RACES/KIN(??????????) OF CAIRN PT 1/2

i don't care for most implementations of fantasy races and i honestly find it almost gratifying how much flack WOTC is getting for more or less perpetuating the tropes first codified by noted racist gary gygax without trying to change them at all until they were forced to.

all of my complaints about how most d20 games do fantasy races have been said a million times by people more eloquent than me. races with stat boosts are not only like, uh, pretty racist, but boring. you're actively de-incentivizing players from playing against type and that sucks. "monstrous races" is like, in the top ten most loaded phrases derived from the entire field of tabletop gaming. no one with the exception of like, 1) the guy who wrote eberron and 2) paizo seems to be capable of even beginning to address the concept of some groups of fantasy races being deemed unpeople by the neutral, objective voice of the dm's guide. 

that being said, i still wrote a list of the six "standard" "races" (species? maybe, but species sounds closer to sci-fi. ancestry? maybe but that's like not really accurate to this. i'm leaning towards "kin".) / "kin" of cairn, the fantasy setting i've been writing for the past couple of years. no stat bonuses of any kind. i have a very high minimum threshold for what necessitates establishing something as its own kin, and i wish i could put it into words more elegantly than "they have to be wildly physically different and potentially magically different as well." most kin bonuses and drawbacks are explicitly magical in nature, and those that aren't are weird enough to may as well have been. i'm not going to write out rules for stuff like half-elves or half-dwarves because there's technically no "humans" and because of that i'd have to write, what, 15? new things and i don't even know if i want to establish if half-elves are even possible and it's never really come up for me personally and i'd much rather just leave it up to the dm. your call. if a player asks to play a half-dragonman then say sure and write something up for me and let me know how it goes.

PLEASE CLICK THE READ MORE BUTTON.....IT'S A LOT LESS NOTICEABLE THAN I EXPECTED LOL

FIGHTER (priest of telseph)

CLASS: FIGHTER

Telseph is the goddess of strife, war, marriage, and domination. When a mortal takes another’s life for the first time, they see her name-rune flash in her vision. Every blade swung is a prayer to her. Even a soldier who worships another god will still propitiate Telseph; no other god holds any sway over her domain. To fight in a war, no matter how small, is to put your trust in yourself, your fellow warrior, and in Telseph.

Starting equipment: choice of medium or light weapon, choice of heavy weapon or shield, choice of leather or chain armor, a distinctive and easily recognizable token visible over your armor. (Telseph shuns the faceless, the anonymous, the shameful.)

Starting skills: hard labor (tell the DM what manual labor you did before you took up the blade and they'll trust your expertise with it), visible callouses (other fighters and workers who aren't immediately hostile to you tend to trust you).

A: Press the advantage, +1 Maneuvers, +1 HP

B: +1 Maneuvers, +1 attack per round, +1 AC

C: +1 Maneuvers, don't call it a comeback, +1 HP

D: +1 Maneuvers, +1 HP, +1 AC

Press the advantage: Every half-competent warrior has a sense of the flow of battle and can use it to their advantage. You gain an advantage over an enemy when you:

- flank them,

- catch them flat footed,

- reduce them to half of your current HP,

- successfully demoralize them,

- manage to convince your DM you are in a tactically advantageous position over them.

You have advantage over this specific enemy until you use a Maneuver, which spends it, or until they gain an advantage over you by fulfilling one of the five previously mentioned conditions, whichever happens first.

You cannot possess multiple advantages at once (even when fighting multiple foes), and, more importantly, you can’t gain advantage over a single enemy the same way more than once.

You cannot gain advantage if your token is not worn visibly on your person.

Don't call it a comeback: You've mastered the ancient and powerful art of "pretending to win  when you're definitely not". Three times per day, when an enemy nullifies your advantage, you can say that they didn't and regain it as a reaction. Any advantage regained this way must be spent during your next turn. As usual, you must be wearing your token visibly on your person for this feature to work.

FIGHTER MANEUVERS FROM TELSEPH'S PRAYER MANUAL, 306TH EDITION

1. Cleave: You silently beg that the mother of all sharp steel does not waste your efforts. Make an attack with a medium or heavy weapon. If it would deal more damage than your target's remaining health, you can deal that damage to another enemy adjacent to you

2. Parry: Telseph's angels are shields. As a reaction, when an enemy makes an attack against you, roll an attack against them. If you hit them, instead of dealing damage, subtract the damage you would deal from their attack against you.

3. Opportunity: The queen of swords blesses the ever-ready. As a reaction, make an attack against an enemy attempting to move through a square adjacent to you. If you can make more than one attack per round, you can do so here as well. 

4. Hamstring: She bids you to clip their wings. Make an attack against an enemy that deals half damage. If it hits, they cannot move during their next turn.

5. Backstab: The oldest prayer. Make an attack against an enemy facing away from you. Double the damage dealt by it.

6. Stun: This is her mercy. Make an attack against an enemy. If it hits, it deals no damage, but they cannot act and lose any armor bonus to AC until the end of their next turn.

7. Challenge: Telseph transcends language between her devotees. As an action, call out to an enemy you have advantage over, and they will ignore any other target until the next time one of you damages the other.

8. Steel: She embraces you as a friend. As a free action, gain a pool of temporary hit points equal to twice the number of fighter templates you possess.

9. Power: Give yourself to her. As a free action, lose your armor bonus to AC for five turns. Your attacks deal extra damage equal to the AC lost for five turns.

10. Trade: The lady's last prayer. Make an attack against an enemy. If it hits, you both die immediately. Neither of you can be revived by any means.

CANTERS OF THE RED COLLEGE OF NHANTHEGE (glog class: wizard)

im starting with this class because

1. i play a lot of mmos and they made me hate spell slots as a mechanic.

2. i love pyromancers.

3. i love roleplay enforcement because it's funny.

this and probably everything else i write will be part of a self-indulgent glog hack. more on the glog here (coins and scrolls's many rats on sticks pdf) and here (original post on goblin punch with the first glog rules). fuel mechanic is a shameless rip from numbers aren't real's manufactory which is sick as is the rest of their work. you could probably turn this into a dungeon world playbook if you tried really, really hard, which i might.

i have bigger plans for mishaps in general so those won't show up here.

CLASS: RED WIZARD

    Red wizards are a cult of pyromancers who sing to fire for their spells. They are schooled in the Nhanthege College (which is less of an academic institution and more of a bard’s guild), a forbidding building of rough-hewn slade nestled in the northmost cliffs of Tyrsudd. The college is dedicated to the worship of Anthe, a dead goddess once beloved by mortals for her gift of fire who is now all but forgotten among most cultures. All fire is part of Anthe’s corpse, and red wizards speak to her ghost through it. She is sad, understandably, about being dead, but is always glad to hear what her adoptive grandchildren are up to.

    

    Starting Equipment: a lantern, three vials of lantern oil, eye-catching red outfit of choice, choice of simple weapon.

    Starting Skill: bardic training (neither the DM or your fellow players can prevent you from singing or reciting poetry during play), firemaking (DM must answer your questions regarding how much fuel for a fire an item might contain).

A: Fire-tender, Anthe’s gift, +1 HP.

B: Anthe’s gift, bardic privilege, +1 AC.

C: Anthe’s gift, Awen’s whim, +1 HP.

D: Anthe’s hoard, +1 HP.

    Fire-tender: Red wizards work with fire. It is not only the source of your magic but the corpse of your beloved goddess. You are forbidden from putting out a fire that poses no physical harm to any mortals. If you do, this feature will not function until you atone by spending a 24 hour period tending to and singing to a flame you start yourself.

    You use fire to cast spells, and cannot cast spells without a source of fire within arm’s reach. When used to cast spells, lanterns start with 3 units of fuel, bonfires with 5 units, and torches with 1. You can feed a flame additional fuel until it reaches an amount of fuel equal to your maximum HP. One slot of lantern oil contains 3 fuel, one slot of charcoal contains 4 fuel, five slots of dry wood contain 1 fuel between them and can only be used to feed bonfires, ask your DM about anything else by invoking the firemaking skill. Feeding a lantern or torch takes 1 round per slot of fuel used. Feeding a bonfire takes 1 hour regardless of how much fuel is added. You must sing or recite audibly to the flame while you feed it. As a rule, spells can be cast with 1 unit of fuel, but become stronger if you choose to spend more fuel on them (see individual spell entries for details). If you compose and perform a heroic song or poem detailing the events of the day to a lit flame, it returns to its starting amount of fuel six hours after the performance ends. When you use the last unit of fuel within a flame, it is extinguished, and it's your fault.

    Any time your character performs a song or poem, you, the player, must compose and perform it for your DM and fellow players.

    You can always start a fire in 5 minutes if you have the necessary materials and one unit of fuel.

    When you take this feature, learn one spell from the red wizard spell list. All of your spells always count as prepared.

    Anthe’s gift: Anthe has taken a shine to you, and grants you a spell! The first time you take this feature, roll 1d6 on the red wizard spell list. You learn that spell. The second time you take this feature, roll 1d8 for a spell. The third time, roll 1d10. If you roll a spell you’ve already learned, roll again until you get a new one.

    Bardic privilege: As a bard of some standing, tradition assures you some degree of safety when speaking with nobility. You can offend a given noble without consequence, once. Afterwards, the joke isn’t funny anymore and you are afforded no unusual legal or social protection should the noble take offense.

    Awen’s whim: Awen is the muse of all bards, and is Anthe’s treasured daughter, who speaks through her worshippers when she pleases. Once per day, you can sing a song or poem. If the DM finds the work pleasing enough to have been divinely inspired by Awen, roll 1d12 on the red wizard spell list. You can cast that spell for free once before the day is up. If it uses a variable amount of fuel, it counts as using the lowest amount possible.

    Anthe’s hoard: Anthe knows you well, and adores your work! When you take this feature, she lets you take 4 spells of your choice from the red wizard spell list. In addition, she may occasionally speak to you in dreams of fabulous treasures she knows of that have been scattered throughout the world.

RED WIZARD SPELL LIST

    some of these spells are long because they’re multifaceted, like imp. sorry.

    spells that deal fire damage will always light flammable inanimate objects. i don’t want to have to write that for each spell on a pyromancer’s spell list.

1: Scorching bolt: You gesture and hurl a fiery invective at a target within 30ft, and a spiraling arrow of fire shoots forth from a flame near you. Ranged attack based on CHA. Deals [fuel]d6 + [fuel] fire damage on hit and ignites target for [fuel] rounds.

2: Imp: Anthe’s angels are mischievous, fiery cherubs known as imps. Following her death, they scattered across the universe, but they will still heed their goddess’s call. 

    Sing a limerick when you cast this spell. It should involve fire somehow, but you shouldn't worry too much about it being funny (minor imps are notorious for their capacity to laugh at almost anything). A fire you see within 30ft of you becomes possessed by an imp for [fuel]*2 minutes. A possessed flame is mostly indistinguishable from a normal flame, but close examiners will see an infantile face grinning deviously at its heart. Imps can see out of the flame they possess, and can communicate to the caster through the caster’s spell focus. They have no understanding of mortal society, and cannot hear words not spoken directly to the flame. An imp can also be commanded to explode the possessed flame, which will cause it to cackle gleefully and deal 2d6 fire damage in a 10 foot radius of the flame (DEX save for half damage). The possessed flame is extinguished when it explodes or when the spell ends (the imp does this, not you, so don’t worry about breaking your code of conduct). Putting out the possessed flame through mundane means also ends the spell.

3: Coalbelly: You can eat unburnt fuel. Every unit of fuel consumed counts as 1 ration.

4: Tongue of flame: You sing an invocation of Awen. Your tongue catches fire with no pain for [fuel] minutes. For the duration, your vocal performances are considered “really good, even great” to those listening, regardless of their tastes or attitude towards you. After performing for someone under this effect, they may become more amenable to your requests.

5: Dragon’s breath: Occasionally, a dragon will hear the songs of a red wizard and go mad with grief for Anthe, ripping out its feathers and screaming so loud for so long it ruins its throat and can never sing again. Screaming dragons have volatile temperaments but are steadfast allies of Anthe’s cult, and taught them this spell generations ago.

    You inhale deeply on the round you cast this spell, which consumes an amount of fuel of your choice. For a number of rounds afterwards equal to the fuel consumed, you can exhale a gout of fire, dealing 1d6 damage to every enemy in a cone with a range of up to 5*[fuel] feet (DEX save for half damage).

    It is common knowledge among red wizards that screaming dragons can teach a stronger version of this spell that imitates true dragonfire.

6: Burning blades of Vy: The venerable bard Vy Firetongue found this spell, and used it to great effect in driving back the cult of Ard from what is now Nhanthege college.

    Sing a song or poem extolling the prowess of your allies in battle. For [fuel]d6 rounds, any weapons wielded by allies within 15ft of you burn bright with orange flame, which cannot be used as a spell focus by you or other red wizards. These burning weapons deal an extra [fuel] fire damage on hit, ignite flammable objects, and provide light as a torch for the duration.

7: Arch-imp: Presidents of imp legions are, by impish standards, deeper in their mourning for Anthe, but a powerful spellcaster can convince even them to take action against their enemies.

    Sing a limerick about someone grieving for Anthe. A greater imp will heed these words for [fuel] minutes. This spell functions like imp, but instead of making a flame explode, a greater imp can cause a flame to flare up in a terrifying blaze, making enemies within 20 yards cower for [fuel]d4 rounds (save vs fear each turn). In addition, the possessed flame does not go out when the spell ends. The flare can be reversed, giving allies in the same radius immunity to fear for [fuel]d4 rounds.

8: Blacksmith’s friend: Rub your hands together as a part of casting this spell. You can melt a hole the next metal object you put a hand on over the course of 7-[fuel] rounds of continuous contact. Lifting your hand from the object prematurely ends the spell, and you are not harmed by the molten metal this spell may result in (fumes might be an issue though). If the next thing you touch is bare flesh (melee attack against unarmored AC), you deal [fuel]d12 fire damage to them and end the spell. This damage will cauterize wounds, but that won’t matter if the damage kills the target. Other materials are immune to the effects of this spell.

9: Ward against her holy corpse: Sing a song or poem about how much fire loves you and up to [fuel] other people. Everyone mentioned in the verse becomes immune to the effects of nonmagical fire for [fuel] rounds.

10: Meadhall's ruin: You compose an original song or poem and invest as much fuel as you like into it. The first time you finish reciting your creation in its entirety, all creatures hearing it take [fuel]d6 fire damage and all flammable objects within 60ft begin to burn. Targets adjacent to you get no save, targets within 20ft can make a WIS save for half damage, targets further than 20ft away make a WIS save to negate damage. Creatures are immune if they cannot hear or understand what you say. Constructs are affected as objects even if they do hear and understand. A song or poem can only be used as a trigger for meadhall's ruin once; a new work must be composed for each individual casting. Asking a red wizard who you don't trust implicitly to play anything but the classics is generally considered to be tempting fate.

11: Anthe, again: You beg fate to let you behold your goddess, if just for a moment. This plea isn't sung - it must be acted out with an excessive degree of emotion, and it's the only thing you can do this round. Wailing, beating your chest, potentially getting the people in your apartment building concerned. This spell must always be cast with at least 15 fuel. If the DM decides your plea is satisfactory, Anthe walks out the fire closest to you. She compels total fascination in all mortals who can see her for [fuel] rounds or until disturbed, except for you. When she departs, she winks at you, giving you the effect of tongue of flame for the next day.

12: Fireball: Perhaps the most beloved song she ever taught her grandchildren. Everyone knows fragments of it, but learning this spell lodges the entire thing in your mind forever. You stretch out your hand, point your finger, and sing the full fireball song, which always takes one action to do regardless of how long the song is. This spell must always be cast with at least 6 fuel. A streak flashes from the pointing digit and stretches to a point within 50ft. Upon impact it blossoms into a fiery explosion 20ft in diameter, dealing [fuel]d6 damage to everything within the area of effect (DEX save for half damage). Onlookers are entranced for a sliver of a second as they remember singing the fireball song in their youth.

    no spells that just light fires because you have an immense number of ways to cause fire here. no light spells because you have a light source at all times hopefully and will probably break the light economy just because of the vast amounts of lantern oil you will try to lug around + you can just refill your light source before you go to bed. no firefighting spells because that would be ILLEGAL! didn’t want to make a huge cataclysmic capstone spell besides fireball because fireball is dope and we all love it.