Races of Wild

Usually, you don’t have to do anything other than forgospells associated with other elements to keep your part ofthe bargain. Nevertheless, the powerful elementals whomade the pact know that if they need winged warriors fromthe Material Plane, they can call on the skypledged and getimmediate help. They haven’t done so in living memory, butyou could get the call to help fight a war on the Inner Planesat any time.The skypledged are spread out among the thousands offlocks that make up raptoran society. Their only organizationalpurpose is to pass along the tradition to worthyraptorans and look after the interests of the raptoran race. Twoskypledged who meet don’t necessarily agree in matters ofalignment, flock affiliation, or anything else. As a skypledged,you share with your fellows an affinity for air and sky, butlittle else. Another skypledged is no more or less likely to aidyou than any other raptoran.CombatSkypledged are spellcasters first and foremost, so you’llgenerally circle a battlefield from above, hurling spell afterspell from the sky. Because the spellpool gives you access toboth cleric and druid spells, you can confound your enemieswith combinations few other spellcasters can manage, suchas casting both barkskin and shield of faith before a fight, orfollowing a holy smite spell with call lightning.Many skypledged favor summoning spells (though yourdedication to air constrains your choices somewhat), usingminions from the Elemental Plane of Air to flank enemies,harry flying foes, and chase down escaping enemies.You can also use the wind itself to good advantage. Bymaking the wind blow harder, you can render ranged attacksdifficult or impossible. By confounding archers, you’ve justmade the sky a safer place for you to fly.AdvancementWhen a skypledged reaches old age, he or she passesalong the tenets of the skypledge to two or three youngerraptorans—often a flock’s most capable clerics or druids.Not all skypledged survive to old age, so those who do takemultiple apprentices to ensure that the overall number ofskypledged stays more or less constant.Such training isn’t unduly complicated. A would-be memberof the prestige class must memorize the skypledge itself,then must master the esoteric techniques for accessing thespellpool. Prospective members also learn the names andhistories of some of the mysterious elemental lords on theother side of the elemental–raptoran pact.ResourcesThe skypledged have no larger agenda beyond observing theancient pact, so their organization provides little in the wayof resources to its members, though a retiring skypledgedwill sometimes pass along heirloom weapons or other magicitems to promising apprentices. Part of the ancient pact statesthat the skypledged should be ready to go to war on behalfof the Elemental Plane of Air at a moment’s notice, so youshould make sure you’re always properly equipped for battle.(For most adventurers, this won’t be a problem.)SKYPLEDGED IN THE WORLDAs an NPC, a skypledged makes an effective elite guardianof a raptoran flock. The ability to combine druid and clericmagic offers an interesting surprise in combat, and a flyingspellcaster with air elemental allies poses a tactical challengefor even a well-prepared group of adventurers.OrganizationThere’s no hierarchy among the skypledged. The organizationof the class manifests more as a shared mystical traditionand a way of life than as a group with schemes and agendas.Individual skypledged certainly have goals of their own,and there’s nothing preventing a group of skypledged fromworking toward a common objective.If anyone directs the affairs of the skypledged, it’s theelemental lords on the Elemental Plane of Air. The elementallords vie with each other for dominance on their own plane.They drop their internal rivalries only when plotting againstthe forces of other elemental planes and when facing otherthreats to the power of air.The elemental lords function best in a campaign whentheir exact nature and goals remain mysterious. If youwant to introduce a specific elemental lord into one of youradventures, start with an elder air elemental, increase one ofits mental ability scores to the mid-20s, and add levels in aspellcasting class (probably cleric or sorcerer). Names of thebetter-known elemental lords include Halasti of the TwelveZephyrs, Shallafari Achandi, Cumularon, and Rashalae ofthe Last Breath.Most skypledged have positions of authority within araptoran flock, but a few wander the Material Plane helpingraptoran communities in need. Some high-level skypledgedspend time on the Elemental Plane of Air, soaring across theendless sky there.Recently a couple of factions have emerged within theskypledged. The Vanguard of the Home Skies is a group ofseveral dozen skypledged who have taken it upon themselvesto fight the forces of earth, fire, and water—despite no requestto do so from an elemental lord. They attack nonraptoranspellcasters who rely on the power of one of these elements,attack elementals of these kinds they find on the MaterialPlane, and even raid the other elemental planes. The Liberatorsof Vanakalth are a group of seven skypledged who allhad a role in the freeing of a noble djinni from imprisonmentby a rakshasa clan. The Liberators are making war on therakshasas and may have other goals; the djinni Vanakalthnow directs their affairs from a cloud-castle on the ElementalPlane of Air.NPC ReactionsThe skypledged used to be made up of only the bestand brightest among the raptorans, but the ardor of theCHAPTER 5PRESTIGECLASSES129