Proposed Game: Desire and the Dead (Tome)

[Avoraciopoctules]

I'd like to check to see how much interest there'd be in me running a Tome-conversion of the planewalker.com module Desire and the Dead here. It's intended for very low-level PCs (1-3), and my inclination would be to start PCs at two or three, then move up when they make significant achievements, probably to a max of four or five.

This is a city adventure where the PCs are hired to stay in a particular district of Sigil and do crime control, though there is of course more to it than that. A fair amount of combat, a number of RP challenges, and at least a couple mysteries.

Ideally, PCs would be powerful, but not so much that a midlevel cleric with a half-dozen ogres or high-level lich (both built at least a little suboptimally, the lich uses direct-direct damage spells as combat mainstay) would be something they'd consider assaulting unless forced. A rogue that fought with a sword and was houseruled to deal sneak attack damage against zombies would contribute

Some houserules:
-Pick whatever ability scores fit your character concept. I'd prefer that you not take 17s or 18s, though, since that's going to put you dramatically over the attributes of all the opponents you face. If you decide that your PC should have all 16s, that is perfectly okay.
-I go with "Them and Us" initiative. In combat, PCs go first unless they are being ambushed. Any action order.
-If you don't post for a while, I or another player will take over your PC.
-One Minor magic item per level. Other character wealth is whatever seems appropriate for your PC
- Combat is going to be streamlined. Ideally, players would post their general tactics, and I'd advance the combat until the tactical situation changed. If the PCs are all high-AC warriors, I'll probably just describe them fighting off the Hive gangers pretty much effortlessly, not taking a single scratch.

EDIT:

First draft index of houserules so far:

EDIT:

Houserules So Far:

General Combat:

Combat is going to be streamlined. Ideally, players would post their general tactics, and I'd advance the combat until the tactical situation changed. If the PCs are all high-AC warriors, I'll probably just describe them fighting off the Hive gangers pretty much effortlessly, not taking a single scratch.

Custom Material:

I'm not banning anything specifically. If you want to play one of the many homebrew classes floating around the Den, you are welcome to. I'd personally probably grab Koumei's Sohei or Frank's Soulborn if I were playing in this, maybe grab some of my Mystic Dilettante feats. Power creep is only an issue if it means the PCs can easily take on things like the two NPCs mentioned above. But being practically unhittable or throwing out a bunch of attacks that each kill a mook is fine. Throwing out a save or lose that wipes a routine encounter is fine.

Ability Scores:

Pick whatever ability scores fit your character concept. I'd prefer that you not take 17s or 18s, though, since that's going to put you dramatically over the attributes of all the opponents you face. If you decide that your PC should have all 16s, that is perfectly okay.

Initiative and post frequency:

I go with "Them and Us" initiative. In combat, PCs go first unless they are being ambushed. Any action order.

If you don't post for a while, I or another player will take over your PC.

Skills:

I find myself tempted to go with my very lazy skill houserules for this game. They go as follows:
1. You have the same skill list as in regular 3.x
2. For each skill, if it looks like something your character would be good at, give max ranks. If it looks like something your character would be competent at, give a number that reflects how well you think they should do with it.
3. Try and keep things reasonable.


Knowledge Creation

Sometimes, a PC may wish to add something to the game world which is not specified (such a city, organization, place, event, or anything similar) or has not been mentioned before. Characters can use the Knowledge skill to generate such content.

Check: The player who wishes to add the content calls an appropriate Knowledge skill, depending on the content that he or she seeks to add (sometimes, multiple skills may be appropriate here). The DC of the check varies, and is set by the DM based on how plausible it sounds, as well as how well it fits with the world as a whole. If the check succeeds, the given fact is true, the given place or individual exists, etc. On a failed check, the given fact is false, the given individual doesn't exist etc, or, on occasion, a given fact is true, but in an unexpected way.

Example: A player wants to generate a thieves' guild in a city that he is going to, and specifies that he happens to know someone in it. The DM considers this quite plausible, and sets a DC of 20. The player decides that Knowledge (local) is most appropriate skill, but only gets a result of 18. The DM now has two options - he either declares that the thieves' guild doesn't exist, that the guild exists, but the PC doesn't know anyone there, or that the guild exists, and the PC does know someone there, but that someone hates the PC for some reason, or any similar permutation.

Action: As this attempts to answer a question about the world as a whole (even if it never came up previously), this action takes an insignificant amount of time.

Try Again: You cannot usually retry very similar requests, even on different skills. However, it is possible to retry this if used for something significantly new or different.

Special: You cannot use this ability untrained.

Alignment:

Allegiances

Alignment has never worked, in any iteration, and likely never will. As a result, the alignment system is being ditched wholesale. Instead, characters may have up to three Allegiances, which represent individuals, organizations or ideals and concepts that those characters believe in as people. Those who hold Allegiances aren't necessarily totally faithful and obedient – they may well interpret them as they choose, especially when conflicts within their allegiance choices arise. However, a character who has an Allegiance indicates that this person, organization or idea matters to him or her a great deal.

It is possible, though rare, to have characters that have no Allegiances whatsoever. Such individuals have either not made up their minds about the world and their place in it, or are the ultimate loners. While this is certainly possible (and, in some cases, even valid) as a choice, it is fairly rare, and any player who wishes to make a character with no Allegiances at all should justify his or her choice thoroughly.

If a character has multiple Allegiances, they should be ranked in terms of priority. The first Allegiance a character has is always the most important, followed by the second-most-important, and finally by the third-most-important. No character may have more than three Allegiances – while this does not mean a character cannot hold more individuals, philosophies or organizations in high regard, they will not necessarily drive his or her actions, influence their thinking considerably enough, or simply have enough time to divide between them all to make all of them as important as their allegiances.

Allegiances can and do change during gameplay; this is both natural and normal. However, changing an Allegiance is essentially a very big event in a character's life – especially if the Allegiance being changed is a primary one. This represents the character totally changing his or her point of view about themselves and the world around them, and thus, should not be done lightly or frequently. If a player often changes Allegiances, it is quite possible that those Allegiances were never very important to the character to begin with.

HP Rolls:

Let's maximize HP for PCs. Since we may be running combat in several-round chunks at a time, PCs should be more resistant to dying to normal weapon damage.

Special combat maneuvers:

I'm tweaking my concept to fit a bit better with my ideas of how this character would behave, and I came up with a problem.

How the fuck are the overrun rules supposed to work? As written, it seems to be that you can't combine them with charging (which is stupid) and if the enemy doesn't get out of the way you use up your standard action to overrun them (instead of trampling them as you move). It seems with the 3.5 rules you can't overrun more than one person (due to it taking a standard action to overrun).

Can we make overrun just be part of movement or something that isn't headache inducing?

Sure. You can try to move through an enemy's space. If they don't let you, you can make an opposed Grapple check. If you win, they are shoved aside and you can move through. They normally get an AoO, but not if you've got the Edge.

Character Wealth:

You start with a number of minor magical items equal to your level. Since you've got a CR 3 character with you, I'm willing to allow them an extra item of their own. So you could pick the magic barding or the horseshoes, and spend one of your own 2 or 3 items if you wanted both.

You can also have a "reasonable" number of consumables and nonmagic items. If you want a bandolier with 6 healing potions in it, fine. If you want a half-dozen oils that set your sword on fire for an encounter, fine. A masterwork longbow is also fine.

You start with "some money". You can rent a room at an inn without worrying about going broke, but you can't afford to commission a fancy new magic thinblade yet. You can hire some thugs to watch your back, but you can't pay a random level 5 wizard to lob a stinking cloud through someone's window in exchange for shiny golds. Throw too much money around, and you may go down to "not very much money". This is not fun, so I'll probably warn you first.

[koz]

I'd be keen on this. What sort of classes and other stuff are we allowed to use?

[Avoraciopoctules]

I'm not banning anything specifically. If you want to play one of the many homebrew classes floating around the Den, you are welcome to. I'd personally probably grab Koumei's Sohei or Frank's Soulborn if I were playing in this, maybe grab some of my Mystic Dilettante feats. Power creep is only an issue if it means the PCs can easily take on things like the two NPCs mentioned above. But being practically unhittable or throwing out a bunch of attacks that each kill a mook is fine. Throwing out a save or lose that wipes a routine encounter is fine.

Some encounters of note include:
- some casters of similar level to the PCs who will not fight to kill
- Level 3 fighter-types, often with support from level 1 warriors
- small groups of level 2 fighter types
- puzzle monsters who are unlikely to kill the PCs
- bunches of level 1 warriors
- some low-level fiends
- NPCs who are obviously powerful, but unlikely to fight unless pressed.

It will be possible for the PCs to recruit allies.

[ubernoob]

Lord Peter, Knight of the Order of the Skull

Picture

Background

Lord Peter was born with a Big Mouth, figuratively and literally. Son of a knight of the skull and his mistress, Peter is well aware of his noble lineage and destiny. Like his father before him, he was to be a knight of the skull. Obviously, Lord Peter's blood runs just a little more blue than his father's, but that probably has to due with his Big Mouth. Some people just have more to say. When Lord Peter was 12 he managed to bullshit his way into the service of a squadron of knights of the skull and begin his training. Somehow, his Big Mouth has aided him in learning Big Words not unlike those used in spells to aid his combat abilities.

Peter has a Big Mouth, and he knows how to use it.


Serious description
Yeah, he's level three, trained by the Knights of the Skull, and there isn't much to note (again, level 3). Son of a mistress, doesn't know his father. As far as personality goes, he's very firm on getting his way- stubborn to a fault and willing to go directly through any obstacles instead of around them.

Not the smartest fellow, but he'll do right?

Race and Type: Large humanoid (human)
Class: Soulborn 3
Speaks: Common, Drow Sign Language
Allegiances: The Order of the Skull (primary)
Background: Experimental Stock (bite attack, -3 to saves vs poison)

Str: 20 (+5) (16 base, 2 Mechanus Armor, 2 size)
Dex: 10 (+0) (12 base, -2 size)
Con: 14 (+2) (16 base, -2 bloodsteel)
Int: 12 (+1) (12 base)
Wis: 10 (+0) (10 base)
Cha: 19 (+4) (18 base, 1 enhancement)

Vital Statistics

BAB/Grapple: +3/+16 (3 bab, 8 size, 5 str)
AC: 26, 26 flatfooted, 10 touch (10 base, -1 size, 15 armor, 1 deflection, 1 natural) 20% concealment
Speed: 20ft (30 base, 2/3 for armor with ACP more than BAB, cannot run for ACP >=4 more than BAB)
Initiative:+0
Hit Points: 36/36
Saves: Fort +10(3 base, 2 con, 4 cha, 1 resist), Ref +6(1 base, 4 charisma, 1 resist), Will +8(3 base, 4 cha, 1 resist)
Attack(melee): Soulblades +8(3 bab, 5 str, 1 magic, -1 size) melee 2d8+6 (large bastard sword, 5 str, 1 magic) force 18-20/2 or bite +7 melee 2d6+7
Full Attack(melee): Soulblades +8(3 bab, 5 str, 1 magic, -1 size) melee 2d8+6 (large bastard sword, 5 str, 1 magic) force 18-20/2 and bite +2 melee 2d6+2
Ranged attacks(TWF):
---Barbed Bolas +3 each 1d6+5 piercing each, 10' range, free trip check on a hit
---Javelins +3 each 1d8+5 piercing each, 30' range
Ranged attacks(THF):
---Composite (+5 str) Greatbow +3 for 2d8+5 piercing 20/3, 160' range
Attack options: Power Attack, Expertise, Smite (burn swift action for +cha to hit and +level to damage on all attacks; cannot use for 10 rounds), lift, overrun, trip, Cerebral Assassin

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Soulborn are proficient with all Simple and Martial Weapons, as well as with Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor. Also with Shields (but not Tower Shields).

Soulblade (Su): With a Swift Action, a Soulborn can call into existence a weapon of blue soul fire. The soulblade generally looks like a culturally appropriate bastard sword, but it may appear otherwise in the hands of Soulborn characters from other cultures or with different combat styles. The Soulblade is a light weapon that does a d10 damage and has a threat range of 18-20. It has an enhancement bonus equal to one third of the character's level (round up). While out, the soulblade sheds light like a torch, and it vanishes the moment that it leaves the Soulborn's hand (though it can be recalled at a later time with a Swift Action). This weapon does Force damage and therefore ignores Hardness and is Super Effective against Incorporeal opponents.

Soulmelds (Su): A Soulborn has the ability to call upon a number of special blue glowing intangible wardrobe accessories that cause them to glow blue and gain additional powers. Each Soulmeld is unique, and should have its own name (check the Soulmeld chart below in order to name it). Each Soulmeld has a Basic bonus and a Special bonus. A Soulborn can only use a fraction of the Soulmelds they have at a time. At first level, the Soulborn "knows" 2 Soulmelds and learns an additional Soulmeld every time they gain a Soulborn level. Whenever they gain a level, they may trade one of the Soulmelds they know for a different Soulmeld. The number of Soulmelds that can actually be used at one time is the character's number of Chakras, which is 1 at first level, rising to 2 at 3rd, 3 at 6th, 4 at 9th, 5 at 12th, 6 at 15th, 7 at 17th, and finally 8 at 20th. It takes 1 minute of meditation to change which Soulmelds are available (up to the character's number of Chakras), but only a Swift Action to activate any or all of them. This activation can be combined with the action to activate a Soulblade if desired. Soulmelds shed light as a torch.

If a Soulmeld provides the ability to use an effect a lmited number of times per day, the amount is reset only by having the sun rise or set, not by simply rearranging one's soulmelds. If a Soulmeld allows the casting of a spell, this spell is used as a Supernatural Ability and the caster level is the Soulborn's Level.

Basic Bonuses: Every Soulmeld (even Advanced or Giant-Size Soulmelds) has exactly one Basic Bonus, which is defined when the Soulmld is learned:

• Deflection bonus to AC (1/3 level, rounded up)
• Resistance Bonus to Saving Throws (1/3 level, rounded up)
• Enhancement Bonus to an attribute (1/3 level, rounded up)
• Enhancement Bonus to a Skill other than Use Magic Device (Level + 2)
• Enhancement Bonus to Natural Armor Bonus (1/3 Level, rounded up)
• Spell Resistance (8 + Level)
• Energy Resistance to one Energy type (3 points per level)

Special Bonuses: Each Soulmeld has a Special Bonus. At higher levels, a Soulborn can select their Special Bonuses from the Better list, the Advanced List, or even the Giant-Size list. But at first, they have to make do with this list:

• Nimbus of Light: Sheds light as a Sunrod, once per day per 4 levels (rounded up), the Soulborn can use flashburst (SpC) targeted on themselves. They are immune to the blinding effects.
• Displacement: The character has a 20% Concealment Miss Chance.
• Levitation: The character can hover in the air as per the effects of the spell levitate.
• Counterspelling: The Soulborn can, as an immediate action attempt to counter a spell they can see by making a Dispel check using their level as the caster level.
• Wall Walking: The Soulborn can be attracted to any surface as if to the ground, allowing them to walk or run on walls and ceilings.
• Enlargement: The Soulborn grows as if having been struck with enlarge person.
• Shrinking: The Soulborn shrinks as if affected with reduce person.
• Darkvision: The Soulborn gains Darkvision 120'.
• Animal Summoning: Once per day per Charisma modifier, the Soulborn can summon an animal with a CR half their own or less as a Standard Action. The summoned creature lasts 10 rounds.
• Bolt of Agony: As a standard action, the Soulborn can shoot bolts of soulfire at things within 60'. It's a ranged touch attack that inflicts a d10 of Force damage and forces the target to make a Fortitude Save (DC 8 + 1/2 level + Charisma Modifier) or be dazed for 1 round.
• Silence: The Soulborn can cast silence on themselves at will. Each silence effect lasts until they dismiss it or the Soulmeld is swapped out, but they may only have one silence effect active at one time.

Resilient Soul: A Soulborn of 2nd Level or higher adds their Charisma modifier to all their Saves. If they are for whatever reason already doing that, they get +1 to all saves instead.

Soul Smite (Su): A Soulborn of 2nd Level or higher can declare themselves to be Soul Smiting as a Swift Action. For the rest of the turn, th Soulborn adds their Charisma modifier to their attack rolls and their Soulborn level to their damage rolls on all attacks. When a Soul Smit is declared, it can't be declared again for 10 rounds.

Arcane Sight (Su): At 3rd level, a Soulborn benefits at all times from Arcane Sight.

Pressing Assault (Ex):From 3rd level on, when opponents use a 5' step within the threatened area of the Soulborn this provokes an Attack of Opportunity from them.

Skills

Bluff +12 (6 ranks, 4 charisma, 2 mwk tool)
Diplomacy +14 (4 ranks, 4 synergy, 4 charisma, 2 mwk tool)
Disguise +9 (1 rank, 2 synergy, 4 charisma, 2 mwk tool)
Intimidate +14* (6 ranks, 2 synergy, 4 charisma, 2 mwk tool) *Treated as huge, so +8 vs medium creatures
Knowledge(Architecture & Engineering) +7 (4 ranks, 1 int, 2 mwk tool)
Knowledge(Nobility & Royalty) +8 (5 ranks, 1 int, 2 mwk tool)
Sense Motive +4 (1 rank, 1 wisdom, 2 mwk tool)
Spellcraft +6 (3 ranks, 1 int, 2 mwk tool)
Use Magic Device +12 (6 ranks. 4 cha, 2 mwk tool)

Feats


Juggernaut [Combat]
You are an unstoppable Juggernaut.
Benefits: You may be considered one size category larger for the purposes of any size dependant roll you make (such as a Bull Rush, Overrun, or Lift action).
+1: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity for entering an opponent's square.
+6: You gain a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls to destroy objects. You may shatter a Force Effect by inflicting 30 damage on it.
+11: When you successfully bullrush or overrun an opponent, you automatically Trample them, inflicting damage equal to a natural slam attack for a creature of your size.
+16: You gain the Rock Throwing ability of any standard Giant with a strength equal to or less than yourself.



Two Weapon Fighting [Combat]
When armed with two weapons, you fight with two weapons rather than picking and choosing and fighting with only one. Kind of obvious in retrospect.
Benefits: You suffer no penalty for doing things with your off-hand. When you make an attack or full-attack action, you may make a number of attacks with your off-hand weapon equal to the number of attacks you are afforded with your primary weapon.
+1: While armed with two weapons, you gain an extra Attack of Opportunity each round for each attack you would be allowed for your BAB, these extra attacks of opportunity must be made with your off-hand.
+6: You gain a +2 Shield Bonus to your armor class when fighting with two weapons and not flat footed.
+11: You may Feint as a Swift action while fighting with two weapons.
+16: While fighting with two weapons and not flat footed you may add the enhancement bonus of either your primary or your off-hand weapon to your Shield Bonus to AC.

Cerebral Assassin[Skill]
You out-think your foes, aiming to win before battle starts, and fooling your foes into walking into your expertly laid traps.
Bluff ranks:
0: As a Swift action, you may call an opponent's attention towards you. This brief distraction grants all allies a +1 bonus to strike them until your next turn, and +1d6 damage.
4: Anyone who misses you in melee provokes an attack of opportunity from you. This attack of opportunity may only be used to trip or disarm. You may use your ranks in bluff instead of your BAB on this maneuver.
9: The bonuses improve to +2 and +2d6 respectively. Additionally, if you make a trap, the DC to spot and disarm is equal to the Craft (Trap) check result. Yeah, it's that hard. The trap deals extra damage (if a damage-dealing trap) equal to your Int modifier.
14: Game won't last that long
19: Game won't last that long

Soulmelds

Big and Scary
Enlargement + enhancement to natural armor

There is no Sword
Displacement + deflection bonus

Spider Walks Like This
Wall Walking + spot bonus

Hidden by Shadow
Silence + hide bonus

Equipment
Minor Slotted (3 cap)

Cloak of Charisma
Grants +1 enhancement bonus to charisma.

Vest of Resistance
Grants +1 resistance bonus to saves.

+1 Bloodsteel Mechanus Gear(Knowledge:Engineering)
15 AC (14 base, 1 magic), 0 max dex, -7 ACP, -8 ASP -2 to con score of wearer
4 ranks: +2 bonus to strength.

Other

Wand of lesser vigor
Wand of summon monster 1
Scrolls of Comprehend Languages, Jump, Endure Elements, Disguise Self, Protection from Evil
Some potions of expeditious retreat. Don't ask how many. This is the 'run like hell' button.
Masterwork Barbed Bolas
Masterwork Javelins
Masterwork Composite (+5) Greatbow (with quiver)
Masterwork tool for anything I have ranks in
Backpack with cheap things (rope, rations, etc) in it.

Order

Knights of the Skull

Be afraid. Be very afraid. No, more afraid than that.

Fighting is scary. Battles are scary. Heck, just about anything in a war is scary, and there's a good reason for that. It's called self-preservation. However, fear can be overhyped, causing you to lose a battle before it even starts. By letting your fear control you, you lose the ability and confidence to fight, or, in some cases, put up any resistance at all. This is the true art of the Knights of the Skull - to make their enemies lose the battle before it even begins.

A Knight of the Skull knows that, first and foremost, that bravery is not an absence of fear - that is called stupidity. Fear exists to be conquered, or to conquer, and to a Knight of the Skull, losing to your own fears represents defeat by your own weapon, which is seen as a failure of the highest order. To this end, Knights of the Skull seek to conquer their fears, moreso than other knights, and Knights-Errant of this order regularly have their minds violated by telepathy, and are exposed to sights that would unhinge lesser men beyond all hope. Unsurprisingly, many of them are driven insane by these experiences, but this is of no consequence to this order; those who cannot conquer their fears and retain their sanity are not fit to become knights. Those that survive this are taught how to use the fear of others against them to defeat them without even drawing a blade. By the time they are recommended for the Test, Knights-Errant of the Skull can unsettle whole companies of men and terrify many opponents out of their wits.

To facilitate their intimidation abilities, Knights of the Skull often wear the bones of their enemies, as well as elaborate whole-face helmets made from skulls, from which the order derives its name. Each knight seeks to create his own brand of terror, and thus, their appearance can vary widely. However, one thing is consistent - none of these knights even remotely resembles anything like a humanoid being by the time they reach the rank of Knight. They also seek to terrify those that they fight, sapping their resolve and causing them to lose a battle before it even begins. However, a Knight of the Skull does not need these tricks to win, as they are just as capable with weapons of all sorts as their colleagues.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Knights of the Skull develop, or begin with, abilities relating to telepathy and mental manipulation. Those that possess such abilities often reach Mastery, and are said to be almost impossible to be around, even for those that they mean no harm, due to the palpable aura of fear and revulsion that pervades them. It is also said that the Grand Masters of this order are never seen by anyone they do not intend to kill, for it is said that their mere presence can terrify men to death.

[koz]

Mine will be a female Soldier (Frank's class) flavoured as a Knight of the Order of the Crimson Rose (also by me). Just a few questions:

- Is it OK if I get a fancy mount? It won't be anything outrageous - I'm thinking either pegasus or unicorn.

- Are either of these feats out of line for what you propose (truncated due to apparent length of game)?

Duelist [Combat]

You stab people in the face with nothing but a sword and some shiny pants.

+0: When you are wielding a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, you may add your Int mod to your AC instead of your Dex mod.

+1: You have Edge against any opponent with an Intelligence score lower than you while you wield a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, regardless of BAB.

+6: When you take a standard action to attack, or make a charge attack, you may attempt a called shot. If you do, you take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits your opponent must make a Will save (Int-based) or become disabled for 1 round (the opponent's hit points are not affected by this condition, though the attack itself may affect them).

Scholar [Skill]

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge (any) 0 ranks: If a Knowledge check to identify an opponent gives a result of at least 15 + the opponent's CR, you have Edge against that opponent until its CR increases.

Knowledge (any) 4 ranks: You may take 10 on Knowledge checks, even if stress and distractions prevent you from doing so.

Knowledge (any) 9 ranks: You are adept at identifying monster weaknesses. With a swift action and an appropriate Knowledge check (DC 15 + creature's CR), for 5 rounds, you gain either a +2 insight bonus to attack and damage rolls against that creature, or a +2 insight bonus to the save DC of any save you force it to make (choose one). You may not take 10 on this check.

- Would you be OK with me using an elven thinblade from Complete Warrior? Do you have any rules about proficiencies I need to be aware of?

- How is wealth and magical gear being done in this game? All I really want are speedy horseshoes and magic barding for my mount, and a magic weapon or two plus magic armour for myself.

- Are we having alignment in this game? If so, what interpretation? If not, what alternatives? I propose an 'allegiance' system instead, as it is much, MUCH saner.

- Would you be OK with this variant rule being in effect? It's not a must, but I found it encouraged PC contribution to the game, which is never a bad thing.

Knowledge Creation

Sometimes, a PC may wish to add something to the game world which is not specified (such a city, organization, place, event, or anything similar) or has not been mentioned before. Characters can use the Knowledge skill to generate such content.

Check: The player who wishes to add the content calls an appropriate Knowledge skill, depending on the content that he or she seeks to add (sometimes, multiple skills may be appropriate here). The DC of the check varies, and is set by the DM based on how plausible it sounds, as well as how well it fits with the world as a whole. If the check succeeds, the given fact is true, the given place or individual exists, etc. On a failed check, the given fact is false, the given individual doesn't exist etc, or, on occasion, a given fact is true, but in an unexpected way.

Example: A player wants to generate a thieves' guild in a city that he is going to, and specifies that he happens to know someone in it. The DM considers this quite plausible, and sets a DC of 20. The player decides that Knowledge (local) is most appropriate skill, but only gets a result of 18. The DM now has two options - he either declares that the thieves' guild doesn't exist, that the guild exists, but the PC doesn't know anyone there, or that the guild exists, and the PC does know someone there, but that someone hates the PC for some reason, or any similar permutation.

Action: As this attempts to answer a question about the world as a whole (even if it never came up previously), this action takes an insignificant amount of time.

Try Again: You cannot usually retry very similar requests, even on different skills. However, it is possible to retry this if used for something significantly new or different.

Special: You cannot use this ability untrained.

- Whose skill rules are in effect? The Tome ones, TarkisFlux's work on skills, something else?

- Do you want rolled hit points, average hit points, something else?

Thanks.

[Prak]

I'd be interested in playing as an assimar or tiefling spherelock

[Avoraciopoctules]

I'd be interested in playing this with Frank's Soulborn class. Thinking of doing a fear based character as far as roleplay is concerned. Probably going to draw a bunch of inspiration from Sin's Order of the Skull.

Haven't heard of the source material, but it would be nice to see someone else playing a Soulborn. I'd appreciate it if you didn't use your laser sword to burrow through stone walls.

Mine will be a female Soldier (Frank's class) flavoured as a Knight of the Order of the Crimson Rose (also by me). Just a few questions:

- Is it OK if I get a fancy mount? It won't be anything outrageous - I'm thinking either pegasus or unicorn.

The standard unicorn out of the SRD is fine. I will note that there are a number of alleys, buildings, and so on that it will not fit through, so mounted combat will not always be viable. Sigil as a city is also full of spike-covered buildings and razorvine. High-speed chases could be dangerous on horseback. Finally, it's as smart as a person and capable of speech, so that means you'll be controlling two characters.

- Are either of these feats out of line for what you propose (truncated due to apparent length of game)?

Duelist [Combat]

You stab people in the face with nothing but a sword and some shiny pants.

+0: When you are wielding a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, you may add your Int mod to your AC instead of your Dex mod.

+1: You have Edge against any opponent with an Intelligence score lower than you while you wield a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, regardless of BAB.

+6: When you take a standard action to attack, or make a charge attack, you may attempt a called shot. If you do, you take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits your opponent must make a Will save (Int-based) or become disabled for 1 round (the opponent's hit points are not affected by this condition, though the attack itself may affect them).

Fine, though it means I'll have to re-teach myself the Edge rules. That's probably a good thing, though.

Scholar [Skill]

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge (any) 0 ranks: If a Knowledge check to identify an opponent gives a result of at least 15 + the opponent's CR, you have Edge against that opponent until its CR increases.

Knowledge (any) 4 ranks: You may take 10 on Knowledge checks, even if stress and distractions prevent you from doing so.

Knowledge (any) 9 ranks: You are adept at identifying monster weaknesses. With a swift action and an appropriate Knowledge check (DC 15 + creature's CR), for 5 rounds, you gain either a +2 insight bonus to attack and damage rolls against that creature, or a +2 insight bonus to the save DC of any save you force it to make (choose one). You may not take 10 on this check.

Sure. I'll just assume that you have the Edge on all opponents not several levels above you.

[]- Would you be OK with me using an elven thinblade from Complete
YWarrior? Do you have any rules about proficiencies I need to be aware of?

That's just a longsword with a better crit range, right? Sure, you can use one. You are automatically proficient in it, and you can teach someone else to use one if they have levels in a martial class and a few days of downtime. It'll be harder to find magical thinblades than magical longswords, though. You may have to commission new weapons.

[]- How is wealth and magical gear being done in this game? All I really want are speedy horseshoes and magic barding for my mount, and a magic weapon or two plus magic armour for myself.

You start with a number of minor magical items equal to your level. Since you've got a CR 3 character with you, I'm willing to allow them an extra item of their own. So you could pick the magic barding or the horseshoes, and spend one of your own 2 or 3 items if you wanted both.

You can also have a "reasonable" number of consumables and nonmagic items. If you want a bandolier with 6 healing potions in it, fine. If you want a half-dozen oils that set your sword on fire for an encounter, fine. A masterwork longbow is also fine.

You start with "some money". You can rent a room at an inn without worrying about going broke, but you can't afford to commission a fancy new magic thinblade yet. You can hire some thugs to watch your back, but you can't pay a random level 5 wizard to lob a stinking cloud through someone's window in exchange for shiny golds. Throw too much money around, and you may go down to "not very much money". This is not fun, so I'll probably warn you first.

Are we having alignment in this game? If so, what interpretation? If not, what alternatives? I propose an 'allegiance' system instead, as it is much, MUCH saner.

Haven't thought about it yet. I'm assuming a few changes to the default Planescape setting (finite, planet-sized Outer Planes for instance) already, and I'd be willing to listen to a proposal for a new alignment system.

Would you be OK with this variant rule being in effect? It's not a must, but I found it encouraged PC contribution to the game, which is never a bad thing.

Knowledge Creation

Sometimes, a PC may wish to add something to the game world which is not specified (such a city, organization, place, event, or anything similar) or has not been mentioned before. Characters can use the Knowledge skill to generate such content.

Check: The player who wishes to add the content calls an appropriate Knowledge skill, depending on the content that he or she seeks to add (sometimes, multiple skills may be appropriate here). The DC of the check varies, and is set by the DM based on how plausible it sounds, as well as how well it fits with the world as a whole. If the check succeeds, the given fact is true, the given place or individual exists, etc. On a failed check, the given fact is false, the given individual doesn't exist etc, or, on occasion, a given fact is true, but in an unexpected way.

Example: A player wants to generate a thieves' guild in a city that he is going to, and specifies that he happens to know someone in it. The DM considers this quite plausible, and sets a DC of 20. The player decides that Knowledge (local) is most appropriate skill, but only gets a result of 18. The DM now has two options - he either declares that the thieves' guild doesn't exist, that the guild exists, but the PC doesn't know anyone there, or that the guild exists, and the PC does know someone there, but that someone hates the PC for some reason, or any similar permutation.

Action: As this attempts to answer a question about the world as a whole (even if it never came up previously), this action takes an insignificant amount of time.

Try Again: You cannot usually retry very similar requests, even on different skills. However, it is possible to retry this if used for something significantly new or different.

Special: You cannot use this ability untrained.

Sounds nice upon skimming it. The module is pretty detailed already, but I'm willing to tweak it and insert new stuff. And if the game goes beyond this module, I would be very enthusiastic about the idea.

Whose skill rules are in effect? The Tome ones, TarkisFlux's work on skills, something else?

Haven't thought about it yet. Willing to take suggestions.

Do you want rolled hit points, average hit points, something else?

Thanks.

Let's maximize HP for PCs. Since we may be running combat in several-round chunks at a time, PCs should be more resistant to dying to normal weapon damage.

[Avoraciopoctules]

I'd be interested in playing as an assimar or tiefling spherelock

Sure. If you feel that you need more Spheres to realize your character concept, I'll let you set a feat on fire to get Basic access to another one.

[koz]

Thanks for your prompt responses, Av. Just to clarify a few things you asked for.

Firstly, the fluff both Ubernoob and I will be using:

Knights of the Jungle

Your sword shall strike with all the speed of the cheetah, the strength of the elephant, and the deadliness of the firefly frog.

The jungle is not a nice place. It's full of poisonous bugs, lizards, snakes and frogs, not to mention tropical disease out the wazoo, insane heat and humidity, and trees so thick you can't squeeze past them. If you don't die to one thing, you'll die to another. In order to survive such a hot-house (often, quite literally) of life, you have to be strong, cunning, and very, very resillient.

The jungle is fundamentally not a place for soft, squishy humanoids. However, the Knights of the Jungle believe that those that can exist in such an environment will grow only stronger. The jungle itself is a deadly place, but can be a deadly weapon, too. Its poisons, ground and climate are the weapons and armour of the Knight of Jungle as much as his sword, shield and warhorse (or dinosaur). Additionally, by surviving that place with nothing but what Nature gave them, the Knights of the Jungle prove their worth to Nature, symbolised as the jungle, to fight to protect it from those that would encroach upon it, as well as those who would destroy life. Undead are especially hated by the Knights of the Jungle, as they represent unlife, the very opposite of the jungle, which is life unbound.

A Knight of the Jungle sees nothing wrong with using poison on their blades, creating traps and so forth. While other knights may look down on this as dishonourable, the Knights of the Jungle know that to survive, you must take any and all steps you can. Nature does not forgive the weak or the stupid, and neither do the Knights of the Jungle, both within their ranks and without. At the same time, however, Knights of the Jungle are just as capable of meeting their foes in other environments, for after the jungle, they can survive anywhere.

Knights of the Crimson Rose

Behold the rose; it is beautiful, no? The very symbol of beauty, romance, and passion. But, those who are not careful will find it a vengeful flower, with sharp thorns. So must you be - even in the cruelty of battle, find the beauty; even in the horror of death, find poetry; even in the depths of fear, find music.

Combat is a bad place. A really bad place. People have limbs hacked off, blood is shed in buckets (have you SEEN how much blood comes from a decapitation?!), those fighting get disfigured in ways no-one wants to think about too long - and this is before we chuck in magic, monsters of all sorts, and everything the fantasy world can throw at someone. It's unsurprising that most people find it a place they would rather be as far away from as possible.

However, to a Knight of the Crimson Rose, these things must be dealt with every day, as for any other knight. However, the way they deal with it is to find the beauty in everything - even something as horrific as fighting, mutilation and death. They are contradictory people, speaking of the horrors of warfare and killing in the same breath as describing the beauty of the perfect sword-stroke cleaving through their opponent's neck and the perfection of maiming your opponent's arm tendon so that they can never hold a shield again. Unsurprisingly, many people find them difficult to be around for very long.

At the same time, very few Knights of the Crimson Rose are sadistic or masochistic. They do not believe in enjoying pain, suffering and war, but believe that they are an inevitable part of their life. Thus, in order to survive mentally, they try to find the beauty in it, the need to perfect even the art of killing and death. Many Knights of the Crimson Rose take to poetry, painting or similar pursuits, speaking always of the beauty inherent even in the worst things, and the kernels of goodness in every depravity. On the battlefield, they seek nothing than perfection of each stroke and attack - ending everything in a way that leaves nothing to be desired, perfect, beautiful. A great battle to such a knight is not simply about winning - it is about the joy of cutting down six enemies with one perfectly-angled sword blow, the rapture of decapitating one enemy cleanly, landing no blood on their armour, and the joy of crushing all the hope of their enemies. Resultantly, many Knights of the Crimson Rose toy with their enemies' minds before destroying their bodies, and a fair few opponents openly rout upon seeing a company of the Knights of the Crimson Rose, for they know their reputation for loving their work.

Many claim these knights to be insane, but, as the Grand Master of the Crimson Rose says, to survive a place as insane as the battlefield, one must become just as mad as it is.

Hell Knight

War is Hell. But it is OUR hell!

Fighting is something that puts immense strain on everything humanoids usually hold dear. Families are torn apart, society is warped, and lives, crops and everything else seen as beautiful is destroyed or rendered irrelevant in the face of war. However, during such a time, on the field of battle, the basest human desire to destroy and de-humanise is given free reign, and even encouraged by less scrupulous commanders. It is in this place that Hell truly lies, and the Hell Knights are not far behind.

Seeing all the fruits of peace as ultimately futile and pointless, Hell Knights seek to have war burn forever. However, they seek not simply base destruction, but total eradication of the idea that peace is anything other than a lie to be spat upon. They believe, and seek to instil, the idea that war is the only meaningful thing in existence, and that all other ideas are simply an attempt by the weak to protect them from the predations of the strong. To this end, they seek to bring down all things of art, beauty and peace, and replace them with the fires of war, the only truth in humanity according to them.

Hell Knights have unsurprisingly close links to devils, who encourage them to destroy those who would seek to promote enlightement and move societies away from belligerence and ignorance. However, Hell Knights are nobody's lackeys, as more than one devilish general has discovered. They do not seek power or prestige as much as other knights, instead being willing to propagate their philosophy that war is the one and only truth, and all else is a lie that must be destroyed. Often carrying weapons of flame, and garbed in black armour, Hell Knights are feared even by those they would fight for, as to all others, they seek nothing but war, and would not hesitate to turn their weapons against their former allies should the war end.

The Knights Theurgic

What difference is there between a blade and a spell? Between armour and a magic warding? A horse and a set of magical boots? Nothing but your own ignorance.

When you fight, you do so to win. Those who don't rapidly find themselves on the end of something extremely unpleasant. Unsurprisingly, avoiding 'anything goes' combat is something many people seek to do, as at that point, there is no limit to what people will try. This leads most knights to shun magic - but one order seeks actively to embrace it, claiming that combat is nothing but a cerebral exercise, which can be won through planning, good thinking and, of course, magical assistance.

Unlike many orders, who prioritise combat training hightly, the Knights Theurgic see it as an unnecessary dulling of the intellect. Ultimately, it is by fighting smarter, not harder, that the Knights Theurgic triumph, and their upper eschelons possess some of the greatest military minds in existence. They see magic use as a logical extension of this - after all, why waste a company of knights on something a single earthquake will solve? It is strategically unsound to waste resources performing needless actions simply because it would be considered 'cheating', after all.

However, surprisingly, the Knights Theurgic do not resort to magic to win all their battles. This would be overcommital, something cautioned against by every knight of this order. Only a fool believes that every problem can be solved in the same way, and the Knights Theurgic are not fools. Many of them seek to master additional skills in wide-ranging fields, many being philosophers, mages and similar 'cerebral' professions, while many others spend time thinking of new fighting techniques and new strategic methods, always seeking the goal of winning more efficiently and in a less predictable way.

Because of their nature, Knights Theurgic are not as skilled with the sword and lance as their colleagues in other orders. At the same time, however, nobody surprises a Knight Theurgic - they will have a backup plan, involving defeating you in six different ways, with none of them being escape-able, and if you're lucky enough to bust one, they'll know precisely how to make sure you lose anyway. It is almost impossible to outsmart a Knight Theurgic in a battle, who will fight in the exact way that you do not expect, use the weapon you least prepared for, and will understand the minute weaknesses of any fighting method in seconds. Unsurprisingly, Knights Theurgic are often extremely arrogant, seeing many people, even other knights, as idiots for not understanding something seemingly 'simple', which, in reality, is beyond most normal people's comprehension.

The Undying

What is life? What is death? What difference does it make? There is duty, and all else does not matter.

Duty is part and parcel of every knight's life - it's the only way to ensure that people who make a life out of stabbing people in the face don't suddenly decide to start doing it in stupid ways, or in ways that would cripple their superiors. However, the Undying take this far, far further. A knight of this order never truly leaves it - not even in death. Their duty to the order takes them beyond the grave, and ensures that even it does not claim them easily, with their resolve and need to fulfil their orders driving them far beyond where their bodies should go.

Absolute obedience is the catchphrase of the Undying. Every knight in this order knows that he is not merely laying down his life, but his very existence in service. The training of the Undying is designed to strengthen their bodies, but also their resolve, submitting them to tests that would be considered barbaric by many, while binding them in iron-clad strictures of behaviour which place harsh penalties upon even slight detractions. At all times, they are told that their existence is meaningless, except in service to an ideal greater than themselves.

As a result, Undying Knights simply refuse to believe themselves to be dead until they have triumphed. There are tales everywhere of Undying Knights who held a bridge or a pass for days without rest, food or water; who have charged alone into whole banks of archers, before pulling out the arrows they were shot with and stabbing the defenders with them; who have survived dives into lava; who have rent their enemies apart with their teeth after they had lost their arms and legs; and many similar stories. Where legend ends and truth begins is uncertain, but it is a known fact that an Undying Knight will simply refuse to give up when even the most desperate and determined individuals would have. In many cases, death is no release from this, as the Undying keep many necromancers on retainer to return their most skilled warriors to life. It is actually believed that their current Grand Master is over six thousand years old.

The Perfecti

Perfection is unattainable, you say? Well, does it matter? The task matters as much as the goal, and though we may never reach it, just getting close enough to see it, touch it - that would be enough for anyone.

When you're in a warzone, or even a small battle, you cannot afford to suck, as if you suck, you'll find you have a very short career indeed. As a result, professional warriors spend significant amounts of time ensuring they can be as good as they possibly can, to avoid having their life expectancy cut short (not that it helps much, but anyway). The Perfecti, however, take this one step further, claiming that nothing less than perfection in everything is acceptable. In order to succeed, they say, you must seek to make every motion, every thought, and every attack, absolutely and totally flawless.

The training that would-be Perfecti go through is meticulous beyond belief. Master Perfecti in charge of training are quite literally impossible to please, forcing countless drills because of the error of a single student, and constantly berating those under their training as being slobs, idiots and utterly incompetent time-wasters. A would-be Perfectus needs to master at least four different fighting styles, with meticulity that would shame masters, as well as be proficient in many other areas, such as languages, performance, history and as many pursuits as the Master Perfecti can dream up. For this reason, the majority of the Perfecti are actually Errant Perfecti. Those few who receive the right to be called a Perfecti are smarter than many sages, stronger than many master warriors and more skilled that most veterans. Those who reach Mastery and receive the right to teach others must be greater still, being almost unequalled in everything.

Unsurprisingly, very few survive the gruelling nature of such training, and as a result, the Perfecti are a tiny group. But even a green Errant Perfectus can turn a battle in the favour of his chosen side, while a Master can single-handedly destroy whole armies without breaking a sweat or being challenged. In combat, they perform absolutely everything with utter, inhuman perfection. Even their faces do not show any sign of fear or hesitation as they cut left, right and centre, dropping a foe with every blow, while weaving a web of steel that none can penetrate. It is the worst nightmare of almost any soldier to face a Perfectus, for they will destroy them without even breaking a sweat no matter how hard they try.

It is believed that the Perfecti become less and less mortal as they continue to train, eventually ascending to become divine beings. It is rumoured that any who become the Grand Master of their order totally shed their humanity, becoming akin to outsiders in every way, living forever. Thus, the only way to displace a Grand Master Perfectus would be by single combat - an impossible proposition for all but the most skilled and determined.

Knights of the Skull

Be afraid. Be very afraid. No, more afraid than that.

Fighting is scary. Battles are scary. Heck, just about anything in a war is scary, and there's a good reason for that. It's called self-preservation. However, fear can be overhyped, causing you to lose a battle before it even starts. By letting your fear control you, you lose the ability and confidence to fight, or, in some cases, put up any resistance at all. This is the true art of the Knights of the Skull - to make their enemies lose the battle before it even begins.

A Knight of the Skull knows that, first and foremost, that bravery is not an absence of fear - that is called stupidity. Fear exists to be conquered, or to conquer, and to a Knight of the Skull, losing to your own fears represents defeat by your own weapon, which is seen as a failure of the highest order. To this end, Knights of the Skull seek to conquer their fears, moreso than other knights, and Knights-Errant of this order regularly have their minds violated by telepathy, and are exposed to sights that would unhinge lesser men beyond all hope. Unsurprisingly, many of them are driven insane by these experiences, but this is of no consequence to this order; those who cannot conquer their fears and retain their sanity are not fit to become knights. Those that survive this are taught how to use the fear of others against them to defeat them without even drawing a blade. By the time they are recommended for the Test, Knights-Errant of the Skull can unsettle whole companies of men and terrify many opponents out of their wits.

To facilitate their intimidation abilities, Knights of the Skull often wear the bones of their enemies, as well as elaborate whole-face helmets made from skulls, from which the order derives its name. Each knight seeks to create his own brand of terror, and thus, their appearance can vary widely. However, one thing is consistent - none of these knights even remotely resembles anything like a humanoid being by the time they reach the rank of Knight. They also seek to terrify those that they fight, sapping their resolve and causing them to lose a battle before it even begins. However, a Knight of the Skull does not need these tricks to win, as they are just as capable with weapons of all sorts as their colleagues.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Knights of the Skull develop, or begin with, abilities relating to telepathy and mental manipulation. Those that possess such abilities often reach Mastery, and are said to be almost impossible to be around, even for those that they mean no harm, due to the palpable aura of fear and revulsion that pervades them. It is also said that the Grand Masters of this order are never seen by anyone they do not intend to kill, for it is said that their mere presence can terrify men to death.

Knights of the Chronal Sphere

You have lost this battle ten times already. Do I really need to make it an eleventh?

In a stressful situation, anyone will make mistakes. Part of any combat training, but especially that of a knight, is how to avoid mistakes if possible, but also how to mitigate the mistakes that you've already made to stop them totally ruining the battle for you. However, the Knights of the Chronal Sphere believe that this is not enough, insisting that the best way to deal with mistakes is to make it so they never happened, by reversing, altering, or otherwise playing with time to ensure that they succeed and their enemies fail.

Members of the Order of the Chronal Sphere believe that time manipulation is the key to winning any battle. To this end, their training is highly theoretical, designed to teach them about time and how it can be manipulated. Almost all Knights of the Chronal Sphere possess some manner of supernatural abilities to facilitate their distortion of time, both on and off the field of battle, but unlike most users of the supernatural, they typically do not gain other abilities. However, the roteness and simplified nature of what they have to learn allows even those of relatively limited cerebral capacity. At the same time, however, Knights of the Chronal Sphere are expected to train in martial techniques as much as any other knight, with additional focus given to taking advantage of their temporal manipulative abilities.

Unsurprisingly, the Order of the Chronal Sphere are viewed as extremely unconventional by almost everyone, including other knights, who often view their unique methods of fighting as cheating. However, the Knights of the Chronal Sphere insist on making their tampering with the time stream to be invisible to those that they affect. To an outside observer, it simply appears that the knight knows what you will do before you do it, and reacts accordingly, even using information he could not possibly possess at the time. While certainly impressive, a trained viewer can see the slight shift in the world every time a knight such as this alters time in his favour. Additionally, Knights of the Chronal Sphere often appear to move faster than they should, sometimes by a very great and noticeable degree. While others may decry this style as being nothing more than magical wiles, every knight of this order knows that, were it that simple, everyone would do it too.

The Watchers of Klovis

Knowledge may be power, but information is victory.

On the field of battle, or even in the smallest skirmish, information is highly important. So highly, in fact, that people regularly have to risk their lives to obtain even the tiniest bit of useful information, and fighting forces everywhere have to be extremely careful to avoid letting even the most minor detail slip, because the person who has more information will have more guidance to how they should prepare, and thus means that their plan can be far more ironclad than their opponents, with more ability to plan for the plan going wrong. The Watchers of Klovis believe this very strongly, seeing information and its control as being vital to the success of any fight, big or small, and thus try to have as much information about everything as possible.

While calling them scholars would be inaccurate, the Watchers of Klovis certainly exhibit many of their traits, seeing knowledge and information as more valuable than gold and lives, frequently using information as bargaining chips between each other. At the same time, however, they are extremely skilled spies and informants, having been trained in persuasion, intimidation and stealth, as well as various methods of information-gathering and its use. While their training resembles than of spies or assassins more than knights on many occasions, which frequently causes the order to be accused of being dishonourable and disrespectful of everything it is to be a knight, the Watchers know that it's ultimately the accusers that will look like weak knights when their Master will lose the Duel of Equals because his opponent knew that he favoured his left hand. Additionally, in wartime, many commanders, and indeed, even other knightly orders, often use them as a source of information and intelligence, as the order is at times more effective than the finest spies.

While they do train in the methods of the assassin and the quiet kill, the Watchers are still knights, and can fight on the field of battle, where their presence is just as well-received as any other order. In direct combat, you can trust a Watcher to know precisely where to strike any given opponent to inflict the most damage, the single weak point in even the greatest warrior's style, and every bit of information there is to be had about demons. To this end, a Watcher's combat style tends to be very fluid, focusing on adaptability and circumstances more than drills and practice, and, unlike most knights, Watchers see no purpose in sticking to any manner of rules when fighting, leading to many other knightly orders accusing them of cheating. This is also not entirely true - the Watchers are not without honour, they simply understand that on occasion, it must be discarded in light of conflicting information.

The Structure of the Knightly Orders

Although they vary widely by philosophy, and frequently name these ranks differently, the knightly orders nearly always ascribe to a structure very similar to the one described here.

Grand Master

At the top of a knightly order sits the Grand Master, a venerable knight, veteran of many battles, and often widely respected for his achievements both on the field of battle and off it. It is common for this position to be held by only a single knight, although some orders believe a council of such individuals to be better. Regardless, the position of a Grand Master is nearly always for life, but at the same time, any knight that can defeat a Grand Master can become one. While an incredibly daunting task for many, it ensures that Grand Masters must keep their skills sharp, thus ensuring that the order receives strong and effective leadership.

Grand Masters rarely take to war, but when they do, they are a potent symbol of the order's power on the battlefield. If a Grand Master becomes involved, it is likely that the very survival of the order is at stake, and even the lowliest Man-At-Arms will fight all the harder if they know that their Grand Masters are among them.

Master

After a certain time in any order, a knight becomes eligible for Mastery, which is typically a test of great difficulty, even compared to the Test of Knighthood. Each order possesses different test, but they all share one thing in common: those who fail usually don't survive. As a result, the number of Masters is small, but they gain one of the greatest privileges of being in an order: the right to teach those would would join it.

Because of this, Masters tend to be highly individualistic, frequently broadly interpreting (or re-interpreting) the philosophy and methods of their orders in a way that would not be permitted to ordinary knights. However, the Test of Mastery is designed to indicate that the candidate is following the philosophy and methods of the order, and has not waivered from them. Thus, those that truly would muddy the teachings of the order are weeded out in the most final way possible, leaving only the best examples to pass on the teachings of the order to the next generation of knights, tempered with experience outside the fortresses of the order to lead the order to greater heights.

Usually, there is a small number of Masters, not exceeding twenty, unless the order in question is extremely large. It is the opinion of all order members (including Masters themselves) that a smaller number of better Masters is significantly better than a larger number of inferior Masters. Additionally, when two orders run afoul of each other, it is traditional to attempt to settle the problem by the Duel of Equals, which is nearly always dealt to by Masters. There is no greater honour for a Master than defeating the Master of another order in single combat.

Knight

Those Knights-Errant deemed sufficiently well-trained and well-versed in the wisdom of the order are typically recommended by the Master in charge of their training for the Test of Knighthood. These tests only take place a few times each year, during occasions deemed important to the order's history. The Test is highly specific to the order in question, but is usually not fatal, although those that fail will frequently be scarred, either physically or mentally, and it is considered greatly disrespectful to one's Master to fail a Test, leading to much derision of Knights-Errant who fail. However, those that pass this Test gain the right to be called Knights, and become proper members of the order.

The majority of the order proper is comprised of knights, with some exceptions. These are capable warriors, serving the order in whatever capacity the order sees fit. At the same time, knights are expected to continue to maintain the highest standards, not to fail to practice their weapons and other skills which the order deems important, as well as to uphold the tenets of their order. Those that fail at this can have their knighthood stripped from them - a fate which every knight dreads, as Masters are loath to recommend such 'backsliders' to the Test. Due to this, there is significant competition among individual knights, which is encouraged by their orders to ensure that all remain skilled and vigilant.

When an order marches to war, knights usually form the majority of its fighting troops, with assistance provided by the Men-At-Arms. A single knight is normally chosen to lead the expedition (or defence, as the case may be) from his peers, though in particularly large and significant conflicts, a Master or even a Grand Master may lead. The number of knights in the field and back at the order's fortresses is split roughly halfway, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

Each knight receives certain privileges from his order, depending on the nature of the order that he joined. This often includes, but is not limited to, the right to live in their own rooms, rather than the order barracks, the right to servants, access to the order's best weapons and training manuals, and quite frequently a continent of Men-At-Arms under his command. However, there are multiple other benefits across orders, such as access to magical libraries, great items of power, or even a form of training unavailable to Knights-Errant, as well as many others.

Due to the lethality and difficulty of the test for Mastery, very few knights ever go above this rank. As a result, knights who have served more than a certain number of years (usually ten, but this varies) are called Veteran Knights, and are frequently deferred to. However, this rank is rarely, if ever, formalised, being more of an honorific, with any benefits gained from it being largely out of respect rather than structure.

Knight-Errant

Those who wish to join a knightly order proper (rather than becoming one of its Men-At-Arms) must begin at this rank. These would-be knights come from all manner of backgrounds; some are the younger and unruly sons of wealthy individuals, others see something in common with the order that they are joining, while others are too poor to have anything to lose. Orders typically hold Trials to determine who joins and who doesn't, but an individual who is wealthy or powerful enough can often use his power or influence to ensure that someone is accepted into this rank without a Trial. Those that go in through a Trial are frequently called 'honest men', while the names thrown at those who get in without a Trial are best not described here.

The life of a Knight-Errant is ultimately one of endless work. It is the opinion of many orders that it is better to be too strict than too lax with Knights-Errant, and many orders submit their Knights-Errant to things that even the most cruel wizard would not demand of his apprentices. Even if they join a (relatively) humane order, 'character building' by the Masters they are assigned to often involves tasks even servants would not find tolerable for long. Additionally, the conditions that Knights-Errant have to live under tend to be rather simple, to the point of discomfort not being uncommon: they tend to have to reside at large communal barracks, eat their meals communally, and possessing very little time that is not spent studying or training. While some orders do give days off, these tend to be rare, and nearby towns learn to dread those days, as Knights-Errant tend to have significant frustrations to vent.

How long one must remain a Knight-Errant is entirely down to their supervising Master, which means that, while some Knights-Errant remain such for a relatively short time, while others spend many years, and a few never ascend at all. This can often cause a lot of bad blood between Knights-Errant, and Masters must keep discipline extremely tight to avoid full-scale brawls breaking out.

Knights-Errant rarely go out to war, except in fairly rare cases, usually involving the order's survival being at stake.

Men-At-Arms

Not everyone has what it takes to be a knight. However, at the same time,the orders do not only require knights, as there are many things, both on and off the battlefield, that knights are unsuited to. This is the job of the Man-At-Arms - part foot soldier, part messenger, part militaman, part everything else. These are the workhorses of the order, typically unseen and unrecognised, but vital all the same.

Becoming a Man-At-Arms is usually fairly simple - orders always need more. The only conditions tend to be having to wear a livery, living in an order fortress and undergoing simple military training. The majority of Men-At-Arms actually never get to see combat at all, being used in rear-eschelon work such as supplies, communication and tending to the steeds of the knights. However, each one knows that there may come a time for them to lay down their lives for the order, even though they are not really a part of it as such.

In terms of training, Men-At-Arms are as good as the average town militia, with some being more skilled, and a rare few being equal to the knights they serve. Those who show particular talent in things martial are sometimes put through a Trial, but this is considered uncommon. However, where they excel tends to be equipment, as Men-At-Arms are frequently much better-equipped than a town militia. Additionally, their discipline, reinforced with simplified order principles, means that they will fight on for much longer than most militias would.

Generally speaking, Men-At-Arms are seen by most of the orders that they serve as being servants, who frequently treat them as such. While they have relatively little respect, belonging to an order, even this indirectly, has substantial benefits: the Men-At-Arms know that their families are safe within a fortress, and they are paid far better than they could doing many other jobs, with reasonably good living conditions. However, even this does not prove enough of an incentive for many, which is why there is a constant need for more Men-At-Arms in every order.

Fully down with the unicorn - will use one.

Excellent news on the feats, thank you.

I hear you on the thinblades, but this won't change whether I can start with one, I assume.

For my alignment alternative, I'll just cite something I wrote a while ago elsewhere:

Allegiances

Alignment has never worked, in any iteration, and likely never will. As a result, the alignment system is being ditched wholesale. Instead, characters may have up to three Allegiances, which represent individuals, organizations or ideals and concepts that those characters believe in as people. Those who hold Allegiances aren't necessarily totally faithful and obedient – they may well interpret them as they choose, especially when conflicts within their allegiance choices arise. However, a character who has an Allegiance indicates that this person, organization or idea matters to him or her a great deal.

It is possible, though rare, to have characters that have no Allegiances whatsoever. Such individuals have either not made up their minds about the world and their place in it, or are the ultimate loners. While this is certainly possible (and, in some cases, even valid) as a choice, it is fairly rare, and any player who wishes to make a character with no Allegiances at all should justify his or her choice thoroughly.

If a character has multiple Allegiances, they should be ranked in terms of priority. The first Allegiance a character has is always the most important, followed by the second-most-important, and finally by the third-most-important. No character may have more than three Allegiances – while this does not mean a character cannot hold more individuals, philosophies or organizations in high regard, they will not necessarily drive his or her actions, influence their thinking considerably enough, or simply have enough time to divide between them all to make all of them as important as their allegiances.

Allegiances can and do change during gameplay; this is both natural and normal. However, changing an Allegiance is essentially a very big event in a character's life – especially if the Allegiance being changed is a primary one. This represents the character totally changing his or her point of view about themselves and the world around them, and thus, should not be done lightly or frequently. If a player often changes Allegiances, it is quite possible that those Allegiances were never very important to the character to begin with.

Essentially, this is much more realistic and less 2D than alignments, with far fewer arguments into the bargain.

I've used Knowledge Creation in the past in a few games I have run. It is immensely useful, as it both takes some of the effort off the DM, and also allows players to meaningfully contribute to the setting. It also makes Knowledge skills more valuable - something I heartily endorse, being who I am.

The Tome skills (basically, Iameki's patches) are pretty much essential for them to work in general. TarkisFlux had a thread, which is now being turned into a sourcebook on the DnD Wiki, about making skill users more useful and suchlike. The thread is here. I haven't playtested this myself, but it seems cool and interesting, at least.

Thanks for the maxxed HP, too - helps heaps, especially at low levels. Does my unicorn get this too?

I should have a 'skeleton' of a build posted soon.

[Prak]

I'd be interested in playing as an assimar or tiefling spherelock

Sure. If you feel that you need more Spheres to realize your character concept, I'll let you set a feat on fire to get Basic access to another one.

Ok, cool.

So if I get the adventure concept right, it's kind of a city watch thing? We're employed to "keep the king's piece"?
which piece?

Sounds good... but then I've obviously been reading the Night Watch storyline of Discworld...

[koz]

Lady Alice, Knight of the Order of the Crimson Rose

Picture (spoilered for people with shitternets)

Background (spoilered for easy navigation)

Some say the nobility have it easy, but in truth, it simply a different set of jobs and responsibilities. For the males of any noble line, there is much work to do in terms of hunting, horseriding and the arts of war, but for females of that line, the focus is far elsewhere. Alice, with her two younger brothers Damian and Josh, was not particularly pleased with the idea of being raised to become a bride to some noble idiot. Possessed of a keen mind and a desire to learn more, she would, even as a child, spend hours reading books in her father's library, and rapidly learned of faraway lands and unusual beasts with unusual capacity. She would also regularly go riding and sparring with her younger brothers, learning the craft of the sword and the lance. Their training partner, a distant cousin named James, was their constant companion, and Alice quickly learned to fight in unusual ways, learning how to fight better than the drills would teach them. As they learned to fight, they also heard many stories from their training masters, of knights and their orders. She was especially taken with the stories of the Knights of the Crimson Rose, their unusual and difficult mental situation mirroring her own in surprising ways.

However, it was not to last, and as Alice grew into a beautiful and intelligent young woman, discussions at home turned to marriage. However, none of the prospective suitors interested Alice at all - they were all stupid compared to her, interested only in money, fancy clothes or even more banal subjects. Likewise, very few of them took her at all seriously, whether in the library or on the training mat, and thus, noble after noble was spurned by her. She also had fewer and fewer opportunities to see her brothers and their sparring partner, as she was expected to learn to be ladylike, with less time given to things that would not help in attracting a husband.

When James, who she secretly had strong feelings for, was engaged to be married, she finally decided that she could not lead the kind of life everyone else wanted her to. That very night, she told her parents that she was going to join the Knights of the Crimson Rose, whether they wanted her to or not.

Naturally, this did not lead to anything positive from either of her parents, who considered her delusional at best. It was only with the help of an uncle, himself a Knight of the Crimson Rose, that she was able to even visit the Order, and only her mind and persistent nature convinced the Master Knight who she was introduced to that she was worth accepting into training. Upon learning of this, her family disowned her, leaving her without a last name, and without any goals or purpose in life other than her future knighthood. She passed the Trial with remarkable ease, and became a Knight-Errant. Her speed of learning and willingness and ability to train impressed everyone, as well as her new-found love toward painting, which she practiced daily along with all her other training duties. She took her love of learning and reading with her to the Order, spending many hours poring over books about monsters and magic, learning as much as she could. She studied the exotic fighting styles of the monstrous races, and sought to adapt them into her own training. It was perhaps this that gave her an advantage over other Knights-Errant, who mostly saw her as a pretty face to be pursued. Alice was never pleased with this, and would regularly seek to spar or even outright fight with anyone who tried to court her in this fashion. However, she was not without heart, and had several relationships during this time, though all of them ended after several months, as she found that even the smarter ones among them were not interesting enough to keep her occupied for long.

It took her only about five years to become a full knight, which was unusually fast for the Order. Having been made a Knight, Alice declared her desire to spread the message of the order, becoming a wandering knight. She was granted this dispensation, with the Order's blessing, and has wandered ever since, searching for her next goal in life.

Race and Type: Medium humanoid (human)
Class: Soldier 3
Speaks: Common, Elven, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan
Allegiances: The Order of the Crimson Rose (primary), Master Knight Sir Valanar Tyberian, The Thrice-Born
Background: Royalty of a fallen nation (well, sorta)

Str: 12 (+1)
Dex: 13 (+1)
Con: 16 (+3)
Int: 16 (+3)
Wis: 10 (+0)
Cha: 14 (+2)

Vital Statistics

BAB: +2
AC: 23, touch 13, flat-footed 20
Speed: 20ft (in armour)
Initiative: +1
Hit Points: 33/33
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +4
Attack: Sword of Stars +7 melee (1d8+2 piercing) or Large masterwork greatbow +7 ranged (2d8+4 piercing)

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: Alice is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, any orc, goblin or human exotic weapons and the elven thinblade. She is proficient with all types of armour, and all shields (including great shields).

Soldier Manoeuvres: Alice's manoeuvres take a standard action and are extraordinary abilities unless otherwise noted.

Secrets of Battle: Alice adds her Intelligence modifier to her attack rolls, up to a maximum of +3.

Stances: If Alice is not flat-footed, she may engage a stance at the cost of one swift action per round.

Hardened Survivor (Ex): Alice has been through a lot in her training, and thus adds her Constitution modifier to her Survival checks instead of her Wisdom modifier. She also increases her death margin by her ranks in Survival.

Wearing Shoes (Ex): Alice has read enough to understand how practically anyone thinks. As a result, she gains a bonus on Disguise checks equal to her ranks in Disguise, and suffers no penalty for disguising herself as a different race.

Lucky (Ex): Getting to where Alice got requires no small amount of luck, and Alice has plenty of that. She gains a luck bonus to her saves equal to Constitution modifier, to a maximum of +3. She also never has to make saves against massive damage.

Skills

Climb +1 (6 ranks, +1 Str, -4 ACP)
Craft +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Diplomacy +8 (6 ranks, +2 Cha)
Disguise +14 (6 ranks, +2 Cha, +6 wearing shoes)
Handle Animal +8 (6 ranks, +2 Cha)
Jump +3 (6 ranks, +1 Str, -4 ACP)
Knowledge (arcana) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (local) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (nature) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (religion) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Knowledge (the planes) +9 (6 ranks, +3 Int)
Perform +8 (6 ranks, +2 Cha)
Ride +9 (6 ranks, +1 Dexterity, +2 synergy)
Survival +9 (6 ranks, +3 Con)
Swim -1 (6 ranks, +1 Str, -8 ACP)
Tumble +3 (6 ranks, +1 Dex, -4 ACP)

Feats

Duelist [Combat]

You stab people in the face with nothing but a sword and some shiny pants.

+0: When you are wielding a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, you may add your Int mod to your AC instead of your Dex mod.
+1: You have Edge against any opponent with an Intelligence score lower than you while you wield a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, regardless of BAB.

Mounted Combat [Skill]

You fight best while sitting on an ally.

Ride 0 ranks: Once per turn, you can attempt to negate an attack that hits your mount by making a Ride check with a DC equal to the AC the attack hit. Attacks that do not require an attack roll cannot be negated this way. Using this ability is a free action.
Ride 4 ranks: While mounted, you may make a charge attack at any point along your mount's movement, as long as your mount is moving in a straight line up to the point of your attack.

Scholar [Skill]

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge (any) 0 ranks: If a Knowledge check to identify an opponent gives a result of at least 15 + the opponent's CR, you have Edge against that opponent until its CR increases.
Knowledge (any) 4 ranks: You may take 10 on Knowledge checks, even if stress and distractions prevent you from doing so.

Stances

Dark Way

When in this stance, Alice adds her Intelligence modifier to any Strength-or-Dexterity-based skill checks. Additionally, she can use any armour or weapon without penalty, and is not subject to ACP or ASPs.

Underhanded Tactic

When in this stance, Alice adds her Intelligence modifier to AC. Additionally, she can redirect any attacks made against her mount to herself, and may choose to have her mount discounted from any area of effect if she is still within it.

Wrathful Style

When in this stance, Alice adds her Intelligence modifier to her weapon damage. Additionally, she is considered proficient with all kinds of weapons and armour, and does not take any ACP or ASP.

Manoeuvres

Brutal Strike

Alice hits her opponent extremely hard with a single melee attack, dealing an additional 2d6 damage.

Blinding Blow

Alice hits her opponent's eyes, making a single melee attack. If it hits, the target must make a DC 14 Fort save or become blinded.

Equipment

Armour of the Rose

This armour is worn by many of the knights of the Order of the Crimson Rose. Manufactured to a precise standard, this armour is slightly better at keeping the wearer going than normal, and is more flexible than you would expect.

+10 AC, +4 Max Dex, -4 ACP, -2 ASP

+1 BAB: You are encased in steel and negate the first 5 points of physical damage dealt to you.

Belt of Endurance

This belt, taken by Alice off a bandit king she beat at wrestling, makes one endure more than you would expect. It's also rather stylish.

Gives a +1 enhancement bonus to the wearer's Constitution score.

Large masterwork greatbow (Str minimum 12)La

Sword of Stars

These weapons are made in large numbers by the more urbane elves that inhabit larger cities. Fine in workmanship, these cut though enemies remarkably well, while still being able to finely slice fruit.

1d8 piercing damage, +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls, 18-20/x2 critical

---

Barronar, Moonlight Guardian

Barronar was born to a herd of unicorns living in the Grove of Moonlight Sorrows, planted by elven druids in remembrance of a massacre committed by orcs at that very spot, leading to over five hundred elven deaths. Barronar was always serious as a foal, given to wandering the grove in pensive, reflective moods. When he grew up, Barronar was often sent by the guardian of the grove (a druid named Aeshtarr) to deal with the various forest creatures that inhabited the grove, as he proved quite intelligent and capable.

One such mission, however, led him to meet Alice, who was wandering through the grove in search of a rare plant that would cure her persistent injury she got earlier that week, practicing orc fighting techniques against actual orcs. As Barronar helped her search for it, he found her interesting, intelligent company, and when she finally found what she sought, he eagerly undertook going with her.

Race and Type: Large magical beast
Speaks: Common and Sylvan
Allegiances: Natural life (primary), Alice, The Order of the Crimson Rose

Str: 20 (+5)
Dex: 17 (+3)
Con: 21 (+5)
Int: 10 (+0)
Wis: 21 (+5)
Cha: 24 (+7)

Vital Statistics

BAB: +4
AC: 25, touch 12, flat-footed 22
Speed: 70ft
Initiative: +6
Hit Points: 60/60
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +6
Attack: Horn +11 melee (1d8+8 piercing) and 2 hooves +3 melee (1d4+2)

Monster Features

Senses: Barronar possesses darkvision 60ft and low-light vision. A unicorn also has scent.

Immunities: Barronar is immune to poison, charm and compulsion.

Magic Circle Against Lower Plane Allegiance (Su): This ability constantly duplicates the effect of the spell. Barronar cannot suppress this ability.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At-will: detect allegiance (usable as a free action); 3/day: cure light wounds (CL 5); 1/day: cure moderate wounds (CL 5), neutralize poison (CL 8, DC 21); greater teleport (only anywhere within its home)

Wild Empathy (Ex): As a druid, except that Barronar has a +6 racial bonus on the check.

Skills: Barronar receives a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. He also has a +3 racial bonus on Survival checks in the boundaries of his forest.

Skills

Jump +21 (4 ranks, +5 Str, +16 high-speed bonus, -4 ACP)
Listen +11 (6 ranks +5 Wis)
Move Silently +7 (2 ranks, +3 Dex, +4 racial, -2 ASP)
Spot +14 (6 ranks, +5 Wis, +3 competence)

Feats

Danger Sense [Combat]

You react to danger with uncanny effectiveness.

+0: You receive a +3 enhancement bonus to initiative rolls.
+1: For the purpose of Listen, Search and Spot checks, you are always considered to be actively searching. You also gain uncanny dodge (see the rogue ability of the same name).

Sharp-Eyed [Skill]

Nothing escapes you.

Spot 0 ranks: You gain a +3 competence bonus on Spot checks.
Spot 4 ranks: You can make a Spot check once per round as a free action. You don't take penalties on Spot checks due to distraction.

Equipment

Barding of the Scaled

Made from the hide of a red dragon, this barding was taken by Alice and Barronar in their first victory together, against a Hell Knight mounted on a fiendish... something.

+10 AC, +4 Max Dex, -4 ACP, -2 ASP

+1 BAB: You gain fire resistance equal to your BAB.

Horseshoes of the Zephyr

Standard issue for the steeds of high-ranking Crimson Rose knights, these are not normally given out to anyone of below Master rank. When pressed about how she got Barronar shod in these, Alice blushes and changes the subject.

+10ft movement speed.

---

Now I have to explain my allegiances a little bit. First, a little code of conduct for the Crimson Rose. Note that both Alice AND Barronar must follow it.

- A Knight of the Crimson Rose must always appear immaculate, even in the heat of battle, to the extent that it does not endanger her own life. Slightly out-of-place hair, a broken nail or creased clothes are acceptable, but anything more severe must be remedied as soon as possible.

- A Knight of the Crimson Rose may never use curse or swear words, in any languages, whether she knows them or not. While provisions are made for accidental swearing (as it is a popular prank among those who know obscure languages and this practice), even this is to be avoided whenever possible.

- A Knight of the Crimson Rose must always wear a prominent piece of clothing coloured red. The piece must be at least six inches square, and cannot be covered by anything.

- A Knight of the Crimson Rose never accepts undue assistance. She must refuse Aid Another actions.

In Alice's case, the red thing is her boots. In Barronar's case, his barding.

Secondly, an explanation of what I mean by 'natural life'. Essentially, Barronar is all about sustainable use of nature, without anything that would get people who agree with the Kyoto Protocol worked up.

Thirdly, 'Master Knight Sir Valanar Tyberian' is the uncle to which Alice owes so much.

Lastly, the Thrice-Born. I would like to, before posting this, reinforce that Alice is in absolutely no way a Thrice-Born Believer.

The Thrice-Born

Origins: The Thrice-Born have been worshipped for an incredibly long time, predating all other forms of worship on Arthuria. First revealed by the Prophet Issa, it has since become the predominant religion of Arthuria, with limited success elsewhere. Although Issa lived a very short life on Arthuria (having chosen to leave it and travel to 'worlds elsewhere'), his teachings were the beginnings of the kingdom of Cristia, which continues to be a stronghold for the Thrice-Born Believers, the strongest and largest faction within the followers of the Thrice-Born.

Beliefs: Those who follow the Thrice-Born are known to disagree on many things. However, the points of agreement are as follows: the greatest divinities of all are the Thrice-Born, represented as Father, Mother and Son (although some factions also claim a Daughter, although this is considered heterodox at best), who are 'as one, but in thrice'. Some claim that this means that they are one being with three different forms, or three beings which act in unison. The former interpretation (the Monoformants) is the one that is taken by the Thrice-Born Believers, although the latter interpretation (the Triunitarians) is slowly becoming more popular. Additionally, all hold the Contract of Issa as the key guiding principles of their faith, although interpretations vary considerably, and the status of Issa is always at least that of a prophet (if not a divine being, or the Son himself). Lastly, all those who follow the Thrice-Born are expected to spread their faith and convince others to believe as they do. To what extent this is taken varies, but some factions have seen this as justification for holy war and worse crimes.

The Contract of Issa

Believed to have been formulated by Prophet Issa himself, as revealed to him by the Thrice-Born, the Contract of Issa is the key founding document of all Thrice-Born followers. However, as the document was written down only in poetic form, interpreting it precisely has become an endless complexity between the different factions of the Thrice-Born faithful, with the recent Collegiate Revolution and its discoveries not helping one bit.

The Contract contains nine clauses (or Edicts), which are listed below.

Honour the greatness of the Thrice-Born, for none are above their power. Those who would be gods are but as men before them.

This passage, known as the Totalitarian (or First) Edict, has been largely interpreted to mean that the Thrice-Born are the only deity worthy of the title. The Thrice-Born Believers in particular assert this claim, insisting that even other deities are not as powerful as the Thrice-Born, thus making them lesser (if still divine) beings. As a result, those who belong to the Thrice-Born Believers must venerate the Thrice-Born above and beyond all other deities, and single-choice veneration is seen as the best approach to worship.

However, the Collegiate Revolution has shed further light on this. Specifically, the power of a deity is both theoretically infinite, but largely unattainable. Resultantly, claiming that one deity is more powerful than another is essentially akin to claiming one beach is better than another because it has more grains of sand – a rather pointless claim even if it could be substantiated. This discovery has forced the Thrice-Born Believers to amend their doctrine to its present form (whereas in the past, they simply claimed that other deities were not deities).

Largely due to this research, the second sentence of the Totalitarian Edict has been interpreted by several factions as not referring to deity-level beings at all, but simply claiming it as a reinforcement of the idea that no non-deity-level being is deserving of worship, making the Thrice-Born as simply another deity, with no claim of superiority, but having a strict prohibition against the veneration of any individual 'of this world or any other'. These factions venerate the Thrice-Born along with other deities, something which the Thrice-Born Believers look upon with scorn.

Depict not the Thrice-Born, nor my form in any matter of this world but your minds and hearts, for those who would create such things would attempt to form the formless, and limit the limitless.

This passage, titled the Non-imagic (or Second) Edict, is fairly uncontested, and almost all factions do not depict the Thrice-Born in any way aside from their symbol (which never claims itself as a depiction anyway).

The difficulty arises from the statement that 'my' form also cannot be depicted. Although most claim that Issa had been speaking from the first person while saying this, essentially insisting that he could not be depicted either, this is not a reading recognised by any but the Thrice-Born Believers. All other factions claim that the justification given cannot possibly fit Issa, as he had both form and limit (although less than can be expected). The Believers justify their interpretation by claiming that Issa was in fact the Son in mortal form, and therefore, had only the illusion of form or limit, but this is no longer looked upon as credible, as no provable Collegiate theory exists that could indicate that a deity could take mortal form. However, the Believers insist that until such a theory exists and is proven, their interpretation cannot be discounted.

Other factions interpret 'my' as referring to themselves, which means that they do not allow their picture to be painted or sculptures made in their form (a doctrine termed Non-imagism). This is considered extremist by many, and thus, these factions tend to be the minority. Most claim that Issa cannot be depicted, but not because of the justification given, but simply for reasons that are perhaps left unsaid.

Speak as you wish to be spoken to. Sully not your tongues with the words that harm, the words that injure, and speak only the truth of the Thrice-Born.

The Polity (or Third) Edict is one of the most disputed in existence. The Believers claim that it prohibits curse words of any kind, as well as speaking in any way that would hurt another. However, they claim that when an accusation is true, it can be spoken irrespective of how impolite or hurtful it is. This has caused accusations of hypocrisy by many, who claim that this merely allows the Believers to reprimand those that would criticise them, but allows them to criticise others on bases they consider 'truthful'.

Other factions claim that 'words that harm and injure' are words that incite others to harm or injure, which prohibits actions such as giving orders to hurt or kill someone (or even carry such an intepretive possibility). The 'truth of the Thrice-Born' is also interpreted by some (extremely extremist) factions as referring to only the teachings of the Thrice-Born, which prohibits them from saying anything not directly related to the faith. Others instead insist that this prohibits lying in any form. Most ordinary faithful simply claim that this is an injunction for politeness, civility and honesty.

The Fiveday is a day for holy work and holy thoughts. Keep it always.

The Fiveday (or Fourth) Edict is often seen as an insistence on prayer, divine contemplation and learning every Fiveday. How strict this regulation is varies from faction to faction, with the Thrice-Born Believers insisting that all attend a service on that day, and that missing such a service for anything short of life-threatening reasons is a great spiritual failing. However, other factions disagree with such a strict reading, claiming that 'holy work' and 'holy thoughts' can mean many different things, and many claim that simply ensuring that one follows the Contract thoroughly on Fivedays is sufficient. Activities which are not considered appropriate for Fivedays vary widely; the Believers insist on including sex into this category (and are about the only faction that does), while others claim that everything from eating meat to gambling to use of intoxicants to physical exercise (and many more besides) are not considered 'holy'.

The hierarchy is a sacred thing. Father comes before Son, Mother before Daughter, king before subject, and Thrice-Born before all things.

This clause, termed the Hierarchical (or Fifth) Edict, is interpreted in three ways. Firstly, it is claimed as an indication that the Thrice-Born indeed have a hierarchy of their own. However, at the same time, this interpretation hails that the unity of the Thrice-Born must come before such hierarchies, indicating that within an organization, all lessers and greaters become greater than they are. This interpretation is popular within the Believers, who also add that, as it involves 'kings and subjects', it must mean that all things in life also have such a hierarchy, which is of equal sacredness. These hierarchies are constituted in many different forms, concerning all ways of life, and deference to them is seen as a spiritual thing.

The second interpretation is more literal, claiming that this does not refer to the Thrice-Born at all; instead, it discusses the structure of the family, and that fathers should look after their sons, and in turn, be respected by their sons, and likewise for mothers and daughters. Kings and subjects are seen in the same way. However, in all other things, it claims that hierarchies are not divine or sacred things, but simply created for whatever purpose, good or bad, that their non-divine creators insisted upon. This is probably closest to what many lay believers practice in their lives as far as this Edict is concerned.

The last, perhaps most unusual, interpretation of this is the fact that in fact, the Thrice-Born are not three, but four, with the Daughter being a hierarchically inferior, but present, being. Very few factions consider this interpretation valid, however.

Kill not those who believe, for they are equal in greatness to yourselves. Only the Thrice-Born can decide who is to live and who is to die.

Due to the gravity of its implications, the Terminal (or Sixth) Edict is a matter of hot interpretive debate. The most common divergences result from differing interpretations of 'those who believe'. The Thrice-Born Believers claim that this refers only to other Believers, and thus, claim that violence against those who are not Believers (even if they are heterodox followers of the Thrice-Born) is acceptable. This is not something shared by almost any other factions, who largely interpret 'those who believe' as referring to the faithful of any deity, or those who believe in the Thrice-Born (including those who venerate other deities in addition). Some factions also claim that if the Thrice-Born (through some mortal agent) declare an enemy, they can be killed without concern. Who has the right to make such a decision is frequently a matter of dispute, although the Thrice-Born Believers insist that the Hierarch has this right (although it has rarely been invoked, and always for a limited span of time).

The marriage contract is akin to that of Issa – those that violate it are unworthy in the eyes of the Thrice-Born.

The Marital (or Seventh) Edict is usually read as requiring those who are married to abstain from sexual relations with any other person, as well as requiring those that are married to not marry anyone else as long as their spouse lives. Divorce (that is, the breaking of an already-established marriage contract) is rare among those who believe in the Thrice-Born, though some factions claim that the breaking of a marriage contract does not constitute its violation. The Thrice-Born Believers also claim that sexual relations outside marriage regardless of whether one is married or not are a violation of the marriage contract, though in this case, explicitly that which you would sign in the future. Such a 'chronological' interpretation is not seen as valid by any other faction within those who believe in the Thrice-Born. Lastly, monogamous marriage is rejected by several factions of those who believe in the Thrice-Born (which collectively term themselves as the Polygamists), although most claim the ability to marry multiple women is restricted to men only. Endless denunciations over the interpretations of this Edict abound.

That which another owns is theirs to give and theirs alone. None but the Thrice-Born can decide who is to own what, and none beneath them can make that choice for another.

This Edict, dubbed the Mercantilist (or Eighth), is basically non-controversial. Its basic implication (that property and possession transfers are only valid with the consent of the one that owns them) is not disputed (except by the few factions who argue that figures senior enough to be qualified to speak for the Thrice-Born can make decisions redistributing property or possessions without the consent of their owners), but the extent to which it applies varies. The Thrice-Born Believers read it as strictly forbidding theft, whether by strength or guile, but insist that the Hierarch, who speaks for the Thrice-Born, may make decisions regarding the redistribution of anyone's property. As this power has yet to be used by the Hierarch, its implications regarding non-believers (and, indeed, non-Believers) have not yet been considered.

Envy not what others may have, for it demeans both you and them. Be like the Thrice-Born, content with all, but owning none.

The Ninth (or Luxurious) Edict is the subject of some controversy among the different factions. The most common interpretation of this Edict is that none should envy others simply because they have something that they do not, is complicated by the various implications. Some factions argue that only physical objects should not be envied, and that the envy of intangibles (such as intellect or talent) is acceptable. Others (including the Believers) claim that it is the emotion of envy, rather than some specific expression of it, that is being criticized within the Edict, and thus, claim that the envy of anything for any reason is wrong.

The second sentence is also widely disputed. Many argue it to simply be an injunction toward tolerance, benevolence and acceptance, but other, more literalist traditions claim this is an injunction toward a monastic existence for all those who believe in the Thrice-Born. Generally, factions tend to fall in-between these positions, allowing for a monastic tradition for those who desire it, but not requiring it of all faithful. The Thrice-Born Believers state that monasticism is an ideal state to aspire to, but accepts the fact that not all are willing or able to undertake such a step, making allowances for both monastic and non-monastic adherence.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Duelist [Combat]

You stab people in the face with nothing but a sword and some shiny pants.

+0: When you are wielding a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, you may add your Int mod to your AC instead of your Dex mod.

+1: You have Edge against any opponent with an Intelligence score lower than you while you wield a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, regardless of BAB.

+6: When you take a standard action to attack, or make a charge attack, you may attempt a called shot. If you do, you take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits your opponent must make a Will save (Int-based) or become disabled for 1 round (the opponent's hit points are not affected by this condition, though the attack itself may affect them).

Totally unrelated to the topic, but why do people seem to think that duelists should be smart?

[koz]

Duelist [Combat]

You stab people in the face with nothing but a sword and some shiny pants.

+0: When you are wielding a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, you may add your Int mod to your AC instead of your Dex mod.

+1: You have Edge against any opponent with an Intelligence score lower than you while you wield a light or one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand, regardless of BAB.

+6: When you take a standard action to attack, or make a charge attack, you may attempt a called shot. If you do, you take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits your opponent must make a Will save (Int-based) or become disabled for 1 round (the opponent's hit points are not affected by this condition, though the attack itself may affect them).

Totally unrelated to the topic, but why do people seem to think that duelists should be smart?

Not sure exactly. As you can tell, I took the feat written by Caliborn, found it to be just this end of totally borked, and decided to rewrite the rules while retaining the spirit of what was written. You can ask him about it if you're curious. For my purposes, it works well, as the picture I had for Alice had a one-handed weapon, and the soldier uses Intelligence.

By the way, have you considered joining?

[Prak]

Just noticed that a sphere-user with Violation and Seduction would be a hell of a copper...

"Why don't you give me that weapon you're holding?" *entice gift*
*gives weapon*
"We both know you did it because if you didn't do it you wouldn't be here and if you weren't here, obviously you'd be running because you did it, right?" *hypnotism* "Why don't you just confess?" *suggestion*

[Avoraciopoctules]

Thanks for your prompt responses, Av. Just to clarify a few things you asked for.

[cut to save space]

I hear you on the thinblades, but this won't change whether I can start with one, I assume.

Yes. You'll probably want to make it one of your magical items.

For my alignment alternative, I'll just cite something I wrote a while ago elsewhere:

Allegiances

Alignment has never worked, in any iteration, and likely never will. As a result, the alignment system is being ditched wholesale. Instead, characters may have up to three Allegiances, which represent individuals, organizations or ideals and concepts that those characters believe in as people. Those who hold Allegiances aren't necessarily totally faithful and obedient – they may well interpret them as they choose, especially when conflicts within their allegiance choices arise. However, a character who has an Allegiance indicates that this person, organization or idea matters to him or her a great deal.

It is possible, though rare, to have characters that have no Allegiances whatsoever. Such individuals have either not made up their minds about the world and their place in it, or are the ultimate loners. While this is certainly possible (and, in some cases, even valid) as a choice, it is fairly rare, and any player who wishes to make a character with no Allegiances at all should justify his or her choice thoroughly.

If a character has multiple Allegiances, they should be ranked in terms of priority. The first Allegiance a character has is always the most important, followed by the second-most-important, and finally by the third-most-important. No character may have more than three Allegiances – while this does not mean a character cannot hold more individuals, philosophies or organizations in high regard, they will not necessarily drive his or her actions, influence their thinking considerably enough, or simply have enough time to divide between them all to make all of them as important as their allegiances.

Allegiances can and do change during gameplay; this is both natural and normal. However, changing an Allegiance is essentially a very big event in a character's life – especially if the Allegiance being changed is a primary one. This represents the character totally changing his or her point of view about themselves and the world around them, and thus, should not be done lightly or frequently. If a player often changes Allegiances, it is quite possible that those Allegiances were never very important to the character to begin with.

[/spoiler]
Essentially, this is much more realistic and less 2D than alignments, with far fewer arguments into the bargain.

This works. It's particularly nice in a setting with such an emphasis on political factions, and it should support the way I play many outsiders as well.

I've used Knowledge Creation in the past in a few games I have run. It is immensely useful, as it both takes some of the effort off the DM, and also allows players to meaningfully contribute to the setting. It also makes Knowledge skills more valuable - something I heartily endorse, being who I am.

Yes. I should note that I allow people to use knowledge skills to gain bonuses against specific challenges already, but I normally stick some kind of use limitation onto it to keep people from rolling a bunch of extra skill checks every round. I was originally inspired by this: http://www.giantitp.com/articles/paBcfg ... QACfu.html

The Tome skills (basically, Iameki's patches) are pretty much essential for them to work in general. TarkisFlux had a thread, which is now being turned into a sourcebook on the DnD Wiki, about making skill users more useful and suchlike. The thread is here. I haven't playtested this myself, but it seems cool and interesting, at least.

I will read through it.

Thanks for the maxxed HP, too - helps heaps, especially at low levels. Does my unicorn get this too?

Yes. It counts as a PC for this.

I should have a 'skeleton' of a build posted soon.

That's nice to hear. I have at least a week until my next college semester starts, so I have lots of free time to learn new systems and modify the module right now. My posting rate may drop a bit once I start attending classes again, so this is a very good time for preparing a new game.

[Avoraciopoctules]

So if I get the adventure concept right, it's kind of a city watch thing? We're employed to "keep the king's piece"?
which piece?

Sounds good... but then I've obviously been reading the Night Watch storyline of Discworld...

I'll quote from the module:

In the aftermath of the Faction War, those living in the area around the Mortuary were more fortunate than most. The district had always been fairly quiet, a somber place where few bravos, drunkards, and ne‘er-do- wells wished to congregate. Most gangs didn‘t consider the area rich or fashionable enough to stake a claim on, and thieves found better (and safer) pickings elsewhere.

Even in the absence of the Harmonium, the inhabitants of Shuffle Street, Rattling Alley, and Wailer‘s Square have managed to get
by, but things have suddenly begun to degenerate and they need some reliable protection. Wanting nothing to do with either the Sodkillers or Sons of Mercy (both equally barmy in their eyes) the inhabitants have decided to risk their jink on some hired adventurers instead, luring them to the district with promises of friendly faces and free lodgings.

EDIT: I just went through the PDF's beginning section again. I misremembered, this is specifically intended for level 3 PCs.

[koz]

Just noticed that a sphere-user with Violation and Seduction would be a hell of a copper...

"Why don't you give me that weapon you're holding?" *entice gift*
*gives weapon*
"We both know you did it because if you didn't do it you wouldn't be here and if you weren't here, obviously you'd be running because you did it, right?" *hypnotism* "Why don't you just confess?" *suggestion*

Sounds like you want a Gestapo man there. Which would actually be insanely cool.

[Prak]

Ok, cool.

hmm... looking at Warlock, a lot of it's features don't matter for a tiefling/aasimar. Would going Conduit instead be kosher?

Or maybe overwriting the stuff that's redundant, like access to Fiend feats (which an aasimar has anyway)

the skeleton of a character sheet using Warlock: (the outline of which I'm obviously shamelessly stealing from Sinister. Thank you Sinister...)
Akarchin Background Akarchin was born to a fiendish family, long muddled in Ba'atezu and Tanar'ri inter-marriage, in a much higher social circle and wealthier district of Sigil, but moved to lower circles and districts to make her own way in crime, the underground, and the secret policing that is sometimes indistinguishable from those things. Her fiendish abilities were great help in her investigations and rackets, and frequently helped her convince a mark to do things "the easy way" before they found out what the hard way was.

Race and Type Assimar (Medium Outsider (Native Human))
Class Conduit of the Lower Planes 3
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial

Str: 14
Dex: 15
Con: 13
Int: 16
Wis: 13
Cha: 16
(before racial?)

Vital Stats
BAB +2
AC (10+2 dex)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +2
HP 21/21
Saves F+2, R+3, W+4
Attack Darkbolt +5 ranged touch, 1d8 1/2cold/1/2untyped
Attack Blade of Pain and Fear +5 melee touch, 1d6+3

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Akarchin is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as the whip, the scourge, and the dire flail. She is proficient with light armor but not with shields of any kind.

Sphere: Akarchin has advanced access to the Violation Sphere (basic from feat, class sphere pick upgrades that to advanced) and basic access to the Seduction sphere. These spheres grant Telepathy (range 100ft) and +2 to bluff, diplomacy and sense motive respectively.

Petitioner Immunities: Akarchin gains her abilities by channeling the energies of Baator. As such she gains the side effect of fire immunity as it's hellish energies burn within her and temper her flesh.

Enhanced Sphere Access: Akarchin's connection to the lower plains grants her extra uses of sphere abilities over what her proficiency with them would. She gains a number of extra uses of any spell-like ability equal to half the number by which her character level exceeds the minimum character level to use the spell-like ability (rounded up). If she ever gains expert access to a sphere, she also gains an extra [Fiend] feat.

Skills
Diplomacy 6r +12
Spellcraft 6r +9
Kn. Arcana 6r +9
Kn. the Planes 6r +9
Intimidate 3r +7
Gather Info 3r +7
Bluff 3r +9
Disguise 2r +6
Hide 1r +3
Sense Motive 3r +6
Search 6r +9
Spot 3r +4
Listen 2r +3

Feats
Basic Access: Violation

Pyromantic Dabbler
A Fire Mage offered to set your soul on fire. For some reason, you accepted.
Benefit: You gain Spellcraft as a Class Skill if it wasn't already, and you can use Produce Flame as an at-will SLA. The rest of the benefits depend on your ranks in Spellcraft.
4: you can also cast Burning Hands, Melt, and Resist Energy (Fire) once per hour each.

Items
Darkbolt Bracer (left arm/hand)
-Command Word action: 1d8/2CL, half cold, rest is untyped
Bracer of Blade of Pain and Fear (Right arm)
-Command Word action: Summon a sword composed of disembodied gnashing teeth, does 1d6+1/2CL, melee touch attack
Black Bag
-Allows access to small torture implements, has 10 cubic feet of capacity with which to hold evil items (including items created with evil spells), non-evil items fall through.
Magic Clothing:
Your pants, your shirt, and your socks exude magic. Truth be told, it’s mostly your pants.
Diplomacy Ranks Benefit
4: You gain a +1 bonus on all Charisma-related checks.

[Nicklance]

I'd like to express my interest in playing this game.

Can I play a Vampire Shadow Warrior?

[koz]

Av, as I was writing up my unicorn, I discovered that I have access to detect evil and magic circle against evil. Given how alignment is dead and all, that makes it tricky to adjudicate what to do about them. For detect evil, I can replace it with detect allegiance, but what of the magic circle?

Also, the unicorn's feats are made of incredible amounts of ass. Can I change them for something that isn't? If so, what?

Edit: Hiya Nick, nice to catch you on here.

Prak - you can't be a warlock if you're an outsider.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Av, as I was writing up my unicorn, I discovered that I have access to detect evil and magic circle against evil. Given how alignment is dead and all, that makes it tricky to adjudicate what to do about them. For detect evil, I can replace it with detect allegiance, but what of the magic circle?

The simplest solution would be to make the circle protect against stuff with an Allegiance to one or more of the Lower Planes.

Also, the unicorn's feats are made of incredible amounts of ass. Can I change them for something that isn't? If so, what?

Here are 2 appropriate-looking feats I dug up. Stuff like this should be fine.

Curative acolyte
Someone has to carry the first-aid kit. Not you.

Benefit: You gain Spellcraft as a Class Skill if it wasn't already, and you can use Cure Minor Wounds as an at-will SLA that takes an attack action. The rest of the benefits depend on your ranks in Spellcraft.

4: you can also cast Cure Light Wounds, Delay Poison, and Purify Food and Drink once per hour each.

9: you can also cast Lesser Restoration, Remove Blindness/Deafness, and Remove Paralysis once per hour each. The previous tier of SLAs can now be used 3 times per hour. Cure Light Wounds upgrades to Cure Moderate Wounds


Natural Empath [Skill]

You read people like books. (This is a Skill feat that scales with your ranks in Sense Motive.)

Benefits: You gain a +3 bonus to Sense Motive checks.

4: You can quickly size up potential opponents. If you succeed on a Sense Motive check as a free action, opposed by their Bluff, you can tell if they're an even match (their CR equals your character level), an easy challenge (their CR is 1-3 less than your level), irrelevant (their CR is 4 or more less than your level), stronger (their CR is 1-3 higher than your level), or overwhelmingly powerful (their CR is 4 or more higher than your level). You can use this ability once on a particular creature every 24 hours.

9: If you succeed on a Sense Motive check, opposed by Bluff, you know your opponent's alignment. If you beat their Bluff by 20 or more, you can read their surface thoughts, as if during the third round of detect thoughts.

I'd like to express my interest in playing this game.

Can I play a Vampire Shadow Warrior?

Vampires need a publicly acceptable source of blood.
Shadow Warriors are fine from what I skimmed through in the Tome pdf.

[koz]

Thanks Av, I'll do exactly that. With those changes, I should be all done and ready to go.

[Avoraciopoctules]

hmm... looking at Warlock, a lot of it's features don't matter for a tiefling/aasimar. Would going Conduit instead be kosher?

That would be fine. You might want some kind of combat potential for when you run out of SLAs, though.

[Nicklance]

I'd like to express my interest in playing this game.

Can I play a Vampire Shadow Warrior?

Vampires need a publicly acceptable source of blood.
Shadow Warriors are fine from what I skimmed through in the Tome pdf.

My character runs a famous brothel. And blood is accepted as a discount on services.

Here's a leadership feat I'd like you to approve.

Madam [Leadership, Skill]

You work in the oldest profession, which is all about the 'in the face'. Really.

This is a [Skill] feat which scales to your ranks in Bluff.
0 ranks: You gain a +3 competence bonus on Bluff checks. After all, those girls need convincing, and those customers too!
4 ranks: You gain followers. Your Leadership score is equal to your ranks in Bluff + your Cha modifier. You can figure out what THOSE are for.

[Kaelik]

Interested in a Totemist. Tome of Virtue Frank wrote up about when he did Soulborn.

here

Basically, Aasimar of the good types, channelling pretty soul animals.