Gaz F10 The Kingdom of Kaarjala - Vaults of Pandius

SPECIAL RULES for KAARJALA: THE NOAIDEThe Noaid ClassPrime Requisites: Wisdom andCharisma.Minimum Scores: The noaide musthave 13 in each prime attribute.Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9 th , plusCon adjustments. Starting at 10 th level,+1 hp per level, and Con adjustments nolonger apply.Armor: Leather only, no shield.Weapons: Any one-handed melee orthrown weapon and staff.Combat and Save Progression: Ascleric of same level.Weapon Mastery: The noaid beginswith two weapon slots. Additional slotsare gained as a magic user.Special Abilities: Danger Sense, FighterCombat Options, Insight, Spellcasting,Spirit HarmonyStarting Skills: Craft (duodji),Herbalism, Juoigan, Nature Lore,PersuasionDanger Sense: When dangerapproaches, noaide initially have a 1 in 6chance of being alerted by a benevolentspirit. The nature of the danger, or itsproximity, is not revealed.Fighter Combat Options: Noaide maySet Spear vs. ChargeInsight: A noaide can use theirconnection to the spirit world to receiveguidance on a given topic a level-setnumber of times per day. The refereedetermines whether the spirits respond,and the comprehensibility of such advice.The advice may concern matters past,present or future. Malevolent spirits mayuse this opportunity to mislead the noaid.Spellcasting: Starting at 2 nd level, anoaid may cast spells. (See below).Spirit Harmony: Due to their affinitywith the spirit world and the services theyperform on behalf of the departed, noaidecommand a certain amount of respect andcourtesy from noncorporeal entities.Encounters with intelligent spirits,regardless of alignment, are neverinitially hostile. This holds true whethera noaid is alone or in an adventuringparty. This initial reaction does notpreclude the possibility of the encounterbecoming hostile later.The NoaideHistorically, the noaide served asinterlocutors between the living worldand the realm of spirits, as well as thepeople’s representatives to the Immortals.Their magic was a hybrid betweenshamanism and druidism, and for theaverage person they represented theliving world itself. They advised theirpeople when and what to hunt, whichroots and berries were safe to eat, whichherbs would cure illnesses, and mostimportantly how to appease theImmortals in order to ensure continuedprosperity. Noaide also carried messagesbetween the living and their deceasedancestors and loved ones.Ilmarinen’s discovery of runic magicchanged little, save for the incorporationof certain runes into the craft of thenoaide. The chief beneficiaries of hiswork were his disciples, the predecessorsof the rune mages, who competed withthe noaide for influence. Thedepredations of Lovaara and herfollowers turned the people against runemages, however, and that traditionvanished from Kaarjalan society. Thenoaide actively resisted Lovaara and herfollowers, and used their powers toshelter many of those who were fleeingpersecution. Because of this, they wereaccorded great respect, and continue tooccupy a place of honor in modernVaarana society. It is forbidden to harma noaide, or deny them food or shelter ifthey request it. Their advice is alwaystreated as though it comes from thespirits and Immortals themselves.Special Rules andRestrictionsDue to the rigorous trainingrequirements, noaide have nodiscretionary skills at first level. Further,any future slots spent on a non-class skillcannot exceed the number spent on themost developed class skill. By exceedingall class skills, the noaid would be seenas abandoning his way of life – a graveinsult to the Immortals and to the people.At the referee’s discretion, he or shewould suffer a one-half experience pointpenalty and/or loss of abilities until thematter was resolved.Failure to rectify the matter after threelevels (ex. atonement and ear-markingfuture skills) results in the loss of class(permanent removal of powers).Noaide must craft all equipment used intheir rituals using the art of duodji. Theymust make their own rune-drum andhammer, staff, and pouches for holdingspell components. Noaide must obtainthe materials on their own – they cannotbe purchased, but may be obtainedthrough service.As intermediaries between the livingand spirit worlds, noaide are often givenunique insights, often in the form ofdreams, to aid them in their daily lives.In return for this guidance, a noaid mustalways respond to the requests of anylawful or neutral spirit (treat as a quest) –these often involve helping spirits finishunsettled business. Should the noaidrefuse to help a spirit, they may sufferexperience point penalties or loss ofmagical abilities (referee’s discretion).The Vaarana place great importance onrespecting the balance between life anddeath in the natural world. Magic is asacred gift to be used in the service of theworld; its abuse disrupts the naturalbalance and causes untold suffering.Thus, every time a noaid uses his or hermagic to take something from the world,he or she must give something back. Forexample, animals may be summoned tofeed a starving party, but the noaid mustthen scatter seeds in the forest, heal a sickanimal, atone (see below), or perform asimilar act in order to repay the worldand restore balance. Failure to do socould result in the loss of spellcastingabilities.Despite their history of warfare, theVaarana tend towards non-violence, onlytaking up arms to defend their familiesand clans and drive away invaders. Theirsociety as a whole frowns upon usingviolence as a means of acquiring what isnecessary. Unprovoked attacks on othersand using magic to slay opponents in allbut the most desperate circumstances areconsidered evil acts. This is doubly truefor the noaide, who are expected by theirpeople to be exemplars of Vaaranavalues.4