Soulthieves.
For my own amusement, and possibly yours:
CLERICS:
Clerics are the religious folks in Oggamundan society, and they all live to serve a higher purpose, though the higher purposes served by the different clerics often come into conflict with one another. Clerics' particular purposes are led by their moral beliefs. Clerics are able to use clerical magic, which is not fueled by the elemental planes, but rather by the will of their deity. For this reason, maintaining a very close relationship to the deity is a priority, and even then, the clerical arts are difficult, sometimes even dangerous, to handle. Like elementalists, clerics are disciplined, and should not be the first choice for fighting characters. Clerics learn their spells by memorizing incantations from religious texts. Depending on the art of their specialty, clerics' morality may be swayed toward either benevolence or malevolence. Every cleric carries an object symbolic of their devotion, but the type is very important, corresponding with the cleric's morality: benevolents carry an ankh rosary, neutrals carry a temen stake, and malevolents carry a was sceptre. If a cleric (or anyone, for that matter) bears the wrong symbol, bad things are bound to happen. Many clerics may be rewarded by their deities for loyalty and experience. Those clerics can become more powerful than mere mortals can ever imagine.
All clerics start with the following skills: Chandlery, Clerical Spellcasting, Literacy.
The clerical classes are as follows:
Healers:
Healers are clerics concerned with relieving the suffering of others. They use their skill in biomancy to heal the injured and ailing. Healers are very pacific, so they do not make good fighters. However, they are very healthy, and can take a great deal of abuse. They fight off toxins and disease very well. Biomancy is probably the safest of the clerical arts to use, provided it isn't used in an overly selfish way, so healers generally worry less about incurring the wrath of their deities, although that is not an excuse to fall out of a god's favour. Healers who are especially devoted to the cause of peace and goodwill may be elevated by their deities to angels of mercy, granting them greater healing abilities than would otherwise be possible. In such a case, however, your deity would begin to have accordingly greater expectations of your behaviour.
Morality Adjustment: toward Benevolence
Starting skills: Alchemy, Biomancy, Diplomacy, Food Preservation, Foraging
Paladins:
Paladins are crusaders of law and goodness. They are interested chiefly in vanquishing profoundly evil beings and forces from Oggamund. They are good at melee combat, and have a degree of talent in clerical magic. They practice biomancy, since it can be used to inflict harm upon unholy beings. They also have the ability to invoke more direct assistance from the heavens, calling upon angelic beings or energies. In order to use their magic effectively, they must be very close to their deities. Non-Benevolent paladins will find that their task becomes much more difficult. Paladins who are very serious about their life's work may earn the highest recognition of their deities. Such paladins may be elevated to the status of cosmic avengers, giving them the greatest white clerical magic abilities that beings could have (short of being gods themselves).
Morality Adjustment: toward Benevolence
Starting skills: Biomancy, Diplomacy, Etherplanar Beckoning, Shields; one of Bashing, Slashing, Stabbing or Thrusting
Priests:
Priests are clerics who have devoted themselves to serving their deities and teaching others how and why to serve them. Priests are dedicated to witnessing heathens and correcting heathen ways, though their conception of "heathen" depends on their morality. Unlike other clerics, priests may serve under any set of moral statutes. Depending on their morality and deity, their starting skills can vary greatly. However, all priests are trained in areas necessary to perform common priestly functions, such as purification of the "unsaved". They are also equipped for those purposes. Priests who set the bar for piety and devotion may be rewarded by their deities. Those priests will be elevated to demigods, giving them attributes and abilities that they may never have attained as simple, mundane beings.
Morality Adjustment: no adjustment
Starting skills: Diplomacy, Bashing; certain skills dependent on PC morality (e.g. a more benevolent PC might start with Biomancy, Etherplanar Beckoning and a silver magic skill (such as Telomancy) along with Music; a malevolent PC might start with both Necromancy and Netherplanar Beckoning, and maybe Elemental Invocation to boot; a fully neutral priest may get a mixed bag) and PC race (racially accordant skills are more likely to be selected and discordant skills are less likely)
Necromancers:
Necromancers are clerics of a darker, more ghastly sort. They specialize in calling upon the powers of Death. This involves the invocation of unholy energies for many purposes, from raising the dead to leeching the living. Necromancers are disciplined after a fashion, but they are very unscrupulous, having no regard for any living thing. More serious necromancers resent their own living existence; in fact, the most serious will likely commit suicide at a relatively young age, in the hope that they can bring themselves back to the world in a more acceptable undead form (there's obviously a lack of foresight there). Do not be surprised if a necromancer is not well received by others. Due to the nature of their profession, necromancers tend to be weak and frail; it takes a lot of practice to be able to handle necromantic spells without half-killing oneself in the process. You should also not be surprised if a necromancer starts with a mutation or two; this is another consequence of the practice of the art. While necromancy is a very difficult pursuit and inexperienced necromancers may frequently find themselves at the mercy of their deities, very powerful and loyal necromancers may be rewarded phenomenally before their natural time comes. Such necromancers may be granted their deepest desire and become archliches.
Morality Adjustment: toward Malevolence
Starting skills: Food Presevation, Hunting, Necromancy
Demonologists:
Demonologists are clerics of a fearsome breed. Loathed by many even more than necromancers, they specialize in the black magical art of netherplanar beckoning. They are able to invoke the powers of the realms of Hell. Demonologists can do many terrifying things, from creating bursts of hellfire to summoning demons to immediately damning a creature to the Netherplane. If necromancers are unscrupulous, then demonologists are simply evil. They are usually beings with life stories marred by psychotic and sadistic tendencies. Unlike necromancers, who are more interested in killing creatures quickly (in their way) so as to get to the death part, demonologists prefer long, drawn out, torturous murders, because they enjoy seeing the living suffer. The dead don't cry out in pain or beg for mercy as the living do. Demonologists, however, suffer themselves in similar ways to necromancers: they are weak, frail, and often mutated. Unlike other magicians, they also tend to be quite undisciplined (that is, for magicians). Powerful demonologists who greatly please their deities may be elevated to archfiends, granting them the direct beckoning lines to the Netherplane that they've lusted for.
Morality Adjustment: toward Malevolence
Starting skills: Alchemy, Netherplanar Beckoning
After much soul-searching, or something, I added a tract to the clerical spell catalogue. The Book of Reclamation contains those biomantic invocations germane to the mission of paladins; the existing biomancy tracts contained too many spells for paladins' defined purposes.
I've been contemplating a deer-human race, something like kenelaphs/cenelaphs or elaphitaurs, or whatever. But I already have 24 races and I don't want any more. I've been thinking they'd have to take over the niche of an existing race, particularly centaurs, minotaurs or the Goati. Deer have overall been developing a greater importance in the game, and so for the sake of parsimony I've thought about rubbing out a particular taxonomic strand altogether. But each scenario has its problems. I'm gonna muse for a moment. Bear with me if you will.
Deer/kenelaphs replaceProsCons
Horses/centaurs
Cattle (oxen)/minotaurs
Goats/Goati
The habitat differences are only occurring to me now, and they're definitely a wrench in the works. A full-on taxon dump is probably not the best idea anymore. As for race replacement alone, I'm favouring kenelaph for Goati, but losing a mountain-dwelling race is somewhat impactful. Also, kenelaphs would be living in forests alongside high elves and centaurs, which seems like it could crowd things, especially as all three would be of benevolent alignment. I could solve that by moving centaurs to the plains, but it'll result in social, cultural and political changes.
I'm glad I wrote this all out, anyway. The musing goes on.
EDIT: A little more thought (and some research to support it) suggests the deerhide/cowhide controversy isn't. There aren't really any uses for raw hides after all. Buckskins can be made of cowhide. Hell, maybe even kangaroo hide. Mmm, toasty!
CLERICS:
Clerics are the religious folks in Oggamundan society, and they all live to serve a higher purpose, though the higher purposes served by the different clerics often come into conflict with one another. Clerics' particular purposes are led by their moral beliefs. Clerics are able to use clerical magic, which is not fueled by the elemental planes, but rather by the will of their deity. For this reason, maintaining a very close relationship to the deity is a priority, and even then, the clerical arts are difficult, sometimes even dangerous, to handle. Like elementalists, clerics are disciplined, and should not be the first choice for fighting characters. Clerics learn their spells by memorizing incantations from religious texts. Depending on the art of their specialty, clerics' morality may be swayed toward either benevolence or malevolence. Every cleric carries an object symbolic of their devotion, but the type is very important, corresponding with the cleric's morality: benevolents carry an ankh rosary, neutrals carry a temen stake, and malevolents carry a was sceptre. If a cleric (or anyone, for that matter) bears the wrong symbol, bad things are bound to happen. Many clerics may be rewarded by their deities for loyalty and experience. Those clerics can become more powerful than mere mortals can ever imagine.
All clerics start with the following skills: Chandlery, Clerical Spellcasting, Literacy.
The clerical classes are as follows:
Healers:
Healers are clerics concerned with relieving the suffering of others. They use their skill in biomancy to heal the injured and ailing. Healers are very pacific, so they do not make good fighters. However, they are very healthy, and can take a great deal of abuse. They fight off toxins and disease very well. Biomancy is probably the safest of the clerical arts to use, provided it isn't used in an overly selfish way, so healers generally worry less about incurring the wrath of their deities, although that is not an excuse to fall out of a god's favour. Healers who are especially devoted to the cause of peace and goodwill may be elevated by their deities to angels of mercy, granting them greater healing abilities than would otherwise be possible. In such a case, however, your deity would begin to have accordingly greater expectations of your behaviour.
Morality Adjustment: toward Benevolence
Starting skills: Alchemy, Biomancy, Diplomacy, Food Preservation, Foraging
Paladins:
Paladins are crusaders of law and goodness. They are interested chiefly in vanquishing profoundly evil beings and forces from Oggamund. They are good at melee combat, and have a degree of talent in clerical magic. They practice biomancy, since it can be used to inflict harm upon unholy beings. They also have the ability to invoke more direct assistance from the heavens, calling upon angelic beings or energies. In order to use their magic effectively, they must be very close to their deities. Non-Benevolent paladins will find that their task becomes much more difficult. Paladins who are very serious about their life's work may earn the highest recognition of their deities. Such paladins may be elevated to the status of cosmic avengers, giving them the greatest white clerical magic abilities that beings could have (short of being gods themselves).
Morality Adjustment: toward Benevolence
Starting skills: Biomancy, Diplomacy, Etherplanar Beckoning, Shields; one of Bashing, Slashing, Stabbing or Thrusting
Priests:
Priests are clerics who have devoted themselves to serving their deities and teaching others how and why to serve them. Priests are dedicated to witnessing heathens and correcting heathen ways, though their conception of "heathen" depends on their morality. Unlike other clerics, priests may serve under any set of moral statutes. Depending on their morality and deity, their starting skills can vary greatly. However, all priests are trained in areas necessary to perform common priestly functions, such as purification of the "unsaved". They are also equipped for those purposes. Priests who set the bar for piety and devotion may be rewarded by their deities. Those priests will be elevated to demigods, giving them attributes and abilities that they may never have attained as simple, mundane beings.
Morality Adjustment: no adjustment
Starting skills: Diplomacy, Bashing; certain skills dependent on PC morality (e.g. a more benevolent PC might start with Biomancy, Etherplanar Beckoning and a silver magic skill (such as Telomancy) along with Music; a malevolent PC might start with both Necromancy and Netherplanar Beckoning, and maybe Elemental Invocation to boot; a fully neutral priest may get a mixed bag) and PC race (racially accordant skills are more likely to be selected and discordant skills are less likely)
Necromancers:
Necromancers are clerics of a darker, more ghastly sort. They specialize in calling upon the powers of Death. This involves the invocation of unholy energies for many purposes, from raising the dead to leeching the living. Necromancers are disciplined after a fashion, but they are very unscrupulous, having no regard for any living thing. More serious necromancers resent their own living existence; in fact, the most serious will likely commit suicide at a relatively young age, in the hope that they can bring themselves back to the world in a more acceptable undead form (there's obviously a lack of foresight there). Do not be surprised if a necromancer is not well received by others. Due to the nature of their profession, necromancers tend to be weak and frail; it takes a lot of practice to be able to handle necromantic spells without half-killing oneself in the process. You should also not be surprised if a necromancer starts with a mutation or two; this is another consequence of the practice of the art. While necromancy is a very difficult pursuit and inexperienced necromancers may frequently find themselves at the mercy of their deities, very powerful and loyal necromancers may be rewarded phenomenally before their natural time comes. Such necromancers may be granted their deepest desire and become archliches.
Morality Adjustment: toward Malevolence
Starting skills: Food Presevation, Hunting, Necromancy
Demonologists:
Demonologists are clerics of a fearsome breed. Loathed by many even more than necromancers, they specialize in the black magical art of netherplanar beckoning. They are able to invoke the powers of the realms of Hell. Demonologists can do many terrifying things, from creating bursts of hellfire to summoning demons to immediately damning a creature to the Netherplane. If necromancers are unscrupulous, then demonologists are simply evil. They are usually beings with life stories marred by psychotic and sadistic tendencies. Unlike necromancers, who are more interested in killing creatures quickly (in their way) so as to get to the death part, demonologists prefer long, drawn out, torturous murders, because they enjoy seeing the living suffer. The dead don't cry out in pain or beg for mercy as the living do. Demonologists, however, suffer themselves in similar ways to necromancers: they are weak, frail, and often mutated. Unlike other magicians, they also tend to be quite undisciplined (that is, for magicians). Powerful demonologists who greatly please their deities may be elevated to archfiends, granting them the direct beckoning lines to the Netherplane that they've lusted for.
Morality Adjustment: toward Malevolence
Starting skills: Alchemy, Netherplanar Beckoning
After much soul-searching, or something, I added a tract to the clerical spell catalogue. The Book of Reclamation contains those biomantic invocations germane to the mission of paladins; the existing biomancy tracts contained too many spells for paladins' defined purposes.
I've been contemplating a deer-human race, something like kenelaphs/cenelaphs or elaphitaurs, or whatever. But I already have 24 races and I don't want any more. I've been thinking they'd have to take over the niche of an existing race, particularly centaurs, minotaurs or the Goati. Deer have overall been developing a greater importance in the game, and so for the sake of parsimony I've thought about rubbing out a particular taxonomic strand altogether. But each scenario has its problems. I'm gonna muse for a moment. Bear with me if you will.
Deer/kenelaphs replaceProsCons
Horses/centaurs
- quadrupedal
- better suited to forest environments (centaurs currently forest-dwellers alongside high elves)
- if kenelaphs are benevolent, no morality offset
- deer not suited as riding creatures
- loss of current barding options (requires addition of kenelaph-specific armours)
- loss of unicorns, or unicorn-like cervids must be introduced
- loss of centaur running speed
Cattle (oxen)/minotaurs
- deerhide comprehensively supplants cowhide, raw and tanned (currently deerhide has more uses)
- deer milk conceptually replaces cattle milk (if it comes up)
- antlers replace horns
- antlers in males only
- morality offset (minotaurs malevolent, whereas kenelaphs neutral/benevolent)
- significant equipment differences
- significant differences in temperament, attributes and tendencies
- habitat differences (deer/kenelaphs in forests, oxen/buffalo/whatever probably in plains and minotaurs in caves)
Goats/Goati
- antlers replace horns
- morality offsets irrelevant
- Goati overall a less significant race anyway
- antlers in males only
- equipment differences (Goati are bipedal)
- loss of Goati mountaineering skill
- habitat differences (goats/Goati in hills/mountains)
The habitat differences are only occurring to me now, and they're definitely a wrench in the works. A full-on taxon dump is probably not the best idea anymore. As for race replacement alone, I'm favouring kenelaph for Goati, but losing a mountain-dwelling race is somewhat impactful. Also, kenelaphs would be living in forests alongside high elves and centaurs, which seems like it could crowd things, especially as all three would be of benevolent alignment. I could solve that by moving centaurs to the plains, but it'll result in social, cultural and political changes.
I'm glad I wrote this all out, anyway. The musing goes on.
EDIT: A little more thought (and some research to support it) suggests the deerhide/cowhide controversy isn't. There aren't really any uses for raw hides after all. Buckskins can be made of cowhide. Hell, maybe even kangaroo hide. Mmm, toasty!