Mystara 3E - Chapter 1: Characters, Prestige Classes
by Roger LV Girtman IIThe Known World is home to dozens of secret organisations and elite orders, hundreds of unique adventurers and anointed champions, and thousands of opportunities. A mage might begin his career as a straightforward wizard, but as he gains power and experience, choices confront him. Should he follow the path of the archmage, or plunge into the secret studies of the Secret Crafts of Glantri? Should the fighter serve the defence of his nation as an Aerial Knight, or embrace the natural society of the elves as a Forester?
Characters of any class face similar choices. Many of the most powerful and successful adventurers of the Known World eventually become embroiled in the struggle of order and anarchy, assuming the responsibility and privileges of these unique character classes.
Prestige classes that add to the character's base class for determining the number of spells per day also add to the character's caster level (such as for dispel checks and level checks to overcome spell resistance).
MDG Prestige Classes: Certain prestige classes from the DMG are exceptionally appropriate for a Mystaran campaign: The Arcane Archer, Archmage, Assassin, Duellist, and Dwarven Defender are all suitable for the Known World without modification. The Blackguard is also appropriate, but requires slight modification. In the Known World, there are some adventurers who have chosen to be the antithesis of the Paladin. This modified Blackguard is called the Avenger. Avengers act exactly like a Blackguard as described in the DMG except that their alignment may be either Chaotic or Evil, and they must associate themselves with a particular church or clerical order. As with any divine caster, the Avenger must select an Immortal Patron or Philosophy that is within one step of his alignment.
Aerial Knight
Aerial Knights are flying knights, characters that have flying mounts and that are trained to fight whilst flying upon these mounts.
Hit Die: 1d10
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become an Aerial Knight, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Mount: Must have access to a flying mount. Retebius Air Fleet supplies you with a mount but Knights of the Air require you to acquire one (buy, capture, etc.).
CLASS SKILLS
The Aerial Knight's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are features of the Aerial Knight prestige class.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Aerial Knights are proficient with simple and martial weapons and all armour and shields, including tower shields.
Flying Mount: At first level the Aerial Knight is expected to have a flying mount. If he is a member of the Retebius Air Fleet he will be assigned one. Otherwise he is expected to acquire one (buy, capture, etc.). This prestige class also assumes that the player has taken the time to train the mount to carry a rider. This class feature Grants you the Flying Combat feat even if you don't meet the requirements.
Handle Animal: The Aerial Knight gains a bonus to his handle animal skill when dealing with flying mounts. At first level this is a +1 and it raises by +1 every level thereafter
Bonus Feat: the Aerial Knight gains a bonus feat at third and fifth level. These bonus feats are the same as the fighter bonus feats.
Table 1-X: Aerial Knight
BAB: Good
Fort: Good
Ref: Poor
Will: Poor
| Level | Special |
| 1 | Flying Mount, +1 handle animal skill |
| 2 | +2 handle animal skill |
| 3 | Bonus Feat, +3 handle animal skill |
| 4 | +4 handle animal skill |
| 5 | Bonus Feat,+5 handle animal skill |
Special: RAF members must take this prestige class and finish it completely before taking any levels in any other class. This represents military service and cannot be broken up.
Dogfighter
Needless to say, this PrC is incomplete. Any help would be invaluable. Reference: PC1 Top Ballista
Description
Hit Die: 1d4
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a Dogfighter, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Required: Description
CLASS SKILLS
The {}'s class skills (and the key ability for each) are Blah.
Skill Points at Each Level: X + Int modifier.
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are features of the Dogfighter prestige class.
Feature: Description.
Table 1-X: Dogfighter
BAB: Moderate
Fort: Good
Ref: Good
Will: Poor
| Level | Special |
| 1 | Piloting +2 |
| 2 | +1 Attack Bonus with Missile Weapons |
| 3 | Fantasy Physics, Piloting +3 |
| 4 | +2 Attack Bonus with Missile Weapons |
| 5 | Piloting +4, +3 Attack Bonus with Missile Weapons |
Forester
I've decided nothing about this one except that I want to include it. I might consider using the PHB2 Duskblade as inspiration. Gladiator
I haven't developed game stats for the Gla yet, but I was looking at the Pit Fighter (it's an OGL PrC from a 3rd party publisher. I don't know which one, V Geisz was working on this one for me.
Guild Merchant
There are some who make their way in the world through skill of their hand, some that make it through magical blessings, and then there are those that survive through the art of trade and interaction with others. The work of the merchant is a vital one to the growth and benefit of society as a whole. But merchants do much more than trade in goods. Sometimes they have to find those goods in the wild, and it is from this that they become powerful companions or foes.
REQUIREMENTS CLASS SKILLS
CLASS FEATURES Guild Merchant Spell List
Hin Master REQUIREMENTS CLASS SKILLS
CLASS FEATURES
Knight-Hero
REQUIREMENTS CLASS SKILLS CLASS FEATURES
Merchant Prince
REQUIREMENTS CLASS SKILLS
CLASS FEATURES Merchant-prince Spell List
Table 1-X: Merchant Prince
*EHM Designates a spell only available to Merchant Princes with the Elven High Magic feat.
Gladiators of the Arena in the empire of Thyatis learn to control their weapons as well as the crowd. They are often heroes within the Empire as long as they are good at what they do. Fighters and Barbarians make excellent Gladiators, but the elite skills of the class will aid anyone whose business is fighting for an audience, or just fighting with style and efficiency.
This is for the Darokin Merchant class. The Merchant-prince is separate. My notes don't say where I stole this from, but I believe it's on the Vaults.
In the ideal world, a merchant would have nothing more to do than open and keep a shop somewhere in the world. However, sometimes items and goods are hard to come by. Most times a merchant will take to adventuring because of the rumour of valuable treasure or a rare item that would command a hefty price in resale. The fact that they can learn and master new skills that help them above and beyond the mercantile world is icing on the proverbial cake - anything to give a merchant the edge over the competition is welcomed.
Merchants neither excel in combat nor spells, but their role is that of the information monger. Merchants have the knack of getting what they want when they want it how they want it. They can tell when someone is trying to lie to them from their experience with deals on a day to day business. They possess a handful of spells that are very strong utility spells, helping to augment the merchant's already impressive abilities in dealing with others.
Hit Die: 1d6
To qualify to become a Guild Merchant, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Required: Profession (merchant) 8 ranks, Appraise or Craft 5 ranks.
Special: Must be a citizen of the Republic of Darokin. The character must also be a member in good standing of the Merchant's Guild of Darokin.
The guild merchant's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Listen (Wis), Survival (Wis), Knowledge (Int), Profession (merchant) (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language, Spellcraft (Int), and Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4: Skills of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
All of the following are class features of the merchant.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The guild merchant gains no proficiency in any weapon or armour.
Bonus Language: At 1st level and each odd-numbered level guild merchant level thereafter, the character gains one bonus language of choice.
Merchant Lore: A guild merchant has a chance to know almost anything, either from his own experience or from the tales of fellow merchants and customers. This ability functions exactly like bardic knowledge (see the Bard section in Chapter 3 of the Player's Handbook), except that the check modifier equals the character's guild merchant level + his Intelligence modifier. Bard levels stack with merchant levels for the purpose of determining this modifier.
Merchant Check: The guild merchant makes a Knowledge (geography) check (DC 15) once per month or whenever he travels to a new culture. Success means he can use his knowledge of the culture he is visiting to his advantage, gaining a +4 circumstance bonus on certain skill checks. At 2nd level this bonus applies only to Appraise checks. For every 2 guild merchant levels thereafter, the bonus also applies to one addition skill, as shown on the guild merchant table. He retains these circumstance bonuses until his next Knowledge (geography) check. For particularly isolated or far-off cultures, the DM can raise the DC of the Knowledge (geography) check to 20 or higher.
Spells: Beginning at 1st level, a guild merchant can cast arcane spells just as a sorceror does. To cast a particular spell, the guild merchant must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level. The character gains bonus spells based on his Charisma score, the DC for the saving throws against his spells is 10 + the spell's level + the guild merchant's Charisma modifier.
The guild merchant does not acquire spells in the same manner as other arcane spellcasters. The various spells, many of which are unique to the Merchant's Guild, are learned from other guild merchants who already know the spell. In order to ensure control of these spells, they are never written in spellbooks. See the list below for the spells available to a guild merchant.
When a guild merchant wants to learn a new spell, he must seek out another guild member who already knows it and convince him or her to teach the spell. This is supposed to be free of charge, as per guild regulations, but fees are not unheard of. Learning a 1st level spell takes 1 week. Learning a 2nd level spell takes 2 weeks. A 3rd level spell takes 4 weeks, and a 4th level spell takes 8 weeks. Often this training is conducted during long caravan trips, when there is little else to pass the time.
These spells and the secrets of their casting are carefully guarded. Indeed, most people are not even aware that these spells exist, especially since they generally lack any discernible components compared to more conventional arcane or divine casting. As such, the DC of any Spellcraft check made to identify a merchant spell is increased by 10, and that's only if there is reason to suspect a spell was cast in the first place. The secrecy surrounding these spells has given Darokin merchants a reputation for a "sixth sense."
Merchants choose their spells from the following list.
1st level - calm animal*, clear sight (merchant only), count coins, detect chaos/evil/good/law, evaluate, ignore road, orientation, predict weather, resist climate, trust.
2nd level - check load, crown summoning, detect ambush, detect magic, hold animal*, quicken pace, savoir faire, silver tongue.
3rd level - charm animal*, detect lie, find traps, darkvision, inventory, smuggling, weather eye.
4th level - accounting, charm person, check caravan, embezzle, resist magic.
Table 1-X: Guild Merchant
BAB: Moderate
Fort: Poor
Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Level
Special
Spells Per Day (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
1
Bribe, detect lie
0
2
--
1
3
Bonus language
2, 0
4
--
2, 1
5
Detect lie 2/week
3, 2, 0
6
--
4, 2, 1
7
Fast talk
5, 3, 1
8
--
6, 4, 2, 0
9
Detect lie 2/week
6, 4, 2, 1
10
--
7, 5, 3, 1
Description to be developed based on Gaz8
Hit Die: 1d4 (d6?)
To qualify to become a Hin Master, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Race: Halfling. (Region: Shires?)
BAB: +5.
Feat: Denial.
The Hin Master's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge: Arcana (Int), Knowledge: History (Int), Knowledge: Nature (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis) and Use Magic Device(Cha).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
All of the following are features of the Hin Master prestige class.
Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: Hin Master gains no new weapon or armour proficiencies.
Spells: A Hin Master has the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast these spells the Hin Master must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell's level, so a Hin Master with a Wisdom score of 10 or less cannot cast these spells. Hin Master's bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell's level + Hin Master's Wisdom modifier. The Hin Master gains spells from the Hin Master spell list below. A Hin Master has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare, just as a cleric. A Hin Master prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though the Hin Master cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).
A Hin Master must spend 1 hour each night in quiet contemplation to regain his daily allotment of spells.
Darkvision: A Hin Master gains Darkvision out to 60 ft.
Tracking: At 3rd level a Hin Master gains Track as a bonus Feat if he doesn't already have it.
Denial Bonus: Starting at 2nd level a Hin Master gains a +1 bonus to his Denial feat. This ability stacks with the hin bonus for every odd level.
Blackflame Item Creation: At 7th level a Hin Master with access to a source of Blackflame (Hin Relic) can create special magic weapons and items from it. See individual Blackflame item for information on creation.
Table 1-X: Hin Master
BAB: Moderate
Fort: Good
Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Spells per Day: as Drd
Level
Special
1
Darkvision
2
Denial bonus +1
3
Tracking
4
Denial Bonus +2
5
Denial Bonus +3
6
Denial bonus +4
7
Blackflame Item creation
8
Denial Bonus +5
9
Denial Bonus +6
10
Denial Bonus +7
Although they may wander far and wide, across, under and above MYSTARA, hin never forget their home in the Five Shires and while some may quest for glory, gold or adventure, the greatest of them do it for their people and the Five Shires and are known as the knight-heroes.
Whereas the great heroes of other races may be praised for their ability to confront their foes head-on, and hammer away at them until they both collapse into the mud, bloody and exhausted, that seems foolish to the hin, who prize cleverness and wisdom above raw brute strength. While a dwarven defender will bar a foe with his dying breath, a hin knight-hero would be more likely to slip around the foe's rear through stealth and cleverness, cut off their reinforcements and confront the enemy leader one-on-one.
Hit Die: 1d10
To qualify to become a Knight-Hero, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Race: Halfling.
Alignment: Any non-Evil; The vast majority of Knight-Heroes are Lawful.
Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Knowledge (nobility and royalty): 3+ ranks.
Loyalty: A Knight-Hero must demonstrate loyalty to a particular cause, be it a clerical order, nation, a people, or a ruler. A Knight-Hero must show this devotion by not specialising in any other Prestige Class. Multiclassing in other base classes are still permitted, however. A Knight-Hero who either picks up a second Prestige Class or who goes against his chosen cause looses all class special abilities and cannot continue in the class unless he picks another cause to uphold.
The Knight-Hero's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Diplomacy, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (History), Knowledge (local) (choose Region), Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), Ride, Sense Motive, Spot, and Swim.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Weapon and armour proficiency: Knight-Heroes are proficient in the use of all simple and martial weapons and all armour (heavy, medium and light) and shields. Armour check penalties exist for armour heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pockets and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every five pounds of armour and equipment carried.
Improved Throwing: A knight-hero's bonus with thrown weapons increases to +2, rather than the halfling-standard +1.
Heroic Luck: The High Heroes smile on the knight-hero, granting him a bonus to all saving throws equal to his Charisma modifier (if positive). This replaces the natural bonus to saving throws all halflings get by the grace of the High Heroes.
Inspire Courage: A knight-hero may sing or chant a traditional hin song ("Halfling High" and "Sing of a King" are favourites in these situations) and raise the courage of themselves and their companions. To be affected, an ally must hear the knight-hero sing for a full round. The effect lasts as long as the knight-hero sing and for 5 rounds afterwards (or for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear the knight-hero's song). While singing, the knight-hero can fight, but cannot cast spells, activate magic items by spell completion (such as scrolls), or activate magic items by magic word (such as wands). The knight-hero and his allies receive a morale bonus against charm and fear attacks equal to the knight-hero's Charisma modifier. This bonus stacks with the halfling's racial +2 morale bonus against fear.
Favoured Enemy: Similar to the ranger's favoured enemy class skill (page 45, Player's Handbook), a second level knight-hero chooses a traditional enemy of the Five Shires and trains in techniques to combat them. Additional favoured enemies are chosen at sixth and tenth levels, with the bonus against each previously selected favoured enemy going up by one. Possible favoured enemies include: Aberrations, Animals, Beasts, Dwarves, Goblinoids, Humans, Orcs, Plants, Shapechangers, Undead and Vermin. It is not politic for the hin to mention that they still keep a wary eye fixed on dwarves and humans, and thus knight-heroes only discuss their favoured enemies in those cases with other hin.
Throwing Specialisation: At fourth level, a knight-hero gains a +2 damage bonus with thrown weapons.
Evasion: The embodiment of the nimble halfling, an eighth level knight-hero can avoid even magical and unusual attacks by being light on his feat. If a knight-hero makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion may only be used if the knight-hero is wearing light armour or no armour. It is an extraordinary ability.
Code of Conduct: A knight-hero must be of lawful good alignment and lose all special class abilities if he ever willingly commits an act of evil. Additionally, a knight-hero's code requires that he respects legitimate authority, act with honour (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, etc.), help those who need help (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends) and punish those that harm or threaten innocents.
Associates: While he may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a knight-hero will never knowingly associate with evil characters. A knight-hero will not continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. A knight-hero may only hire henchmen or accept followers who are lawful good.
Table 1-X: Knight Hero
BAB: Moderate
Fort: Good
Ref: Good
Will: Poor
Level
Special
1
Improved Throwing, Heroic Luck
2
Favoured Enemy
3
Inspire Courage
4
Throwing Specialization
5
Evasion
In the warm waters of the Sea of Dread lie a group of islands claimed by the Minrothad Guilds. These isles have attracted a rich assortment of peoples over the centuries - humans, dwarves, halflings and elves all live in Minrothad. The oldest residents of the islands are the Alfasser elves. Long ago, these sea-faring elves mastered the seas, both with their nautical prowess and their knowledge of magic.
Eventually, Minrothad found its niche in the world as traders, transporting exotic cargoes from one far port to another. Alfasser magic, combined with Alphatian sea spells learned in distant lands, proved quite useful in these ventures. Soon, a new breed of merchant was setting itself apart from those merchants of other nations.
Now, Minrothad's Merchant Princes are known in every port of call in the Known World. Their formidable reputation alone is often enough to deter all but the most foolhardy pirates. These spellcasting sea captains are now synonymous with the Minrothad Guilds.
Hit Die: 1d6
To qualify to become a Merchant Prince, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria.
Race: Elf, half-elf or human
Skills: Bargain or Appraisal 5 ranks, Craft or Profession (relevant to your Guild) 10 ranks
Special: Must show a personal income from trading ventures of at least 20,000 gp per year over the last 4 years. Must be a member of one of Minrothad's Guilds.
The Merchant Prince's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Innuendo (Wis), Intuit Direction (Wis), Knowledge (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language, Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4: Skills of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: X + Int modifier.
All of the following are features of the Merchant Prince prestige class.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Merchant princes gain no additional proficiency in any weapon or armour
Bonus Language: At 1st level and each odd-numbered level merchant prince level thereafter, the character gains one bonus language of choice.
Spells: Merchant princes receive training in arcane spellcasting as wizards or sorcerers. When a new merchant prince level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class (either wizard or sorceror). He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level in spellcasting. If the character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a merchant prince, he must decide which class he adds the new level to for purposes of determining spells per day.
If the merchant prince did not previously belong to either the wizard or sorceror classes, he learns spells as a wizard equal to his merchant prince level.
Wind at Your Back: At 2nd level, the merchant prince has become a master of eking every bit of propulsion out of the prevailing winds. Any ship he captains moves 1 mile per hour faster than normal.
Shifting Deck: As a free action, a merchant prince of 6th level or higher can attempt a Balance check (DC 15). Success negates any penalties for uneven ground, such as a ship's deck in rolling seas, and any higher-ground bonuses that opponents might otherwise have. The DM may set a higher DC for checks involving particularly uneven or dangerous ground.
Come About: The merchant prince's ability to manoeuvre a vessel is legendary. At 8th level he gains a +4 insight bonus on Profession (sailor) checks.
Bonus Metamagic Feat: The merchant prince's training in arcane arts allows him to select a bonus metamagic feat at 4th and 10th level.
Merchant-princes choose their spells from the following list.
0 Level - clear sight, douse flame, faerie fire, light*, locate sea life(EHM), oilskin, precipitation(EHM), read magic, resist cold, sea legs, tar, warp wood.
1st level - careen, entangle, nightwatch, obscure*(EHM), predict weather(EHM), purify food and water*, produce fire, rot, web .
2nd level - call lightning, dispel fog(EHM), fireball, lightning bolt, water breathing, watery form(EHM).
3rd level - ball lightning, protection from lightning, talk to sea creatures(EHM), transmute water to ice.
4th level - control winds, summon sea creatures, summon weather.
5th level - calm water, calm wind, weather control
6th level - summon air elemental, summon water elemental.
BAB: Poor
Fort: Poor
Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Spells per day: +1 arcane spellcaster level
Level
Special
1
Bonus language
2
Wind at your back
3
Bonus language
4
Bonus metamagic feat
5
Bonus language
6
Shifting deck
7
Bonus language
8
Come about
9
Bonus language
10
Bonus metamagic feat