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Inheritor

by Eric Anondson

The Inheritor is a real odd-ball. I wasn't sure how a prestige class (by following recommended guidelines) could be implemented suitably. Such as the character kit requirement that ONLY 1st-level characters will be accepted. Or that Inheritors NEED their ability scores to be a certain level. Both of these two requirements are supposedly "bad requirements" to use for a prestige class but vital to the workings of the Inheritors. Well here is my first attempt, it may be ugly! So forgive me as I'm getting used to this prestige class thing.

Inheritor Hit Die: As original class

Lvl	Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	As class	As class	As class	As class	-Create Crimson Essence
	+1 level	+1 level	+1 level	+1 level	-Additional Legacy
					-The Code of the Orders
					-Access to cinnabryl, red steel, crimson essence and smokepowder
2	As class	As class	As class	As class	-Bonus class-based skills
	+2 levels	+2 levels	+2 levels	+2 levels
3	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+3 levels	+3 levels	+3 levels	+3 levels
4	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+4 levels	+4 levels	+4 levels	+4 levels
5	As class	As class	As class	As class
	+5 levels	+5 levels	+5 levels	+5 levels
6	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+6 levels	+6 levels	+6 levels	+6 levels
7	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+7 levels	+7 levels	+7 levels	+7 levels
8	As class	As class	As class	As class
	+8 levels	+8 levels	+8 levels	+8 levels
9	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+9 levels	+9 levels	+9 levels	+9 levels
10	As class	As class	As class	As class	Additional Legacy
	+10 levels	+10 levels	+10 levels	+10 levels

Requirements

Alignment: Lawful characters join the Order of the Ruby, neutral characters join the Order of Crimson, and chaotic characters join the Order of the Flame.

Class: Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard. Other classes have obligations, talents or goals which are at odds with the Orders. An Inheritor that multi-classes to class un-approved by Inheritors can be named a ³renegade². See Code of the Orders class ability below for information on renegade Inheritors.

Feats: Never learn any firearm.

Special: Must purchase a Red Steel weapon at 1st level Inheritor

Special: Must be taken before original class advances beyond 1st level

Special: Must pass initiation test of each six abilities, strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, and charisma. To pass each test the ability must of a 9 rating or higher. This is a test to determine if the prospective Inheritor can survive the detrimental effects of Legacies, which can reduce ability scores by 2d4 points. If an ability score reaches 0 when a Legacy manifests, the character dies. Inheritors donıt want their members to die just because they receive their legacies.

Special: Can never advance higher in Inheritor level than the original class, and the original class can never be greater than two levels above the Inheritor level. Although both class levels may be equal.

Special: Dependant upon the Inheritorıs original class, the member must accept an assigned role in their Order. Fighters are guardians and soldiers, and are charged with creating red steel weapons and monitoring red steel trade.
Rogues are given duties of acquisitions and covert missions, such as ³collecting² cinnabryl and red steel from its possessors without their knowledge. Rogues also have the duty of crafting the cinnabryl talismans used to make crimson essence. Bards use their talents for gaining information of interest to their orders. Bards also are responsible for circulating information such as Conclave news to members. It is also the bard who initiates new members and then reports the initiation to one of the orderıs clerics. Rogues and bards are together responsible for distributing potions and talismans to members of their orders.
Wizards study the Legacies themselves and are the Inheritors most likely to recognise the earliest stages of manifestation. Wizards make the potion base for crimson essence. Clerics are the record keepers and historians of the orders. They keep track of members, associate members, and their Legacies; the number of available talismans, cinnabryl amulets, and crimson essence potions; and the rules and strictures of the orders.
Clerics make up the bureaucracy of each order, each serving in a semi-official capacity.

Class Skills Skill Points at Each Level: As original class.

Alchemy (Int)
Craft (Armourer) (Int) Note: Class skill for fighters only.
Craft (Glassblowing) (Int)
Craft (Redsmithing) (Int)
Craft (Metalworking) (Int)
Disguise (Cha)
Gather Information (Cha)
Knowledge (history) (Int)
Knowledge (legacy) (Int)
Knowledge (local) (Int)
Speak Language (None)

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Inheritors keep the same proficiencies their original class used.

Create Crimson Essence: Inheritors learn how to create the magical substance crimson essence.
The creation of crimson essence requires a process of keeping a vial (the cinnabryl talisman) of the specially prepared potion base next to their skin. After two months the potion base changes to crimson essence. If the talisman is removed from the skin for more than 5 minutes the magic fades and the potion must be process must begin again. It is possible for Inheritors to create more crimson essence than they will need. These potions are sold to others of their order who desire them.
If a non-Inheritor wears the prepared talisman next to their skin, the process takes six months to change the potion to crimson essence.
This feat is only active while in regions affected by the Haze.

Additional Legacy: Inheritors drink crimson essence to acquire more Legacies permanently. Anyone else who drinks crimson essence will gain another legacy, but those are temporary. If an Inheritor drinks another vial of crimson essence before his training is complete, the Legacy will only be temporary. The chart shows at which character levels the character may acquire the legacy permanently.
Legacies can only be acquired in regions affected by the Red Curse.
Legacies fade away when the character passes outside the region affected by the Haze.

Access to magical substances: The Orders of the Inheritors are societies which seek to control the supply of cinnabryl. This leads them to monitor the users of Legacies and the trade and traffic of red steel. The Inheritor wizards have learned the secret of making smokepowder from other magical materials native to the Savage Coast. This grants members of the Orders easy access to purchasing cinnabryl, red steel items, crimson essence and smokepowder from their own Order.

Bonus class-based skills: Depending on the characterıs original class the Inheritor will be taught a skill or skills which fits their new role in the Order. Fighters earn craft (redsmithing), wizards receive alchemy, rogues receive disguise and craft (metalworking), bards receive gather information and knowledge (legacy) and clerics receive knowledge (legacy) and speak language.

Code of the Orders: Inheritors are perceived as oppressors or criminals in some places, and heroes in others. Where Inheritors are despised they need guaranties of safety. Likewise, within secret societies with so many divisive philosophies arguments are inevitable, a unified code of behaviour is important. The Code of the Orders exists primarily to protect Inheritors from other Inheritors, with decisions regarding other people left up to individuals. The code is primarily a set of courtesies; it applies only to full members in good standing. It has four parts.
1. The Sanctity of Home: An Inheritor cannot violate the home of another Inheritor. Thus, Inheritors and their possessions are safe from other Inheritors within their own home. Anyone who violates this rule becomes the enemy of that Inheritorıs entire order.
2. The Official Challenge: An Inheritor cannot attack another Inheritor without first issuing a formal challenge. If an Inheritor on an adventure discovers another Inheritor and wishes to attack, he must first issue the challenge. A challenge typically lasts for only he given encounter, but the person issuing it can specify an amount of time (as in ³you are my enemy until the end of the year²) or even make it permanent. This rule is intended to keep Inheritors from ambushing other Inheritors‹unless a permanent challenge has been issued. Note that the target cannot reject the challenge.
3. The Rendering of Aid: An Inheritor must give aid to other Inheritors of the same order. This is usually a temporary alliance for a specific encounter but can also extend to giving shelter to an Inheritor and that personıs travelling companions. The giver can decide exactly how much aid to provide, but cannot turn down a request completely. Generally, the person requesting aid makes the need specific. The two parties then negotiate on the exact help to be rendered. Once an agreement is made it cannot be broken.
4. The Sacredness of Conclave: An Inheritor involved in a conclave of any type cannot be attacked by another Inheritor. This is for practical reasons, to prevent disruption at the Grand Conclave and to protect those on the way to a conclave. Inheritors have been known to use this rule to protect themselves from attack, asking a leader for assignment at a monthly Conclave, volunteering for a minor Conclave or simply travelling to Grand Conclave. The claim must be reasonable; an Inheritor 10 miles from the capital of Bellayne cannot expect protection by claiming to be travelling to Grand Conclave a month before it starts.
An Inheritor who defies the code can be declared a renegade, as can anyone who tells the secrets of the orders, or who consistently disobeys directives. At the next conclave (never a Minor Conclave), the accused is formally charged and given the opportunity for self-defence. If the conclave decides against the individual, punishments range from an order to correct the problem to a fine or even a sentence of death. The clerics of the orders record this decision, and word of it is spread by the orderıs bards. Appeals are allowed only if the defendant can present new evidence to an order leader. An Inheritor who refused to accept punishment is declared a renegade and become the enemy of all other Inheritors, the subject of a hunt by members of all orders. Renegades lose all protection of the code. Unless a conclave of order leaders specifically decrees otherwise, a renegade is wanted dead or alive.