Character Class Preview: The Half-Ogre

HALF OGRE

Requirements:   STR 15, CON 9

Prime Requisite: CON

Hit Dice: 1d10

Maximum Level:   6th

Half Ogres are the offspring of human women that have been ravaged by repulsive Oni (Ogres). Large, brutish hulks that are shunned by most, they lead a lonely life. Many seek a life of adventure, seeking comrades who welcome their brute strength and ability to cause harm to their foes.

Half-Ogres stand close to seven feet tall, and have immense strength. To determine your character’s size, roll 2d6 and add it to 78. The total is your height in inches (between 6’6” to 7’5”).

Half-Ogres are able to use all weapons (except for bows) and can wear any armor. Although armor cost is doubled due to their immense size.

Special Abilities

Brute Strength:  Half-Ogres have supernatural strength, as such they add 2 points of damage for each strength point above 14 to any melee attack (or unarmed combat) when they roll for damage (in addition to the STR table). So, for example, a Half-Ogre with a STR score of 16 would add 4 points of damage to any melee attack (in addition to the STR score). In addition, they are able to break down doors on any 1d6 roll of 2 or better (failing only with a result of 1), regardless of their STR score.

Intimidation: A Half-Ogre is fearsome to behold to most folks, any 0 level human and 1 HD monster (not animals or spirits) must make a save vs. Petrify/Paralyze or they will quake in fear or flee (as determined by the GM). If a Half-Ogre wishes to amplify this, they can bare their teeth and stare down their targets to provide a -2 to their save. (This amplification can only be done once per day per level of the Half-Ogre).

Infravision: Half-Ogres are able to see up to 60’ in the dark.

Half-Ogre Advancement Table
Experience	Level	Hit Die (d10)
-	1	2
2,250	2	3
4,500	3	4
9,000	4	5
18,000	5	6
36,000	6	7

Character Class Preview: The Ninja

NINJA

Requirements:   DEX 9

Prime Requisite: DEX

Hit Dice: 1d6

Maximum Level:   None

Ninja are spies and assassins, a tool used by the noble classes to exploit others. They are masters of stealth and gimmicks.  The Ninja have a number of special skills that set them apart from the other classes, such as climbing sheer surfaces, striking from behind, and finding or setting traps.

Ninja are not restricted to light armor, but may use any weapon. (Though Ninja in disguise can don heavier armor, but none of their special abilities can be used while so disguised).

Special Abilities

Ninja Skills:  Ninja have a number of special abilities available to them as defined in the following table. Most are rolled on 1d100, with success being the number needed or less on the roll. Each ability is defined below.

Backstab: If able to attack from behind, and unnoticed, a Ninja causes additional damage. A roll to-hit is still required, and damage is rolled normally (applying any bonuses for STR or weapon used) before applying the multiplier.

Climb Walls: The Ninja is trained to climb walls and other vertical surfaces with very limited handholds. Only one check is made for  any climb. Success indicates the climb was successful, failure indicates that the character falls at the midpoint of the climb.

Disguise: The Ninja is trained in the art of disguise. A Ninja disguise themselves to look like any class of person of  generally the same height, weight, and age as himself. This can be used to appear as a merchant, peasant, or character class. A Ninja may also disguise himself as a member of the opposite sex, though the chance of success is reduced by half. A Ninja may also try to disguise himself as a specific person, though if  he fails to impersonate a specific person he cannot try again.  The chance to disguise as a specific person is reduced by ½ as well, unless the Ninja has the chance to observe the target for a month or more.

Escape: Ninja are trained to escape from bonds (ropes, chains, etc.). The Ninja is allowed one attempt, and if guards are present, they will be immediately alerted to his attempt to escape and will be able to stop him easily. The escape takes 1d6 rounds.

Fall: This is the distance a Ninja can fall without taking damage. A Ninja avoids damage by tumbling and rolling. If a Ninja falls farther than the distance listed, he suffers normal damage.

Find/remove traps: Experienced as he is in the use of small gadgets and devices, the ninja can also find and disarm hidden traps. The GM secretly rolls for the result. Once a trap is found, the Ninja has an equal chance to remove or disarm it. Only one attempt to use this ability is allowed per Ninja per trap.

Hide in shadows: This ability allows the character to make himself unnoticeable to normal vision in areas of shadow or deep gloom. The ability cannot be used while someone is the Ninja. The GM rolls the dice to determine whether the Ninja hides successfully, the player character will  always think that he's hidden.

Move silently: This ability can be used anytime the Ninja moves on foot. Ninja who successfully move silently can try to ambush travelers, surprise or slip past guards, etc. The GM rolls the dice to see whether the attempt succeeds. The homes of important or powerful people are often fitted with "nightingale" floors, specially designed to squeak when stepped upon. Such floors reduce the ninja's chance of moving silently by one-half.

Open Locks: A Ninja may try to open any lock only once per level. If the test fails, then no amount of trying will ever open the lock (cannot be tested again) until a new level of experience is reached.

Pole Vault: Using a long springy pole (such as a length of green bamboo)  and a running start, a Ninja can vault upward and forward much farther than a normal jump. At least 20-feet of space for a running start is needed, and  a pole at least four feet longer than the Ninja is tall is required.  If  using the vault to cover  a distance, then the Ninja can vault a distance equal to twice the length of the pole.

Tightrope walk: A Ninja is able to walk ropes, narrow beams, and ledges with relative ease. Only one check is made per attempt, and if a balancing item (such as a pole) is used, it  increases the chance of success by 10%.

Ninja Advancement Table
Experience	Level	Hit Die (d6)
-	1	1
3,550	2	2
7,100	3	3
14,200	4	4
28,400	5	5
56,800	6	6
113,600	7	7
227,200	8	8
454,400	9	9
908,800	10	9+2

Ninja Special Abilities Table
Level	Backstab	Climb Walls	Disguise	Escape	Fall	Find/Remove Traps	Hide in Shadows	Move Silently	Open Locks	Pole Vault	Walk Tightrope
1	x2	80	20	10	-	20	10	15	25	9'	20
2	x2	85	25	15	-	25	15	25	30	9'6"	25
3	x2	88	30	20	10'	30	20	35	35	10'	30
4	x3	90	35	25	10'	35	25	45	40	10'6"	35
5	x3	91	40	30	15'	40	30	50	45	11'	40
6	x3	92	45	35	20'	45	35	60	50	11'6"	45
7	x4	93	50	40	25'	50	45	65	55	12'	50
8	x4	94	55	45	30'	55	55	70	60	12'6"	55
9	x4	95	60	50	35'	60	60	75	65	13'	60
10	x4	96	65	55	40'	65	65	80	70	13'6"	65

Character Class Preview: The Sohei

SOHEI

Requirements:   STR 8, WIS 8

Prime Requisite: WIS

Hit Dice: 1d6

Maximum Level:   None

Sohei are warrior-monks of the Eightfold Enlightened Path. Known for their rough nature and willingness to dirty themselves with gambling and general carousing, their priestly powers are not as powerful as normal Gakusho.

Sohei have no restriction to the weapons they can use, or the armor they may wear. However, they cannot use their priestly spell casting powers while wearing any armor better, than light armor (AC 7).

Special Abilities

Religious Fanatic: Starting at 3rd level, once per day, the Sohei can go into a berserk-like state. This allows 1 extra attack per round, +1 to hit / damage / saving throws, and the ability to dodge thrown or missile weapons if a save vs. dragon breath is made. This condition lasts for 1 turn.

Spell Casting: Sohei can cast spells as per Gakusho, and use the same spell lists. However they do not gain any spell casting ability until third level and will always be limited in the amount of spells they can cast.  They regain spells daily as per Gakusho (6 hours sleep or meditation).

Banish Spirits: Like the Gakusho, a Sohei has the ability to cast out or banish unclean spirits. This ability is not gained until the Sohei reaches 3rd level and a Sohei will always use that table as their level minus 2. So a 3rd level Sohei uses the 1st level Gakusho column, a 4th level uses the 2nd level column, etc.

Establish Monastery: Starting at 9th level, a Sohei can clear an area of land and build a monastery for the Eightfold Enlightened Path. He will be joined by a group of followers (both Gakusho and Sohei) determined by the GM using the Domain section of the rulebook.

Sohei Advancement Table
Experience	Level	Hit Die (d8)	Spells / Level
			1	2	3
-	1	1	-	-	-
1,975	2	2	-	-	-
3,950	3	3	1	-	-
7,900	4	4	2	-	-
15,800	5	5	2	1	-
31,600	6	6	3	2	-
63,200	7	7	3	2	1
126,400	8	8	3	3	2
252,800	9	9	4	3	2
505,600	10	9+2	4	3	3

Fever-Dreaming Marlinko is out now!

Fever-dreaming Marlinko by Hill Cantons' Chris Kutalik is now available! I did the layout for this book, and I think it rocks. You should definitely check it out! You can find it here.

The sales-pitch: 

Visit Marlinko, a borderlands city where life takes a strange fever-dream cast, in this 72-page urban adventure fantasy supplement. Part city setting, part full-blown adventure Fever-Dreaming Marlinkois a stand-alone companionl to the Slavic acid fantasy weirdness of the Slumbering Ursine Dunes.

What you will find inside:

• Background and hooks for the city's “four contradas,” city quarters with their own peculiar traditions, sites and even gods.
• Gorgeous isometric city maps by Luka Rejec.
• Two complete dungeon adventure sites.
• Two new players classes (the Mountebank and Robodwarf).
• Chaos Index with escalating events/triggers scattered throughout the city.
• News generator with full news briefs and hooks.
• Tiger-wrestling mini-game.
• Weird nickname generator.
• Section on running scams, hoaxes and grifting activity in a fantasy campaign.
• Carousing system tied into the contrada system.
• A“fair play/pay” guild system for hirelings.

Character Class Preview: The Kensei

KENSEI

Requirements:   DEX 12, WIS 12

Prime Requisite: DEX

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level:   None

Kensei (sword-saints) are masters of armed combat with their chosen weapon. While traditionally they were duelists with swords, in Deluxe Ruins & Ronin this is opened up to any melee weapon. These wandering duellists are always looking to hone their craft to become the best warrior with their chosen weapon.

Kensei cannot wear armor but are not restricted in the weapons they use. They get bonuses for using their chosen weapon as outlined below.

Special Abilities

Uncanny Dodge:  A Kensei may not be able to wear armor, however their finely tuned training and control of their body and mind allows them to anticipate incoming attacks. They have a base Armor Class below 9 depending on their level (as shown in the advancement table), this base AC does not take into account the character’s DEX adjustment - which will lower their AC even further.

Rigorous Training: Due to their intense training and focus on one weapon, the Kensei receive a bonus to hit and damage (+1) for every 3 levels of experience, starting at 2nd level (as outlined in the advancement table).  This ability also allows them to strike magical creatures with their chosen weapon starting at 3rd level (strike as if using a magic weapon).

Duel: To advance in level beyond level 3, the Kensei must find and defeat another Kensei of the level he is trying to advance to (example: A 3rd level Kensei must find and defeat a 4th level Kensei to advance). This duel can be fought anytime during a character’s current level (before he has the experience to actually advance), and can be fought against any Kensei - it does not have to be one using the same weapon style.

In addition, starting at 4th level, there is a chance that the Kensei will himself be challenged by lower level kensei looking to advance their own careers. The chance is based on the character’s current location and their current level (the GM checks once per every month).

Establish School: Starting at 9th level, the Kensei may open his own dojo (school) for the study of his weapon. This school will attract a number of students determined by the GM using the Domain section of the rulebook.

Kensei Advancement Table
Experience	Level	Hit Die (d8)	Base AC	Training Bonus
-	1	1	7	-
3,025	2	2	-	-
6,050	3	3	6	+1
12,100	4	4	-	-
24,200	5	5	5	-
48,400	6	6	-	+2
96,800	7	7	4	-
193,600	8	8	-	-
387,200	9	9	3	+3
774,400	10	9+2	-

Kensei Duel Table
Kensei Level	% Chance of Duel
	Village	Castle Town	City
4	5%	15%	25%
5	5%	15%	25%
6	5%	15%	15%
7	3%	10%	15%
8	3%	10%	10%
9	1%	5%	10%
10	1%	3%	5%