Some time ago, I set up a game set during World War 2, specifically in the Laundryverse (although I took some liberties with the setting). If you know the great book series by Charles Stross, you now what I mean. If not, the basic premise is that magic is an advanced form of mathematics, using algorithms as spells and geometry curves as summoning diagrams to invoke horrific, Cthulhu-like creatures.
A combination of bad luck, the Great Paizo Bug Season, personal problems and my own shortcomings brought the game to haemorrage players until we are left with two. So, here's my re-recruitment. I'm not sure how many characters I'll be picking, it will depend on the number and quality of submissions.
The playing characters are agents of an Allies team of occult agencies (codenamed REVERSE CHARLEMAGNE), and bound to secrecy to avoid breaking the Masquerade. The game itself is organized in different missions, and you have the chance to create entirely different characters between one mission and the next one. Currently, the party is carrying out the assassination of the Nazi senior officer Reinhardt Heydrich, and they just acquired one legendary Golem.
The original recruitment rules can be found at this post, the first post in the recruitment and the Campaign Info tab, with the following differences:
- The level is 7 instead of 6.
- You have access to two kinds of special bullets: unstable silver, more powerful against the undead, and banishing iron, more powerful against summoned creatures and demons (they act as bane, inflicting 2d6 extra damage). However, they deal reduced damage against humans.
- Most importantly: the current mission is set in Prague, behind enemy lines, so I'd like you to make a character who can reasonably be there: a refugee of some sort, a resistance fighter, someone fleeing from the SS, perhaps a spy infiltrated in the government. We can work together at finding a reasonable motive for you to be there.
I try to keep a healthy amount of non-combat challenges, so be sure that your character has out-of-combat utility, as well as in-combat utility, as tactics and reactivity will be required more than sheer damage output.
I'd set a soft deadline (no new applications accepted) for December 7th, and a hard one for the 11th. And of course I'm here for any question you may have.
*Rubs chin* Can you tell me a little more about the setting? This seems like a great game to draw inspiration from two of my favorite series (The Dresden Files and Deus Machina Demonbane), so I'm thinking of a character who specializes in sort of collecting and sealing the Creepy Outer Things, then drawing on their power in a more controlled way.
Current thought is a gunner-type character built as a Sage with the Ki Blaster esoteric training.
Definitely interested in this. Is there a possibility that I could be an ex-nazi or german who dislikes hitler, helps jews escape and such? Not sure of class yet.
Sure!
Any cryptanalyst can tell you how powerful mathematics can be, but it has even more potential than you think. There are certain calculations, certain algorithm and theorems allowing to solve exponentially complex problems in a polynomial amount of time. The side effect of such powerful maneuvers is that these calculations resonate within the platonic realm of numbers, and there are those who listen to such changes. The right algorithm can call the attention of one of the many-angled ones, who dwell in the void between stars or at the bottom of the Mandelbrot set. And they can give power, at a price.
Magic is generally on the creepy side, as a result of that. Computational demonologists, for example, harness the powers of creatures called the Feeders in the Night, who can override the nervous system of a living creature and take over. With the correct training, the Feeders can be controlled and set to execute algorithms.
In Dresden Files terms, being a practitioner of magic is somehow close to being a White Court vampire: you are using the power of unnatural, unpleasant entities, and there is a price to pay.
Of course, knowledge of these creatures is dangerous, which is why supernatural enforcement agencies exist. The UK has the Laundry, the USA have the Black Chamber, and the Soviet Union has the Razvedka, each more ruthless than the previous. If you stumble upon one of the proper algorithms, you can expect a visit from a government representative, binding you to secrecy on pain of death and giving you a job offer that you, quite literally, can not refuse.
Being part of one of such agencies also has its perks. You have access to training, equipment and defensive measures, the most common of which is a ward, an information pattern running in your brain and preventing possession by lesser creatures (such as the aforementioned Feeders in the Night). If you are not part of such agencies, I will assume that you managed to fashion one of such wards.
Of course, it's not necessary to be a practitioner of magic to be given a mission. The Laundry often draws from the Commandos, for example, to provide fire support to critical missions. And there are some who manage to get enough power and knowledge to evade recruitment and can get employed as external assets, or mercenaries. These options are reflected by the Special Forces Agent and Independent Contractor campaign traits.
Your enemy is the Ahnenerbe-SS, a branch of the SS that is working on some creepy stuff, mostly dealing in necromancy and massive human sacrifice. It appears that they have some large, overarching plan, but you are not sure what it is. The current mission, in Prague, is to assassinate Reinhardt Heydrich, a skilled necromancer as well as a powerful senior officer.
@Rednal: Properly sealing those who dwell in darkness is a dangerous thing that can work quite well, like the aforementioned computational demonologists.
@Diamondust: You can very well be a German resistance agent, or a defector. The only thing I'm going to veto is you being a runaway member of the Ahnenerbe-SS, as there is only one way out of the association.
(And with that music, I'm gonna start tinkering with my character a little later today, when I've got more free time. XD As a general question, though, would Banishment-style powers work on the creepy things? And I may have to tinker with things a little to make the base concept work...... but I think it'll be doable.)
Ok that was one idea i had that i was going to ask about. Does this Ahnenerbe have a non-secret, more public research, Aryan propaganda spreading side to it that my character could have been apart of? Or something else like that.
My idea is an electrical engineer, Hans Müller, mostly a nobody that got caught up in Hitler's rhetoric and saw good things happening for Germany and joined the NSDAP but as things became more extreme he realised he couldn't keep supporting their vision of Germany. He helped some Jews escape but he became a suspect and had to flee. He is now on the run. It is all complicated by the battle wound he recently took to the head which, like the freak stories of people waking up speaking a different language, he woke up understanding far more than a mortal should about things. His engineering and scientific knowledge had been expanded and he can now use this knowledge to alter reality. He hasn't got out from the reach of the Nazis yet, managing to hideout in Prague for the moment trying to figure out his next move.
The one-in-a-never chance that his wound rearranged his brain ever so slightly in just the right way to take his current educated understanding and open up a whole new universe of possibility has made everything worse for him. First just a suspect of aiding Jews, now also hunted by those of the Ahnenerbe to kill him or use his new magical ability, not to mention the dark things at the edge of his newfound knowledge. He hates his new power and wants to escape the war and have a peaceful life. He only uses it if absolutely necessary, which happens to be much more often than he likes.
I haven't decided on a class yet.
I don't know if I'd really want to play in a World War 2 setting (just because it seems SO different from what pathfinder is designed for) but I'll throw my hat into the ring. for multiple similar but different ideas both using the same name and class
Seras Victoria.
Seras had no idea exactly what she was getting into joining the RAF. She knew that she'd be fighting in the air, shooting Nazis, bombing cities and the like, but she never exactly expected something like THIS. She only learned about the new 'magic' after a freak crash tore her spitfire in half. She thought it was the end for her, but found that... Something, had protected her.
Version 1: Armorist, That moment in her backstory she wakes up to find that a breastplate has formed around her chest, and a black bladed sword has attached itself to her no matter how many times she tries to throw it away.
Version 2: Blaster Armorist: If swords and armor really are not fitting to the setting, then rather than a breastplate and sword she finds that she now has a mystical cannon on her arm to use in place of her tommy.
Version 3: Darkshaper Armorist: Again similarly, instead of a sword she instead finds her shadow is alive with the tentacled grip of some eldritch being, and that she has a newfound taste for blood. (The design most based on the Original Seras)
Version 4: Symbiotic Knight: Again similar to most of the others, just depends on what is most fitting.
Yes I am super indecisive and don't know which of these would be most fitting or fun.
@Diamondust: Yes, the Ahnenerbe is officially a branch dedicated to the ethnographic study of Aryanism. About the backstory, it can work if he had previously been exposed to the occult branch of mathematics that calls forth the uncanny, either researching it himself or coming into contact with a practitioner. Then, the bump in the head suddenly caused an epiphany, and everything made horribly sense.
@Warriorking9001: One note: everyone knows that vampires don't exist. That said, generally occult bargains happen for a cause, rather than by accident: being exposed to magic or infected by parasites are good examples. One idea that pops into my mind is that she crashed while doing recon too close to an occult experiment, and psychic parasites latched on to her. The third and fourth concept appear to be the easiest to tie with the backstory for that, but the other two are not impossible at all.
Remember, anyway, that it's not so impossible to be exposed to the eldritch and magical, it just takes some delving into mathematics or being exposed to it.
Well I wasn't really actually going for seras being a vampire because I'm 99% sure there isn't really any halfway decent way to be something like that aside from damphir and maybe the Death Sphere's vampiric ghost stuff, and I did think basically that it was some kind of eldritch being or quote end quote "Parasite" got into her. Though I guess that would rule out the normal armorist and blaster and make it a heat between shadow and symbiote.
Here's what I have so far. Thoughts?
Male human sage 7
CG Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger)
Init +8; Senses Perception +18
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Defense
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AC 25, touch 24, flat-footed 21 (+2 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 enhancement, +1 natural, +6 untyped bonus)
hp 49 (7d6+7)
Fort +7, Ref +11, Will +12
Defensive Abilities equip: magic armor (+2)
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee chi gong +3 (As Spell) or
. . +2 destructive blast +7 touch (4d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks barrage sphere: barrage (3 ki blast attacks), barrage: intercepting shot, barrage: redirection (blitz), esotery: meteor shower, esotery: restorative blast, esotery: scatter blast (25-foot cone), sniper: deadly shot
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 25
Feats Basic Magical Training, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Simple Weapon Proficiency (sling), Skill Focus (Craft [alchemy]), Skill Focus (Perception), Telekinetic Exoskeleton, Toughness, Transformation, Weapon Focus (ray)
Traits practiced aim
Skills Acrobatics +8, Appraise +6, Climb +4, Craft (alchemy) +11, Diplomacy +10, Escape Artist +10, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Perception +18, Profession (Detective) +12, Profession (Yog-Sothothery philosopher) +15, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +10, Survival +10, Swim +6
Languages Common
SQ - custom talent -, ac bonus (+6), alchemy sphere, alchemy: formulae (4/time), alchemy: salve (formulae) (2d8/7 per char per day), barrage sphere, barrage: vigilant sharpshooter, casting, chi gong (4d6), combat training, destructive blast, equip: critical genius (ki blast), esoteric training: ki blaster (40 ft/4d6), extradimensional storage, independent contractor, ki pool, meditation (3d6), plane manipulator, sniper sphere, telekinesis, teleport
Other Gear chi gong
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Special Abilities
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AC Bonus (+6) (Ex) When unarmored and unencumbered, the sage adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a sage gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four sage levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at
Alchemy Sphere (Ex) Training in the Alchemy combat sphere teaches you how to quickly and efficiently combine volatile chemicals for new or enhanced effects.
When you gain the Alchemy sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Craft (alchemy) skill, plus 5 ranks per additional tal
Alchemy: Formulae (4/time) (Ex) Some Alchemy talents have the (formulae) descriptor; these are improved or original versions of alchemical items you can only create once you’ve learned the talent. All formulae have a base crafting DC as noted in their descriptor, and their saving
Alchemy: Salve (formulae) (2d8/7 per char per day) (Ex) You create a poultice that can be used as a standard action to heal yourself or a target within your natural reach for 1d8 points of damage per 2 ranks in Craft (alchemy) you possess (minimum 1d8) plus your practitioner modifier. You can only attempt
Barrage Sphere (Ex) Barrage practitioners specialize in using ranged weapons to make fast shots, often from the middle of the melee itself. Practitioners of the Barrage sphere gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 ft. Assoc
Barrage Sphere: Barrage (3 Ki Blast attacks) (Ex) As a special attack action, you may make two ranged attacks at your full base attack bonus -2. Beginning at 6 base attack bonus, you may expend your martial focus to make an additional extra attack, increasing the penalty to all your attacks from -2
Barrage: Intercepting Shot (Ex) As a readied action, you may attempt to shoot down a ranged attack. This does not work against unusually massive ranged weapons (such as boulders or ballista bolts, unless you are also using a massive projectile, such as a boulder or siege weapon amm
Barrage: Redirection (blitz) (Ex) When making a barrage, you may use an extra attack to strike one of your other attacks, changing its course mid-flight. Rather than making this extra attack, another of your attacks may instead change course once, allowing you to strike around corner
Barrage: Vigilant Sharpshooter (Ex) As long as you have martial focus, you threaten all squares within 5 ft. of yourself with your ranged or thrown weapon. When making an attack of opportunity with a ranged weapon, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity with your ranged attack.
Y
Basic Magical Training (Warp) You gain access to one magic sphere
Casting (CL 7, MSB +0, MSD 11, Concentration +5, DC 18) You can cast sphere effects.
Chi Gong (4d6) (Su) At 1st level, the sage learns the chi gong technique, which allows him to wield his ki as a precise instrument, thrusting it into an opponent and disrupting their physiology or reinforcing a wounded ally. A sage’s chi gong is measured in d6’s: th
Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Combat Training (Ex) A sage may combine combat spheres and talents to create powerful martial techniques. Sages are considered Proficient practitioners and use Wisdom as their practitioner modifier.
Destruction: Destructive Blast 4d6 Ranged or melee touch attack deals 4d6 damage
Destruction: Eldritch Blast As Stone Blast, but appears to be a burst of energy despite its effects.
Equip: Critical Genius (Ki Blast) (Ex) You may select 1 weapon with which you are proficient (including unarmed strike), treating that weapon as though its critical threat range was 19-20 (unless it would be higher) and its critical multiplier as though it was x2 (even if it would normall
Equip: Magic Armor (+2) (Ex) You can coax great power from the magic in your armor. You gain a deflection bonus to AC equal to your worn armor’s enhancement bonus to AC.
Esoteric Training: Ki Blaster (40 ft/4d6) (Su) The sage has trained to project his energy outside of himself, firing devastating blasts of energy from his palms, eyes, or another part of his body. Ki blasts are rays that can be fired as ranged touch attacks with a range of close (25 ft. + 5 ft. p
Esotery: Meteor Shower (Su) The sage gains the Barrage combat sphere as a bonus sphere. If he already has the Barrage sphere from another source, he instead gains any one Barrage sphere talent he qualifies for. Whenever the sage uses his ki blast to attack multiple creatures as
Esotery: Restorative Blast (Su) The sage learns to convert the energy of his ki blasts into healing positive energy. The sage may spend 1 ki point when making a ki blast attack to cause the attack to heal an amount of damage equal to the damage it would normally deal; undead creatu
Esotery: Scatter Blast (25-foot cone) (Su) The sage may spend a ki point when making a ki blast attack to treat his ki blast as a scatter weapon for 1 round; while this effect is active his ki blast attacks target all creatures within a 15 ft. cone, making a separate attack roll against each
Independent Contractor (Ex) You avoided government recruitment. Perhaps you were a mercenary, perhaps you came from a country without such an agency, perhaps you are a freedom fighter. One way or another, you've had to learn your way into the world. You gain a +1 bonus to two K
Ki Pool (12/day) (Su) At 1st level, a sage gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in a sage’s ki pool is equal to his sage level + his Wisdom modifier. By spending 1 point from his ki pool, a sage can
Meditation (3d6) (Ex) The sage can spend 1 hour in quiet contemplation to gather and reinforce his mental and spiritual energies in preparation for the task ahead. When the sage meditates in this manner, he gains a pool of bonus dice equal to 1/2 his class level (rounded
Sniper Sphere (Ex) Snipers specialize in making single, deadly shots, often over great distances. Practitioners of the Sniper sphere can shoot or throw ranged weapons at a creature engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on their attack roll. Associat
Sniper: Deadly Shot (Ex) As a special attack action, you may make an attack with a ranged weapon. You may add any one (snipe) talent you know to this attack.
In addition, you may expend your martial focus to increase the damage dealt by the attack by 1d10, or 1d6 if the att
Telekinesis: Telekinesis (Small, Speed 25 ft, DC 18) You can move objects and creatures with your mind, with several applications
Telekinetic Exoskeleton (Tactile Telekinesis) Gain the benefit of one of three telekinetic enhancements
Transformation (Avian Transformation) (Su) You can assume a single alternate form from the Alteration sphere
Warp: Extradimensional Storage You gain a permanent extradimensional space that may hold non-living material
Warp: Plane Manipulator (DC 18) Block teleportation and interplanar travel within an area, or banish an extraplanar creature
Warp: Teleport You can teleport yourself as a standard action
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Sooner or later, the government catches up to everyone who works with the dangerous, abstract mathematical equations that can call upon the things from outside. In Titus' case, it was later - thanks in no small part to the source of his knowledge and power, a grimoire capable of sealing some entities within equations and transmuting their essence into useful energy. Titus occasionally describes it as a kind of perpetual reactor that siphons heat from the contents to run a machine. That's not quite the truth of the matter, but it's the best explanation he's been able to give.
As a Sage, Titus channels the power he gets from his grimoire in several ways. The most obvious of these is his 'gun', which he summons to his hand to unleash blasts of energy. The gun itself is more of a visible idea than a physical object - it's not real, as such, but acts as a concept that Titus can interact with. He's something of a trick marksman with his gun, capable of shooting energy in a variety of ways. He often uses his Eldritch Blast technique to turn the energy into a mundane form that allows it to bypass most anti-magic defenses.
When he wants to get a little more exotic, Titus is able to fire a faster barrage of blasts, up to and including targeting a broad cone of foes or transmuting the offensive energy into healing power. Separately, Titus knows how to create healing salves, teleport himself around, or even shoot down incoming ranged attacks. Occasionally, he channels a form of telekinesis to accomplish his goals.
Outside of combat, Titus is a Detective and Philosopher who studies the weird things of beyond. While not unusually intelligent, his efforts are aided by his grimoire and its method of sealing things in a way that makes them useful.
The nature of his grimoire and his ability to hide it by folding space meant it took longer than usual for the government to find him. Recognizing the potential, however, they ultimately decided to "ask" him to be an Independent Contractor. Since his completely voluntary and definitely not at all encouraged-at-gunpoint recruitment, Titus has received training in acrobatic movement, diplomacy, escaping restraints, sensing motives, stealth, and outdoor survival. Much of this is aided by the fact that he can transform himself into a crow at will, which makes reaching destinations much easier than many expect. Between that and folding space to hide supplies, he's able to operate independently much better than most people realize... though he does prefer to work with a team.
Ooooh, Hellsing! Although Alucard would kinda fit better, since he was kicking around in World War II (albeit as a little girl, since he could). Vaguely interested in doing an Integra to that Seras, but I have a slightly different idea in mind.
Would you object to an Aasimar Spellcaster of some kind with the Innocent trait who use the Cunnin Caster feat to effectively be a magical assassin. Explosion appears, they start screaming hysterically that people around them are bursting into flames, what's going on!?...you get the loose idea.
I'm not sure which class I'll pick for it, but I was considering Sorcerer. Would Bloodlines need to be refluffed/flavoured to make sure they exist in this world, and would any be an outright no go?
Also sorry to the OP if I've turned this into hellsing by my actions
What are your thoughts on Deep One Hybrids? They seem quite fitting with the Laundry series.
First and foremost, as much as I like Hellsing and you are free to get inspiration from anywhere, I'd like to reiterate that this is not a Hellsing-themed game ;)
@Warriorking9001: there's a vampire-themed Symbiat archetype in the Blood Sphere playtest if you'd like to go for the vampiric flavour. Anyways, it looks like the concept is sound.
@Rednal: Not a cute anime girl? Who are you, and what have you done with Rednal?
Jokes aside, I don't see anything wrong, other than you have the Equipment Sphere's Magic Armor talent while being unarmored. Do you want to elaborate on the origin of the tome, or would you leave that to me?
@JonGarrett: I'd say it can work, given that you keep a certain subtlety. Effects that are visibly supernatural are discouraged, as you usually focus on not attracting attention, but occasional spontaneous combustion or "accidents" can work well.
@Simeon: I sort of overlooked them, but yes, they seem like a very good fit, like a certain character in the books. If you don't want to deal with the Sea Longing trait, I may work out something like the gillmen's Water Dependent trait, giving you penalties if you don't submerge in water at least once per day. And I'd say you have to spend a trait to look human.
I have magically-enchanted clothing thanks to ABP's Attunement. ^^ That's the de-facto "armor" for my character. (Or, at least, it's an outfit that gives me an enhancement bonus to AC, which seems close enough. XD)
As for the origin of the tome... well, it's a grimoire, so the assumption is that it's very old and writing it was pretty dangerous. I was thinking originally Persian in light of Muhammad Al-Karaji's initial use of mathematical induction, which feels like a very forward-thinking process better able to contain the weirdness of the far reaches of math (proving "boundaries", basically). It's very possible that the grimoire itself has formulas that allow it to change and match the current era, the better to be understood and used. There's a non-zero possibility that it wound its way through other mathematicians who helped improve it.
I could probably make the grimoire a cute anime girl if it makes you feel better. I mean, that's what some of my inspiration did. XD
Well I'll definitely look into it, but again I wasn't really ACTUALLY looking to be a vampire so much as taking inspiration from the more general idea of a "young british woman ends up caught up in magic, trying to get her bearings and save the world from magical nazis
Some points
1:Also it seems that Rednal and I have somehow switched minds if his niche is usually the Cute Anime Girl.
2: I do have to ask in regards to certain things, namely the use of Guns in this setting. I'd assume with the WWII aesthetic that it would use the "Guns Everywhere" rules, but I thought check BEFORE I give her a revolver or rifle or cannon assuming it's a simple weapon. and more generally, what weapons would even be available for this, since I assume that most of the normal
3: I will say the blood stuff is actually really interesting. I'm a bit upset to see that it doesn't do more with the idea of using blood circulation to enhance your abilities aside from that one advanced talent (though technically if I want to do bodily enhancements and blood rages I could just have the Symbiat grab Mind (with rage) and Enhancement (with the bodily enhancement)
Okay Screw it, Bloodscarred it is if it's cleared, but I need a few more questions.
1: For Restricted Enhancement
You may only enhance a specific category of creatures, drawn from the ranger’s favored enemy list, chosen upon taking this drawback. If your GM approves, you may instead select a category that is roughly as narrow as a ranger’s favored enemy, such as “members of my own tribe”. You must already possess the Bodily Enhancement drawback to select this one.
Would "Living Creatures that have blood" be too broad of a term for this?
2: Again the weapons thing because I don't want to end up giving y'all that issue of carrying a revolver when others carry slings. Or carry a sword when others carry modern combat knives.3: How are we determining stats?
@Rednal: Ok, I'm not sure if it was meant to work that way but it hardly seems broken, especially after you spend a talent for it. That grimoire origin is excellent.
@Warriorking9001: About guns, the info are in the Campaign Info page but I'll report them and the starting equipment choices here.
Firearms:
All weapons misfire only on a natural 1.
Autofire means that, as a full-round action, a weapon fires 8 bullets and attacks all targets in a 60 ft. cone, albeit with a -4 penalty (possibly added to range penalty). Autofire weapons firing single shots get a -2 penalty, and another -2 penalty for each shot fired in the turn. All firearms threaten on a 20 and have a x4 critical modifier. Firearms are never masterwork unless their wielder is a Gunslinger.
Rogues with the Sniper Archetype get proficiency with Sniper Rifles.
- Light Pistol: Simple, Light, 2d4 damage, capacity 8, range 30 ft., 1 lb.
- Heavy Pistol: Simple, One-handed, 2d6 damage, capacity 10, range 40 ft., 2 lbs.
- Machine Pistol: Martial, One-handed, 1d8 damage, capacity 16, range 30 ft., 4 lbs., autofire
- Semiautomatic Rifle: Martial, Two-handed, 2d6 damage, capacity 8, range 80 ft., 15 lbs.
- Shotgun: Martial, Two-handed, 2d8 damage, capacity 4, range 40 ft., 15 lbs., scatter
- Assault Rifle: Martial, Two-handed, 2d6 damage, capacity 40, range 40 ft., 15 lbs., autofire
- Sniper Rifle: Martial, Two-handed, 2d10 damage, capacity 4, range 150 ft., 20 lbs.
- Grenade: Splash Weapon, explodes one round after it's been thrown. 4d6 damage, range 10 ft., 1 lb.
Ammunition is divided between Light Handgun Ammo, Heavy Handgun Ammo, Rifle Ammo, Sniper Rifle Ammo and Shotgun shells.
Armor:
- Light Armor: fatigues reinforced with a flak vest and metal plaques on the vulnerable parts. Either +4 PAC and +2 BAC or +2 PAC and +4 BAC. Max Dex +6. 7 lbs, ASF 15%, ACP -1.
- Medium Armor: flak jacket going over a light, hardened chainmail, metal plaques over padding to protect from any kind of weapon. +5 PAC and +5 BAC. Max Dex +3. 20 lbs, ASF 30%, ACP -3.
- Heavy Armor: Experimental tactical suit, only available to special forces. Either +8 PAC and +6 BAC or +6 PAC and +8 BAC. Max Dex +1. 35 lbs, ASF 50%, ACP -5.
Enemy soldier uniforms will be available if needed.
Each character gen get one requisition pack. Your other personal funds will only buy mundane, non-weapon items (although you can buy anything that could be reasonably found in 1942 Great Britain). Everyone gets a free Radio and can also get a free Healer's Kit. Should you have specific needs, tell me and I may add others.
Soldier Package:
- Any armor
- Up to 2 Two-handed firearms and up to 2 pistols. 100 rounds of ammunition for each weapon.
- Up to 2 non-firearm weapons, masterwork quality, optionally silvered.
- Up to 2 daggers or similar small weapons, optionally silvered.
- Up to 5 grenades.
- up to 4 1st-level potions.
- Up to 500 gp in consumable Slotless Wondrous Items (like feather tokens).
Specialist
- Medium or Light Armor, camouflaged for a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth.
- Up to 1 Two-handed firearm and 1 pistol. 50 rounds of ammunition for each weapon.
- 1 pistol silencer. A silenced pistol muffles the shot's noise, but does not cut it completely. Perception checks to hear a silenced shot suffer a quadruple distance penalty.
- 1 non-firearm weapon, masterwork quality, optionally silvered.
- Up to 10 light weapons, optionally silvered.
- Up to 3 grenades.
- Specialist Kit. Grants a +4 circumstance bonus to Disable Device, Disguise, Knowledge (All) and Survival. A Specialist Kit has 10 uses.
- Night Vision Device. Grants Darkvision 60 ft., but forces a -4 penalty to Perception for things outside the cone of vision.
- Up to 6 1-st level potion, up to 2 2nd-level potions.
- Up to 3000 gp in consumable Slotless Wondrous Items (like feather tokens).
Practitioner
- Light Armor. This armor can be forfeited for 500gp of extra Slotless Wondrous Items credit.
- 1 handgun. 50 rounds of ammunition.
- 1 non-firearm weapon, masterwork quality, optionally silvered.
- Up to 2 light weapons, optionally silvered.
- Up to 8 1-st level scrolls, up to 3 2-nd level scrolls, 1 3rd level scroll.
- Up to 4 1-st level potions, 1 2-nd level potion.
- 1 1-st level wand.
- Up to 2500 gp in consumable Slotless Wondrous Items (like feather tokens).
About the questions:
1) It's too broad, you should go with one of the ranger favored enemies. Anyway, you'll mostly face humanoid(human), undead and aberration monsters, so if you choose humans you'll basically just be restricting yourself from enchanting animals.
2) The requisition packs contain your sets of equipment: for non-firearm weapons you can pick whatever is appropriate for 1942. Mad Jack Churchill fought with a broadsword and a longbow, after all. Big weapons may be conspicuous, however.
3) 20-point buy, no score below 8 before racials. You also get the +1 for 4th level and the bonuses from ABP.
Yeah, 25 AC is basically optimal for 7th level, so he's pretty far from broken there. XD I'm not expecting it to be a problem. I might spend some time later working on a deeper backstory for the grimoire.
Okay then.
Human
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 14 (before racial) 16 after racial
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 11
Charisma 14
Specialist Requisition (She didn't know she'd be turned into a weird cthulhu vampire after all)
Weapon: One Heavy Pistol (Sadly I don't have the proficiencies to go for the two handed rifle unless I can replace Shortbow Proficiency with Semi-automatic rifles. But hey, why the hell would a pilot use a pistol.)
Light Armorfatigues reinforced with a flak vest and metal plaques on the vulnerable parts. Either +4 PAC and +2 BAC or +2 PAC and +4 BAC. Max Dex +6. 7 lbs, ASF 15%, ACP -1.
I don't really know what PAC and BAC mean yet admittedly.
Silvered Shortsword: She didn't get why they insisted it be silvered, but she'll probably find out soon enough.
Steel Shortsword: Has some heft to help her deal damage, but is light enough to use her agility to her advantage.
For the other "9" light weapons, she probably doesn't carry a tonne of weaponry because she was a pilot originally and foremost. or say she found a bunch of knives in the wreckage.
I'll say for grenades that she found them in the wreckage after landing rather than beforehand.
I can't access the SRD right now so I need to hold in terms of figuring out her wondrous items.
Traits:
Special Forces Operative: Gain quick draw as a bonus feat
Feats:
Air Force Training: Can use the Drive Skill to
Extra Combat Talent: Finesse Fighting (Am I allowed to take that? Also I will admit I'd be kinda tempted to ask if I could get Blended Training somehow but I doubt it)
Also what starting level are we again?
@Warriorking9001: I don't see what would stop you from taking Finesse Fighting. You are level 7, and PAC and BAC are your armor class against normal and ballistic weapons, respectively.
Here I made an example.
Yeah, it's gonna be mostly the Mind sphere (for spying) and the Destruction Sphere (for Assassination). With Cunning Caster a sufficiently high bluff check should throw suspicion off me, but not forever.
I'll work up a sheet over the next day or two, depending on work,
@Warriorking9001: I don't see what would stop you from taking Finesse Fighting. You are level 7, and PAC and BAC are your armor class against normal and ballistic weapons, respectively.
Here I made an example.
Well I thought that what might "Stop me" Is grabbing spheremighter stuff as a not speheremight character, and okay
Eh. Spheres of Might has a whole system allowing you to trade in certain things to take up martial talents. XD I see nothing wrong with that route.
Eh. Spheres of Might has a whole system allowing you to trade in certain things to take up martial talents. XD I see nothing wrong with that route.
Because I'm pretty sure you have to give up your magic or like half of your feats to do that?
You give up magic or feats to gain a progression, but nothing stops you from taking a couple of Extra Combat Talent feats or trading your proficiencies for a martial tradition.
I'm one of the players by the way. I made it through the first mission with a Psychic Armory Soulknife, AKA quite literally the sharpest professor of history you'll ever meet. Currently, I'm having a blast with a Hedgewitch of questionable sanity who may or may not be a several centuries old French Bogeyman who specializes in infiltration, manipulation, explosives, and every now and then turning into a mass of scar-tissue, horrifying grins, and violence.
Color me very interested. At the moment I'm thinking of rolling up an NKVD operative, because that sounds like a load of fun. I'm playing with a lot of options on the table at the moment, but in my mind's eye right now I'm seeing a great time with an Armiger using the Combat Gunner Tradition as a baseline for being a sniper a la the Sniper Elite games: deadly at all ranges. Although with that in mind, perhaps a more local freedom fighter would make more sense. I'll dwell on this.
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This ancient grimoire is reputed to have been written by Abū Bakr ibn Muḥammad ibn al Ḥusayn al-Karajī sometime in the 10th Century after introducing the concept of mathematical induction and demonstrating formulas that can be proved and extended without limit. However, the truth of this book goes back even further than that - al-Karajī added mathematical induction to an existing work said to have been written by King Solomon, the most famed conjurer of antiquity, and the more recent mathematician receives the credit because he's thought to have completed the work started so long before. The truth of this matter is, of course, lost to time - and the True Key of Solomon does not contain the answer.
What it does contain is a series of mathematical formulas that allow it to capture and contain creatures from beyond, then siphon power from them and feed it to a reader. The True Key is suspiciously modern-looking, though Titus claims it only took its current form after he pencilled in some recent math and extended an existing theorem. For that matter, it contains equations that seem to have been added long after its supposed completion, each one adding to its existing abilities.
When it was initially discovered in Titus' possession by the Black Chamber, the organization attempted to dispose of it - they recognized the potential threat of a grimoire that could capture more and more power, possibly growing too difficult to control. The only thing that stopped them was the fact that the book has long since become a concept more than a physical item - and it can't truly be destroyed or sealed. Somewhat grudgingly, the organization has allowed Titus to keep and use it, on the theory that knowing where the True Key is makes it easier to handle.
Despite its theoretical abilities, in practice the True Key isn't quite the omnipotent creature-sealer it appears to be. The book remains incomplete - the equations within give it the ability to seal some of the beasts from beyond equations, but its owners across the centuries have yet to develop the unifying master theorem that would allow it to contain any monster it comes across. It's still potent and dangerous - among other things, it allows the owner to move through space, interact with things at a distance, restore health to injured beings, and shoot deadly power around corners - but there are limits to what it can accomplish. Of course, if the rumor about using the creatures it captures to produce new equations and evolve itself is true, perhaps it doesn't need a smarter owner....... it might just need to be used.
Awesome, thinking of a deep one hybrid elder mythos cleric. Might roll with something else if it catches my interest though.
So as I'm looking at options and refining my thoughts, I'm now leaning toward a Conscript build. However, a couple of questions arise.
1. How does the PAC/BAC split interact with feats and effects that change if a ranged attack targets touch AC, when using firearms? For example, if I use Deadly Aim to shoot a German soldier who's wearing body armor, do I get a benefit or not? If I use the Deadly Shot ability from the Sniper sphere, do I roll d10s or d6s for my bonus damage? I imagine that it doesn't count as a touch attack, since your example specifically references that as something different, but I want to make sure.
2. Can you be a mundane member of the Razvedka? That is to say, can you take that campaign trait if you don't have spellcasting abilities to represent that you've been trained as an operative by that organization? For that matter, I guess this question extends to the Laundry and the Black Chamber, too. Or are non-casters locked into either the Independent Contractor or Special Forces Agent traits? I can work my concept either way, but it changes some potential choices and some minutiae of the build.
That's all I've got for the moment, but I might have more later on. My brain is awash with concepts and ideas!
OK, so thanks to the Aasimar's racial trait 'Truespeaker' it looks like my character will have somewhere around 20 known luanguages. Obviously I'll take a bunch of real world ones involved in WWII, such as English, French, German, Russian and few more that might be useful, but are there any more esoteric tongues that would make sense for a Laundry Operative to know?
Would you allow the 'bump on the head epiphany' to work if he had discovered seemingly real functions and equations while dabbling in a bit of sacred geometry 'pseudoscience' for fun(golden ratio, platonic solids, seed of life, design of the universe) that to him were wrong and broke reality but thinking he made a mistake in his research he abandoned pursuing it to its final horrifying conclusion? The knowledge of what he discovered remains but incomplete and to him, nonsensical. Then 'whack' and a few accidentally rearranged neurons later all the dots connected. He still thinks that it shouldn't work even though it does. He will have a bit of cognitive dissonance to work through, often thinking himself going insane due to the bump, even when undeniable proof is in front of him.
I'm thinking a wizard, he is a simple engineer and scientist with no real combat training. There is a perfectly thematic feat for this character called Sacred Geometry that i would like to get to try. It is generally seen as OP and though i am no powergamer and would not try to abuse it, there could be concern.
Dotting my interest, sounds like fun!
OK, so thanks to the Aasimar's racial trait 'Truespeaker' it looks like my character will have somewhere around 20 known luanguages. Obviously I'll take a bunch of real world ones involved in WWII, such as English, French, German, Russian and few more that might be useful, but are there any more esoteric tongues that would make sense for a Laundry Operative to know?
Well not many esoteric normal ones, but there are a small number of "Languages of Magic" in the setting that can be found on the campaign info page.
-Irish Gaelic. It is used for some folkloristic rituals tied to spirits and fey.
-Sanskrit. As expected from a language tied to Hinduism, it is uniquely suited to transmutation rituals.
-Hebrew. Hebrew rituals deal with crafting (think the Golem) as well as illusions.
-Sumerian. A dead language to deal with dead things. Excellent for necromancy.
-Latin. When you need to banish a demon, Latin is your choice.
@Helix Missionary:
1) I'd say that since they won't target touch AC, you can use Deadly Aim and the Sniper Sphere effect will deal 1d10 damage. In case it gets out of hand I may change this later, but I don't see big problems.
2) That background would be covered by Special Forces, but since it's the only agency-related trait that has completely mundane effects, why not.
@JonGarrett: I'm using these five languages. They are not necessary, but they will give you bonuses at related checks.
-Irish Gaelic. It is used for some folkloristic rituals tied to spirits and fey.
-Sanskrit. As expected from a language tied to Hinduism, it is uniquely suited to transmutation rituals.
-Hebrew. Hebrew rituals deal with crafting (think the Golem) as well as illusions.
-Sumerian. A dead language to deal with dead things. Excellent for necromancy.
-Latin. When you need to banish a demon, Latin is your choice.
Also, I made changes to the Linguistics skill:
Linguistics: This is NOT a background skill. Languages have three levels: School Level, which means that you can understand if it's spoken slowly and can make others understand you, Proficient Level, which means that you can understand almost everything, but still have an accent, and Native Level, which means that people won't recognize you as a foreigner. You start with your mothertongue at Native Level, each rank in Linguistics or bonus point of Intelligence gives you a language point, which can be used to learn a new language at School Level or to improve your proficiency one step (School to Proficient, Proficient to Native).
Therefore, a British character with 16 Int and 3 ranks in Linguistics would have 6 points, so for example he could know: Native Level English (free), Native Level German (3 points), Proficient Level French (2 points) and School Level Italian (1 point).
Spells like tongues can only get you to Proficient Level.
@Diamondust: Background-wise, it works. The Sacred Geometry feat is allowed BUT I'll nerf its effects somehow. I'll look on the forums for ideas.
Thanks GM and Warriorking9001, I hadn't seen those choices. Given the character's nature I'll probably pick up the Languages of Magic and several others at 'Native' level, so she can pass for various nationalities.
While I don't have access to my HeroLab (due to a drive glitch), I am in the midst of recovery efforts -- and this looks really cool. Character-wise, I'd be looking at a revision of Androk Jeggare -- essentially making him an alchemist-spy, likely either an independent contractor or a Razvedka operative -- "Because it is ever so pleasant dealing with clumsy folk such as yourself, comrade." ;)
I am not certain whether to keep the race; I'm leaning towards 'no', but again, don't have my HeroLab access to fiddle and decide. And I have to admit I would really enjoy the whole 'Bear School armor' look from Witcher 3 ...
This is Jon's character. It's not quite finished - I need to add the gun AC house rules, and add gear - but it's mostly finished for now. I'll probably tweak it around tonight, depending on how things go.
@Katherine: Fluff-wise, she looks great. I didn't examine the crunch so thoroughly, but here and there it looks like she's Sorc1/Inc8: for example you have a Caster Level of 9 and 8/6 bonus Magic Talents as Incanter FCB.
Hello, everyone! I'm the other surviving player, and I just realized that neither of us are from any of the traditional Laundryverse organizations. Tomasz is a Polish expat from Sekcja Szyfrów Pięć - Cypher Bureau No. Five - who's been working for the Laundry since the Nazis overran his homeland.
He's a Combat Engineer Alchemist, building relatively minor magical effects into little clockwork gizmos that can cause all kinds of havok.
@Katherine: Fluff-wise, she looks great. I didn't examine the crunch so thoroughly, but here and there it looks like she's Sorc1/Inc8: for example you have a Caster Level of 9 and 8/6 bonus Magic Talents as Incanter FCB.
...which is extra odd, because the character I borrowed the template for was level 3. I'll run through and double check the numbers in a bit, but this is why you don't make characters at 5am.
Sorted out the issue with level - thankfully, it only affected Spell Points, DC and To Hit. I think it was because I did the ABP stuff, with its effective level of 9, right before I did that stuff. I think level 9 got lodged in my head then.
But please feel free to give it a good auditing.
Here is where I am leaning with my submission. I really like the Wraith class, and feel like it would fit in well with this sort of dark/gritty magic game. I haven't fully figured out my equipment yet (probably Specialist package, but unsure). Might still tweak things, but wanted to get it out there to get thoughts. Let me know if there are any issues or questions.
Gunter is an unbodied wraith, locked in an incorporeal form, who can sometimes manifest a body and will more often possess other bodies or objects. He is private in his use of magic, and his magic is a purely mental activity. In combat, he will usually possess one or more things, and also use telekinesis to bludgeon things. His possession ability is his man schtick, though, and he will use it liberally both in and out of combat.
He is quiet, generally untrusting, and has a fierce hatred of the German government. He doesn't particularly have any loyalties, but will play along with just about anything that can further his goal of bringing down the Germans.
Gunter was an odd child. Very intense, very quiet, and yet was someone that drew people to him. He was born in Berlin, Germany, in April of 1922. He grew up relatively happy, with his parents and two siblings. As he grew, he began to find that he was different than most. He had a natural gift for magic, able to understand the world on a fundamental level and move things in it with just his mind. For the most part, he tried to keep this weirdness quiet; he was naturally private anyway, and certainly didn't want to stand out in any way.
That was all well and good until the fall of 1939. 17 years old, and with all the passion and invincibility that youth brings, he did something rather stupid. His father got into an altercation with the local police; it was over a simple misunderstanding, but it got heated. When the police started beating on him, Gunter got angry, and began using his abilities against them to try to protect his Dad. The officers were surprised, to say the least, and quickly left.
The next day, the Ahnenerbe-SS came; not that he knew who they were, though he would find that out quickly. They came and took Gunter. When his father tried to stop them, they shot him in the head. They quickly executed the rest of his family, and then set fire to their home. It was all over in a matter of minutes; Gunter was dragged off, bound and gagged, and despair settled into his soul.
The experiments began soon after. The things that they put his body through were unspeakable. They were trying to unlock his full potential, they said. Figure out how he did what he did so naturally. See if they could discover those secrets. Finally, though, they pushed him too far. Some combination of the drugs they injected him with and the electric shocks they were running through him galvanized his entire body, and suddenly he didn't have a body anymore. He was a pure spirit.
The germans didn't have anything ready to deal with that. Gunter's "body" passed right through the restraints that they had holding him. Unbound and unleashed, he made short work of the captors in the room with him, and then just walked out of the building. Right through walls and locked doors. He started moving, and just didn't stop.
He didn't really know what he was anymore. Was he dead? A ghost? Or something else entirely? He didn't know, and he didn't really care. All of his thoughts were consumed with revenge. Everything they had done to him, everything they had taken from him, the anger coursed through his thoughts and left nothing else behind. He began to attack the germans where he could, learning to use his new gifts in the most destructive ways possible. While he was doing so, he met a Russian operative who had the same goals as he did. The Razvedka took him in, trained him, helped him to understand his abilities better, and unleashed him on missions against the germans.
Gunter didn't really care about the Russians or anything else. They were helping him to achieve his goals, and that was enough for him.
When he is able to manifest his body, Gunter is a skinny and lanky youth, with dark hair and pale skin. The single overriding feature, though, are his eyes. They are a clear, sharp blue, the color of a frozen ocean on a clear day; and when he isn't trying to suppress it, his eyes glow with a fierce intensity, clearly not normal.
When he is not manifested, he is similar in appearance, but completely translucent. When in this form, you can still see the marks on his temples where the electricity was delivered; they show up as black burn marks. Despite the translucent nature of his body, his eyes still glow with exactly the same intensity as his manifested body.
However, the most common way you will see Gunter is as a floating object. The object may vary, but that is where he is most comfortable.
Günter Schmidt
Male human incanter 1/wraith 6
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +9
Spell Points 16
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Defense
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AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex, +2 enhancement, +1 natural)
hp 43 (7 HD; 1d6+6d8+7)
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +9
Defensive Abilities telekinetic impediment
Weaknesses Energy Focus, Witchmarked, Mental Focus, Emotional Casting, Coy Caster
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee destructive blast +7 touch (4d6)
Incanter Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +7)
. . 3/day—telekinetic impediment
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 22
Base Atk +4; CMB +3; CMD 19
Feats Extra Wraith Haunt, Extra Wraith Haunt, Hidden Heretic, Extra Magic Talent, Extra Magic Talent, Weapon Finesse
Traits Razvedka Operative, Favored Damage
Skills Acrobatics +11, Appraise +11, Bluff +17, Diplomacy +13, Fly +15, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Linguistics +7, Perception +9, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers telekinetic stability
Languages (4 points) German (Native) Russian (Proficient) English (Proficient)
SQ committed deception, acid blast, alter, casting, dancing weapon, destructive blast, divided mind, easy focus, effects, greater speed, illusion, illusionary sound, invisibility, powerful telekinesis, silver tongue, sorcerer bloodline (rakshasa[UM]), specializations (sorcerer bloodline, sphere specialization [telekinesis]), telekinesis
Haunt Path Path of the Poltergeist
Wraith Haunts Hidden Rider, Hidden Possessor, Ranged Possession, Object Ride
Other Gear masterwork backpack[APG], 450 gp
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Special Abilities
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Casting (CL 5, MSB +7, MSD 18, Concentration +13, DC 18) You can cast sphere effects.
Destruction: Acid Blast Destructive Blast deals acid damage
Destruction: Destructive Blast 4d6 Ranged or melee touch attack deals 4d6 damage
Easy Focus Maintaining a sphere effect takes a move action instead of a standard action
Energy Focus (Acid) You may only make a destructive blast of a single energy type
Illusion: Alter Make minor illusionary changes to an object or creature
Illusion: Committed Deception You may increase the casting time of an illusion by one step to reduce its total spell point cost by one (minimum 0).
Illusion: Effects Create illusions that are unconvincing, but can have some utility
Illusion: Illusion (DC 18) Create illusions that may fool observers
Illusion: Illusionary Sound Add sound to your illusions
Illusion: Invisibility (DC 18) You can make creatures or objects vanish from view
Rakshasa At some point in your family's history, one of your ancestors was tainted by the influence of a rakshasa. Though most of your family seem entirely normal, you have always felt your own skin is a prison from which magic allows you to escape. Your birt
Silver Tongue (9/day) (Su) At 1st level, you can draw upon your outsider heritage to spin amazingly convincing lies. Activating this ability is a swift action. You gain a +5 bonus on one Bluff check made to convince another of the truth of your words (similar to using glibn
Telekinesis: Dancing Weapon Improve your use of lifted objects as weapons
Telekinesis: Divided Mind (9 targets) Lift multiple objects at once
Telekinesis: Greater Speed Move lifted objects more quickly
Telekinesis: Powerful Telekinesis Move larger items with your telekinesis
Telekinesis: Telekinesis (Large, Speed 55 ft, DC 20) You can move objects and creatures with your mind, with several applications
Telekinetic Impediment -1 (3/day) (Sp) Immediate action imposes a penalty on an enemy's attack
Telekinetic Stability +2 (Su) You gain a bonus to Fly, Acrobatics, and CMD
Permanent Wraith (Su) Permanently locked in wraith form, 2NL damage each round not possessing
Possession (Su) Actively or passively possess a creature within reach
Manifest (Su) 12 min/day manifest physical body as a move action, return to wraith form as a free action
Path Possession The poltergeist may actively possess unattended objects, animating them to serve. These objects count as being willing. The object must be of a size the wraith could animate per the Animate Objects talent of the Enhancement sphere, using his class level as his caster level. The object gains the statistics and abilities as an animated object per the Animate Object talent of the Enhancement sphere.
Hidden Rider While possessing another creature or object, the wraith may hide from the divine ability of the Divination sphere and spells of the Divination school and pass through wards that would affect a possessing creature such as magic circle against evil or the effects of a forbiddance spell. The wraith must attempt a Will save against the spell or sphere ability (even if it doesn’t normally allow a saving throw). If he succeeds, the spell treats him as if he were his host (for instance, Divine Alignment would reveal only the host’s alignment, and forbiddance keyed to the host’s alignment wouldn’t damage the wraith). If the wraith’s saving throw fails, the spell functions against him as normal.
Hidden Possessor Creatures that are not aware of the wraith or do not count the wraith as a hostile creature take a -2 penalty on saves against his possession ability.
Ranged Possession The wraith may attempt to possess valid targets within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 class levels).
Object Ride The wraith may spend a spell point to passively possess an object for up to 1 hour per level. Attended objects receive a Will save. The object can be no smaller than Tiny and no larger than Huge. At level 10, the minimum object size decreases to Diminutive and the maximum increases to Gargantuan. The wraith retains his normal senses while possessing an object. Additionally, the wraith may designate a single object within the normal limits as his refuge. Possessing the refuge does not require a spell point. Designating an object as a refuge requires a 1-hour ritual. Designating a new object causing any previous refuges to cease functioning as a refuge.
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Drawbacks
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Witchmarked Some aspect of your characteristics is a dead giveaway about your magical nature. This could be any purely cosmetic modification or sensation that is hard to hide such as a vestigial tail (or tails), glowing eyes, an aura visible to the naked eye or the stench of death clinging to you. The intensity of this trait grows proportional to your power. You take your caster level as a circumstance penalty to Disguise checks. Anyone who sees you and/or beats your Disguise check is able to identify you as magical and may make a Knowledge (arcana) check DC: 20 - your caster level (minimum DC 0) to learn your caster level and what base magic spheres you possess.
Mental Focus Your magic requires you to have a focus that is not always possible to achieve. You normally have focus, but lose it whenever you fail a save versus mind-affecting magic, have a critical hit confirmed on you, or a condition causes you to lose the ability to concentrate (such as being nauseated or helpless or failing an enforced concentration check such as from being entangled). Using magic without your mental focus requires you to make a concentration check (DC 20 + 1/2 caster level) to produce the desired effect. Failure means time (and any spell points) are spent, but no effect happens. If focus is lost, the caster can refocus by meditating as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Emotional Casting Your magic requires heightened emotional states of mind to use. When subject to a non-harmless magical effect that invokes an emotion (such as fear effects, spells with the (emotion) descriptor, or charms such as Fear or Hostility) you are unable to use magic.
Coy Caster If you attempt to use magic while you know you’re being observed, you must make a concentration check (DC 15 + 1/2 the caster level) to produce the desired effect. Failure means time (and any spell points) are spent, but no effect happens. If you believe you are hidden or alone, even if you’re not, you may use magic normally.
You should possess Titus' grimoire. There is absolutely nothing that would be dangerous or entertaining about that. o wo
Dude, that would be awesome! What could possibly go wrong?
Good luck with your games!
Okay, I have a background.
I'm Australian, so I started looking for an Australian equivalent. I found this...
* Charles Babbage (CB) builds the Difference Engine (approx 1831), designs the Difference Engine II (1847-1849) and works on the Analytical Engine until his death (1833-1871)
* CB's youngest surviving son (Maj-Gen) Henry Prevost Babbage (HPB) (1824–1918) worked in his father's workshop, and after his father's death (1871) took over work with the analytical engine, building prototypes and parts until his own death in (1918).
* CB's son Dugald Bromhead Babbage (DBB) (1823-1901) also worked in his father's workshop. He moved to Adelaide in 1849, and married in 1854.
* CB's eldest son Benjamin Herschel Babbage (BHB) (1815-1878) worked with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and moved to Adelaide in 1851. He did geological and mineralogical surveys, and explored South Australia. He was elected to the South Australia house of assembly in 1857, but resigned after a year to lead an expedition. In 1873 he build a manor nicknamed "Babbage's Castle", that sadly fell to ruin within decades. in 1877 he announced his candidacy for the legislative assembly but did not go to the polls. "Herschel while protective of his less able younger brother (DBB), despaired of his propensity to mix with social inferiors and his fondness for drink."
* BHB's eldest son was Charles Whitmore Babbage (CWB) (1842-1923). CWB accompanied his father on expeditions. He married in 1869. On 1 July 1876 he was charged with embezzling £1616, and in September was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for that and passing a fraudulent cheque - he had been speculating on the stock market. During his sentence his wife moved to New Zealand, and he followed her when he got out
* BHB also had a son Henry, and a son Eden, and two daughters named Ada.
* Ada Rosalie Babbage (1855-1936) married William D Clare in 1881.
1840-1853? was a boon period in Adelaide. In the 1860s it had great agriculture, and gold was discovered, leading to another boom. This was primarily a labour shortage.
Now, with no disrespect to the actual people involved, and working from a skeleton of information mostly acquired from Wikipedia and Genealogy sites, and in a world with actual magic, I'd like to suggest the following alt-history.
B Herschel Babbage was a successful man. He delighted in his expeditions, but was a loyal family man, taking his eldest son Charles along on his expeditions and ensuring his less capable brother Dugald had a job. He followed his father's work avidly, even naming his daughter after the brilliant Ada Lovelace, and despaired with his brothers when his father died in 1871. In 1875 he started quietly telling people he intended to again stand for a seat in politics in 1877.
His own son Charles, however, was desperate. Charles Whitmore Babbage had been raised to live up to certain expectations - and his position at the bank did not bring in enough to cover it. Keen to use his (award winning) intellect to make some more money he had started lightly speculating in the stockmarket back in 1862, and had done quite well as the market boomed on the back of the gold rush. More and more he invested in the ever growing market. When one of his stocks started to fall he doubled down, confident it would rebound again, but was wrong and in 1874 he started to embezzle a little money from the bank to cover his losses - and then paid it all back when his fortune momentarily changed. And then changed again. Desperate for a turn around he reached for help to his uncle Dugald - somewhat of a reprobate.
Dugald had helped explore the continent, and been all to happy to socialise with the natives. It was never his intellect that let the family down, simply his discipline. He'd noted the fact the songlines often marked the best routes, and was impressed with the huge complexity of the songs, and the way they were memorised. Essentially the songs were programs for people, explaining how best to move across the landscape. There was undoubtedly a paper in it, but he'd contented himself with recording and remembering them, and even designing comparable 'programs' that could be put into songs. In this world, however, certain of the songs "programs" did more than just encode directions. Music is mathematics, in a way, and a form of mathematics humans are uniquely able to process. One 'family' of the songs used magic to make slow, subtle changes to the mind, making it better able to remember and pass on songs in the future - and in so doing accidentally and incidentally improved human mathematical capability. Dugald found himself rebuilding an old piano roll organ to better play the songs, drawing on his engineering from when he was young and worked in his father's office - remembering the old man complain about organ grinders!
When desperate Charles came to Dugald for help in finding a creditor, Dugald found himself not just lending his own money, but moved to suggest improvements to the mathematical process Charles used to pick stock. Inspired mathematics, as Charles came to realise. The new algorithm was not much better - but it was better. At the next downturn Charles didn't lose money, and didn't need to embezzle.
Dugald was fired from his job as his obsession with the songs and the mechanical organ got the better of him. It was now his turn to come to Charles for help, his information about the embezzling leaving Charles with little alternative but to help. And yet - the design was inspired. The program that it was designed to run? An improved algorithm for the stock market.
1877 rolled round and, scandal free, Herschel was elected. Charles and Dugald convinced him to fund some of his grandfather's work - to create an analytical engine that could be used in many ways - by the astronomical society, by the bank, and for engineering the large projects of the telegraph. In Charles Todd (the Astronomical and Meteorological Observer, Head of Electric Telegraph Department, and Postmaster General in South Australia) they found an ally in this. Obviously one computer was an outrageous expense for one organisation, but if it could be shared by multiple organisations it might be worth building as infrastructure - just like the telegraph and the railway.
In 1878 the Babbages (primarily Dugald, but also including Charles, Herschel, and the youngsters Henry and Ada) embarked on the new Engine. Their father had left his notes to Henry Provost Babbage, but Henry was all too delighted to send a copy to his brothers. Sadly Herschel passed away in 1878 as the work was only just embarking. They were funded to the tune of almost 10000 pounds - until the depression of 1890 hit and their work was stopped.
Even the partially functional machine still ran the algorithm a thousand times faster than a human could do. Charles had been "testing" the machine with his algorithm, and his fortunes had improved just as dramatically. He made the decision to purchase the decommissioned machine for a song, and moved it to his father's vineyard. As "Babbage's Castle" was starting to fall down due to inexperience with the local lime he made the decision to start a new building. The algorithm helped him keep his fortune in a falling market and so the new building was a tribute to his father's building, but larger. A true castle.
For the next three years Charles quietly built his fortune and the Engine, and Dugald became its mad prophet. Charles engaged a factory using his grandfather's methodology on efficiency, and started to turn out a huge number of parts. New parts kept coming in, and the Engine grew and grew, consuming an entire floor of he castle. In 1881 Ada, now engaged, activated a newly installed module and finally it passed a critical threshold.
While the actual computing power involved was miniscule, it represented almost all the computing power of the know world. Its mathematical operations called out to creatures in the great beyond, and they came. The machine glowed, and Ada died.
Charles went to turn off the machine when the mechanical woodwind started howling an approximation of a voice. It offered power, knowledge - anything, just so long as the machine kept running. Charles demanded it bring Ada back - more as a curse than as a true demand - and the machine assented.
It was, it later explained slowly, from the future. Temporal projection back through time was a possibility - so long as there was a contiguously operating, stationary machine to work through. Living creatures were both too fragile and too mobile for the strategy to work, but a mechanical engine was stationary and a million times harder to damage than electrical or biological systems. Ada had been an accidental casualty - not of the Voice itself, but of the miniscule creatures that swarmed around it.
The Babbages considered.
Then, faced with wealth beyond measure, knowledge of the future, and power even beyond death, they accepted.
The Voice was from the future, but every move made in the past changed the future, and thus the Voice. Keeping the timeline consistent was important so that at the right point they could make the right choice.
It's purpose was simple - in the future humanity (the Voice referred to them as 'you' rather than 'we') would become too many. So many that they would (it struggled with this) awaken things that should not be awakened. Humanity was, simply, doomed. The Voice intended to change that. "I failed once. I understand now - the Ends justify the Means. And to stop the End of Man, any means is acceptable."
Not too sure what to do with the character, but...
I envision a secret family order in the Adelaide hills. Necromancers and Eaters of Souls. Servants of a spirit they trust, but don't understand. Small, but with a march stolen on even Turing. Rich. Powerful. Descendents of Ada Babbage, who at 94 still looks 26 but doesn't meet with visitors in the dim lest they see her eyes glow.
The character would have been sent to help fight the Germans before they even began. She'd officially be an 'independent'. Ruthless, but not needlessly cruel, she is fighting to save the world. Your body is just a machine. There is a god, but the only afterlife is so bad having your soul destroyed is a blessing.
@GM Sappy: Okay, so is this too off the rails? Should I start again?
@Harakani: I certainly like the concept! It fits the lore perfectly, and the objective of stopping the Ahnenerbe definitely aligns with preventing the apocalypse. Go ahead!