[d20] Melinya: Mage in Black

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virgil
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[d20] Melinya: Mage in Black

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Melinya: Mage in Black
You are part of a mysterious organization of wizards - patrolling the tens of millions of people in the mundane world. We are at war with hostile beings and forces beyond their mundane understanding, and they must never understand. Beside us, every man, woman, and child that knows about magic weakens our defenses and risks invasion from the Other Side. To keep mundanes ignorant, we have directed their society; from the creation of the monastic Celm faith to the death of the All-Father, the last full-blooded elf.

You will conform to the identity we give you. You will have no identifying marks of any kind. You will not stand out in anyway. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory. You won’t even be able to speak of magic except in vague circumlocution, silence is your native tongue. You are above the system. Over it. Beyond it. We’ve got a Stage Two Lycanthrope loose in Kaivitu. Take care of it. Remember...no mundane must even hear rumours.


Mage in Black is a homebrew d20 game set in a high fantasy world where players play members of a faction of wizards whose purpose is to enforce a masquerade among the mundanes for their protection. They begin as socially invisible itinerants, eventually proving themselves to be competent enough to begin maintaining a mundane identity with social power. Once they have proven themselves fully proficient in maneuvering through the mundane world, simultaneously advancing themselves further into study of the mystic arts, they earn the title of Archmage and their responsibilities stretch into the Other Side. The mind of a human or elf, once they know of magic, generates pressure against the boundary between the mundane world and the Other Side. The more they know, the greater their damage to the boundary. This threat drops off to essentially zero once the mind’s education reaches the level of a fully-trained wizard.
There are three independent societies of wizards with operations in the mundane world, each having different opinions in how to manage society. While their goals are ultimately the same, it is not an association free of conflict. The three societies are the Pursuit of Syncretic Injunction, State Solidarity, and the Quorum of Intuition; and players begin as recent graduates of QI.

Quorum of Intuition
Science, math, and empirical thought are hallmarks of QI’s goals to prevent the mundanes from discovering magic. The founders are strongly of the opinion that educated, curious minds are the greatest risk to the Masquerade. As breeding out or even killing signs of intelligence would ultimately destroy their own population, it was believed that fostering an environment where intelligence is both fostered and easily directed would provide the best of both worlds. In the two realms dominated by QI policies, Axphain & Zuvendis, an intellectual elite is honored along with an equally strong sense of emulated skepticism; making dismissive denial of unexplained phenomenon a virtue.
The Master and Fellows of the Academy of the Unseen Hall of the Institution of Intuition, shortened to just The Academy, is QI’s school for newly enrolled members to arcane society. Built entirely within a pocket dimension, any who enter the school are forbidden from leaving until they understand magic well enough to pose no threat to the mundane world. A typical stay in the Academy lasts for a decade. Matriculation and graduation is mandatory for all members of the Quorum of Intuition, the rare dropout subject to either a deep memory wipe or live the rest of their days in a pocket dimension.

Pursuit of Syncretic Injunction
Religious dogma & conservative values are the hallmarks of what is supported by the PSI. It had been discovered by the founders of PSI that understanding is as important as awareness for a mind to threaten to the boundary, and so had taken the stance that management is one of misinformation. Western Alahbmah & Tii both maintain a culture of religious authority figures that emphasize introspection over investigation of the environment. The widespread success of the Celm faith, with its belief in strange entities and events being hallucinations due to empathic imbalance, has been a source of great pride among the Council.

State Solidarity
Of the three factions, the State Solidarity feel that the original motivation behind the original support for the All-Father to be worth building upon. Rather than directing authority upward to a single individual, nationalistic pride to the State itself is encouraged as a monolithic authority figure. While Gallina & Rotak have yet to reach this state, the SS’s end goal is to make society not only not question the unexplained, but to report those who do; allowing their operatives to openly suppress knowledge of the supernatural.
Character Creation Race
There are only two fully sapient races, human and elf, and culture has evolved with the intermingling of the two races. Beyond the edges of o the known world, explorers have returned with stories of empty ruins that look as if built for a race that was decidedly inhuman.
  • Elf Strictly speaking, the only elf known has been the All-Father. Currently, every elf in the known world is part-human with direct lineage to the All-Father. Use the statistics given in the PHB for the elf, even if their blood is only 1/8th non-human.
    Half-Elf A human that can claim at least 1/32 of their heritage to derive from the All-Father is given the statistics of a half-elf.
    Human The All-Father's regime was long, and his blood has intermingled deep through society. Three centuries after his fall, his heritage remains a powerful draw for higher social rank. As an ethnically pure human is physically identical to a human six generations removed from the All-Father (or more, if other elf-blooded people intermingled), it is common for people to fabricate some familial relation to validate their success.
Spellcasting & Training
Every member of wizarding society is given sufficient training to practice the art of magic, which at the beginning of a campaign is only barely enough for their minds to no longer generate pressure against the boundary to the Other Side.
  • True Magick To prepare or cast a spell, a wizard must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a character's spell is 10 + the spell level + the character's Intelligence modifier. Like other spellcasters, a character can only cast a certain number of spells per day. Their base daily spell allotment is two first level spells at level 1, which raises to two second level spells at level four, and become two third level spell slots at level six. A character can cast spells while wearing armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.
    A character prepares and casts spells the way a wizard of equal level does. A character may prepare and cast any spell from any spell list, provided that they can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during their daily meditation.
    Mage Sight (Sp) Can cast detect magic & read magic at will.
    Arcane Education Spellcraft is always a class skill and the wizard has maximum ranks in it without spending any of their own skill points.
    Tradecraft Gain Eschew Materials as a bonus feat, and the Conceal Spellcasting as a bonus skill trick. If the observer is untrained in Spellcraft, then they are at a -10 to Spot to notice the spellcasting.
    Seal of Silence All members of QI, before entering the mundane world, are given an enhanced arcane mark on their body. This gives them a +10 to Disguise checks for a specific cover identity, as well as a +10 to both deliver and discern secret messages. In addition, the seal is a mind-affecting compulsion that makes the bearer unable to directly speak/write of magic.
Class
Every player has levels a ‘muggle’ class, something that can pose as insignificant and nomadic in the normal world. Level progression works as follows
Itinerant You have just graduated from The Master and Fellows of the Academy of the Unseen Hall of the Institution of Intuition, usually called the Academy. This dimensionally isolated pocket dimension educates new members of QI enough to be safe to the mundane world, and you have been given the task of protecting the barrier. Years of social isolation at a young age have left the player characters ignorant of much in the mundane world, so life begins as an itinerant, low on the social totem pole. This gives time to acclimate to the culture, and a term of service before promotion lasts for three levels.
  • Beggar
    Base Attack Bonus As per Fighter.
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Poor Ref, Good Will
    Skill Points 6+Int
    Class Skills Bluff (Cha), Knowledge: Local (Int), Perception (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Scrounger, Social Invisibility, Stoic
    2Barge, Panhandling, Sidetrack
    3Alms for the Poor, Cling, Headlong Rush, Mithridatic

    Scrounger: Has maximum ranks in Survival, which can be used in an urban environment.
    Social Invisibility: Able to use the Stealth skill even without cover or concealment, so long as they are in an appropriate area and make no threatening action (drawing a weapon, aiming a ranged weapon, etc). Social Invisibility is an enchantment (compulsion), mind affecting ability.
    Stoic: Gain Diehard & Endurance as bonus feats.
    Barge: Gain Improved Bullrush & Improved Overrun as bonus feats.
    Panhandling: Able to use Survival in place of Perform when earning money by begging in the streets.
    Sidetrack: When performing the Creating a Diversion to Hide or Feint action with Bluff, you can grant the benefits to an ally rather than yourself.
    Alms for the Poor: The character can target a creature within 30’ that is able to see and hear them. The distraction of a nearby combat and other dangers prevent this ability from working. If the targetted creature fails two consecutive Will saves with a DC equal to the character’s Survival check result, they will give the character their least valuable item. A creature cannot be the target of this ability more than once every 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent, compulsion effect.
    Cling: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity and gain a +4 bonus when performing the Grab On action.
    Headlong Rush: When you successfully bullrush or overrun an opponent, you automatically Trample them, inflicting damage equal to a natural slam attack for a creature one size category larger than you.
    Mithridatic: You are immune to ingested poison and have a +4 bonus to saves against all other forms of poison.
  • Rat Catcher
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Good Reflex, Poor Will
    Skill Points 6+Int
    Class Skills Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Info (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Perception (Wis), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Feral Empathy, Hunting Companion, Sneak Attack +1d6
    2Camouflage, Swift Tracker, Stab & Grab
    3Pestilent Health, Ten in One Blow, Sneak Attack +2d6

    Hunting Companion: Begin play with a companion selected from the following list: rat, cat, owl, viper (tiny), terrier (as per weasel, remove attach, add diehard & track as bonus feats). The companion gains the abilities of an an animal companion by a druid of equal level and a familiar for a wizard of equal level. In addition, the companion threatens as a medium creature in combat.
    Feral Empathy: Has maximum ranks in Handle Animal
    Camouflage: With a full-round action, using available materials and survival equipment, the target creature will blend in with their environment and gain a +4 bonus to Stealth checks until they move more than 10’ from their location.
    Swift Tracker: Suffer no penalty for tracking with the Survival skill when moving at normal speed, and only a -5 penalty when moving twice normal speed.
    Stab & Grab: After a successful sneak attack, you may perform a sleight of hand maneuver as a swift action with a +4 bonus.
    Ten in One Blow: Melee weapons are treated as area attacks against swarms.
    Pestilent Health: Immune to the effects of all diseases, but the body retains it when exposed until[ cured.
  • Troubadour
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Poor Fortitude, Good Reflex, Good Will
    Skill Points 6+Int
    Class Skills Bluff (Cha), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Knowledge: All (Int), Language, Perform (Cha), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Tumble (Dex)
    LevelBenefits
    1Classically Trained, Fascinate, Foreigner, Quick Change
    2Mock, Tale of Overcoming Hardship, Quick Draw
    3Prank, Shanty, Tale of Revenge

    Classically Trained The character has maximum ranks in Perform.
    Fascinate The character can target up to their level in creatures within 90’ able to hear and see each other, and able to pay attention to them. The distraction of a nearby combat and other dangers prevent this ability from working. If the targeted creatures fail a Will save with a DC equal to the character’s Perform check result, they are fascinated for as long as the character concentrates. A creature cannot be the target of this ability more than once every 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.
    Foreigner With a Gather Information (DC 10) check interacting with a community, the character becomes sufficiently familiar with the language of the area (-5 to Charisma-based skill checks if the language is otherwise unknown) and is considered local for Knowledge (Local) skill checks. In addition, the character is proficient with the racial weapon of the primary demographic. The benefits of both last until the ability is used in a different community.
    Quick Change Able to make a Disguise check as a standard action without penalty.
    Mock As a full-round action, the character can target a number of creatures equal to their level who can see and hear them up to 90’ away and fail a Will save with a DC equal to the character’s Perform check. Failure sends the creature into a barbarian rage without the bonuses. The rage lasts until they spend a standard action and make a successful Will save (DC 10+½ level+Cha mod). This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.
    Tale of Overcoming Hardship Grant a single re-roll to any failed saving throw made within the next 24 hours to any who listen to your tale for an hour and have an Intelligence of 8 or higher. A character cannot benefit from more than one Tale of Overcoming Hardship at a time.
    Quick Draw Gain Quick Draw as a bonus feat.
    Prank Using a standard action and a blanket or similar item, force an adjacent enemy to make a Reflex save (DC 10+½ level+Dex mod) or be blinded until they or an ally spends a full-round action to remove the material.
    Shanty While singing, all allies within 60’ of the character who can hear the song and join in can use the minstrel’s Perform check instead of the following: Constitution checks made to continue running, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from starvation or thirst, Fortitude saves made to avoid nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments.
    Tale of Revenge Grant Favored Enemy as a 1st level ranger for 24 hours to any who listen to your tale for one hour and have an Intelligence of 8 or higher. A character can only benefit from one Tale of Revenge at a time.
  • Thug
    Base Attack Bonus As per Fighter
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Poor Reflex, Poor Will
    Skill Points 4+Int
    Class Skills Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str), Use Rope (Dex)
    LevelBenefits
    1Street Fighting, Rage, Trustworthy, Wrecker
    2Curb Stomp, Grit, Stout
    3Sucker Punch, Brutal, Iron Stomach

    Streetfighting: You are considered proficient with any improvised weapon and gain a bonus to attack and damage with such weapons equal to your level.
    Rage: As a barbarian of equal level, all Thug abilities can be used during rage
    Trustworthy: Sense Motive checks are at a -10 penalty to use Hunch regarding you.
    Wrecker: Gain Improved Sunder as a bonus feat.
    Grit: As a swift action, gain DR 5/nonlethal until the beginning of your next turn.
    Curb Stomp: Any opponent you flank provokes an AoO when they are successfully attacked by an ally.
    Stout: Gain a +4 bonus to saves against poison and disease
    Sucker Punch: When you successfully attack a flat-footed opponent, you may spend a swift action to automatically make the attack a confirmed critical for nonlethal damage.
    Brutal: If you deal 10 or more damage with a single attack, you may spend a swift action to make the target sickened until they spend a full-round action to recover.
    Iron Stomach: Whenever forced to make a saving throw against poison, gain 2d6 temporary hit points.
  • Tinker
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Poor Fort, Good Reflex, Poor Will
    Skill Points 4+Int
    Class Skills Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int)
    LevelBenefits
    1Jury Rig, Scavenging, Journeyman, Trapfinding
    2Trap Sense, Know Your Product, Prankster
    3Sales Pitch, Hoodwinker, Sabotage, What’s Mine is Yours

    Jury Rig: With one minute of work, you can repair a broken item as if using the make whole spell, but will show obvious signs of its temporary repairs. This is a temporary fix, and the item will return to its original state whenever the user rolls a natural 1 while using it.
    Scavenging: So long as debris and trash is available, reduce the cost & time to craft an item by 75%. The crafted object will show its quality and its base hit points and hardness will be half the regular value.
    Journeyman: Have maximum ranks in Disable Device and Craft.
    Trapfinding: Gain a bonus to skill checks to detect and disable traps equal to level.
    Trap Sense: Gain a bonus to Reflex saves and AC against traps equal to your level.
    Know Your Product: When crafting a weapon or armor, you can add the personal touch to it and make yourself proficient with it, regardless of other circumstances. Any other person who uses the object treats it as jury rigged, and it will gain the broken condition if they roll a natural 1 while using it.
    Prankster: Setting a trap is a full-round action that provokes an AoO. Artisan’s tools for the occasion are required to produce a proper trap. Such traps fill a 5’ square, cannot share a space with another such trap, and is chosen from the following list.
    • Tripwire mechanical; location trigger; no reset; Atk +10 melee touch (trip); Search DC 15; Disable Device DC 15
      Bucket mechanical; location trigger; no reset; Reflex DC 15 avoids; Search DC 22; Disable Device 18; dumps alchemical flask, dye, or foul-smelling material on subject
      Alarm Bell mechanical; location trigger; no reset; noise Listen DC -5; Search DC 20; Disable Device 15
    Sales Pitch: While in conversation, and attempting to make a trade, you can force an adjacent creature that can hear and see you to be fascinated if they fail a Will save (DC 5+½ level+Cha mod). Once fascinated, the subject will be willing to sell their most valuable physical possession on their person for any proffered item that is worth 1gp or more. Unfair deals will not be recognized as such until pointed out by another person.
    Hoodwinker: As per Prankster, with the following additional traps to select from.
    • Crossbow mechanical; location trigger; no reset; Atk +10 (1d6/x3, bolt); Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 20
      Snare Trap mechanical; location trigger; no reset; Atk +5 melee touch (net); Search DC 20; Disable Device 20
    Sabotage: The sabotage feature of the Disable Device skill can be applied to any item, including weapons and armor, to gain the broken condition after 1d4 rounds of use.
    What’s Mine is Yours: You can perform the Disarm maneuver against any object that isn’t closely worn (armor, boots, rings, etc). Loose items, tucked in a belt or loosely attached (brooch or necklace) have a -5 to their AC. Fastened items, such as sheathed weapons, cloaks, or pouches, have a regular AC.
    ”Broken” wrote:Items that have taken damage in excess of half their total hit points gain the broken condition, meaning they are less effective at their designated task. The broken condition has the following effects, depending upon the item.
    • If the item is a weapon, any attacks made with the item suffer a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Such weapons only score a critical hit on a natural 20 and only deal ×2 damage on a confirmed critical hit.
    • If the item is a suit of armor or a shield, the bonus it grants to AC is halved, rounding down. Broken armor doubles its armor check penalty on skills.
    • If the item is a tool needed for a skill, any skill check made with the item takes a –2 penalty.
    • If the item is a wand or staff, it uses up twice as many charges when used.
    • If the item does not fit into any of these categories, the broken condition has no effect on its use. Items with the broken condition, regardless of type, are worth 75% of their normal value. If the item is magical, it can only be repaired with a mending or make whole spell cast by a character with a caster level equal to or higher than the item's. Items lose the broken condition if the spell restores the object to half its original hit points or higher. Non-magical items can be repaired in a similar fashion, or through the Craft skill used to create it. Generally speaking, this requires a DC 20 Craft check and 1 hour of work per point of damage to be repaired. Most craftsmen charge one-tenth the item's total cost to repair such damage (more if the item is badly damaged or ruined).
Status Proven proficient in the ways of mundane culture and knowledgeable of its population, the player character has been promoted. A new cover identity, with prestige and influence, is crafted and bestowed to the character. Responsibilities are raised as well, with the expectation to also engage in social engineering as dictated by commands from upper reaches of the hierarchy. As before, this tour of duty ends after three levels, when the character has proven themselves competent.
  • Coroner
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Poor Reflex, Good Will
    Skill Points 4+Int
    Class Skills Appraise (Int), Heal (Wis), Notice (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Formal Training, Certification, Lie Detector, Sneak Attack +1d6
    2Field Surgery, Battle Surgeon, Autopsy
    3Sneak Attack +1d6, Guilt, Subdue

    Formal Training: Automatic maximum ranks in Heal. If you already have ranks in Heal, you gain a number of bonus skill points equal to what’s already been spent to place on any other skill.
    Lie Detector: You can cast discern lies at will. Anyone who succeeds at a Will save will be immune to its effects for 24 hours.
    Certification: With a DC 15 Heal check and a swift action, determine the current HP of the target. The same modifiers from Spot apply to this Heal check.
    Battle Surgeon: First Aid, Treat Poison, and Treat Wound are move actions. Long Term Care requires only 10 minutes.
    Field Surgery: With 15 minutes of treatment & a successful Heal check (DC 20), convert all damage on a subject to nonlethal damage and make them fatigued. Performing field surgery on an exhausted character requires one of two Fortitude saves (DC 15) to succeed or die.
    Autopsy: With a successful Heal check (DC 20), you learn cause & time of death, size and approximate strength of assailant, and similar key information.
    Guilt: As a move action, declare a subject to be guilty and incite righteous violence against them, granting all who hear a +4 bonus to weapon damage, Bluff, Notice, Sense Motive, & Survival skill checks against them for 10 minutes. A person can only gain the bonus against one target at a time.
    Subdue: You are considered one size category larger for purposes of grappling and suffer no penalty to checks from dealing nonlethal damage in a grapple.
  • Captain
    Base Attack Bonus As per Fighter
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Good Reflex, Poor Will
    Skill Points 4+Int
    Class Skills Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Notice (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Martial Training, Drill Sergeant, Teamwork
    2Rally, Frightful Presence, Survivor
    3Recruit, Inspiring Command, Counterattack

    Martial Training: You are considered proficient with all weapons, armor, and shields. In addition, you automatically gain maximum ranks in Sense Motive. If you already have ranks in Sense Motive, you gain a number of bonus skill points equal to what’s already been spent to place on any other skill.
    Teamwork: You and allies who flank with you gain a +4 bonus when flanking instead of the normal +2.
    Drill Sergeant: With a day of training, you can grant proficiency with any single weapon or armor to a maximum number of people equal to your ranks in Sense Motive. Those granted proficiency in this manner retain it for a week.
    Rally: With a swift action, all allies within Medium-rank and Line of Sight reroll their saves vs Fear and gain a +2 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 minute. This is a language-dependent ability that may be used an unlimited number of times.
    Frightful Presence: Whenever you perform a dramatic action (attacking, roaring, etc), opponents with fewer HD and within 30’ must make a Will save (DC 10 + half level + Cha modifier) or be shaken for 1 minute. An opponent that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the same Captain’s frightful presence for 24 hours, and is considered a mind-affecting fear effect.
    Survivor: Gain the Endurance and Die Hard feats as bonus feats.
    Recruit: You can muster a group of followers. Your leadership score is your ranks in Sense Motive plus your Charisma modifier.
    Inspiring Command: All characters working for the Captain gain a +4 morale bonus to skills checks made in relation to their duties.
    Counterattack: Any creature that attacks the Captain provokes an attack of opportunity against him. If the Captain doesn’t already have Combat Reflexes, he now gains it.
  • Merchant
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Poor Fort, Poor Reflex, Good Will
    Skill Points 6+Int
    Class Skills Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge: All (Int), Perception (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Avarice, Business Acumen, Carpe Diem, Sneak Attack +1d6
    2Logistics, Showpiece Equipment
    3Protection Money, Sneak Attack +1d6

    Avarice: Increase Strength by +5 for purposes of encumbrance, and suffer no armor check penalty or penalty to speed due to medium or heavy loads and armor.
    Business Acumen: Automatic maximum ranks in Appraise. If you already have ranks in Appraise, you gain a number of bonus skill points equal to what’s already been spent to place on any other skill.
    Carpe Diem: Gain Improved Feint & Quick Draw as bonus feats.
    Logistics: Overland travel speed is always calculated as if on a highway rather than trackless, road, or trail. This applies to up to a score of people traveling with the character.
    Showpiece Commission: The character can, over the span of three days, purchase a personalized weapon or armour. A showpiece weapon’s masterwork bonus applies to attacks, damage, and one additional check chosen from the following list: disarm, sunder, trip, or confirmation rolls. A showpiece armor’s armor check penalty is reduced by two and maximum Dexterity is raised by two.
    Protection Money: The character has a contract with a guild that trains and sells the services of elite bodyguards. The body guards available to the character are 5th level human Warriors who have been subject to the Council’s extensive psychological examination and magical enchantments to not only not react negatively to exposure to the supernatural, but be physically incapable of retaining knowledge or even awareness of the supernatural for longer than ten minutes at a time.
  • Monk
    Base Attack Bonus As per Rogue
    Saving Throws Good Fort, Good Reflex, Good Will
    Skill Points 2 + Int
    Class Skills Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis)
    LevelBenefits
    1Diplomatic Immunity, Meditation
    2Endurance of the Mind, Heedless Strike, Oracle
    3Deflect, Induce Trance, Injured Gambit

    Diplomatic Immunity: Character is under the effects of a sanctuary spell. A creature that makes the save or is attacked by the character is immune to the effects of this ability for 24 hours. This ability is always active while the character is visible as a monk, and is treated as a language-dependent compulsion effect.
    Meditation: Automatic maximum ranks in Autohypnosis. If you already have ranks in Autohypnosis, you gain a number of bonus skill points equal to what’s already been spent to place on any other skill.
    Endurance of the Mind: Character is constantly under the effects of the endure elements spell. They also use their Concentration skill in place of Constitution when resisting starvation, dehydration, suffocation, and forced march.
    Heedless Strike: When making a power attack, the attack roll penalty can apply to Armor Class instead.
    Oracle: The character can cast hypnotism at will, with no hit die limit, by going through the motions of giving an oracular vision. A creature is immune to further attempts to use this power for 24 hours, and gains a +4 bonus on its saving throw if they are not a humanoid due to difference in culture. This is a language-dependent compulsion effect.
    Deflect: Gain Deflect Arrows as a bonus feat. This feat can also be used against melee attacks.
    Induce Trance: Character can apply the effects of autohypnosis onto another character within reach. This is a language-dependent compulsion effect.
    Injured Gambit: The character, when making a melee attack, can provoke an AoO with their target in exchange for their attack dealing double damage.
Setting Mundane World
The known world of Melinya was commanded by the only known full-blooded elf, the All-Father. His origins are unknown, but his rule was absolute for two millennium. As part of his reign, the most important marriages were legitimized by his right to father the first child of the union. During his rule, a titanic road had been constructed throughout Melinya, permitting ease of travel and enforcing a unification of language over the first centuries of his conquest.
Three centuries ago, civil war erupted for independence from the All-Father, who died in the chaos. This became known as the Birth of the Nine Ways, and the independent regions went on to form nations. As time passed, the nations revised themselves while others fell to conquest, and another dissolved from diaspora. The nations as they are known today, have been largely stable for the last eighty year except for Zuvendis (founded forty years prior).
Aside from isolated and dying folk religions, Celm is the only religion practiced throughout Melinya. Similar in most ways to monastic Buddhism, it includes a robust mythology of goetia-style demons formed & existing entirely within each person’s mind.
  • Gallina: All roads lead to Gallina, this trade metropolis is essentially a corporate nationRotak: Plateau of essentially Elf Sparta with technical school dojo mastersWestern Alahbmah: Rural salt flats with giant Celm templesTii: Big farms and joint control between old monarchy and Celm knight templarAxphain: Bayou plantations and London-style slums supporting amazing advances in medicine and academic elite in their awesome universities
    • Typical Fauna: Stirge, Crocodiles, Snakes
    Zuvendis: Deserts and strip mines, the hub for what will soon become a technological revolution
Iccu
Image
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 6d8+30 (57 hp)
Init: +2
Spd: 20'
AC: 21 (-1 size, -2 Dex, +14 natural), flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+12
Full Attack: Claws +7 (1d8+6)
Space/Reach: 10'/5'
Special Attacks: Paralytic Tentacles (DC 18)
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60', Low-light vision, Immunity to Poison
Saves: Fort +10, Ref -1, Will +6
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 7, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: Climb +13
Feats: Endurance, Improved Natural Armor, Pack Mule
Organization: Solitary, Herd (6-12)
Challenge Rating: 3
Paralytic Tentacles (Ex) An iccu can transfer grabbed victims from its claws to its tentacles as a move action. The tentacles grapple with the same strength as the claw but deal no damage, but instead exude a paralytic secretion. Anyone eld in the tentacles must succeed on a DC 18 Fortitude save each round on the iccu's turn or be paralyzed for 6 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based. While held in the tentacles, paralyzed or not, a victim automatically takes 2d6+2 points of damage each round from the creature’s mandibles.
Shell (Ex) As a move action, an iccu can curl itself up into a ball for protection. It cannot move or attack as long as it remains in this state, but its armor bonus from natural armor increases by 4 as long as it does. It may end this state with a move action.
Carrying Capacity A light load for an iccu is up to 600 pounds; a medium load, 606-1200 pounds; and a heavy load, 1201-1800 pounds. An iccue can drag 9000 pounds. Because of the Pack Mule feat, the iccu's speed is not changed by a medium or heavy load.
Other Side
Beyond the barrier surrounding the dimensional boundaries of the mundane world is what arcane society collectively calls the Other Side. A myriad of dimensions connect to each other like soap bubbles, coexisting in the same way as the Ethereal and Material plane. Every plane is varied in size, yet ultimately finite, and slowly move around and in and out of alignment with each other in a dance none can fully comprehend. Planes can simultaneously coexist with multiple other planes, and each one in turn is coexistent with their own collection of planes. Just by moving from dimension to dimension in a series of connections, a traveler can find themselves far from home.
  • Travel on the Other Side Travelers using ethereal jaunt and etherealness see their home plane through the mist, just as if they were on the Ethereal Plane. In fact, they are on another coexistent Material Plane and can interact with creatures and elements there normally. Because every plane is coexistent with several other planes, a traveler could continue to shift through world after coexistent world, getting farther and farther afield from the home plane while the spell lasts. When ethereal jaunt ends, travelers are pulled back to the home plane. But when etherealness ends, characters can remain on the new plane if willing.
    Spells such as astral projection and shadow walk fail to operate unless such planes are coexistent with the caster’s current plane, which is rarely the case.
    Solace & Sanctity of the Mind[/b] Of the great variety and potential among Outsiders in the multiverse, there is a universal truth of the human mind, it is foreign to all life on the Other Side. No Outsider has yet been encountered that can exercise mental control over a humanoid from the mundane world (including charm and compulsions effects that grant the caster ongoing control over the subject, such as dominate person), nor divine the contents of their minds with effects such as detect thoughts (though direct communication as used by telepathy or comprehend languages still function). Even their psychology is difficult to fathom, inflicting a -10 penalty to all Sense Motive checks. Not even the dark gods or nobles of the Six-Element Stewards have evidenced any ability of breaking this limit. Note, possession and direct physical control of the body remains possible, though in the case of possessing entities they do not gain the ability to access memories or skills. Wizards, being natives of the mundane world, are not subject to this restriction.
The mundane world is surrounded by what is commonly referred to as the Boundary, a transdimensional shell that insulates the mundane world from contact with any other plane. A plane that would normally coexist with the mundane world instead coexists with the Boundary, and all forms of planar travel between the mundane world and the Boundary fail except for use of specialized portals crafted along with the Boundary itself. Not even titanic magics such as wish have been able to surmount this restriction. The portals themselves reflexively close when magic or beings not native attempt to cross them. Additional portals, better known as tears, form in the presence of mundane awareness of the supernatural; these tears permit the passage of extraplanar magic and entities, but the maximum strength of such invaders is capped by the size of the tear.
Boundary
Subjective Directional Gravity
Normal Time
Self-contained Spherical Shape
Alterable Morphic
Strongly Neutral-Aligned
Normal Magic
A nearly smooth, featureless, steel grey flat plain that goes out into a curved horizon. Above is a kaleidoscope of colourful ribbons and spheres against a hoary background that itself shifts to an unknown cause.
The alien entities that inhabit this myriad cosmology are collectively called Outsiders by the wizarding community of the mundane world. An overwhelming majority of Outsiders encountered have proven to be actively apathetic toward humanity, too wrapped up in their own causes and the multiversal community at large. There have been very few successful, long-term acts of diplomacy with any group, the Jejunus Aggregate being the biggest success story. Validating the policy of the masquerade among the mundane world, however, are several Outsider factions actively hostile to humanity as a whole. These include the Host of Scitolok with Three Shadows, Iruvatar the Unending, and the Six-Element Stewards.
  • Host of Scitolok with Three Shadows Originally a wall that separated three demiplanes, a series of unlikely events resulted in it becoming an exceedingly powerful interdimensional conqueror with multiple personalities that calls itself Scitolok. It has since expanded its realm to include not just the three planes it separated, but several others in a campaign of slaughter. Survivors are subject to all manner of forms of generational conditioning into a collective war machine. All three faces of Scitolok have a vested interest in conquering humanity.
    Iruvatar the Unending The most individually powerful of the three hostile factions, and also the most inscrutable. Iruvatar is believed to be a fixed point in time and space, which is supported by its use of temporal-manipulation magicks and disproportionate resilience. A driving motivation behind its actions seems to be from a deeply fatalistic viewpoint that it’s both already done the deed and is destined to do what it sees itself currently doing. While there have been known instances of Iruvatar performing an inarguably good act, it has generally been a force of destruction through the planes. For the last two centuries, Iruvatar has made motions to disrupt and exterminate the human species. Whether it’s through engineered armies, redirected planar phenomena, cult-directed doomsday plots, or simple assaults through projections.
    Six-Element Stewards Originally in friendly contact with the wizarding community, several clashes due to unexpected differences in culture followed by a realization of the existential threat humanity poses have made the Stewards now at war with the mundane world. A super majority of the Stewards are made up of genie-folk. Though they are multicultural enough to incorporate other races in their community, many of their concerns reflect the concerns of genie-kind. Of particular note is that they are vulnerable to manipulation by others who speak their true name, and humans are distinct among the planes for being one of the very few species with properly shaped organs to actually speak their true names, and outnumber the other non-genie species who share the same capability by several orders of magnitude.
    Jejunus Aggregate A strongly communal society, the Jejunus are a race that is best described as disembodied reptilian heads with stars for eyes. Wizards on several occasions have saved the lives of many Jejunus from the predations of other races, and several profitable trade agreements have been arranged with all three wizarding factions, culminating in a pact where every member of the Jejunus treats any wizard they first meet as a trusted friend until proven otherwise.
Last edited by virgil on Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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fbmf
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Post by fbmf »

Are you reviewing someone else's work, or is this Your Own Invention?

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Post by virgil »

It's my own invention. It still needs more work on the setting, such as further detail on the nature of threats from the Other Side that manage to cross over. And it certainly needs more work on the rules, as going past 6th level will graduate the players to Archmagi; which will work in a similar manner to Koumei's Dungeon Crusade on the jump to Siege Tier.
Last edited by virgil on Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by DrPraetor »

Is everything native to the Other Side hostile (Outsider = demon), or are some of them beings you can keep as pets / allies / hangers on / able to disguise as humans?

Do they have an agenda other than invasion? Monster hunt might get old. So I suggest, there are farm demons that want to promote agriculture, and you need to get the muggles to appease them, without knowing or believing that they exist?

Are there adversaries who are opposed to the masquerade? They can't be prevalent, obviously - or they would just win. But isolated cults that worship Outsiders would make nice WH40K antagonists, and you have a better than usual excuse to go 40K inquisition on them.
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Post by virgil »

This is a tentative outline for the Other Side, as some may find flaws in it. As a summary, it's a dimension of Steves (Ditko); with the Doctor Strange multiverse as the primary aesthetic.
Boundary Forged deep in the past, keeping out the innumerable entities of the Other Side. While absolute against powers of great strength, entities of comparatively minuscule power and solidity have an easier time penetrating the Boundary, like krill through a net. Where the boundary is weak, more powerful creatures can extend their influence or even completely penetrate and walk upon the mundane world. Rare is the entity to make their presence overt, as no Outsider is aware of the Masquerade and know themselves to be in hostile territory policed by wizards.

Outsiders Alien entities of even more alien geometries abound on the Other Side, and are collectively called Outsiders by the wizarding communities. The overwhelming majority have proven themselves to be uncaring of the world within the boundary and its inhabitants. There have been a small handful of instances of peaceful contact, such as the Jejunus Aggregate, a race of disembodied reptilian heads with stars for eyes. Major factions have proven to be actively hostile to humanity, such as the Host of Scitolok with Three Shadows, a malevolent triad of gods that refer to themselves as a single entity and have conquered tens of dimensions.

Sanctity of Mind Despite the variety of form and ability among the Outsiders, there does exist a universal truth that the human mind is equally strange and foreign to all life on the Other Side. No Outsider has yet been encountered that can exercise mental control over a human (including enchantment (charm) and (compulsion) effects that grant the caster ongoing control over the subject, such as dominate person), nor divine the contents of their mind with effects such as detect thoughts (though direct communication, such as the telepathy or comprehend languages still function). Even their psychology is difficult to understand, and Outsiders suffer a -10 penalty to all Sense Motive checks against human behavior. Not even the dark gods have shown any evidence of breaking this rule. This does not rule out possession or gross physical control of the human body. In the case of possessing entities, they do not gain access to the victim's memories or skills.
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Post by DrPraetor »

So like the Demons from Master of the Five Magics? There are lots and lots of hell dimensions full of stuff that wants to invade?

Do the wizards have overt magic that they practice in secret and such? Are there ancient civilizations to dig through? Can different races of Outsiders all understand eachother? So for example can the Jejunus Aggregate cast Charm Demon on the minions of the Host of Scitolok?

What about animals? Can demons mentally dominate those, do they have a penalty with handle animal checks?

It's find if the covert demons have big social penalties, but I still want them to have cults.
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Post by virgil »

DrPraetor wrote:So like the Demons from Master of the Five Magics? There are lots and lots of hell dimensions full of stuff that wants to invade?
Never read that book, so I couldn't tell you. It's not that there are lots and lots of hell dimensions; most of the multiverse doesn't give a flying flip about the mundane world. The fact there exists any hostile hell dimensions, even if only a couple, is sufficient to be an existential threat to humanity; and if there isn't a corresponding and benevolent equivalent, it's enough for wizards to largely group the Other Side as overall hostile.
Do the wizards have overt magic that they practice in secret and such?
Yes. I took the simple way to represent that by having PC spells pull from any spell list in 3.X. Even were I to have the wherewithal, wizard magic would err on the side of showy except for memory manipulation and spells of stealth.
Are there ancient civilizations to dig through?
It's a world with thousands of years of history, an explicitly extinct race, and the original nine nations formed after the fall of the All-Father have winnowed down to six. There's certainly conceptual and believable room for archaeologists to exist.
Can different races of Outsiders all understand eachother? So for example can the Jejunus Aggregate cast Charm Demon on the minions of the Host of Scitolok? What about animals? Can demons mentally dominate those, do they have a penalty with handle animal checks?
The mental shielding is intended to be unique trait among humans (technically all intelligent life from the mundane world); so a Jejunus is quite capable of casting dominate monster on an elephant or even a Scitolokite. Note, I was careful to not describe humans as immune to mind-affecting; they are still vulnerable to a phantasmal killer and similar magicks. They're also still vulnerable to other humans using mental domination.
It's find if the covert demons have big social penalties, but I still want them to have cults.
The social penalty is only against understanding humans or seeing through their lies. Scitolok is still quite capable of lying to humans, and were a human to experience a vision of someone offering power if they killed a kitten, and that vision turned out to be valid...
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Post by virgil »

Further detail on the planes beyond the mundane world, to give an idea of what players will interact with once they hit level 7+
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