The Bearer - LotFP & OSE Custom Class

 

"There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring, you were also meant to have it...and that is an encouraging thought." - Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

     Some heroes do not gain the title through bravery, skill, or cunning. These (un)lucky few have found that their destinies intertwined with a Relic of grand and terrible power. Magic rings which grant limitless arcane potential; lamps which can summon and bind Jinn; peerless blades with soul-stealing spirits lurking within them. Both blessed and accursed, those who come to possess these items find themselves pulled into dramatic events beyond their control. Until the artifact's destiny is achieved, these Bearers, otherwise known as Keepers, cannot part with their Relic.

     In spite of their nature as fate's chewtoys, Bearers never lack for companions. Circumstances conspire to draw others to them, and the relic in their possession allows them audiences and favors far beyond their often humble beginnings. Keepers bring no shortage of strange powers and dangerous risks to their companions, and while it is not uncommon for destiny to be a partner to tragedy, they often become the heart of their fellowship. Regardless of what their future holds, Keepers seem to inevitably find themselves at the center of world-shaking events.

The Bearer
Level	Experience	HP	Paralyze	Poison	Breath	Device	Magic	Beseech
1	0	1d6	14	15	16	14	15	1/week
2	1,500	1d6	14	15	16	14	15
3	3,000	1d6	14	15	16	14	15
4	6,000	1d6	12	13	15	12	13
5	12,000	1d6	12	13	15	12	13
6	24,000	1d6	12	13	15	12	13	2/week
7	48,000	1d6	10	11	13	10	11
8	96,000	1d6	10	11	13	10	11
9	192,000	1d6	10	11	13	10	11
10	288,000	+2*	8	9	11	8	9
11	384,000	+2*	8	9	11	8	9	3/week
12	480,000	+2*	8	9	11	8	9
13	576,000	+2*	6	7	8	6	7
14+	+96,000/lvl	+2*/lvl	6	7	8	6	7

B/X & OSE Rules
Requirements	WIS 9
Prime Requisite	WIS
Hit Dice	d6
Thac0 Table	As Magic-User
Maximum Level	14
Armor	Any, including shields
Weapons	Any
Languages	Alignment, Common

     The defining feature of a Keeper is their Relic. This item is an object of uncanny power that has bound itself to the Bearer's soul. While bound to a soul, no one else may use it, even if they were to kill the owner and take it from them. A relic is useful for it's intended purpose, a sword can be used to deadly effect, and a lantern can be filled with oil and used to cast light. Relics register as magical items to aura sight or other sensory-enhancing effects.

     Each Relic has three aspects to it; a Power, Blessing, and Curse. A relic's Power is generally something which either resembles a spell, and can be used a discrete number of times per day or per week. The relic's Blessing is in effect whenever the object is openly carried by the Keeper. Finally, the relic's Curse afflicts the character so long as their destiny is intertwined with the object's. A relic must be openly brandished or shown in order for a Keeper to gain the benefits of it's Power, but the Blessing and Curse are always in effect.

Relic Details
4d6	Tales tell of the...	...which grants the owner the power to...	...blesses them with...	...and curses them with...
1	Ring	Bind primal spirits such as Elementals or Minor Jinn to their service. They may call these beings to them by bathing their relic in blood.	Immunity to non-magical diseases or poisons. Saves to resist magical versions of these maladies are made with Advantage.	Blindness in the presence of divine or semi-divine beings. This includes gods, their direct servants, and high-level clerics.
2	Weapon	Ensorcell the minds of the week and pliable. May cast Suggestion, Mass 1/week, as well as Charm Person 1/day & Suggestion 3/day.	Freedom from sleep, exhaustion, fatigue, thirst, and hunger.	An extremely interesting life. The GM secretly rolls a d10 at the start of each session. On an 9 or higher, some strange setback presents itself.
3	Lamp	Bolster the hearts of the many, and drive them to glory. 4/day the Bearer may cast Bless. They may also cast Remove Fear at will.	The courage to resist all fear, magical or otherwise.	The unending enmity of some religion, faction, or terrifyingly powerful being within the campaign world. They will hunt the Keeper relentlessly.
4	Armor	Put a thumb on the scales of fate. 3/day, whenever a roll is performed within the Character's presence, they may call for a re-roll, choosing which result applies afterwards.	Immunity to natural environmental effects like drowning, being blown away by a storm, or burning to death in a volcano.	Terrifying visions of things to come or things that have already happened. These visions come at times of great stress, and you must save vs magic, or be overcome with their power during the first round of combat.
5	Mask	See the truth of all things. Lies and misdirection will not work on them; Illusion magic of any sort fails to convince them. 1/day they may extend this effect to another person.	Immunity to instant death effects such as Disintegrate, Power Word: Kill, or Vorpal weapons. They are also immune to blood loss or other similar effects. They may still die to violence or other causes.	The relic afficts you with a lunacy which waxes with the phases of the moon. Each waxing phase (New, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4) finds you taking a cumulative -1 penalty for all rolls to notice fine details.
6	Belt	Raise the bodies of the dead as mindless undead servants. 3/day, the character may touch a corpse the size of a human or smaller. For the 1d4 days, this corpse obeys their will and then collapses into dust.	Freedom from any magical effect which could hold or otherwise bind them.	Anytime an NPC learns of the relic and know of it's power, they will immediately grow covetous. They may resist effect this with a successful save against magic.

     The only ability which Bearers possess beyond those of their relic is that of their uncanny capacity to enlist aid from others to aid them on their quests. Known as Beseech, this ability may only be used a number of times per week as indicated upon the Bearer's class table above.

     In essence, Beseech may be used to convince someone to aid the Keeper in some tangible, material sense. This can take many forms, but as a general rule it should be something that an individual NPC could provide without necessarily plunging themselves into poverty or trouble. This can range from asking for a set of horses without cost at a livery, to three hairs from the elf queen's head. Especially costly or otherwise wide-ranging requests may be denied, but the Bearer is still entitled to help in some meaningful sense.

The Devourer - LotFP & OSE Custom Class (Redux)

        Hunger is ever present. To consume is to survive. Animals kill other animals, sometimes brutally; a river of blood with a bed of bones sustains civilization. Everyone does their best to harden themselves or forget the suffering their very existence inflicts on other living things. But what if the target of one's hunger was something too terrible to countenance?

        Devourers are beings who have been saddled with such a terrible burden; every one of them is anthropophagic, whether that be a hunger for human flesh, blood, or carrion, they must consume the bodies of other sapient beings to nourish themselves. Any ethical standards typically vanish in the face of such odious appetites.

        Often called Ghouls, Vampires, or Wendigo; devourers are are no longer among the truly living, but others simply have been saddled against their wills with awful appetites. Many have been cursed in some way, or infected with some terrifying disease. Nearly all devourers find themselves at the absolute brink of any society, civilized or savage. Most try to hide what they are, leading double lives as seemingly average members of a community, eating only when they absolutely must. Others hold no such pretenses, becoming predators in the wilderness, feasting upon unwary travelers.

        Their need for flesh alienates them to almost everyone, but their frightening comestible requirements can often be ignored (at least temporarily) by the desperate and the unscrupulous, willing to take advantage of the devourer's frightening abilities while doing their utmost to forget the terrible costs. When the prey grows slim, and their new companion begins to starve, many of them do not live to regret their mistake.

The Devourer
Level	Experience	HP	Paralyze	Poison	Breath	Device	Magic	Hunger	Consumptions
1	0	1d8	13	15	15	13	16	12	1
2	2,000	1d6	13	15	15	13	16
3	4,000	1d6	13	15	15	13	16
4	8,000	1d6	13	13	13	11	14
5	16,000	1d6	11	13	13	11	14	11	2
6	32,000	1d6	11	13	13	11	14
7	64,000	1d6	11	9	9	9	12
8	128,000	1d6	11	9	9	9	12
9	256,000	1d6	9	9	9	9	12	10	3
10	384,000	+2*	9	7	7	7	10
11	512,000	+2*	9	7	7	7	10
12	640,000	+2*	9	7	7	7	10
13	768,000	+2*	6	5	5	5	8	9	4
14+	896,000	+2*	6	5	5	5	8

    *Constitution modifiers no longer apply

B/X & OSE Rules
Requirements	None
Prime Requisite	DEX
Hit Dice	d6
Thac0 Table	As Rogue
Maximum Level	14
Armor	Any, including shields
Weapons	Any
Languages	Alignment, Common

        Devourers can see in the dark as Dwarves or Elves. Shackled with the need to consume others, Devourers do not age or have any other dietary needs, and increase their unarmed damage from a d2 to a d4, representing the vicious claws or teeth that they need to eat their victims.

        Devourers have two mechanics unique to their class; their Hunger Gauge, which measures how much nourishment they've consumed, and their Consumptions, which are the abilities fueled by spending Hunger Levels.

        The Hunger Gauge has six levels: Starving, Ravenous, Hungry, Peckish, Sated and Gorged. Each hunger level gives the Devourer a different set of effects as detailed in the table below. Devourers start play at Sated. Each day a Devourer must make a hunger save, if they fail they drop down an additional level, (i.e. from Hungry to Ravenous). When the Devourer hits Starving and they fail their hunger save, they take damage equal to their character level instead of dropping down another level. Devourers then make this save every subsequent day until they've managed to feed. Hunger levels can only be restored by feeding upon self-aware, intelligent creatures.

        Devourers choose at character creation whether they wish to feed on flesh or blood. This choice cannot be altered once made, and they can gain nourishment only from the one they chose.

        Feeding upon flesh results in the death of the creature being fed upon, the wounds are simply too dire for a victim to feasibly survive. Dead flesh provides sustenance at half the rate that fresh meat does. Feeding on blood results in a cumulative -2 Constitution penalty for the victim, which does not heal until they've recuperated in a safe area for at least a day.

        The Referee may rule that certain creatures are large or small enough they may provide more or less hunger levels than normal.

Hunger Level
Starving	+3 to Damage rolls, +2 to Initiative rolls, -1 to AC
Ravenous	+2 to Damage rolls, +1 to Initiative rolls.
Hungry	+1 to Attack rolls, +1 to Damage rolls.
Peckish	+1 to Attack rolls, +1 to Damage rolls.
Sated	+1 to Attack rolls, +1 to Reaction rolls, +1 to AC
Gorged	+2 to Attack rolls, +2 to Reaction rolls, +1 to AC

        Consumptions are enhancements fueled by spending hunger levels on a one to one basis. Spending hunger levels does not require an action, but Devourers cans pend them only during their own turns. Devourers cannot spend more hunger levels than their Constitution modifier in a single turn, nor use the same consumption multiple times during combat unless otherwise stipulated. Consumptions fade at the end of combat, or after ten minutes.

Consumption of the...
Mighty	Augment your Strength a number of points equal to 1/3 of your level, minimum 1. This Consumption may be used multiple times in a combat.
Agile	Enhance your Dexterity equal to 1/3 of your level, minimum 1. This Consumption may be used multiple times in a combat.
Resilient	Gain damage resistance equal to 1/3 of your level, minimum 1.
Fleet	Add you (level + 4) to your movement speed. Double your jumping and leaping distances. Gain +2 to your AC.
Everlasting	Regain (1d6 + level) in HP. This may take you over your maximum HP total, any excess fades at the end of combat. This Consumption may be used multiple times in a combat.
Skinchanger	Transform yourself into a carnivorous creature such as a wolf or tiger a number of times per day equal to 1/3 of your HD, plus your Charisma modifier, minimum 1.
Changeling	Take on the visage, voice, and scent of the last intelligent being that you fed upon. You are considered to be them for the purposes of scrying or other divination effects.
Necroscope	You may see and interact with ghosts, spirits and other intangible beings. You also ask an intact corpse a question once per use of this consumption as per the Speak With Dead spell.
Stalker	You may hear through doors and thin walls, and may notice hidden doors as an Elf. Gain a 3-in-6 in Stealth.
Predator	Your unnerving gaze can hold others in place. A number of times per day equal to 1/3 of your level, minimum 1, you may force a creature to make a save vs Paralysis or be unable to move until attacked or otherwise harmed.

        Hey there folks! This is a re-do of one of the first classes I ever made for this blog. I've had the chance to see this class in action in a few of my own games, and I made some changes in light of those experiences. I've also cleaned up the formatting, and made a few other improvements. I'm hoping to choose a set of my best classes and then redoing them like this one in hopes of throwing them up onto my Itch page.