The Centaur - LotFP & OSE Custom Class

    Wild and untamed by even the standards of what little civilization that exists on Nysa, Centaurs were, and still are, seen by Nysans as possessing a purer way of life than the rest of populace. Even with their seemingly exalted position, they were kept largely at arm's length, and generally only tolerated in the vineyards and towns during festivals. Seen as uncontrollable, especially while under the influence of wine, the Centaurs found themselves pushed to the plains surrounding the Lykaion Woods and into the embrace of the Limnio. 

     The fall of Nysa did not affect their lifestyle, except to remove the last checks upon their behavior and allow them to descend into barbarism with the rest of their vintage. Their dark reputations aside, Centaurs are known to be strong, martially inclined creatures, well suited to a life of adventuring.

Level	Experience	HP	Paralyze	Poison	Breath	Device	Magic	Primitive Weaponry	Archery
1	0	1d8	14	12	15	16	16	+0	+1
2	2,500	1d8	14	12	15	16	16	+1	+1
3	5,000	1d8	14	12	15	16	16	+1	+1
4	10,000	1d8	12	10	13	14	14	+1	+1
5	18,500	1d8	12	10	13	14	14	+1	+2
6	37,000	1d8	12	10	13	14	14	+2	+2
7	85,000	1d8	10	8	10	11	12	+2	+2
8	140,000	1d8	10	8	10	11	12	+2	+2
9	280,000	1d8	10	8	10	11	12	+2	+3
10	420,000	+2*	8	6	8	9	10	+2	+3
11	560,000	+2*	8	6	8	9	10	+3	+3
12	680,000	+2*	8	6	8	9	10	+3	+3
13	820,000	+2*	6	4	6	7	8	+3	+4
14+	+140,000/lvl	+2*	6	4	6	7	8	+3	+4

B/X & OSE Rules

Requirements	Minimum STR 9, DEX 9
Prime Requisite	STR and DEX
Hit Dice	d8
Thac0 Table	Semi-Martial
Maximum Level	14
Armor	Leather, including Shields
Weapons	Bows, Primitive Weapons
Languages	Alignment, Common

    Larger and possessing both a frame and legs far different than others humanoids, Centaurs are subject to several special rules. Centaurs may not climb objects such as ladders or ropes without great difficulty, suffering a -4 penalty to all such attempts. Any armor that a centaur has made for them costs double the normal price. They cannot use armor designed for humanoid or equine use.

    Centaurs are far quicker than humanoids, and are gifted with a movement speed of 50' in a round in combat. Owning to their large size and quadrupedal nature, Centaurs gain a bonus of +50% to both their carrying capacity, and the amount of weight necessary for them to be suffer an encumbrance penalty. They may carry others, but their passengers reduce their speed by 20', and those riding them do not gain any bonus for being mounted.

    Centaurs are extremely skilled archers, gaining a bonus to all attacks they make with bows or other similar weapons, as reflected by their Archery bonus on their class table. In addition to this, Centaurs also gain a bonus to any damage rolls that they make with primitive or otherwise improvised weaponry such as stout branches, rocks, or stone weaponry.

The Vintages of Nysa

A bit more background for setting and work-in-progress that is Nysa, in this post we're going to go over a few of the main factions that make the plane their home, the Five Vintages.

The cults of Dionysus are still active after his apparent death. The once jocular term of Vintage has become the common means to refer to a particular cult or faction. Most of the remaining or new demigods are involved with or otherwise lead these organizations, using them as a means to bind the damned of Nysa together as they were in happier days. There are five such major Vintages spread across the plane, each of them contending, making alliances and betraying one another often enough that clear lines between them are sometimes hard to see. They are as follows:

• Xinomavro, or The United, are the largest in both their numbers and territory held in their name. The former military of the plane before the fall, the Xinomavro are by far the most organized, possessing a clear military hierarchy, descending from their leader Oenopion on down. Almost never encountered alone, the United defend their enclaves aggressively, their patrols radiating outwards from the city of Phleon. Enemy strong points are identified, troops massed, and the defenders overrun. Beyond the patrols, press gangs search the Lykaion Woods for new arrivals, swelling the United’s ranks through promises of glory or threats. The only reason that the Xinomavro have not been able to overwhelm the rest of the plane is due to the efforts of the Assyrtiko and Agiorgitiko, who are the only forces able to meaningfully oppose them. The Xinomavro favor depictions of the Ivy Throne as their symbols, or their ranks within the organization itself.

• Assyrtiko or The Faithful, are the followers of Thyone, and consider themselves the only legitimate cult in Nysa. Once the priesthood and main spiritual body of the plane, it was the Assyrtiko who provided the population of the holy mountain with structure and meaning to their lives. Responsible for the oversight of the many festivals and religious processions that the schedule of the year was based around, the death of the liberator shattered the belief that underpinned their authority. Driftless and without the ability to control their flocks, the Assyrtiko followed the lead of their mistress Thyone, and largely pulled back from the world up into the hills and glens that held the temples sacred to Dionysus--save for the Great Temple which still remains shut from them. Lacking in raw numbers, the small communities which make up the Faithful have outsized influence due to their proximity to their leader, and the personal power of Thyone. Members of the faithful can be identified by their gold-fringed tunics and robes, or by the grape-cluster badges that they often wear.

• Agiorgitiko, or The Enduring, were once the principal bodyguards of Dionysus, acting as gatekeepers and police within his realm. Trusted with not only guarding him, but the grounds of the Great Temple itself, membership in this cult could only be granted by Deianira herself. This selective recruitment quickly grew to be a thing of the past after the Fall, and the ranks of the Agiorgitiko quickly swelled to become the second-most numerous of the cults. Much like their main rivals the Xinomavro, the Agiorgitiko are organized along military lines, with members assigned to units, units assigned commanders, and commanders answering directly to Deianira. Unlike the Xinomavro, the Enduring typically stick to the mountain passes of Nysa, or the area surrounding the Great Temple. Their members still fancy themselves as authorities, and will try to command or cajole those they perceive as of lower ranks. Members of the Enduring can be identified by their Aspis badges or red-painted armor.

Fuck Orpheus tho, amirite?

• Limnio, or The Revelry, are the oldest existent Vintage in Nysa, representing the ecstatic (and violent) forms of worship practiced by the Maenads and their attendants. The Limnio had always been held at arm’s length by their fellow Nysans, given their propensity for wine-maddened bouts of violence and anthropophagy, but their behavior grew completely uncontrollable after the death of the Liberator. Hounded relentlessly by the more organized forces of the Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro, the Limnio have largely been pushed to the borderlands of the plane, lurking in the forests that ring the edges of Nysa. The Revelry are “led” by the irascible Comus, who does little more than direct them to the riotous ends they already intended, and the slippery Silenus, who tends to those of their number too mutated to go on. The Limnio have no consistent appearance, but are instead usually known for their wild-eyed countenances and torn up clothes.

• Rhoditis, or The Masked, once made up the ranks of the poets, writers and actors whose plays were vital to the festivals of the Nysan calendar. Attaining membership in the Rhoditis was a competitive process, with new members only being admitted by dint of their skills in the performing arts. With a prestige unmatched by any vintage other than perhaps the Assyrtiko, the Masked were able to leverage their position as entertainers into being made members of Dionysus' court. This proximity to the Ivy Throne intensified competition even more, delighting their leader, Phthonus, to no end. Believing that the cutthroat atmosphere that they have fostered enhanced the creative output of their cult, Phthonus did nothing to stop his followers from tearing each other apart in public. After the Fall this became quite a great deal more literal, with the vintage largely breaking down into individual gangs centered around a particularly talented playwright. Performances became ever more tense, as they often were attacked by their fellows in the middle of their productions. Phthonus still considers this to be ideal. Given their name, the main identifier of the Rhoditis are their masks, which are either worn or slung from the hip.

A Death in Nysa - Part III

Life After the In-sewn

When the god’s influence was removed it was as if the fecundity that supported the plane was set loose. The once beatific forest has been overtaken by blighted and gnarled growths. The creatures of the wood have become similarly twisted, long-limbed and vicious. The steady flow of new arrivals to the villages has dwindled to a trickle, the screams of the unfortunate souls echoing through the shadowed groves.

The villages have become like small forts, the inhabitants fearfully looking out over their crude palisades for signs of monsters from the forest, wandering exiles or worse, war-parties from the cult factions who are always looking for recruits whether they’re willing or not. The vineyards are fonts of corruption, the grapes swell with foul tasting and toxic juices, while the vines resemble brambles, turning the former plantations into impassible thickets. The roads leading up the slopes of Nysa are littered with the aftermath of the many riots and battles which have spilled out from the periphery of the temple since the Thiasus lost control. The ritual sites in particular have become nodes of conflict as the former priests war with another for the privilege of restoring their spells that day, gaining the power to help protect their followers for a little while longer.

By the time one has come to the proximity of the temple, the bands of cultists have grown to the size of small armies, unruly mobs led by either handfuls of the remaining Thiasoi or one of the surviving demigods. They contend with another over the few artifacts that were outside the manse before it was sealed, the deific blood of the demigods, or the few breaches into the temple itself. The worst of the pitched fighting has passed and has given way to periodic raids, as one faction or another gains some slight advantage in new fighters or resources, only to be brought down as the others unite temporarily against them.

The inside of the temple-manse and the fate of those locked inside has remained a mystery to the survivors. Wild rumors of newly minted cults followed the demi-gods of the perished deity do nothing to arrest the fear that those outside hold for those still trapped within. Attempts to breach the god’s former home from the outside have resulted in abject failure; the stone itself resists any will other than a divine one.

Survivors face more than a home which has fallen to lunacy and overgrowth. The mutations became apparent after only a few short weeks after Dionysus’ death. The bodies and minds of every living being have begun to warp in pace with the supernatural world which surrounds them. The wracking changes come upon the inhabitants during sleep and they grow in severity and occurrence the closer they are to the Temple. The villagers fear madness that grows within the most severe mutants and they cast them out once they become unable to control themselves. Exiles wander near the remains of the broken vineyards or make their way to join the war bands. The only reliable way to arrest these changes is divine power, either naturally occurring due to one’s heritage or through consuming someone who has such blood. Even this solution carries risk, as mortal souls aren’t designed to contain such power, and the feasters often find that they become twisted just as severely had they simply let the mutation run their course.

A Death in Nysa - Part II

The Death of Eleutherios

The high-feast of Dionysus occurs only once a decade, and preparations for it can take up to a year or more. No detail is left to chance, only the finest wines are presented, only the most hale and hearty animals of their generation are slaughtered for the feast. The dances and reveries begin as the sun starts to sink below the horizon and the air is filled with the cacophony of hundreds of instruments blaring wildly. The celebration last for weeks this way, the participants dancing and feasting to exhaustion, sleeping through the day to repeat it once more when they awaken and the sun dips below the sky again.   

At the climax Dionysus is presented with a unique spirit, crafted especially for the occasion by the finest vintner his faith is able to produce. The Liberator grows to titanic proportions, makes a short speech and then drinks deep of the proffered cup. Then he passes judgement by either distributing the wine to his followers, or pouring the offending vintage out upon the ground.

This time the God drank deep, opened his mouth to begin to speak and then pitched forwards onto the ground in a heap. This wasn’t wholly without precedent, but when blood began to seep from the orifices of his face the assembled cult flew into a riotous panic. Accusations of Deicide and betrayal were thrown to and fro until a sudden blow in anger set off a wave of violence throughout the assembled mass. The vintner, a man by the name of Ioannes, was one of the many who were torn limb from limb by the fearful mob. The secret of what the drink was fermented from was annihilated along with his soul. One of the deity’s demigod children named Cleite kept her head in the chaos and stole the lord’s Thyrsus. Fearing that his apparent death would draw in scavengers and opportunists from across the multiverse, the half-god used the powerful artifact to lock both the doors of the temple-manse and the entrance to the Hall of Rooms within, which contain the only reliable portals linking the god’s realm to the rest of existence. The remaining worshipers flew from the Temple as best they could, the rest finding themselves locked within as madness began to spread like a plague.

A Death in Nysa - Part I

     This is the first in a series of posts detailing the background of a multi-part module that I am currently working on, set in a dark interpretation of Ancient Greece's afterlife. I will be using an OSR base, but will otherwise strive to largely present a system neutral product.

Before the God’s Death

Known by sages to be among the most idyllic of afterlives that could be achieved by the living, the realm of Dionysus was the picture of an Arcadian ideal. The time after time of the denizens here were once spent cultivating grapes, drinking, singing and performing the wild rituals that once typified the worship of the Divine Drunk. Life was untroubled by hurt, want or illness and the size of the realm swelled to accommodate whatever number of followers were in residence there. There were no rulers or rules beyond the rites practiced by the cult. Each person was free to do as they liked, as long as they did not constrain or harm another.

Imposing and nearly the size of a city, the temple of Dionysus was built atop the divine mountain known as Nysa, the halls where the god himself was raised by the Hyades. Painted garish shades of purple and gold, it is heavily adorned with banners stitched from the hides of tigers, bulls and leopards and the heady scent of incense and wine waft from the great doors even when they are sealed. The highest point of the realm, it was visible from wherever one stood. Surrounding the gentle slopes of the temple grounds were untold acres of vineyards and farmland necessary to produce the amount of wine and kykeon for the many festivals and rituals performed in the power’s honor. The rolling hills had a few small towns, used to bring the bounty of the land to the temple above. Eventually the countryside gives way to a dense, but bountiful forest, full of beasts and plants sacred to deity. Newly arrived souls wander in from these woods from the haze of death. Beyond being the well-spring of new petitioners, the woods were used as a retreat for rituals, and as a source of timber, food and sacred materials.

The inhabitants of Nysa were made up on those who worshiped him in life; people of the wilds, farmers, mystics, former slaves and vagabonds. They were joined by those creatures favored by the deity, such as Satyrs, Nymphs & Centaurs. His once mortal priesthood known as the Maenads if female, or Sileni if male, acted as the organizing element (such as it was) of the cult and were referred to collectively as the Thiasus. Above in esteem than even the Thiasus were the demigod children of the deity itself, all of whom were given honorary positions at the top of his cult. During times of revelry or feasts, the Thiasoi traveled throughout the land and gathered the worshipers, bringing them to either one of the abodes of the God’s children, or to the steps of the temple-manse itself.