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Revised Maces of N'arth

Started by Blackspear, September 26, 2005, 10:56:21 PM

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Blackspear

The Maces of N'arth are the elite guards of the King of N'arth. They are his personal standing army. Maces  are trained to defend the king from all forms of attack. Particularly magical attack. They relentlessly study the arts of war, magic, and espionage.
All Maces are sworn to defend their king and country. In these endeavors, they are ruthlessly loyal. They are not only the king's protectors, they are the men who do his dirty work. However, they occasionally face conflicts of interest when they have to choose between king and country.
The Maces of N'arth are the toughest fighting force in the realm of N'arth. They tend to be viewed as fanatical magic wielding, axe chopping, sword slashing, well armored myrmidons, with a flare for the daring. On top of all that, they are famed for their skill in espionage. One never knows when they are being eavesdropped upon by a Mace of N'arth. An ally of the Maces can trust that his back is well protected, while an enemy must continually look over his shoulder lest his back be pierced.

Adventures: Maces typically find themselves in tights spots.    Whether they are battling an enraged band of ogres, posing as a Pirate of Blackport on a corsair and living among the crew, or simply protecting the King from a Deltharite Assassin, the Maces are always near the heart of the storm.   Serving the King of N?arth is a highly rewarding and truly dangerous undertaking.

Characteristics: Maces excel in hand to hand combat.   They tend to get the job done without worrying about the consequences.   Maces also excel at espionage. They have been known to spend years developing alternate personas to hide their true identities.   Maces can be quite charming when need arises.   Of course if traditional methods of diplomacy fail, they are usually very willing to break a skull or two to enforce their will.   Maces revere their horses, pride themselves on their battle skills, and enjoy showing off their polished armor and honed physiques for the fairer sex.   They are nothing if they are not vain.


Alignment:  Maces can be of any good alignment, but most are chaotic or neutral good.    Those who are lawful often struggle with the fact that the Maces are essentially a law unto themselves.   They are given broad freedoms and power and they are not afraid to work outside of the law so long as their acts are performed for the greater good.   In rare instances Maces will feel compelled to choose between serving a despicable king or doing what they perceive to be right.


Religion:   Shada is the god of the Maces.  His ideals of justice and morality are revered by the clerical leadership of the Maces.   However, many of the Maces are not as idealistic and faithful as their more spiritual clerical brethren.   While they generally follow the tenants of being kind and just to their fellow man, they are fond of skipping their religious devotions and more than a few have been caught giving less than their full tithing to the church.


Background:  Most Maces join the ranks as teenagers hoping to make a career for themselves.   They receive all of their training and education from the Order of Maces.   A few joined as older adults who often had a change of heart from their former ways and found the Maces as a perfect place to serve King and country while continuing their adventurous lifestyle.    Many Maces are orphans gathered off the streets to serve as pages and serving boys.  In exchange for their services, these orphans are given food, shelter, clothing, and an education.   Most of these orphans eventually join the ranks of the Maces.

Although the Maces are all male, there are no rules or codes preventing a woman from joining.   However, no woman has ever attempted to become a Mace.   This has much to do with the Maces ?good old boy? mentality.   Any woman daring to join the ranks had better be prepared.


Races:  Maces are typically human.   Half Elves are common, because the Maces accept them as brethren and provide a sense of belonging that they can?t find anywhere else.   Elves are less common, but young elven males will often join the brotherhood in search of adventure, much to their parents chagrin.


Classes:   Maces typically keep counsel only with other Maces.   They generally view all other fighters with disdain.   They will occasionally consort with rogues to help them gather info.    They respect clerics of Shada and Azyrith as well as Druids of Flaern.   They despise wizards and sorcerers unless they are members of the Order of Maces.   They revere bards, treating them like royalty, with the hopes that their next act of heroism will be sung throughout all the land.


Role:  Maces are extremely versatile and can serve many functions within an adventuring party.   While they are skilled in magic, both clerical and wizardly, and they have some skill in tracking and spying, their strength is their battle prowess.   They make excellent primary fighters and good assistants to rogues, clerics and wizards.   They do not however have enough skill in any of those areas to sufficiently replace a cleric, rogue, or wizard.  Although they will never admit to that.


Abilities:  Strength is the primary requisite for a Mace.   Intelligence and Wisdom are also important abilities, because they effect the Maces ability to cast spells at higher levels.   Intelligence and Wisdom scores of 15 or higher is required to be able to cast spells.


Alignment: Any good alignment.


Hit Dice:  d10


Class Skills:  The Maces class skills are Concentration, Diplomacy, Disguise, Forgery, Gather Information, Handle Animal (Horse), Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge Arcana, Knowledge Local, Knowledge Nobility and Royalty, Knowledge Religion (Shada), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope


Skill Points: At 1st level (6 + Intelligence modifier) x 4.
At each additional level: 6 + Intelligence modifier



Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Mace is proficient with all simple and martial weapons except for bows, crossbows, and slings.    A Mace is proficient with all types of armor and shields, except for tower shields.



Maces of N'arth have the same base attack bonus and saving throws as a ranger.

Bonus Skill: At 1st level a Mace is trained in the following skills.   Ride, Handle Animal, and Alertness.   These skills are in addition to the skill points normally allowed.

1st Level: Initiates are +1 to hit and damage with their chosen weapon.   At 1st level, a Mace initiate must choose his chosen weapon.   This will be his weapon of choice throughout his career as a Mace.   Any simple or martial weapon (except for bows, crossbows and slings, can be a Mace?s chosen weapon

2nd Level: Endurance

3rd Level: Can choose to gain Survival and Track or gain Move Silent and Hide; +1 to hit and damage with chosen weapon this bonus stacks with the bonus from 1st level.
4th Level: An initiate becomes a Man at Arms. He is no longer required to apprentice with a Mace. He will receive a 10 gold crown stipend per month. This stipend is considered a living/travel expense and is not subject to tithing.

5th Level: A Man at Arms can choose to gain a +1 on  Survival/Track or Move Silent/Hide; +1 to hit and damage with chosen weapon.   These bonuses stack.

6th Level: Mounted Combat, Diehard.   If the character takes Mounted Combat on their own at a lower level, this can be substituted with ride by attack or trample.

7th Level: A Man at Arms becomes a full fledged Mace of N'arth. He will receive a 25 gold crown stipend per month (this stipend is not subject to tithing). He will be required to train an initiate. He can choose to cast either as 1st level cleric or 1st level wizard*. He attracts a bonded mount.   Usually a warhorse.    This mount functions in the same manner as a Paladin?s bonded mount PHB page 45.

8th Level: Spellcraft, +2 to Move Silent/Hide or Survival/Track

10th Level Iron Will, +1 to hit and damage with chosen weapon.  These bonuses stack.

12th Level +2 to Move Silent/Hide or Survival/Track.  This bonus stacks.

*For every two levels after 7th, a Mace can add another level of spellcasting to his repertoire. He may mix and match between clerical and wizard spell levels. For example, he may choose 1st level cleric spells at 7th level, 1st level wizard spells at 9th level, 2nd level cleric spells at 11th level, or he can devote each level to either clerical or wizardly magic, thereby being able to cast 3rd level spells at 11th level.
 A Mace must have at least a 15 Intelligence to cast 1st level wizard spells, a 15 Wisdom to cast 1st level clerical spells. A 16 in the requisite score for 2nd level spells, a 17 for 3rd level spells, 18 for fourth level spells and so on.    Maces cast both clerical and wizardly spells spontaneously.   They do not have to prepare them ahead of time.   They are not allowed to gain the create magic items or metamagic feats.   Arcane spell failure is reduced by 50%.   For example, if a person normally suffered a 40% spell failure chance, he now only suffers a 20% chance.



Armor:
1st Level: Entitled to royal chain and heavy shield.  
4th Level: Entitled to royal half plate and heavy shield.
7th Level: Entitled to royal full plate and a Mace's Shield.
All royal armor is owned by the king and must be treated appropriately.


Detriments: All Maces are subject to the will of the King. They are required to tithe 25% of their earnings to the Royal Treasury, and 10% to the Church of Shada. Maces must defend King and country with their lives if needed. Maces are despised by all evil beings, particularly the minions of Delthara. They tend to attract many assassins. Furthermore, if the Mace is in battle against an evil priest or shaman, he must fight the priest(s) until all are vanquished. If an evil priest or shaman of 3rd level or higher is present, he can incite 1d10 followers into a fanatical rage against the Mace.   The evil priest must chant uninterrupted for 2 rounds to incite the followers.   Once the followers are incited, the priest or shaman may then participate in the battle normally.   No concentration checks are required to maintain the rage.   The presence of the priest is enough to maintain the rage.    The rage functions as a barbarian rage, except that it lasts as long as the priest or shaman continues to live or until the Mace is killed.   Maces can only multiclass after 7th level.   If a character changes class before 7th level, they lose the abilities and skills they had gained as a Mace. Finally, Maces disdain the use of bows, crossbows, and slings, except to hunt. They will not ever use these weapons in battle. This does not preclude them from using other ranged weapons. (More than one Mace has been known to throw his sword at a fleeing enemy.)
Blackspear
"My first encounter with a dragon was fortuitous.  I lost my mount, had the chain torn from my chest, and was pinned to the ground by a claw that pierced my leg.   I would limp for the rest of my life, but I never felt more alive...