Saturday, August 29, 2020

Though He were Strong as Seven (GLOG Class: Monk)

    Is it a good idea to use a sacred art as a weapon? As a piece of showmanship? Perhaps it is no more profane than a paladin's blessed sword, or a cleric's angelic fire. Perhaps you will face no consequences.

Source: The Well of Souls by Lakandiwa

Class: Virtuous Saint

    You are a mendicant who practices the third divine art; that of Durability. For you, it is a method of redirecting force and performing incredible feats of strength. Discipline shows how paltry the world can be.
    For every template you have in this class, you gain +1 Move. You gain a Chi Die with every level. If you have at least one template from this class, you can never fumble while using staves, knives, flails or shortswords. You can wear light armor only.

Skills: 1. Demagoguery 2: Religious History 3. Forensic Accounting

Starting Gear: a loincloth (as unarmored), a wavy-bladed dagger (light), a pipe and ten doses of your favored herbs, and an object of doubtless religious significance (see below)

  • A Durability, Breath Mantra, +1 HP
  • B Karmic Flight, +1 to-hit
  • C Parkaya Mantra, Dismiss the Form, +1 HP
  • D Ashurparaka, Extra Attack

 

Durability
    You have a pool of CD, which are d8s, equal to your level. They are rolled like MD, returning to your pool on a 1–4, and refreshing every dawn. When attacking, roll any number of CD to add [dice] to your to-hit and damage. When performing a feat of strength or agility, roll any number of CD and add [best] to your d20's result. If using CD to fuel a feat you may perform it with any part of your body; grappling with your bare feet, dragging a heavy wagon by your braided hair, or balancing on the tip of a single fingernail.
Breath Mantra
    Track exhaustion, pain, insanity &c like anyone else, but ignore all effects of these until they actually kill you. If you have CD in your pool you can run at full speed with a missing leg or lift heavy objects normally with a missing arm.

Karmic Flight
    Cross your legs, close your eyes, and levitate up to [level]*10 feet into the air at will. This technique is an ancient secret, and betraying that secret has immediate consequences: if anyone sees you doing this, both you and they take [level]d6 damage, saving to halve. Someone reduced below 0 hitpoints by this damage is delivered into deathlike insensibility for [level] days but does not die. This effect works through wizard-eyes, clairvoyance, telepathic senses or any other form of remote viewing.

Parkaya Mantra
    Death is not more significant or meaningful than life. Roll CD as if they were MD to raise the dead. If you roll doubles or triples, your CD are lost and the raising fails.
Dismiss the Form
    The only thing that is real is the mind; the body is an affectation of the mind, as ribbons and jewels are affectations of young women. Roll any number of CD to transform into a caterpillar, raven or serpent for [dice] hours. Your stats change to match your new form, and the effect ends early if you take any damage.
    You may choose to instead halve or double your size up to [dice] times. This does not change your stats, and lasts indefinitely (but the CD are invested until you choose to end the effect).

Ashurparaka
    You have an indefinite number of karmic limbs and no longer need to physically touch objects within 5' to move them. When you roll your CD to fuel a feat of strength or agility, add [sum] to your d20 instead of [best]. Fire no longer hurts you, nor blades you hold in your own hands.

Objects of Doubtless Religious Significance

  1. Wavy-Bladed Dagger. A handsome and reliable light weapon which comes with a white blade and black handle, a black blade and a white handle, or a blue blade and a yellow handle (depending on your preferences). ⅓rd slot.
  2. Bead Rope. Wrapped around the waist a few times, it aids in counting prayers. 15' and easily climbed. ⅓rd slot.
  3. Prayer Wheel. Automate your prayer life. The sight and sound of these wheels drive off unclean spirits. ⅓rd slot.
  4. Crate of Dynamite. Contains a dozen sticks (1d6 damage, 10' blast radius, stacking). The crate is labeled CAUTION: FRAGILE GLASS. 4 slots.
  5. Turtleshell Game. A simple game of bluffing and memorizing. The shells are marked, and you can always win if you wish.
  6. A Cobra. Venomous, 2HD, quite affectionate. Contained in a clay pot. 1 slot.
  7. An Owl. Powerful, 2HD, quite inquisitive. Contained in a tin cage. 1 slot.
  8. Wavy-Bladed Sword. As the dagger, but medium. 1 slot.
  9. Long Gun. 2d8 damage at a range of 60', -1 to-hit for every 20' after that. Takes two minutes to reload, and you must purchase the powder separately. 2 slots.
  10. Incriminating Documents. You decide what person these pages incriminate.
  11. Religious Texts. Cosmogony, agonism, strange histories. Preaching from these is a reliable way to draw a crowd. ⅓rd slot.
  12. Heretical Texts. Cosmogony, agonism, strange histories. Preaching from these is a reliable way to be arrested and enough to be convicted. ⅓rd slot.
  13. Bottle of delicious poison. Easily slipped into soups, candies and mild tea. Reduces constitution by 2d6 when ingested. Three doses.
  14. 100' of silk rope. One slot.
  15. Pick-a-nick Basket. Wicker, contains three perishable rations. 1 slot.
  16. Cursed Papers. Little slips with strange symbols painted in colored ink. Post these around to let unclean spirits know who to target. Ten doses.
  17. Patriotic Flag. You can wave it, if you want. 1 slot.
  18. Banned Novel. Probably worth a lot of money to a collector of these things. ⅓rd slot.
  19. Bottle of Laudanum. Removes pain and the memory of pain. Ten doses.
  20. An oddity. Roll 1d6 on the following table:
    1. Clouded mirror. Reflects nothing, drips blood when you are in danger. ⅓rd slot.
    2. Two-part ring. Linked by a fine chain. When worn on one finger, that finger is as inflexible and sturdy as a steel spike. When worn on two, your grip is as steady as a vice.
    3. Golden Acorn. Planted, will grow into a golden oak.
    4. Salamander Scent. A crystal vial of the musk from a rare species of volcanic amphibian. Moderately priceless in the eyes of the Perfumers' Guild.
    5. Storm Rattle. Shaking at dawn has a 1-in-6 chance of bringing rain before noon. 1 slot.
    6. Broken Horn. From the head of a Queen in the northern jungles. Alchemists believe the the touch of this horn can cure disease. 1 slot.