Everything here is written to be player-facing, except what's behind the DM Notes.
HUMANS
Skin colours may vary, but no mechanical differences.
No level limits
+1 extra skill at start
DM Note: Land's End is in the Wilderlands, so the usual suspects are around: Orichalans, Tharbrians, Viridians, Altanians, all the wonderful primary-coloured folks! The PCs in this game have no idea of their origins because they all started as slaves to the lizardfolk. I rolled randomly for their human subtypes, but if the campaign started differently I would have given them a list to pick from.
WILDMEN
DM Note: The wildmen's exact nature is left vague intentionally. They are a broad category that might be "primitive hunter-gatherers" as easily as degenerated or mutated men, or Neanderthals. They can pass as normal humans some of the time. Since I use cavemen where orcs would normally go, we can call wildmen the half-orc equivalent of Land's End.
HALF-ELVES
Savage tribesmen scratching out a living on the edges of civilization. Their mixed blood has driven them to strange practises.
Spending their lives underground or in dark jungles has made them strange. Rumours of cannibalism & demonology keep most other races away from the ruined cities they infest.
LIZARDFOLK
Fearless hunters with their own sense of honour and tradition.
Usually they find "warmbloods" difficult to deal with, preferring to keep to themselves.
They follow no gods, instead seeking harmony with the natural world.
Natural bite attack (1d4+STR bonus). Can use in a grapple, or in addition to regular melee attacks with -5 to hit.
Natural armour (+2 AC - cumulative with light or medium, but not heavy armour)
+1 STR, -1 INT
Level limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 3, Thief 5, MU 3
One of their starting skills must be swimming.
One-in-a-million freaks of nature? Children of demons? Nobody knows. Each is infused with otherworldly forces. Their features are "angelic," "demonic" or partake of one of the four elements. (An "air" planetouched might have hair that constantly moves in an unseen breeze, an "earth" might have coal-black skin or gemlike fingernails). Rude people call them "Demonbrood."
Each planetouched has +1 to one attribute and -1 to another, and level limits ranging from 3 to 9. Otherworldly nature, attribute bonuses, level limits and appearance are all generated RANDOMLY by the DM!
DM Note: Some may call into question my old-school credentials for allowing Tieflings, Aasimar, and whatever the elemental ones are called. In my defense, I make all the rolls behind the DM screen. This eliminates the asinine "build" aspect of character creation - picking Air so you can get +1 INT in order to play an M-U, or whatever. This is for advanced players who want to try something new and don't mind letting the dice fall where they may!
+1 to saves vs. water magic, additional +1 at 9th
Breathe underwater 30 mins/day/level
Swim skill for free
Celestial / Infernal Appearance: (%)
Roll twice.
+1 extra skill at start
DM Note: Land's End is in the Wilderlands, so the usual suspects are around: Orichalans, Tharbrians, Viridians, Altanians, all the wonderful primary-coloured folks! The PCs in this game have no idea of their origins because they all started as slaves to the lizardfolk. I rolled randomly for their human subtypes, but if the campaign started differently I would have given them a list to pick from.
WILDMEN
Degenerated humans, or perhaps their distant forebears? It is unclear.
Crude features, slightly hunched posture.
+1 STR, +1 CON, -1 INT, -1 WIS
Level limits: Fighter *, Cleric 5, Thief 5, MU 0
Begin the game illiterate.
Crude features, slightly hunched posture.
+1 STR, +1 CON, -1 INT, -1 WIS
Level limits: Fighter *, Cleric 5, Thief 5, MU 0
Begin the game illiterate.
DM Note: The wildmen's exact nature is left vague intentionally. They are a broad category that might be "primitive hunter-gatherers" as easily as degenerated or mutated men, or Neanderthals. They can pass as normal humans some of the time. Since I use cavemen where orcs would normally go, we can call wildmen the half-orc equivalent of Land's End.
HALF-ELVES
Savage tribesmen scratching out a living on the edges of civilization. Their mixed blood has driven them to strange practises.
Get the Find Tracks skill for free, and treat Read Signs as a class skill.
Can use bows even if their class is normally unable to.
Level Limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 5, Thief 9, MU 9
Level Limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 5, Thief 9, MU 9
ELVES
The doomed race. Once they ruled the world, now they are dwindling, rare & lost in the wilds.
+1 DEX, -1 CON
Treat Read Signs as a class skill.
Can use bows even if their class is normally unable to.
Immune to Sleep and +2 to save vs. Charm.
cannot be raised from the dead by ordinary magic
Level limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 7, Thief 6, MU 9
DM Note: I have tweaked these bonuses slightly to fit into the setting. Pure-blooded elves are hard to find, half-elves are commonplace. They usually live in the wilderness, barely scraping by, living off nomadic herding and raiding human settlements. Elves don't look super-elfy in Land's End - pointed ears, maybe a smaller build than the average human, slightly odd features (like a human with a bit of prosthetics and makeup, not like the anime-elves you see sometimes). Half-elves might be anywhere in between, and can often pass as human.
CHTHONIC ELVES
Spending their lives underground or in dark jungles has made them strange. Rumours of cannibalism & demonology keep most other races away from the ruined cities they infest.
+1 STR, -1 CON, -1 CHA
Darkvision - With no other lights, can see in the dark in a limited way. Black & white, very little detail.
Light Sensitivity - During the day, -1 penalty on perception/initiative/attack rolls due to squinting. -2 on bright sunny days.
Ghoulish - Once per day, consume the flesh & blood of a recently killed humanoid foe to gain back 1 hp/level, up to the maximum of your hit die (ie. M-Us max out at 4 hp this way, Fighters at 10).
Level limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 9, Thief 7, MU 6
| Usually, less armour is worn. |
DM Note: I don't remember where I got the idea for these guys, but I have seen similar things in the OSR here and there. Someone else probably deserves the credit. Nevertheless I think they are cool so they are here to stay!
LIZARDFOLK
Fearless hunters with their own sense of honour and tradition.
Usually they find "warmbloods" difficult to deal with, preferring to keep to themselves.
They follow no gods, instead seeking harmony with the natural world.
Natural bite attack (1d4+STR bonus). Can use in a grapple, or in addition to regular melee attacks with -5 to hit.
Natural armour (+2 AC - cumulative with light or medium, but not heavy armour)
+1 STR, -1 INT
Level limits: Fighter 9, Cleric 3, Thief 5, MU 3
One of their starting skills must be swimming.
DM Note: Simplified versions of 3.x edition lizardfolk. Extra attack & natural armour are balanced by fairly harsh level limits and reducing the skill selection a bit. Also interspecies tensions may arise. They are my favourite humanoids and I like using them everywhere, especially since Land's End is a tropical climate, mostly jungle and swampland.
PLANETOUCHED
One-in-a-million freaks of nature? Children of demons? Nobody knows. Each is infused with otherworldly forces. Their features are "angelic," "demonic" or partake of one of the four elements. (An "air" planetouched might have hair that constantly moves in an unseen breeze, an "earth" might have coal-black skin or gemlike fingernails). Rude people call them "Demonbrood."
Each planetouched has +1 to one attribute and -1 to another, and level limits ranging from 3 to 9. Otherworldly nature, attribute bonuses, level limits and appearance are all generated RANDOMLY by the DM!
| Inspired by, but not exactly like this. |
DM Note: Some may call into question my old-school credentials for allowing Tieflings, Aasimar, and whatever the elemental ones are called. In my defense, I make all the rolls behind the DM screen. This eliminates the asinine "build" aspect of character creation - picking Air so you can get +1 INT in order to play an M-U, or whatever. This is for advanced players who want to try something new and don't mind letting the dice fall where they may!
Putting all these types in one category also reinforces the in-game ignorance and fear that would attend them - is that guy with red horns touched by Infernal forces, or is he just a fire-guy? Nobody knows, and why take the chance? Tar & feather him!!
There are no rerolls allowed! If the player doesn't want to play the character that's been rolled up, that's fine - but the DM should note all rolls made, just in case. Some of the special abilities are powerful, but I feel it's fair since there is no way of knowing what you'll get. The DM might also want to limit these characters to 1 per group or something since they are so rare, but it depends on your milieu.
Planetouched Type (%)
01-06 - Celestial: +1 CHA, -1 STR, Cleric 9, Fighter 9, Thief 3, M-U 3
07-28 - Fire: +1 WIS, -1 CON, Cleric 9, Fighter 3
29-50 - Air: +1 INT, -1 DEX, M-U 9, Thief 3
51-72 - Water: +1 DEX, -1 INT, Thief 9, M-U 3
73-94 - Earth: +1 CON, -1 WIS, Fighter 9, Cleric 3
95-00 - Infernal: +1 STR, -1 CHA, Thief 9, M-U 9, Cleric 3, Fighter 3
Classes not mentioned have a level limit of 6.
Planetouched Attributes
The descriptions of the elemental-kin are a list to pick from. Not every single one looks exactly the same. Most of the following is from the 2nd edition Planeswalker's Handbook, or the Pathfinder SRD. I've just streamlined and adapted it for the system.
Air Attributes: light blue skin/hair, sometimes with swirling markings; surrounded by constant breeze; distinctive breathy voice, strange inflections; flesh is cool to the touch.
+1 on saves vs. air magic, additional +1 at 9th
Can go without breathing for 10 mins/day/level
Earth Attributes: brown, black, grey or white skin & hair; metallic sheen to skin; hair like crystalline spikes; blocky features, thick torsos & limbs; rough, gritty flesh; deep, slow, rumbling speech; eyes like deep black pits or sparkling gems.
+1 to saves vs. earth magic, additional +1 at 9th
Natural Armour +2 AC (stacks with everything)
Natural understanding of stonework
Climb skill for free
Fire Attributes: deep red, coal-black or brassy skin; scales of charcoal; red or mottled horns; deep red hair moving like waving flames; voice crackling like a fire; perpetually warm or hot flesh; fiery red eyes.
+1 to saves vs. fire magic, additional +1 at 9th
60’ infravision
Water Attributes: blue-green skin or hair; blue-black eyes; light layer of scales; fin-like ears; webbed hands or feet; hair waving and swaying as if underwater; muffled voice resembling underwater sounds; cold, clammy flesh.
+1 to saves vs. water magic, additional +1 at 9th
Breathe underwater 30 mins/day/level
Swim skill for free
Celestial / Infernal Appearance: (%)
Roll twice.
Results before the slash are for Celestial-blooded, results after for Infernals.
01-04 – swirling patterns on forehead / horns on forehead
05-06 – unicorn horn / horns on temples
07 – halo floats above head / single horn on forehead
08-09 – long, thin face
10 – metallic lips / fangs
11 – pearlescent teeth / pointed teeth
12 – musical voice / forked tongue
13-14 – pointed ears
15 – catlike ears / webbed fanlike ears
16 – long nose
17 – tiny or nonexistent nose
18 – long eyelashes
19-21 – amber eyes / red eyes
22-23 – white eyes / black eyes
24 – feline eyes
25-26 – glittering eyes / deep-set eyes
27-28 – neon hair / murky, slimy hair
29-30 – metallic hair / animated hair
31 – multicoloured hair
32-33 – six digits
34-35 – burned-looking knuckles / extra thumbs
36-37 – fingers leave contrails / black fingernails
38-39 – glowing palms / red glowing fingernails
40-41 – fingers 1” longer than normal
42 – arms 6” longer than normal
43 – legs 6” longer than normal
44-46 – birdlike legs / horse legs
47-49 – feline legs / goat legs
50-52 – small feet / goat hooves
53-55 – androgynous
56-57 – fox tail / aquatic tail
58-59 – tiger tail / lizard tail
60-62 – lion’s mane / spiny ridge on back
63-65 – vestigial wings / spiny ridges all over body
66-68 – totally hairless
69-71 – body covered in short fur
72-73 – body covered in striped markings
74-75 – glittering skin / greasy skin
76-80 – scaly skin
81-83 – metallic skin / leathery skin
84-85 – feathers instead of hair on d100% of body
86 – prismatic skin / greyish skin
87 – sparkling skin / translucent skin
88-89 – special side effects
90-94 – roll twice
95-00 – roll three times
Celestial/Infernal Special Abilities (%):
Roll once.
01-15 – roll on Appearance table
01-04 – swirling patterns on forehead / horns on forehead
05-06 – unicorn horn / horns on temples
07 – halo floats above head / single horn on forehead
08-09 – long, thin face
10 – metallic lips / fangs
11 – pearlescent teeth / pointed teeth
12 – musical voice / forked tongue
13-14 – pointed ears
15 – catlike ears / webbed fanlike ears
16 – long nose
17 – tiny or nonexistent nose
18 – long eyelashes
19-21 – amber eyes / red eyes
22-23 – white eyes / black eyes
24 – feline eyes
25-26 – glittering eyes / deep-set eyes
27-28 – neon hair / murky, slimy hair
29-30 – metallic hair / animated hair
31 – multicoloured hair
32-33 – six digits
34-35 – burned-looking knuckles / extra thumbs
36-37 – fingers leave contrails / black fingernails
38-39 – glowing palms / red glowing fingernails
40-41 – fingers 1” longer than normal
42 – arms 6” longer than normal
43 – legs 6” longer than normal
44-46 – birdlike legs / horse legs
47-49 – feline legs / goat legs
50-52 – small feet / goat hooves
53-55 – androgynous
56-57 – fox tail / aquatic tail
58-59 – tiger tail / lizard tail
60-62 – lion’s mane / spiny ridge on back
63-65 – vestigial wings / spiny ridges all over body
66-68 – totally hairless
69-71 – body covered in short fur
72-73 – body covered in striped markings
74-75 – glittering skin / greasy skin
76-80 – scaly skin
81-83 – metallic skin / leathery skin
84-85 – feathers instead of hair on d100% of body
86 – prismatic skin / greyish skin
87 – sparkling skin / translucent skin
88-89 – special side effects
90-94 – roll twice
95-00 – roll three times
Celestial/Infernal Special Abilities (%):
Roll once.
01-15 – roll on Appearance table
16-25 – roll on Special Side Effects table
26-40 – random 0th level spell 2/day
41-51 – random 1st level spell 1/day
52-55 – 1/2 dmg from fire
56-59 – 1/2 dmg from cold
60-63 – 1/2 dmg from electricity
64-67 – 1/2 dmg from acid
68-71 – darkvision 60’
72-75 – infravision 30’
76-79 – +1 to saves vs. fire
80-83 – +1 to saves vs. electricity
84-87 – +1 to saves vs. poison
88-91 – +1 to saves vs. cold
92-95 – +1 to saves vs. acid
96 – +1 to Fort saves
97 – +1 to Reflex saves
98 – +1 to Will saves
99 – roll twice
00 – roll three times
26-40 – random 0th level spell 2/day
41-51 – random 1st level spell 1/day
52-55 – 1/2 dmg from fire
56-59 – 1/2 dmg from cold
60-63 – 1/2 dmg from electricity
64-67 – 1/2 dmg from acid
68-71 – darkvision 60’
72-75 – infravision 30’
76-79 – +1 to saves vs. fire
80-83 – +1 to saves vs. electricity
84-87 – +1 to saves vs. poison
88-91 – +1 to saves vs. cold
92-95 – +1 to saves vs. acid
96 – +1 to Fort saves
97 – +1 to Reflex saves
98 – +1 to Will saves
99 – roll twice
00 – roll three times
Special Side Effects (%):
Roll as directed.
01-10 – no odour / ashy odour
11-15 – outdoorsy odour / sulfurous odour
16-20 – perfumed odour / rotting odour
21-25 – skin glows / skin exudes ashy grit
26-30 – winged shadow / casts no shadow
31-33 – clothing billows in invisible winds / no reflection in mirror
34-40 – susceptible to anti-outsider spells (protection from evil/good, cacofiend, dispel evil, etc)
41-50 – outsiders of opposite type react as though you are an enemy
51-60 – causes unease in animals
61-65 – causes unease in humanoids, reaction rolls -1
66-70 – touch causes plants to grow / wither
71-75 – claws or talons (natural attack for 1d3)
76-80 – high heat, touch inflicts 1 dmg
81-85 – cold, touch inflicts 1 dmg
86-90 – strange skin, base AC 8+1d6
91 – cannot reproduce
92 – unholy/holy water deals 1d6 dmg
93 – can be turned by clerics of evil/good
94 – cannot enter unholy/holy areas
95 – gains DR 5/silver or magic
96-00 – speak/understand a random ancient language
Basic Colour Table (d10):
1 Red, 2 Orange, 3 Yellow, 4 Green, 5 Blue, 6 Indigo, 7 Violet, 8 White, 9 Black, 10 Roll 2x
Extra Colour Table (d16):
1 Maroon, 2 Red, 3 Orange, 4 Yellow, 5 Olive, 6 Lime, 7 Green, 8 Aqua, 9 Navy, 10 Blue, 11 Purple, 12 Fuchsia, 13 Jale, 14 Dolm, 15 Ulfire, 16 Roll 2x
There you have it, my foul origins in the '90s hellscape of 2nd edition are revealed. Oh whale! Folks may also wonder at my rearranging of the attribute bonuses, but those with eyes to see & ears to hear may notice what scheme I am working from.
Roll as directed.
01-10 – no odour / ashy odour
11-15 – outdoorsy odour / sulfurous odour
16-20 – perfumed odour / rotting odour
21-25 – skin glows / skin exudes ashy grit
26-30 – winged shadow / casts no shadow
31-33 – clothing billows in invisible winds / no reflection in mirror
34-40 – susceptible to anti-outsider spells (protection from evil/good, cacofiend, dispel evil, etc)
41-50 – outsiders of opposite type react as though you are an enemy
51-60 – causes unease in animals
61-65 – causes unease in humanoids, reaction rolls -1
66-70 – touch causes plants to grow / wither
71-75 – claws or talons (natural attack for 1d3)
76-80 – high heat, touch inflicts 1 dmg
81-85 – cold, touch inflicts 1 dmg
86-90 – strange skin, base AC 8+1d6
91 – cannot reproduce
92 – unholy/holy water deals 1d6 dmg
93 – can be turned by clerics of evil/good
94 – cannot enter unholy/holy areas
95 – gains DR 5/silver or magic
96-00 – speak/understand a random ancient language
Basic Colour Table (d10):
1 Red, 2 Orange, 3 Yellow, 4 Green, 5 Blue, 6 Indigo, 7 Violet, 8 White, 9 Black, 10 Roll 2x
Extra Colour Table (d16):
1 Maroon, 2 Red, 3 Orange, 4 Yellow, 5 Olive, 6 Lime, 7 Green, 8 Aqua, 9 Navy, 10 Blue, 11 Purple, 12 Fuchsia, 13 Jale, 14 Dolm, 15 Ulfire, 16 Roll 2x
There you have it, my foul origins in the '90s hellscape of 2nd edition are revealed. Oh whale! Folks may also wonder at my rearranging of the attribute bonuses, but those with eyes to see & ears to hear may notice what scheme I am working from.
*****
Classes in Land's End
The core of Sword & Magic is the same 4 classes we know and love.
The fighter has 5 subclasses (plain fighter, sailor, archer, barbarian & amazon) each with a few minor special abilities. I called the sailor class 'hunter' because it fits the jungle theme of the campaign, at least for beginning characters. Magic-users are subdivided into regular M-Us and illusionists. While illusions are tough to adjudicate sometimes (I am halfway through that insane 40-page article on Phantasmal Force from Footprints #25), the class has style, flavour and lineage, therefore it must stay. Clerics and thieves are good just how they are with sneak attacks, turn undead, etc. all working like we're used to.
I couldn't help noticing the lack of bards, assassins, druids, monks, paladins or rangers though! I decided that paladins and rangers probably wouldn't fit the jungle-survival-horror setting. Assassins are great but with a comprehensive skill system they are not mechanically different from the existing thief. Bards? Not interested.
Druids do belong in the setting since so much of Land's End is about struggling through dangerous natural landscapes. I had a place for monks, too, in the hidden shrines and monasteries that would dot the region - I was already thinking of unique monk techniques from different schools, that sounded like fun. I thought it would be a fun challenge to elevate the class from the usual "dudes from fantasy-Asia get parachuted into ren-faire England" thing.
At this point I looked back to Pathfinder. While I hate the system, some of the character classes are really good. Was the witch worth keeping? (maybe... I have yet to see a good witch class in any edition) How about the alchemist, psion or occultist? (nah) Sorcerer? (HELL to the no) The oracle? (definitely!!)
This gave me an expanded class list rooted in the classics with a sprinkle of the new:
Fighters (Fighter, Hunter, Archer, Barbarian, Amazon)
Cleric, Druid, Oracle, Monk
Magic-User, Illusionist, Witch(maybe)
Thief
In the future, look forward to write-ups of these other classes, starting with the oracle.