Aescorite (Specialty Priest of Aescori) by A. Windsor AESCORI (Hunter in Darkness) Aescori roams the world at night to hunt the souls of intelligent creatures, who offer the greatest sport. Cruel and cunning, he is a fierce and often brutal hunter, a God to be feared and appeased rather than revered (in a standard Ravenloft setting, he is of course a construct of the Dark Powers, rather than an actual God). It is said that if a prey can escape his Hunt for three consecutive nights, they may demand a boon (of course, if it's not "stop hunting me" you could regret your choice the next night...). Aescori is described as a powerfully built male human, dressed in leather breeches and a furred cloak. He often is said to have the head of a stag or a boar ... whether he appears fully human or not, his eyes always glow a sullen red. Symbol: A Hunter's Horn, made of bone and splashed with blood. Aescori Priests (Aescorites) Alignment: Neutral Evil. Priests may be of any Evil Alignment or True Neutral. Most are of Neutral Evil alignment. The flock may not be of Good alignment (Good people don't worship him, though they do fear him). Attributes: Wisdom 9, Dexterity 12. Races: Elf, Human. Proficiencies: Required: Hunting Recommended: Direction Sense, Read/Write, Religion, Running, Tracking. Groups: General, Priest, Warrior Arms and Armor: Bows (all), Crossbow, Dagger, Javelin, Lasso, Net, Scythe, Sling, Shortsword, Spear. (at least one of the Priest's weapon proficiencies must be used for a missile weapon: usually, but not always, a Bow). Leather armour only. No Shields. Spheres: Major All, Divination, Elemental, Healing (Reversed only) Minor Animal, Charm, Plant, Weather Followers: Gained at 9th level. One 3 rd level Priest, two 1 st level Priests, one 5 th level Fighter, three 3 rd level Fighters, eight 1st level Fighters, one 3 rd level Thief. On adventures: one Priest, one Fighter, one Thief. Powers: Inspire Fear: twice per day, affects as many HD as the Priest has levels. Move Silently & Hide in Shadows: 20% + 5% per level. Both abilities work in any terrain. Backstab: as per the Thief ability, but Priest is considered two levels lower than his actual level for purposes of determining damage multiplier. Access to special Healing Sphere spell Blood Healing , detailed below. Remember that a Priest of Aescori only gains the reversed version. Blood Healing (2 nd level spell - Healing Sphere) Reversible Components: V, S, M. Casting Time: 4 Range: 30' Save: see below When cast, Blood Healing allows a Priest to transfer Hit Points from himself to a wounded comrade: for every HP the Priest sacrifices, his comrade gains 2 HP. The Priest may only sacrifice as many HP as he has levels. The material component is a small knife (with which the Priest cuts himself). The reversed form is known as Health by Blood. This spell can be cast on any other character. If the individual is unwilling, he is granted a save against Death Magic to resist. By this spell, the Priest gains 2 HP per HP drained from the spell's target. The Priest can drain up to twice his level in HP (and thus gain four times his level). The material component is again a small knife, with which the Priest makes a slashing gesture. Limitations: Priests of Aescori must hunt for a full day at least once a week, and must hunt intelligent prey for a full day (or until successful) at least once a month. Notes: One of the best ways to introduce a Priest of Aescori into a campaign would be as an ally of the PCs, who assists them in hunting an enemy or creature of some kind: let this go on for several adventures, so that they trust him (he sticks around, since the PCs hunt a lot of interesting prey - perhaps he even starts to look like a henchman type). But as time goes by the PCs notice previously friendly locals beginning to shy away from them… talking with them only if necessary and then as briefly as possible… eventually the PCs hear the details of Aescori's worship… if you've given the Priest enough time to be liked and respected, this should throw them for a neat little loop, especially if they've pursued some opponents at his suggestion… It is not advised to let the PCs play a priest of Aescori in Ravenloft, but if they insist, then they will surely attract the Dark Power's attention… Adam Windsor Afflicted Kender of Sithicus By A. Snow Preface: First off I'd like to thank all the designers of the Tales of the Lance Box, for giving me rules to base Afflicted Kender on. I'd also like to thank the designers of The Fifth Age Saga Rules box, for introducing us all to Afflicted Kender. Introduction: The Kender elsewhere are known for their childlike happiness and humor. Not so in the misty realm of Ravenloft, for those who have traveled deep into the woodlands of Sithicus have brought reports of creatures who resemble those merry Kender, yet are savage and brooding. Legends speak of a band of Kender who were drawn into the realm of Ravenloft, and they became the subjects of horrid experiments by the Death Knight Lord Soth. The result of those experiments were the vampire Kender, those who managed to escape and survive fled to deep into the woods where the mental scars of their ordeal changed them. They were no mere Kender; they are now the Afflicted Kender. Description: The Afflicted Kender are a short people, standing on average 3'6" tall for both men and women. They are also very slender ranging anywhere between 85 to 100 pounds on average. As for age a Kender's life span is similar to that of the Half-Elf, though a bit shorter. The oldest Afflicted Kender is still alive at the age of 115. Though many die at a young age in battle a Kender left to live along would live a very long life indeed. Kender appear healthy and fit until they reach old age, at which time gray streaks appear in their hair and they develop their first wrinkles. Such things are seen as a sign of respect among the Kender, and any Kender with a full head of gray hair is considered a wise Elder. Afflicted Kender Characteristics Trait Formula Height, Male & Female 2D8 + 36 Inches Weight, Male 3D10 + 80 Pounds Weight, Female 3D10 + 75 Pounds Starting Age 15 + 1D6 Years Maximum Age 110 + 1D12 Years Afflicted Kender Aging Effects Age Years Effects Middle Age (1/2 Base Max) 65 -1 Str/Con; +1 Int/Wis Old (2/3 Base Max) 74 -2 Str/Dex, -1 Con; +1 Wis Venerable (Base Max) 110 -1 Str/Dex/Con; +1 Int/Wis Classes of the Afflicted Kender: Class Allowed Class Allowed Class Allowed Class Allowed Fighter Y Mage No any Cleric Y Thief Y Ranger Y Specialist none Anchorite N Gypsy N Avenger Y Psionicist Y Multi-class Combinations: Fighter*/Thief, Fighter/Cleric * Fighter may be replaced with Ranger wherever it appears. Appearance: Afflicted Kender tend to dress in earth tones, brown, gray, dark green, and black are all common color to see an Afflicted Kender in. Their hair ranges from auburn, to deep black and their eyes are almost always brown, though every once and a while a child with eye of Violet is born, such children are viewed as blessed by the gods and receive the best training that the Kender can provide. They wear their hair wild letting it grow all the way to their ankles before they trim it. They never tie down their hair seeing the length of their hair as a sign of their skills as warriors. Some warrior Kender will avoid trimming their hair, letting it grow down to the ground before they're forced to trim it so they can still move quickly. Preferred Weapons: They usually carry easily made weapons, short spears, throwing axes, clubs, and daggers are common weapons for an Afflicted Kender to wield. An Afflicted Kender is almost never without leather or Studded leather Armor feeling they have the perfect balance of light weight and protection, though they have on occasion been known to also carry a buckler with any of their normal weapons. Personality: The Afflicted Kender share little of their merrier cousins' personality traits. They see life as a constant struggle one that was not meant to be fun or easy. They work hard at what they consider good trades, hunting, thievery, and guarding their forest homes. The Afflicted Kender share a deep-rooted fear of the outside world, they are quite possibly the most Xenophobic people in the entire core. It's a rare Kender that Leaves the forest and takes up a life of adventure, those that leave and come back are thought of as brave heroes, whom Kender mothers will tell stories about to their children. These cursed Kender have an odd view of the races around them. They have mostly forgotten their roots on the world of Krynn and their views of the other races in Ravenloft are based almost totally on their experiences within the Domain of Dread. Elves are seen as prissy, stuck up snobs who couldn't survive a week in the forests that the Afflicted Kender call home, an important exception to this view is the renegade Elves who dwell in the same woods whom the Kender see as kindred spirits. They've met few Dwarves and use the most public one in Sithicus as their yardstick, Azrael.