Venerartor of the Creator - A cult in the Green Sea setting

Venerators of the Creator

The Venerators of the Creator is a cult formed by Trar, which venerate their creator. Members of the cult know that they were created, but only the oldest and wisest know who their creator is and what they were created from. A circle with a dot in the centre is the symbol of the Venerators of the Creator. There is no overall organization of the cult, just local groups. The leaders of these groups sometimes correspond, but this is rare.

Trartes is their creator. He formed the Trar from predatory animals to create loyal servants. Forming the body was only in the beginning a problem, but forming the mind was and still is the most difficult task in transforming an animal into a Trar. Only the best specimen were chosen to be members of cult. Within the transformation process, every Trar receives a drop of Trartes’ blood. This gives them the capability to use creational magic (divine magic). The most intelligent cult members are instructed in arcane magic.

The long term goal of this cult is to bring back all the creational magical organs, used by the other cults, to Trartes the Creator. This task doesn’t always requires force or stealth, Trartes has an agreement with Ruthena, the founder and former head of the Philosopher Convent, that she will give back all of the cults creational organs once Trartes has regained all the other ones.

Venerators of the Creator can sense the direction of creational organs within a radius of 1 mile.

Due to the feral nature, Trar are limited in their power of creational magic. But within this limitation, the cult has access to all of the knowledge of Trartes.

Spell list:

1^st Level

1. Cure Light Wounds (Cause Light Wounds)

2. Detect Evil (Detect Good)

3. Detect Magic

4. Light (Darkness)

5. Protection from Evil (Protection from Good)

6. Purify Food and Water

7. Remove Fear (Cause Fear)

8. Resist Cold

2^nd Level

1. Bless (Blight)

2. Continous Light (Continous Darkness)

3. Find Traps

4. Hold Person

5. Know Alignment

6. Remove Disease (Cause Disease)

7. Resist Fire

8. Silence

9. Snake Charm

10. Speak with Animals

3^rd Level

1. Circle of Protection from Evil (Circle of Protection from Good)

2. Cure Serious Wounds (Cause Serious Wounds)

3. Enervate Dead (Animate Dead)

4. Growth of Animal

5. Locate Object

6. Remove Curse (Bestow Curse)

7. Speak with Dead

8. Striking

Trar, Failed Ones - Monster

Trar

The Trar are formed from predatory animals to human like creatures by Trartes the Creator. Compared to humans the skin has a gray tone, hairs are thicker and more dense and fingernails and toenails are sharper.

All Trar have a 3-in-6 chance to surprise their opponents. Due to their instincs they can only be surprised with a 1-in-6 chance.

Trar, Failed Ones

Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1+2
Attacks: Weapon
Special: Feral Hunting, Feral Instincs
Move: 12
HDE/XP: 2/30

The forming of the mind failed with this specimen. Their intelligence is between predatory animal and man. They attack usually with clubs and slings. They hunt in packs from 4-24 Failed Ones.

Trar - Character Race

The Trar

Trar look very similar to humans with a few exceptions. Their skin has a gray tone, their hair is thicker and more dense and their fingernails and toenails are sharper. Most Humans and even most Trar don’t know that they don’t belong to the same species. Trar are not able to procreate. Adventuring Trar are in the age between 5 and 50 years old.

Trar Abilities

Character Advancement

Trar can be any class, but are restricted in their advancement. They typically progress to 8^th Level as Fighter, 5^th Level as Cultist, 8^th Level as Magic-User and 6^th Level as Thief.

Trar Cultist belong usually to the Venerators of the Creator.

Weapon and Armor Restrictions

Weapons and Armor restrictions as per class.

Feral Instincts

Trar can only be surprised with a 1-in-6 chance due to their magnificient instincts.

Feral Hunting

Trar are very stealthy and can surprise anybody with a 3-in-6 chance, even if their prey is alerted.

Cultist class - a variation of the cleric

In my Green Sea campaign setting clerics don’t serve a god, a pantheon of gods or other entities. They will be members of a cult. The abilities and powers are obtained after one organ is replaced by a “divine” organ. Each cult uses only one kind of organ, i.e. the order of the eagle replaces one eye with a silver eye. The transplantation is risky and only few survive this process. This organs are quite valuable to the cults and they will expend great effort to retain their lost organs. The knowledge to manufacture new ones is lost for some long time. The core ingredient for every organ is the same[this is not yet developed completely].

There will be gods in the campaign, but they will be more like the greek or norse gods. They are not locked in a distant plane, not infailable and not immortal. It is possible that a man could kill a god, but more likely will be that one has tricked one man, maybe multiple times and he didn’t even noticed it.
They will grant only individuals powers, but usually not a group that worshipping them.
That's why there will be no standard clerics in the campaign.

The cultist class is just an alternate version of the cleric and uses the same advancement scheme. The difference is that not every cult can turn undead, but instead they have other abilities. Also the weapon and Armour choices may differ from the standard cleric.
In the character creation the character already survived the transplantation. A Death Saving throw is necessary if a character becomes a member of a cult after the character creation.

Here are two examples for the campaign:

Cultist of the philosopher circle follow the standard rules for clerics with two additions. First they are immune to Ghoul paralysis. Second, the night after their death, they becoming ghouls. The brain is replaced by a brass brain.

Cultists of the order of the eagle can't turn undead. Instead they have infravision to a limit of 60 feet. Also, they can use all weapons. One eye is replaced by an silver eye.

In a later post I will detail cults with a little background.

Bronze and Stone weapons

This house rules originated from desire to separate weapons made from different materials.

In a setting were the process of manufacturing steel weapons is not known by every culture or there is no iron mining in the region and trading is scarce, there has to be some substitute material, which is more common.

I assume that the weapon and armor stats in the original edition and every subsequent edition are created for steel equipment. Steel is durable, hard to break and hard to bend in comparison to other metals or alloys. If other materials are used as substitute there should be a difference in play. The following rules are a simple approach to create that difference between steel(standard weapon rules from the system rule book), bronze and stone.

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EDIT:
After I shared my blog post on reddit, I received some nice and interesting comments about bronze. You should check them out. Further one user shared one idea for more attrition. It is implemented as optional rule for arsenic bronze melee weapons.
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Bronze Weapons

An attack roll of 1 with a bronze melee weapon decreases the weapon damage permanently.
If rules for natural 20s are used, an attack roll of 20 the player can choose to deal normal damage or double damage, but decreasing the weapon damage permanently. The decrease is applied after the damage is dealt.

Depending on what kind of weapon damage is used, the decrease is applied differently. If all weapons use 1d6, the damage is permanently modified by -1. This effect is cumulative.
For variable weapon damage the same method with the negative modifier can be used. Or the damage die is demoted to the next smaller die [d10 -> d8 -> d6 -> d4 -> unarmed damage]. 

Optional: The above rules apply to tin bronze. For arsenic bronze each time maximum damage is rolled, the damage is decreased. This applies additionally to the rules above.

When the maximum damage of a melee weapon is equal or less than unarmed damage, the weapon is totally broken and cannot be repaired.

Missiles with bronze tips can only be used once. Reuse for a later combat is not possible.

The Armour Class of Bronze Armour is decrease by 1 point compared to their steel equivalent.

 

Stone Weapons

An attack roll of 1 with a stone melee weapon destroys the weapon.
If rules for natural 20s are used, an attack roll of 20 the player can choose to deal normal damage or double damage, but destroying the weapon.

Missiles with stone tips can only be used once. Reuse for a later combat is not possible. The damage from stone missile weapons (except slings) is modified by -1. 

Algae Lurker and its offspring

The Algae Lurker is the first monster for the "Green Sea"-Setting which I'm working on right now. They're defining for one specific region within the Green Sea. This region will be described in a later post. The region desciption will also include the source of their existence.

These green abominations lurk in the algae covered coast and travelling ways of the green sea. They attack only from ambush. Sometimes they lure their prey into traps.

Their lairs are usually coastal caverns or the ruins of a sunken buildings.

If an Algae Lurker has gained enough knowledge, it will become an Algae Lurker Omega.

If something or someone with divine power enters their territory they want to destroy it, no matter what it will take to achieve this.

Algae Lurker

Grotesque, humanoid algae that absorbs the knowledge of their intelligent prey. Legends say they are the offspring of a mighty god.

AC 7 [12], HD 2 (9hp), Att 1 x weapon (1d8 or weapon), THACO 18 [+1], MV 120' (40'), SV D12 W15 P14 B15 S16 (2), ML 9, AL Chaotic, XP 20, NA 1d6 (1d12) , TT U (C)

• Leader: May have a leader of 4HD.
• Absorb Knowledge: The absorbtion takes up to the number of HD in turns. Thereafter the creature receives the THACO, class abilities and skills of their victims, if their own isn't better. They abhor divinity and don't absorb them.
• Wet Habitat: Away from a wet habitat, they will sustain only 1d6 hours. After that are completly dried out, which will cuase their death.
• Hoard: Only have treasure type C when encountered in their lair.
• Abhor divinity: They are effected by the Turn Undead ability, but can only be turned not destroyed from it.
  

Algae Lurker Omega

Grotesque, humanoid algae that absorbs the knowledge of their intelligent prey. They have learned to use arcane magic. Legends say they are the offspring of a mighty god.

AC 5 [14], HD 6* (27hp), Att 1 x weapon (1d8 or weapon) or 1 x magic, THACO 14 [+5], MV 120' (40'), SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (6), ML 10, AL Chaotic, XP 500, NA 1, TT O

• Language and Spells: 40%; 2 x 1st level, 2 x 2nd level, 2 x 3rd level
• Absorb Knowledge: The absorbtion takes up to the number of HD in turns. Thereafter the creature receives the THACO, class abilities and skills of their victims, if thier own isn't better. They abhor divinity and don't absorb this kind of knowledge.
• Create Offspring: If the prey that is absorbed only has knowledge already known by the Algae Lurker Omega, it can create an Alage Lurker. The creation of one offspring takes 1 hour.
• Wet Habitat: Away from a wet habitat, they will sustain only 1d6 hours. After that are completly dried out, which will cuase their death.
• Abhor divinity: They are effected by the Turn Undead ability, but can only be turned not destroyed from it.

Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer - Caspar David Friedrich

Recently I stumble across the Iron Gates blog posts on the Coins & Scrolls blog. Reading these posts started a creative process in my mind. I don't know where this will lead, if I will use the Iron Gates setting or if I will create my own. But no matter what I choose to do I will use Old-School Essentials.

Wanderer

Requirements: Minimum CON 9
Prime requisite: CON, INT
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
Armour: Any, including shields
Weapons: Any
Languages: Alignment, Common

Wanderer are in search of valuables far beyond treasure. Their journeys led them to powers way bigger than their expectations. They've learned to cast spells.

						Saving	Throws		Spells
Level	XP	HD	THAC0	Death	Wand	Paralysis	Breath	Spell
1	0	1d6	19[0]	11	12	14	16	15	-
2	1700	2d6	19[0]	11	12	14	16	15	1
3	3400	3d6	19[0]	11	12	14	16	15	1
4	6800	4d6	19[0]	11	12	14	16	15	1
5	13600	5d6	17[+2]	9	10	12	14	12	2
6	28000	6d6	17[+2]	9	10	12	14	12	2
7	56000	7d6	17[+2]	9	10	12	14	12	2
8	115000	8d6	17[+2]	9	10	12	14	12	3
9	230000	9d6	14[+5]	6	7	9	11	9	3
10	330000	9d6+1*	14[+5]	6	7	9	11	9	3
11	430000	9d6+2*	14[+5]	6	7	9	11	9	4
12	530000	9d6+3*	14[+5]	6	7	9	11	9	4
13	630000	9d6+4*	12[+7]	3	5	7	8	7	5
14	730000	9d6+5*	12[+7]	3	5	7	8	7	5

Foraging

The Wanderer has a 2-in-6 change to succeed in foraging.

Far Traveled

The Wanderer reduces the chance of Losing Direction by one point, but never less than 1-in-6. This only applies to overland travel.

Arcane Magic

Magical research: See Magic-User in Old-School Essentials Basic Rules.

Spell casting: At 2nd level the Wanderer is able to cast arcane spells (Magic-User spell list). See Magic-User in Old-School Essentials Basic Rules.
The spells represent how many spells can be cast per day. The maximum spell level depends on the character level (see the following table).

Level	Max.	Spell	Lvl
2 - 6		1st
7 - 11		2nd
12 - 14		3rd

Using magic items: See Magic-User in Old-School Essentials Basic Rules.

Scroll Use

At 1st level the Wanderer can cast spells from arcane scrolls. See Thief in the Old-School Essentials Basic Rules.

After Reaching 9th Level

A Wanderer may establish a caravan.

The Wanderer will attract follower (3d6 Fighter of level 1-2 and 2d6 Thieves if level 1-3). Their morale depends on the success of the last expeditions. The referee decides about the level of the followers and their morale.

Wanderer im Sturm - Karl Julius von Leypold

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EDIT -> Changes after I got some feedback
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I separated the number of spells that can be cast per day and the maximum spell level. The XP were also adjusted. To do so I used Building a More Perfect Class blog post. The class is using the Cleric Saving Throws and Attack, and it is classified as Magic-User 1/4.