaries for palaces, almost always in a defensive role. They believe that in the afterlife they must defend the bridge to paradise from the hoards of demons, sinners, and otherworldly creatures that constantly try to slip in. They fight defensively and have +2 AC on rounds where they don't attack. Additionally, if they stand their ground with a wide stance on a stone surface; they cannot be moved or shoved from their position, even with magic, as they are anchored to the everlasting stones.

[12] Luck-Hunters

These warriors can smell the “luck” in some people. Anyone who has narrowly avoided a natural disaster, come from a bad background and yet succeeded, or player characters who have made several successful saving throws in a row. The warriors want to steal their luck, and will try their best to knock them out and carry them to a remote location. There, the person is tied down and given weakening drugs to make them unable to resist as the warriors perform surgery; the 'luck' of a person is pulled out of their neck as a tiny green stone, which radiates with lucky energy. The more lucky the person is, the brighter it glows. The person is then given more knockout drugs, hopefully to make them forget, and dumped back where they were found as discretely as possible. While the warriors are skilled at cutting flesh, there is still a chance of death or injury- 2 in 6 plus Con modifier of affected character's chance to die from the surgery.

Once the luck is extracted, the Luck-Hunters keep it in their safehouses for storage and create draughts of luck and fortune. If they are expecting a fight, they'll quickly drink a small bottle and gain advantage on all saving throws, attack rolls, and enemies get disadvantage on attacks rolls versus them for one exploration turn. Drinking a large bottle, or multiple bottles at once, lead to incredible feats and coincidences of luck and happenstance; very likely they are to stumble across a lost treasure or be completely ignored by anything dangerous nearby, or even trip and accidentally kill an infamous monster and be both praised and rewarded for it. Bottles of extracted luck sell for high prices in the underground markets. For this reason, the leader of the cult is essentially impossible to catch, as their luck is so great that heaven and earth move to give them an escape.

[13] Herb-Sniffers

These warriors cultivate special flowers and herbs in their hidden rooftop gardens, different shingles mark what herb is grown underneath. These grant power to whoever smells them in the form of smelling salts & scents that send the user into a powerful battle trance. Due to this practice, the warriors of the clan have very sensitive noses and will be stunned for a combat round if presented with an unpleasant smell, or stunned for 1d4 rounds if accosted with a very unpleasant smell.

Beyond smelling herbs, the Herb-Sniffers are also skilled horticulturalists. Any warrior that has defeated them in honorable combat is allowed to buy secret medicines from their shop. Among this are healing roots, training-enhancers, and cures for erectile dysfunction.

[14] Ancient Clan

This warrior cult comes from a very long line of martial artists, who practiced the art of killing long before weapons were invented. Their open palm counts as an extra attack so they rarely use shields; deals 1d4+1 damage on a hit with a hand jab, as they go for eyes and throats. Additionally, this warrior cult has several secret magical weapons and tools at their disposal, as well as an animated stone lion that only awakens when their sacred clan grounds are under attack by retaliating groups of warriors who fight against them.

[15] Twine Spinners

These warriors specialize in assassinations and urban combat. They tie packages with twine in special knots to warn of an incoming attack or to mark a target for death; they use couriers in cities to send these messages while none the wiser. Each of them carry a small length of twine they tie around a slain target's finger, which is their calling card. The leader has specialized weapons and armor made with the twine of the elves, called Glint, which gives him protection from magic and supernatural stealth.

[16] The Seamen

Born on boats and floating cities in the oceans of the world; these cultists are never allowed to set foot on land. In return for this spiritual contract, they are said to have incredible powers over the sea and connection to nature. All of them can trace their lineage to mermaids.

They can tell when a storm is coming, sharks and leviathans treat the fighter as an ocean predator on their own, and they may be able to swim and jump from the water as powerfully as a dolphin in human guise. Fight with a mixture of spears, cords, nets, and weights- drowning foes is as effective as any other method. If you toss a handful of dirt at one, they make a morale check.

[17] “No-Swords” Gang

They hate swords. They hate swords, they hate how common magic swords are, they hate how swords are the most famous and well regarded weapons. They don't use swords, all of their members use other weapons. They use spears, maces, axes, flails; anything but a sword. They also have several enchanters creating magical weapons for them to use, since magic swords are so common, so many of their crew have +1 magic weapons or a magic weapon with a small magic trick. Also, all their members are skilled at parrying and defeating those wielding their most hated weapons; these cultists get +2 AC versus enemies using swords. They also have a vault of captured magic swords at their headquarters featuring swords too valuable or difficult to destroy or dispose of.

[18] Defacers & Book Burners

This cult despises all written word; language should never be imprisoned in a piece of paper. Their belief is so strong it borders on fanaticism, if they know someone is literate they will mock them and call them a dyslexic, a forgetful oaf who needs to write everything down to remember it, will be wary of any payments given, as they may believe the persons' arithmetic is sorcerous to gain them more gold then they deserve; like compound interest. Naturally, they hate Wizards.

This cult also has a unique power; around them is an aura of illiteracy. It scrambles text and written words on spell scrolls and spell books as well as signs- though many can still be understood due to the small number of combinations the letters can jumble to (it's not hard to get that the sign that says “pbu” is the “Pub”), and symbols on many objects may not jumble. Very abstract text, such as words worked into a glyph shape or initials on a forged piece of equipment, may not jumble at all. If you try to use a scroll or read a page from a book or spellbook while the aura is active, it takes you twice as long.

[19] Brickers

These fort and castle building & defending warriors see secrets and power within the unchanging walls of stone castles and forts. They gain +2 AC when fighting with their back to a wall, and can also run on walls for 10 ft, letting them cross over gaps and floor traps. Many people warn against being taken captive by them, as the brickers have an infamous rumor of killing people by sealing them inside a wall and letting them starve. The cult has done this in the past to power certain rituals, and may need fresh corpses to plaster into their fortress soon.

[20] Engima Cult

Every member of this cult has only one thing in a common, a vertical scar on their left wrist, intersected with a diagonal line. Almost everything else about them is different. They all have different fighting styles. Many have magic powers or summoned creatures at their side. They all have different taboos, with some forgoing meat while others cannot speak unless they give the listener a clay coin out of respect. With almost no seeming connection between them, they operate in cells and don't allow outsiders to understand or know their group's goals, but they do move towards a singular purpose.

Whenever you roll an Enigma cultist, there is a 1 in 20 chance they are a lieutenant and have a piece of paper with both the names of 5 other members and a minor objective, or clue to the mastermind of the whole operation.

20 False Gods

[1] Stone statue in the center of a octagonal room, with hallways extending out every direction to the rest of the dungeon. The statue is an ancient wizard's trap, and zaps whoever passes by it dealing 2d6 lightning damage if you do not say the secret code phrase “Kalawoon”. The local kobolds worship it as a God, praising its name as Kalawoon and thanking it for its mercy in letting them pass in rhythmic chants, and occasionally sacrifice a gagged virgin or prisoner with their tongue cut out to it, so they cannot speak the code phrase. The kobolds pass by it at least once every hour, so you have a 1 in 6 chance to learn the code phrase each exploration turn.

[2] Troll, worshiped by tribe of sadistic goblins. The goblins think he is a god because they keep shoving metal pins into and under his skin, but his wounds keep closing. His flesh pushes the metal out, raining nails onto the floor each night. The goblins even praise him as he tries to kill them, claiming that this living God is destroying the weak and slow wicked goblins from their tribe with his holy wrath. The troll is chained up most of the time and babbles out in Common, Elvish, and Dwarven every exploration turn; “Get me the hell out of here!”

[3] Isolated tribe of orcs obey a sagging, obese demon, permanently nailed to a throne. It has a terrible smell of death around it, and the demon demands much of the orc's food. It can speak incantations in a booming voice; dark magic cast to empower the faithful and to punish the orcs who doesn't obey. However, it mostly speaks through its emissary who is a shrunken old human with a chain around his neck, tied to the base of the demon's throne. The Orcs worship it somewhat begrudgingly, but have no other option.

The demon is a fake; animated and cast with several illusion spells. The head and belly are huge sacs with carved, painted pieces of wood to appear as limbs. Food tossed into the stomach rots away, feeding a massive swarm of black maggots. The old man is not a slave, but a Sorcerer who has tricked the orcs to keep feeding the “demon”; he harvests some of the maggots for their magical essences. The chain around his neck is also fake and he can easily free himself with a simple spell, but must be careful so the orcs never see him freed.

[4] Tall white tree at the edge of a big and dusty valley. It is planted atop a small hill with no others nearby and has become a sacred thing for the marauding gnolls in the area. They once put bone charms and stained blood on the tree to mark their territory, but the tree kept shaking them off at night when they weren't watching. As such it has become a holy site and the tree a minor deity among the Gnolls bloodthirsty pantheon. They feed the trees parts of the corpses of beings they slay and slit the throats of their slaves above its roots for a sacrifice.

The tree is home to an agitated dryad. She is not a goddess, obviously, but the Gnolls treat her as one now and she is too afraid to confront them; they may kill her. The incantations whispered by her worshippers and the sacrifices have actually been having an effect and nourishing her roots and spirit with magic and power- she has become more powerful despite having a long way to go before reaching some kind of divine status; treat as a Dryad with +2 HD, +1 AC, and can cast an extra spell once per day. Her morality is also slipping and she is slightly more aggressive then other Dryads, and may be more pragmatic or threaten to call the Gnolls if threatened.

[5] The Arch above and below the city docks. Beyond seeing the foot-travel of people from around the whole world. There are many stained stones where people's hands have rubbed the stones for luck- the cult in the city's underbelly believes the stone itself has absorbed enough fallen magic and power from the above and gathered enough support from below that its stones could be used to build a door into another world where the unwashed will be rich and happy. The Godly and divine stone-thing representing the heavenly embodiment of the gateway between here and there.

[6] Deadly pufferfish just offshore of a tribal tropical island. The tribe believes it has powers over life and death, as its sting killed a hunter. After burying the tribesman who was killed, they find their tomb disturbed, scratches on the walls- the tribesman buried alive. They fear this thing for its power to revive the dead- in reality it is just its venom that causes the false death.

[7] Colorful and clearly supernatural looking regular animal- Bright green pig, rainbow furred sloth, glowing orbs around the pitch black parrot, etc. The villagers worship it, as anyone who tries to get close or kill the beast is annihilated by powerful magic. The beast is being protected by an invisible Wizard, trying to maneuver the animal's simple mind into understanding philosophy and reach stunning insights into the human condition. It is not working.

[8] Active, bubbling Volcanic pit. The cult nearby sacrifices virgin to the volcano god, offering their bodies to him in the next life as heavenly concubines. In return, sometimes chunks of magical obsidian float to the top of the lava pool; which can be fished out by skilled hands along with flame-retardant iron-sticks stuck in glacial tubs of water just before use.

In truth, each person thrown is just disturbing the lava pool and cooling it off by fractions of a degree, and as such the lava has a few chunks that condense beneath and float to the surface. The obsidian is actually magical though, as the volcano has innate magic, and the chunks can be made into all sorts of useful tools, weapons, and broken into small flint fire-starters that start flames with animal minds.

[9] The Ship called Brewing Storm. It has never lost a battle. Its hull is known as being almost impenetrable, and its cannons are unerring. All of its captains have been giants among men; the most infamous pirates and navies have used it to great effect, only being captured by subterfuge or great magic, never in battle. Currently moored in the docks of a famous city and well watched, a small cult of worshippers swim to the ship to touch it, braving the coral reefs and the dangerous fish just to do so. The ship is merely a famous and well designed vessel, with a double hull that keeps out water and attacks, and all of its crew and captains have simply been extraordinary, no special qualities of its own make it so powerful.

[10] Grossly exaggerated stories of both the abilities and philanthropy of a wealthy noble folk hero who lived about a hundred years ago in the area. Shrines to her are starting to pop up everywhere, despite no supernatural powers or anointed Clerics proving any divinity.

[11] The last Lord of the Arena. The gladiator reached the status of legend after defeating every single foe that came his way, including a chained dragon and several powerful free men who fought because they believed themselves to be best. The Lord of the Arena fought them all and one, and finally retired from his position.

All around the bloodchannels underneath the arena, the animal cages, the slave wards where thralls are forced to fight and in the streets around the arena he is praised as a mythical demigod. Some even say his symbol, a curved sword and short iron bar- (for parries and blocks, as per arena rules he wasn't allowed a shield with his magic sword); has even given protection to the fighters who fight for their lives in the arena today.

Truthfully, the Arena champion was just a man, and while extremely skilled and powerful, he's also become frail and slow in his old age. He lives in an old folks' home in the city, long since squandered all his winnings and fame, and is now content to just stare out the window at the street.

[12] The Dragon. It's being worshiped by kobolds, which is normal. It has a big ego, that's normal too. What's not normal is that Cleric spells have started to stop working in a 20 ft radius around the spiky calloused end of its tail, and the dragon believes this to be a sure sign of its divine aura becoming real in the world. He will soon anoint the oldest and best groveler among the kobolds to be his high priest, who will be a level 1 Cleric.

[13] Magic Mushroom. Within a deep chamber; fungus eating goblins have begun to worship this massive fungal colony. They glow blue in the dark and the mycelium is so thick it's like a carpet and tapestry on the floors and walls. They worship the mushroom as it has begun to respond to wishes; conjuring items from its flowering heads upon many chants and praises from its goblin followers; so far it has created swords without rust, which might as well be magic weapons to goblins, spiked collars for their war-spiders, the skull of a dwarf, and even a bag of holding. The mushroom is magic and is actually conjuring these items, but only because the goblins have been feeding the mushrooms their dead for decades; it takes a long time for enough energy to build up for the mushrooms to conjure an item, most of it is spent slowly growing new fungal colonies and spores. The mushrooms only understand 'gob and won't grant more then a minor wish a week. Anyone who severs and eats one of the fruiting sporecaps would get a first level spell slot recharged from the magic energies, or a daily power in equivalence.

[14] Lord Agreen. He is a necromancer of incredible power, and has long since become a lich and mastered his own mortality. His delusions of Godhood are not as far fetched as they may seem. He has three close servants that he revives in different bodies whenever they die; each one of them is a skilled killer. Lord Agreen seems to be assassinating several prominent local figures, disturbing the lands of the dead with their deaths in just the right way to garner more power to himself, and potentially lining himself up for an ascension into some sort of death God.

[15] Lady Morthin. She is a dark figure, consorting with the powers of the fairie. Beyond her ridiculous taxes, which include the fallen teeth of all children in her realm, she also forces her subjects to further the powers of the wild forest; letting the realms of the fae encroaches closer to their villages and disallowing them from posting horseshoes and other iron wards. She wishes to gain the favor of the fairy courts and join them as an immortal queen, before age comes to takes her waning beauty away from her.

[16] The Fallen Stars. Appeared after a meteor shower. Group of 1d6+1 Fallen Star people. They appear as humans with translucent skin and have 17 AC and 3 HD each from their innate power. The females glow, and can focus their light to stun their foes if they fail a save, and the males can touch things to imbue them with a light of madness or a light of calming. This light makes animals who gaze at the glow act crazed or calm and docile respectively. This also works on humans, and other races, for members who have a -2 Int modifier or less.

The Fallen Star people claim to be Gods from another world, and are asking for the greatest sages and tinkerers in the land to build a ship so they can return to their world. Truthfully, they are merely stars that have fallen out of the sky in human form, not true divines, and they know there is no way they can return to the sky. Instead, they wish to build a weapon to destroy the stars that exiled their group and then repopulate on Earth, ruling over the lesser beings as Gods among men.

[17] Black skinned ebony elf from a far away land. He smells of volcanic ash and of freshly spilled blood, and claims to be a God of war from a foreign culture. He is demanding noble warriors and those seeking a free pass to the afterlife join him on a religious crusade to reclaim the holy land.

He is actually a “God” culturally from his people, who believe their rulers to be living Gods, though he is not an actual God in power. He is quite a powerful warrior though, and knows several hidden blade arts granting control over terrain and of fire. Any character who joins on the crusade will not be returning home; the land is too far and the civil war too perilous for any one of you to return from it. There is a 1 in 6 chance the next character the player players gets a letter from the old one, along with an volcanic gemstone packaged within worth 10,000 coins.

[18] Great green snake of the forest. It has swallowed several great spirit-beasts like the massive boars and elk-spirits. Local hunters say prayers to the beast to keep it sated and away from them before they enter the forest, despite it not caring for or answering any human prayers. The snake has stats as a normal snake, but on a missed attack a spirit-beast charges out of its open mouth and harries any magic user or character with high Wisdom. The spirits serve the snake even as their remains digest inside the snake's body.

[19] Great standing stone, surrounded by a flock of followers and guards. It is said to heal the sick, and anyone who touches it finds their wounds miraculously healed. The guards keep away those looking to profit from the stone, and only allow those who are truly faithful or who donate generously to the growing faith are allowed to touch it, and only once. The stone's power are real but all of its magic is from an ancient healer who gave the last of his healing magic to the stone before his death. The standing stone can only heal 2d20 more people before it runs out of power permanently, at which point the faith will disband.

[20] The Last Hero of Mozz. This prophet is a green-feathered flightless avian person from an ancient, thought to be dead race. He claims to serve the highest God of the Mozz and is both a holy man as well as powerful warrior. He rides a speckled horse with a hundred hand prints naturally showing on its coarse fur; anyone can tell the horse is clearly supernatural. The prophet proves his abilities by making objects under sheets disappear or having his horse count numbers by tapping its foot. It isn't much smarter then a normal horse but has a magic hide, granting it +3 AC, and seems to know many things from its long memory and many experiences. The horse is also still youthful, despite carrying its rider with elegance for many ages. Anyone fighting on the horse fights as a Fighter of one level higher, as the horse jostles them into advantageous positions over their foes while mounted or fighting from its back.

The truth is that the Mozz died out because their Gods died, and none are left. The prophet's powers are all illusions with powdered smoke and mirrors. The last hero of Mozz is wandering the Earth to find both a nice place to die and a good person to grant his immortal magic horse to.

[Class] GLOG: The Many-Faced Man

GLOG Class- The Many-Faced Man

For every Many-Faced Man Template you possess, you have an X+1 in 6 chance of avoiding surprise or being snuck up on. If you don't like this rule, just give +1 to save versus spells per template.

Starting Equipment- Alms bowl, spear, and a box filled with white-lotus petals.

Starting Skills- Roll 1d3- Ascetic, Merchant, or Lesser-Official

A: New Face, +1 hit points

B: New Face, Spellcasting, +2 spells known, +1 MD
C: New Face, Crowded-Chorus, +2 spells known, +1 MD
D: The Peaceful Face, +3 spells known, +1 MD

Many Faces

You have many faces. Despite this, you still have one body and head. You also have one mind but it is capable of stretching in many directions, and you can have many voices. You can still wear helmets; but prefer those specially crafted to be open in many directions for your many faces.

Your original face must pick a “resting expression”. This expression can be anything you chose, but cannot ever change it once chosen- it's the face that best fits the character. All of your faces “rest” on single expression, which they keep as you would expect whenever neutral. But your faces can speak, laugh, sing and so on- changing expressions together- each has a personality that matches their expression but you are one being.

Faces Table - 1d8

[1] The Sneering Face

The Sneering Face is a sign of arrogance and superiority over others; enemies make their saves versus your magic at -1. Additionally, if you roll a spellcasting Misshap and get a 6, you can chose to put this face on a wall or inanimate object big enough for your face to stick on the surface. You can see, speak, and hear through this face but any attacks given to it still deal normal damage and the face has no body to defend itself with on its own. You can also expend a magic dice to use this effect whenever you want, lasting for 1d6 turns.

[2] The Grimacing Face

You get an extra save against all mortal diseases that you have every single day until they are cured.

[3] The Fearful Face

Whenever you are attacked in combat by something (before the attack or damage dice are rolled), you may choose instead to flee. You avoid this attack, but run off in the darkness in a random direction and will be on your own for a turn; triggering traps and potentially running into more monsters. Additionally, increase your MV or speed or whatever stat you use by +1/5ft when you are running away from something.

[4] The Roaring Face

Gain +1 to attack rolls. Whenever you cause enemies to roll a morale check, they get -1 to their roll from the terrifying, fearsome expression held by this face.

[5] The Winking Face

This face is sly, and constantly winks to those who see it before you use its abilities. You get +1 to stealth or sneaking rolls, and can do sneak attacks like a thief- adding your Many-Faced Man templates to your stealth attack and damage roll. Additionally, you can pick normal locks if you couldn't already.

[6] The Weathered Face

This face looks like you, but older and more weathered. It has a weariness to its eyes. You get +2 to saves vs death. Additionally, you can subsist on grime, old crusts, powders and dusts from within cups and bags and cannot starve; but you don't exactly thrive either.

[7] The Grinning Face

You have an aura of supernatural luck. You can reroll one magic die once per day. You can use this to try and downgrade a doom to a mishap, or get a higher result on a low spell roll and so on.

[8] The Stoic Face

You are immune to supernatural fear effects. Additionally, those belonging to monastic orders will always roll a reaction check of at least a Neutral result unless you are wanted by their order.

Crowded-Chorus

Your many voices are raised at once in a chorus. Using this ability has an X+1 out of 6 chance to disrupt a spell in progress based on a voice or music. Enchanted voices are drowned out by your sea of babbling, magic instruments lose their tune. You can only use this power by expending one of your magic dice for the day.

The Peaceful Face

Your final face is Enlightened. This face shows peace- showing anyone could make this face once they know the truth. As long as you carry no weapons, you cannot be attacked first by any mortal creature. Angels, demons, and the undead can still strike you, but must make a saving throw to deal damage on a hit. Otherwise the attack or spell is engulfed by a heavenly light, and is nullified. You can only absorb the first attack from these creatures, then you must roll initiative.

Spells-

The Many-Faced Man is a spellcaster, but knows no spellcraft. You gain spells each day by meditating for an hour in a tranquil place- you do not learn new spells from spell books. You instead get random spells from a Cleric, Sage, or Wizard of the White Hand spell list. These powers emanate from within you in a golden holy light.

Cantrips- Like all spell casting classes, you get Cantrips. You can use your cantrips at 1^st level, even before you reach the B Template that gives you magic dice.

1- Change which of your faces is the foremost, which is the one that speaks to people. Usually.

2- Create the sound of a far-off windchime.

3- Pick up the wind to a light breeze. Only useful for making petals dance around you majestically.

Mishaps- Rolled when you get doubles, as per normal GLOG spellcasting rules.

1- MD only return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours

2- Take 1d6 damage

3- Random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then Save. Permanent if you fail.

4- One of your faces gets stuck making a silly expression. Get -1 to reaction checks for 1d4 hours.

5- One face is (1d3) Struck Mute, Blinded, or made Deaf permanently. Unless all your faces share the same condition, your character can still see speak, see, and hear.

6- 1d3 Faces shift to your (1d4) Underarm, Chest, Groin, Foot; roll once for each. You cannot use its ability unless it is exposed, and obviously cannot see through it if under an article of clothing. They are stuck there for 1d6 turns.

Doom of the Many-Faced Man

1- All of your faces make their resting expression and are stuck in them for 1d4 turns; they become unable to use spells, speak, or use abilities for that time. You can still fight but make all attacks and defenses at -2 from the lack of emotion and willpower.

2- The effect of the first Doom, but over 1d6 days. One of your faces is permanently paralyzed in their resting expression. You cannot use this face's ability every again. If it is your first face, you lose the ability to have children and can no longer use titles for your name. This is a magical effect that applies to everyone. You are no longer Sir Jack Kasmian of Argor. You're just “Jack”.

3- You find the nearest quiet, peaceful place, sit down, raise one hand, and turn to stone forever. Your faces are stuck making their resting expression. If a Stone to Flesh spell is cast on you, the statue just becomes a golden light that disappears after 1d6 minutes.

There are two ways to avoid your doom. The first is to have one or more of your faces removed through magic and turned into magic items. You cannot use that face once it is gone; it is merely a separation of your spirit. Your soul will live on within the faces; a magic shield with your face on it that feels the pain of each blow but protects its wielder from harm, or a cursed magic mask that possess a person to live out the emotion of that face until removed and so on.

The second method to avert your doom is to trap yourself in a dimension or place where there is no peace or beauty; an eternal pilgrimage in hell.

Notes on the Many-Faced Man

This is my first GLOG class. It's meant to be a bit of a gonzo Cleric sort of thing, and it's also pretty powerful and multifaceted. I've never designed a GLOG class before either, but I am pleased with how it turned out and the unique dooms. Also, I intentionally made spellcasting only begin at second level, so even people who attempted to multiclass into the Many-Faced Man would be unable to get all 4 MD; any Many-Faced Man you meet will always be a weaker spellcaster then a full spellcaster.

In order to make the class less random, you could allow the players to pick a face instead of rolling on the table.

If you want to convert this class to your own game, you'll have to use your own GLOG conversion methods. I've also thought on how to convert it into my own rule set.

The Many-Faced Man

HD- d6

Max AC- 14 / Minimum Hit-Points- 3

At 1^st, 3^rd, 6^th, and 10^th level, get a new face. Get +1 to hit at 4^th level and Crowded-Chorus at 7^th level. Spellcasting starts at 3^rd level. At 10^th level, you are a Many-Faced Guru and gain the power of the Peaceful face. Additionally, you can retire by turning into a statue.

Pantheon Generator

This generated is used to create a fictional world's pantheon. Here is an example generation. Replace all usage of the term “mortal” with member of a mortal race. So if you are using this Pantheon Generator to create a Pantheon for the orcs, then interpret a roll like “appears as a mature mortal” as "appears as a mature orc".

The first God of the Pantheon will always be a figure that is the “Prime” deity. They're usually the first deity, and match the gender of the society or race's main inheritors or higher class. As in, Matriarchal Socities will have a female prime Goddess, and Patriarchal societies will have a male Prime God. This God or Goddess is not only the most important member in the Pantheon, and has a godly domain that is most important for the society as a whole. For the Prime God, roll only a 1d6 on the domains table. (For an “evil” or dark side race, you can roll 1d6+14 instead). The Prime Gods will usually be mature in appearance, so no roll on the appearance table is needed unless you're trying to be different.

The Prime God or Goddess will also be joined by a second one of the opposite gender, and will be the first couple from which all the other Gods and Goddesses are born, who have children amongst themselves- God relationships are usually pretty incestual, and the family tree is very insular. For the partner of the Prime God(ess), roll a standard roll on the d20 domain table, but they will usually favor the domains of motherhood/fatherhood, family, homecraft, etc. Some Domains can support multiple Gods, where as others work best for a single important God.

Prime God(s) Creation – 1d8

[1] Born by a primordial being, usurped them to take power.

[2] Born from the dead body of a primordial being.

[3] Crawled forth from Primordial nothingness.

[4] Prime always existed, created perfect companion; later the pair birthed the world.

[5] The pair always existed, took turns building the world as day and night/spring and winter, etc.

[6] The pair sprung forth from a primordial energy that infuses all creation (ying/yang, etc.)

[7] The last remaining being from a previous universe. May have had very humble beginnings.

[8] Not made at the creation of the world; awakened far later. May be a personified origin story of a city state or great natural disaster like a flood that created this God. Still the head God.

Once your Prime Gods have been determined; roll 1d6+2 to determine their number of offspring. Each offpsring rolls on the domain table and appearance table. This is the second generation of Gods. If two offspring of the Prime Gods are of opposite genders and they aren't kids, then they can have their own offspring, rolling 1d3-1 for their number of children- roll on God Relationship table. Any unpaired children or if all children are of incompatible genders; they can still make children in divine asexual reproduction. As many divine couples can be made as possible. Typically, Gods of each lower generation are weaker or have more specific and minor domains; a War God of the 3^rd or even 4^th generation of Gods may just be the God of Spears, etc. Offspring of the 3^rd generation of Gods only ever have one child or give one of the couple a random quirk instead; or roll on the Demigod generation table at the end as their divine bloodline degenerates. If unwed opposite sex Gods remain among different generations, you can include uncles & aunts to the lower generation as partners and roll on the relationship table for them.

After rolling the first unusual God appearance, you can have all following Gods that roll unusual have that same result. This way, all unusual Gods in the Pantheon have the same “theme”. Or you can keep rolling each time to have a truly wild Pantheon.

Finally; to finish up your Pantheon, roll 1d4 quirks for Gods who aren't interesting or don't have abstract forms, roll 1d6 Demigods and divy them up among unwed Gods (or wed Gods) as divine bastards, and tweak things to be your own as I did in the example generation. Enjoy!

God Domain Table – 1d20

[1] Sky & Storms

[2] The Sun (If rolled a second time, make it God of the Moon)

[3] War

[4] Harvest

[5] The Sea & Sailing

[6] Fire OR Magic & Law (Pick which fits the Mortal Race best)

[7] Love & Children

[8] The Forge & Craftsmen

[9] Beasts & The Hunt

[10] Music & Plays & The Arts

[11] Revelry & Ale OR Wine (Pick which fits the Mortal Race best)

[12] The Hearth & Spinning

[13] Wealth & Commerce

[14] Wisdom & Healing

[15] Pests & Plagues (and secretly Dark Magic/Witchcraft)

[16] Assassins & Poisons & Spiders or Snakes (Pick one)

[17] Death & The Underworld

[18] Winter & Ice

[19] The Mad God (Roll a quirk for this God)

[20] The Trickster God

God Appearance Table – 1d6

[1] Young-Adult Male Mortal

[2] Young-Adult Female Mortal

[3] Mature/Aged Male

[4] Mature/Aged Female

[5] Androgynous Youth/Young-Adult Mortal

[6] Unusual

Unusual Appearances Table – 1d6

[1] Monsterous. Roll a few random monsters, then roughly combine in shape of large ogre or beast.

[2] Abstract symbol or Eldritch abomination.

[3] Roll a random Animal. Animal should be based somewhat on their Domain.

[4] Roll two random Animals, combine, then roll 1d4 on God Appearance Table. Has a regular mortal face of that type, irregardless of actual gender of the God.

[5] Roll 1d6 on God Appearance Table to determine body. Head of body is tied to their element, such as a flaming candle for a head for the God of Wisdom or Magic.

[6] God is actually two Gods for this domain, pair of identical but opposite gendered twins. Roll again on Appearance table and have one as swapped gender.

God Relationship Table – 1d8

[1] Unwed, children out of wedlock. Not very scandalous for Gods anyway. Normal kids roll.

[2] Unwed, passionate lovers. +1 Kids.

[3] Hated, bitter rivals. They hatefucked. -1 Kids.

[4] Accidentally had kids, one mistook the other for a different God(ess) they fancied, divine love triangle. -2 Kids roll, if a Kid does appear it's from their one night stand.

[5] They came together to have one perfect kid- combining their best aspects. Give their offspring a quirk and domain and decide if it was a success or humiliating failure.

[6] Married, approved by Prime God. 50% chance for Prime God's partner to be totally against it and still plotting to ruin the relationship even now.

[7] Mentor/Student Relationship, with the older appearance, older in generation, or more powerful taking the younger under their wing. Eventually became a secret romance. Normal kids roll.

[8] Arranged marriage. One of the two was not happy with it, constantly mingles and mates with mortals, making their lover angry. -1 Kids, but 1d4 Demigods.

God Quirk Table – 1d12

[1] God has a common magical pet, like a dog, cat, bird, or rodent. It's intelligent and spies for them.

[2] God had a drunken tryst with a mortal champion of this pantheon's race; roll a Demigod.

[3] God has two forms, roll again on appearance. Shifts between forms every few thousand years.

[4] This God has a minor domain. Roll again on Domain list, they are a secondary deity of that.

[5] Appointed to Judge souls of mortals for the afterlife, favors giving out harsh punishments. If the God of Death is present, then they are the Judge while this God is the executioner.

[6] God is bound to a specific place in the divine realm, such as being chained to their anvil or locked in a dungeon as punishment by the Prime deity. They can only answer to followers in secret.

[7] God has a cutesy softie hobby, like tending a small garden or giant bunny rabbit pet that they groom every night. If anyone messes with it they go ballistic.

[8] God has an Astra- a powerful divine weapon. 1 in 4 chance they didn't make it, but stole it from someone else instead, keeping it because it's so powerful. Hesitant to lend to mortals.

[9] God has a powerful magical item, such as magic cloth to make invisibility cloaks or a magic hat that lets them teleport to under any friendly sky. Very powerful if dropped into mortal realm.

[10] God plays a musical instrument very well. If they're the God of music, then they practice with a weapon instead, keeping this art hidden for self defense.

[11] God is racist towards a specific group of mortals other then their own. Known as a symbol for smiting down members of that mortal race.

[12] This God forged a magical island in the world, which they retreat to sometimes. Mortals can sometimes see them here out the corner of their eye or as a breeze, which could be seen as a sign of good luck or incredible misfortune depending on the God.

Demigod Table – 1d6

[1] Generate a random monster. This Demigod is merely a huge, powerful monster.

[2] Roll on God appearance table, rerolling on a 6. This Demigod just wanders the Earth in secret.

[3] Roll on God appearance table. Demigod is a loyal servant of the heavenly hierarchy despite minor status; enthusiastically guards the divine vaults or beats up demons who wander from hell.

[4] Instead of a single child, a single species of animal was born into this world in the resulting explosive birth; roll a Random Animal. All animals of this type are slightly sacred to these people.

[5] Prime God did not approve of this child's creation, and believed it to be a degeneration of the divine bloodline. This Demigod was forcibly turned into a major magic item instead.

[6] Roll once on God appearance table, rerolling on 6. Then roll on the Unusual God appearance table. This Demigod has these as two separate forms they can turn into; but lose control during an astrological event and turn into their more monstrous form and go on a rampage.

Random Pantheon Generation Example - Elf Pantheon

Here is a randomly generated Pantheon for Elves I made using my Pantheon generator. Follow the instructions here if the instructions in that were too complex for you.

First, I decided Elves would be pretty gender-equal, so I just rolled on the Appearance table to determine the Prime God. Then, I rolled a 1d8 for the Prime God creation story.

1, 1. Young-Adult male God who was born by a powerful primordial entity and usurped it take power. I decided to skip a step and just determine the God of these Elves would be the God of Beasts & the Hunt, perhaps being born by a cosmic entity of a powerful beast, and then killing it to overpower the monster with skill and archery. Works for me. Then, I generated a Young-Adult female companion for this God by rolling a 1d20 on the Domain table. She rolled a 7, so Love & Children. Pretty basic.

So, these two Gods will have 1d6+2 children. I rolled a 4+2 for a total of 6 Second Generation Gods. We've got a decent amount of rolling ahead of us.

For the secondary Gods, we roll appearance first;

1. Roll 5, Roll 1. Androgynous Youth, God of the Skies & Storms. I've rolled a lot of 1s.
2. Roll 1, Rolled 7. We'll reroll that since it's taken, got 4. Young male God of Harvest.
3. Roll 5, Rolled 15. Androgynous Youth God of Assassins and Poisons. I'll pick snakes- we'll leave the Spiders for the Dark Elves.
4. Roll 6- Unusual! It was a 6, roll again on appearance. It was a 6. So we'll roll again on Unusual. We got a 1, so a pair of opposite gender twins who are beasts. I decided on something appropriately elf-y for them and for their domain roll, which was a 16 again! We'll say they have poison fangs then; their real domain was 8, for the Forge and Craftsmen.
5. Roll 1 again, Rolled 19. Young Male God of Madness. Our quirk roll was 5, so he's in charge of giving out judgment in the afterlife and he is insane. Maybe this is why Elves live so long. Maybe it's a religious metaphor for death being uncertain- so live a long time!
6. Rolled 5 again- Good lord. At least this Pantheon is appropriately androgynous for the Elves. Rolled the domain of 11 for Ale and Revelry. Weird for a kid God but ok. In order to balance out the scales a bit, we'll say this last God is truly a female, just looks like a kid and is androgynous. She gave up her growth so she could make the first wine “grow” instead. Makes sense for her to shack up with the God of Harvest, since he'll tend to her Grove. If you know what I mean.

Now for the second generation of Gods. We only have one proper couple, the others being androgynous kids, and a pair of twins. We'll say the twins had a kid of their own, or “crafted” one using their powers, since they are ugly compared to the beauty of elves and wished they were more like their father. Perhaps the reason elves don't find poison dishonorable is because of these two; the young god of poison is more like poison in nature, but gave that knowledge to the crafter gods, so they could teach the hunter elf prime god to put poison on his arrows. Makes sense.

Now the God of Harvest and Goddess of Wine are the only normal gendered pair in the secondary generation. However both due to the age difference and the fact this Pantheon is getting a little large for my sample generation, we're just going to say they have a more platonic relationship instead of rolling on the relationship table. He harvests the grapes that she makes into wine, and she makes the wine which lets him relax after a hard days work (hard work for an elf, anyway.) We'll just make a 3^rd generation God from the twins instead.

They rolled a 4, so an adult female elf. Nobody has been old/mature on this table yet except her, which works well for elves. I should probably mention that “mature” means a totally adult, where as young adult means in early twenties, since it fits better for Gods then being old. Her domain roll was 12, which is the Hearth and Spinning, so that works basically perfectly, at least for old Elves. We'll say she's the inventor of Glint, an old and very homespun type of elf magic. Maybe she's not actually old, but just wise, since Elves don't really get old. Depends on your setting, I guess.

So anyway, looks like we're done! This is the basic Pantheon. We could easily add a few more elements; let the God of the Harvest have a asexual reproduction event or match him with our Goddess of Spinning, or creating a demigod that could end up as a monster. We could also let the twin monster God/Goddess of the elves create more offspring or their own demigods, or maybe their own powerful Astras to represent their race. But hopefully this taught you how to use the Pantheon Generator, which is the post following this one. Hope you enjoy.