Warriors of the Order, Radicals, Demonslaying, Sorcery and other Cliche'd stuff. Also some new rules and shiz.

Now Thal's new invention is merging the basic 3.5 system into something more suitable for a gritty, down to earth Renaissance era demon/undead hunting campaign and I don't feel like trying to teach people GURPS again.

Let's start with the basics shall we:
New Rule- Dodging
Once per turn if you are hit by an attack you may attempt a tumble check to avoid the damage from the attack, the DC of the tumble check is equal to their roll to hit you.

Okay now that little probably not going to be used much rule is out the way with lets get to the setting of this bit of homebrew.

The world is an evil place, the only safe civilians are in fortified cathedral cities, watched over by the vigilent eyes of the Order. Out in the darkness vile forces dwell. In the deep forests and hidden temples occult forces gather. Demons and other unnatural creatures gain sustinance and venture out to end mortal's lives and corrupt their spirits. Cultists driven to these forces due to madness or lust for power worship them and gain strength from them for the small price of their souls. The Order sends out covens of Acolytes to remove these cults and any other corruptions from existance. Whilst the cities remain strong and protected the villages on the outskirts have little more than a wooden wall and a preacher to defend them, cults and sinners infest these places and prey upon the few pure souls left in them.

However not everyone agrees with the Order's rigid teachings, groups of radicals exist in hidden cells across the world. Some retain the Order's good intentions but mearly disagree with their methods and ideaology whilst others embody the corrupt arts such as sorcery and become almost as tainted as the creatures they are trying to destroy.

Little bit of background out the way let's explain how it works. There are five base classes to represent members of the Order or Good Radicals. Each of these classes goes to level five before it splits off into several paths to follow, you stop gaining hp after level five but start to gain Damage reduction according to your path. If you multiclass between classes you can't go into a path until you reach level five in one of your classes but stop gaining hp once your combined class level is five.

Taint mechanics will be in use for this homebrew and there will be four classes for more morally ambigous characters involving sorcery and the like later on.

Blackpowder weapons from the DMG do exist but have been outlawed by the Order so only Radicals and cultists will take them.

Brief Class overview:

Acolyte of the Faith: Uses slowly regenerating Faith Points to heal the injured, empower their allies, purge the impure and create holy water.
Character paths for Acolyte of the Faith:
Lightbringer- Strong focus on using and regaining Faith Points
Archivist- Focus on knowledge of foes which gives bonus's to various abilities
Faithless Adept (Radical)- Uses Faith points for less pure purposes such as to harm and to poison

Acolyte of the Blade: Supreme masters of melee, Acolyte of the Blade's place is on the front lines cutting down evil.
Character paths for Acolyte of the Blade:
Duelist- Focus on singling out one target and besting them in combat.
Demonslayer- Gains bonus' and techniques to focus their fighting on the most dangerous of the occult
Black Blade (Radical)- Channels Occult energies down their chosen weapon to inflict grevious wounds.

Acolyte of the Bow: Excellent sentries and marksmen, Acolytes of the Bow tend to prefer crossbows and repeater crossbows to the more traditional longbow.
Character Paths for Acolyte of the Bow:
Sniper- Gains strong concealment abilities and can inflict large damage from a single bolt
Rainbringer- The opposite of the sniper, Rainbringers throw out as many shots as possible to mow down hordes.
Blackpowder Marksman (Radical)- A utiliser of the dangerous and illegal blackpowder weapons.

Acolyte of the Shroud: Able to gather infomation, lie with ease and sneak into a coven.
Character Paths for Acolyte of the Shroud:
Spymaster- Experts at getting infomation about activities and people.
Shadowbodied- Master of stealth and able to deal critical damage to unaware targets.
Corrupter (Very Radical)- Able to change someone's mind and thoughts with a quick word or two.

Acolyte of the Sheild: Defenders of the Order, Acoyltes of the Sheild stand directly in the way of evil and corruption.
Character Paths for Acolyte of the Sheild:
Sheild of Valour- Focus's on defending others and taking their damage for them
Wall of Steel- Is an unmovable warrior in the face of evil
Dreadguard (radical)- Uses intimidation abilities to force opponents to cower before them.


Next time I'll go into detail on these classes, give you some new feats to play with and probably start to bring in the Eeeevvvillll classes.

New Classes

Acolyte of the Faith:


Hit die: D6
Skills: Concentration, Craft, Profession, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Spellcraft, Decipher Script
Skill points: 4+int modifier




An Acolyte of the Faith is proficient with Heavy and Light Maces and one other Simple weapon of their choice. They are not proficient with any armour though it does not interfere with their Faith Abilities

Power of Faith: An Acolyte of the Faith gets a number of faith points equal to their Acolyte of the Faith level+Cha modifier. These Faith points can be spent on Faith Abilities to do a number of supernatural effects. Faith points are regained at a rate of Cha modifier/day during one hour of uninterupted prayer on that day. Faith Abilities can be enhanced by spending more Faith Points on them but you may spend no more Faith Points on an Ability than your Acolyte of the Faith level. Each Faith Ability takes a full round action and requires you to touch the target unless otherwise stated.

Faith Abilities:

Healing Word: Heals 1d6 points of damage per Faith Point spent.

Purification: Removes any poison or impurities from one meal or litre of liquid per Faith Point spent.

Bless Water: Creates one litre of Holy Water per Faith Point spent.

Remove Ailment: Removes any one of: Paralysis, Poison, Disease or Curse from a single target.

Inspirational Oratory: Gives all allies within 30 feet a +1 on attack and damage rolls per Faith Points spent.

Purging Fire: Deals 1d8 damage per Faith Point spent on any Demon or Undead within 30 feet on a sucessful ranged touch attack.



Pure Soul: An Acolyte of the Faith of at least second level gains +4 on saving throws versus any enchantments, corruptions or taint effects.

Mettle: Acolyte of the Faith of at least fourth level takes no secondary effects from a sucessful Fortitude or Will Save.

Divine Purity: A fith level Acolyte of the Faith gains an Aura that gives all Allies within 30feet a +2 on all Saving Throws and Armour Class.

Acolyte of the Blade:
Hit Dice: D10
Skills: Craft, Climb, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Swim, Tumble.
Skill Points: 2+ Int Modifier



An Acolyte of the Blade is Proficient with all simple and martial one handed blades and one other simple or martial weapon of their choice. They are proficient with all light and medium armour

Chosen Blade: At first level an Acolyte of the Blade choses a single blade to be their chosen weapon, they gain Weapon Focus for that weapon as a bonus feat, at third level they get weapon specilisation as a bonus feat and at fith level they gain Improved critical for that weapon as a bonus feat.

Bonus Feat: At Second and Forth level Acolytes of the Blade may select any feat from the fighter bonus feat list that they meet the prerequisites for.

Relentless Assult: A third level Acolyte of the Blade gains a +1 on attack and damage rolls for the rest of the encounter whenever he drops an enemy.

Death Drain: A fith level Acolyte of the Blade heals a number of hp equal to his foes HD whenever he kills an enemy.
[/b]

Acolyte of the Bow:

Hit Die: D8
Skills: Concentration, Craft, Hide, Jump, Listen, Knowledge (Religion), Move silently, Profession, Spot, Tumble.
Skill Points: 4+Int modifier




Acolytes of the Bow are proficient with all Crossbows, shortbows and longbows (including composite versions). They are proficient with all light armour.

Take Aim: If an Acolyte of the Bow takes a move action to Aim at a target they can see they gain a +2 on their next attack roll on that target and may add their Dex modifier to damage.

Bonus Feats:[b] At 1st level an Acolyte of the Bow gets Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat, at 2nd they gain Rapid Shot and at 5th they gain Manyshot which is usable with any ranged weapon.

[b]Smart Shooting: An Acolyte of the Bow who has reached third level may use their intelligence modifier on attack and damage rolls.

Befuddling Bolt: A forth level Acolyte of the Bow may fire a special stunning shot a number of times/day equal to 1+their Int modifier. They may only make one shot the turn they make this attack, if it hits then the foe must pass a Fortitude save (DC 10+1/2 level+Int modifier) or be stunned for around, the same foe may not be effected by this attack more than once in 24 hours.

Intelligent Defence: A fith level Acolyte of the Bow may add their Intelligence modifier to AC whilst wearing light or no armour.




Acolyte of the Shroud:
Hitdice: D6
Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Infomation, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (Local), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Spot, Tumble.
Skill Points: 6+Int Modifier



Acolytes of the Shroud are proficient with all simple weapons and one martial weapon of their choice, they are proficient with light armour.

Focus: At first level an Acolyte of the Shroud has already chosen their speciality and is beginning to develop skills for it, they must choose either to either focus Social skills or Stealth skills. If they focus Social skills they gain a bonus equal to their Acolyte of the Shroud level to Charisma based skills, If they focus Stealth they gain a bonus to Dexterity based skills.

Master of Infomation: An Acolyte of the Shroud gains a +2 on Gather Infomation checks and has the Bardic Knowledge class feature.

Shrouds: A second level Acolyte of the Shroud gains the ability to throw down a shroud which disorientates an opponent. Select a five foot square within thirty feet of the Acolyte of the Shroud, any creatures within that square take a -2 on attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks. You may move the shroud up to 30 feet a round as a standard action. The shroud lasts a number of rounds equal to your Acolyte of the Shroud level+Dex/Cha modifier (depending on focus). You may use the Shroud once per encounter.

Focus Boost: An Acolyte of the Shroud of at least third level gains the ability to temporarily enhance his focus skills. For one round/level you gain a +5 bonus to either Dexterity or Charisma based skills depending on your focus. This is usable once per day per Dexterity or Charisma modifier (Once more depending on your focus)

Improved Shroud: At fourth level the size of an Acolyte's Shroud increases to a ten foot by ten foot square.

Focus Mastery: A Fith level Acoylte of the Shroud gains a supernatural Spell Like Ability which they can use once per day depending on their focus. A Social Acolyte gains Charm Person (DC10+1/2level+Cha modifier) and a Stealth Acolyte gains Invisibility, the caster level is equal to their character level.

Time for the last Order base Class and then I'll get to work on the Paths and feats


Acolyte of the Shield:

Hit Dice: D12
Skills: Concentration, Craft, Climb, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Sense motive, Swim.
Skill Points: 2+Int modifier.




Acolyte's of the Shield are proficient with all simple weapons and one martial weapon of their choice, they are proficient with all armour and shields.

Divine Challenge: An Acolyte of the Shield may attempt to force his opponent into attacking him rather than his allies. The Acolyte may pick an opponent within 30feet, they must pass a will save (DC10+1/2HD+Wis modifier) or be forced to attack the Acolyte of the shield to the best of their ability, this effect lasts for 1round/level. It is usable a number of times per day equal to your wisdom modifier.

Shield Ally: An Acolyte of the Shield of at least second level may let one Ally share their AC for one turn, this ability is usable once/encounter and is an immediate action to trigger.

Strength of Will: A third level Acolyte of the Shield can pull through effects that would kill or hinder a lesser man with ease, once per encounter they may make a Concentration Check in place of a fortitude, reflex or will save.

Battle Meditation
An Acolyte of the Faith of forth level that spends a full turn doing nothing but meditating or reciting prayers regains another use of their Shield Ally and Strength of Will abilities for the encounter.

Defy Death: A fith level Acolyte of the Sheild gains Diehard as a bonus feat and doesn't die until he reaches -20 hp rather than -10.


There you go, the class roles should be quite obvious:

Acolytes of the Faith support and help their allies, Acolytes of the Shroud find their enemies and get infomation on them before moving into a position to debuff in combat. Acolytes of the Bow shoot from a range to weaken their enemies before finally the Acolytes of the Blade move in to finish of their targets in melee supported by Acolytes of the Shield to protect the other Acolytes. There may be some class imbalance but that will be sorted out with playtesting and as it stands each class should have its own niche that other's cannot fill.

New Feats:
These arn't ordered in any real way but ah well.

Sorcery Feats

[b][u]Sorcery:
Prerequisites: Intelligence 14 or Charisma 14
Benefit: You gain the ability to utilise sorcery to emulate spells once per encounter, using sorcery requires a spellcraft check (details below) and you gain 1 point of corruption and depravity (Will DC10 negates) Anyone immune to taint cannot use sorcery.

Improved Sorcery:
Prerequisites: Intelligence 16 or Charisma 16, Character Level 3rd, Sorcery.
Benefit: You may utilise sorcery to emulate higher level spell effects (see sorcery description) when utilising higher level spell effects you gain 2 points of corruption and depravity (Will DC15 negates). In addition you gain an extra use of Sorcery per encounter

Greater Sorcery:
Prerequisites: Intelligence 18 or Charisma 18, Character Level 5th, Sorcery, Improved Sorcery.
Benefit: You may use sorcery to emulate the highest level effects that anyone without levels in a Sorcery class can utilise, using these effects you gain 3 points of corruption and depravity (Will DC20 negates) in addition you gain an extra use of sorcery per encounter.

Extra Sorcery:
Prerequisites: Sorcery
Benefit: You gain an additional use of Sorcery per encounter, this feat may be taken multiple times, it's effects stack.

Shroud Feats:

These feats grant extra abilities for the Acolyte of the Shroud's shroud effects.

Greater Shroud:
Prerequisites: Improved Shroud Class feature
Benefit: The penalty to rolls on targets within the shroud improves to -4 from -2.

Paralysing Shroud:
Prerequisites: Improved Shroud Class feature
Benefit: Once per day you may attempt to paralyse a single target within your shroud for 1 round, the save DC is 10+1/2HD+ Charisma modifier.

Blinding Shroud:[b]
[b]Prerequisites: Shroud Class feature
Benefit: Once per encounter you may attempt to blind a single target within your shroud for 1 round/level, the save DC is 10+1/2HD+ Charisma modifier.

Double Shroud:[b]
[b]Prerequisites: Acolyte of the Shroud level 5, Charisma 16, Dexterity 16, Greater Shroud.
Benefit: You may place two independant shrouds down at anytime instead of one, you may use Blinding Shroud and Palaysing Shroud once per shroud instead of once per encounter/day

Faith Feats:[b]

These Feats are geared towards improving the Faith abilities of Acolyte of the Faith.

[b]Pool of Faith:
Prerequisites: Power of Faith Class Feature
Benefit: You gain an additional Faith Point. This feat can be taken multiple times, each time it is taken the number of Faith points bestowed increases by one.

Devoted Healing:
Prerequisites: Power of Faith Class Feature, Character level 3rd
Beneit: Healing Word now adds your Charisma modifier to each dice used to heal.

Divine Protection:
Prerequisites: Power of Faith
Benefit: You gain a new Faith Ability:
Divine Protection- Gives one all DR1/- per faith point spent for 1round/level

Faith Blessing:
Prerequisites: Power of Faith
Benefit: Whenever you use a Faith Ability you or an ally within 30 feet gain temporary hp equal to your charisma modifier.

Improved Faith Channeling:
Prerequisites: Power of Faith
Benefit: You may count your level as one higher than normal for the purpose of spending faith points on Faith Abilities, so a level 1 Acolyte of the Faith with this feat can spend 2 faith points on an ability.



General Feats: (under construction)


Changing Paths:
{rerequisites: Character Level 5
Benefit: You may take a different character path to one that your class allows, if the paths has any prerequisites you must meet them.