The Order of Stone Breakers
by John HareUpon arriving on Mystara from their devastated world the secret sect of the Geomancers split. Some wanted to hide away from the air wizards should they decide that air was superior to air. Others wanted to help form the shape of the cities and towns to come by tapping their vast knowledge of stone, which could be applied to construction techniques. Thus was formed the Order of Stone Breakers, called so by the Geomancers as they broke away from their original sect. Over time the sect has come to believe that the name refers to their construction techniques of breaking large stones into little ones to make huge buildings. Due to the intense training they must have either engineering or architect as skills and then gain the other after completing their first circle skills. If they already have both skills they get a +1 to be applied to either skill.
1st Circle
Faster Building: When a Stone Breaker starts putting up a building and successfully makes this check then the overall construction time is reduced by 10 percent. The Stone Breaker knows so much about buildings that he knows secret shortcuts that can be used to help speed the process. If only Stone Breakers are involved in putting up a building the time factor is reduced by 20 percent instead.
Better Buildings: Similar to faster building except instead of reducing the construction time this ability increases the overall structure integrity by increasing the number of building hit points by 10%, 20% if only Stone Breakers are involved.
Nature Resistant: By using this ability a Stone Breaker can oversee a construction site and make it more resistant to natural occurrences such as earthquakes, flooding, storms, etc. Basically the building will survive any natural disaster the first time, such as remain standing after an earthquake or keeping its roof through a tornado. This ability can be applied to already completed buildings taking 1/4 the time the original building took and 20% of the cost.
Mould Stone: This power allows a Stone Breaker to treat stone that his hands are on as clay, to be shaped and bent to his will. The stone never changes into clay. With this a mage can create hand holds, slowly open doorways, windows or make adjustments to stone statues. The stone can not be separated from the large body of stone, only moved aside and moulded. Lasts for 1/turn per level. Hand attacks against stone creatures causes an additional 1d6 points of damage, or can heal the same amount in a round.
2nd Circle
Comfort: By using this ability the Stone Breaker makes a structure more inhabitable by reducing the environmental extremes. Thus warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather. It also can be used to keep out bugs and rodents. This power lasts 1 day/level, and can effect a change of 1 degree per level. Thus a 15th level mage could adjust a temperature either up or down 15 degrees, or keep out insects and rodents.
Weakening: This power lets a Stone Breaker deliberately weaken a building's structure. By touching a building for 1 round for the number of hit points it has he can immediately reduce the overall hit points of the building by 10%. To restore a building so damaged it has to be the subject of a maintenance project which costs 5% more than normal maintenance would.
Stone Walk: This power allows a mage to walk through constructed stone with ease. The mage moves at his normal walking pace (no running), but can move in any direction the stone goes (up, down, diagonal, etc). Lasts for 1 round/level. If the mage isn't clear by the time the walk is expired he must make a save vs. death, success means that he has been expelled from the stone in the closest available space, failure is death. (although allowing him to be chiselled out might be allowed with a rock to flesh spell as well)
3rd Circle
Enchantments: With this skill the Stone Breaker includes spell like powers into the structure and are treated like permanent effects. Examples would be walls, which keep out evil creatures via a protection from evil spell, can activate light spells on command, teleportation grid pads (that only work through out the same structure to other pads). There is a construction cost to this however. One shot effects such as an emergency dimension door or trap spell cost 100gp/spell level. Permanent effects cost 500gp/spell level. It takes 1 day per 1000gp worth to prepare the site and enchant the object. One of the more common effects is several Wizard Eyes tied to a crystal ball, which allows the wizard to quickly search his building for intruders.
Defenders: This power temporarily summons several gargoyles (or similar creature) to defend the structure. The mage gets enough gargoyles in HD up to his level. The gargoyles remain for 1 day/level but can only be used in some fashion to defend the chosen building (thus no sending them off to acquire things). The defenders aren't the brightest creatures however, while they will never attack the summoner so long as he inhabits his/her own body anyone else is fair game. So as a safety precaution 5 words/mage level can be given to them as instructions and orders on who is safe and who is enemy. By spending 1000gp per HD the mage can make these defenders permanent. For an additional 100gp per HD he can either give them special properties. For an additional 100gp per creature he can give an additional 10 words of instructions. On a critical failure the defenders still show up, but instead attack the summoner. Only one set of defenders can be used on a given building until they are gone or dead.
4th Circle
Enhancement: One bit of knowledge the Stone Breakers have acquired is how to design rooms to be lit by one candle or how to carry a whisper across a huge room. With more research they discovered a method of increasing spell effects in a properly prepared room. A room can be either designed from scratch and built or it can be modified from an existing design. Building it from the ground up only costs an additional 100gp per 10' cube. Modifying costs 1000gp per 10' cube. The room must have a minimum of 90,000 cubic feet. (90x100x10 or similar dimensions). Then the mage attunes himself with the room to begin casting his spells. The spells cast are all increased by 10% for range and duration, and do +1 pt per die and have a -1 to saves. The attunement lasts for 1 day/3 levels. A critical failure means the attunement has failed and the next spell cast will have catastrophic effects targeted on the caster.
5th Circle
Joining: When a Cathedralist invokes this power they temporarily join with the building and can sense everything within it and can control any traps, doors, shutters, etc. However damage to the building causes damage to the mage which while reduced could still kill the mage before the tower is destroyed. The mage's body is temporarily suspended like a magic jar effect.
Bruce's damage example is based on a percentage: For example, the building suffers 50% damage, the wizards takes 50% damage as well. You could have three sorts of buildings -- minor, common, major (this is left at the DM's discretion but has to do with the size of the building and the magical effort from the mage). The ratio for minor buildings is 1/4 % damage, for common building 1/2 % damage, and the major full % damage. So for example if a building suffers 80% damage: if minor the mage suffers only 20% hp damage, 40% for a common building, 80% for a major building. Makes sense?
This way minor buildings being destroyed would hurt the mage but not kill him, but huge buildings being destroyed would kill the mage. Of course having a building destroyed from underneath you would most likely require a saving throw vs. death magic (or some such) or suffer either: stunned/insanity or something similar.
While joined with the building the
mage can control all doors, traps, etc as if using a telekinesis
spell. Should there be Wizard Eye enchantments he can see
intruders, otherwise he has to 'feel' them, tromping over the
floor, opening doors etc. The mage can also cast spells while
joined with the building. However the chance of succeeding in
casting a spell is equal to the chance of using the 5th Circle
Power. Each following spell has a -10% chance of success.