Campaign Rules

This section discusses Scarred Lands campaign rules. It is recommended that players read this section, for even though some rules may not affect them, such as special arcane rules on heat generation, other rules, like invoking a God, will.

Table of Contents

• Characters
  • Normal Folks
• Special Arcane Magic Rules
• Special Divine Magic Rules
• Spell Components (Divine and Arcane)
• Monsters
  • Dragons
  • Genies
• New Character Classes
  • Fist of Mithril
  • Coreanic Paladin
• New Prestige Classes
  • Aerial Cavalier
  • Brother of the Scarred Hand
  • Vigilant
  • Incarnate
• New Spells

Characters

Skills: This world is deadly. Characters will need to be tough, smart and resourceful. When choosing skills for your characters, keep in mind that the world will force you to pick many and various skills to survive.

Skills example 1: A fighter, wearing armor, is fighting a pair of Slytheren on a slippery dungeon step. Every time he makes an attack, he will have to make a Balance check, or else the Slytheren will get an attack of opportunity against him. One of the Slytheren has leapt to a ledge, and is getting away! Can the fighter make a good enough Jump roll to get to the ledge? Can rope use come in handy to get him across to the ledge?

Skills example 2: In a rough brothel, a character is questioning a reluctant john about a woman that was killed yesterday. The john is a half-orc weighing 200 stone. Do you try to intimidate him, or use diplomacy? When he responds, can you believe him? Is your sense motive better than his Bluff?

Point Build: Characters will be built on 40 points. See the Point Purchase Chart:

Races and Point Bonuses: Racial bonuses to characteristics will be applied AFTER the stats are bought with points. For example, a Halfling with 18 Dex (16+2) will only pay 10 points, while the same halfling will pay 4 points for 10 Str (12-2).

Hit Points: They will have maximum hit points at every level.

Starting Level: They will start at FIRST level, or one level below the mean party level. Gold and equipment are standard as outlined in the DMG.

Race: They may be any race in the PHB. See the Dungeon Crawl page for more details for that campaign.

Alignment: Characters must be either Good, Lawful, or True Neutral. Chaotic Neutral characters in particular are too demanding, and take too much fun away from the rest of the party, to permit as regulars.

Normal Folks

Normal folk in the game, that is any who are not adventurers, may gain levels as peasants and experts, but they may never have more hit points than they have CON score. NPC classes such as Warrior, Shaman and Adept do not share this restriction.

Special Arcane Magic Rules

Heat and Arcane Magic: Arcane magic is said to have been affected by the destruction of the Titan Mesos, the Sire of Sorcery. Many who practive Divine magic say that Arcane magic is tainted by the Titans. Whatever the cause, on thing is verifiable: Arcane magic generates heat.

Benefit: Any time a spellcaster invokes arcane magic, either through casting, spell completion or spell trigger, he or she actually warms up. During the round that the spell was cast, the caster receives protection from the elements (cold) equal to one point of protection per level of the spell that was cast. Furthermore, even when not casting, any character with any arcane spellcasting ability is never cold and need not wear heavy clothing in any but the coldest of weather. Treat this as if the character were permanently under the effects of a protection from the elements (cold) spell as a level one caster in terms of comfort and survival in the face of cold weather effects.

Penalty: Wearing armor is even more tasking than usual: double the spell failure chance when wearing anything that causes a chance for spell failure.

Special Divine Magic Rules

The Gods are still quite young, and are still very interested in the goings-on of the mortals who venerate them. No one with an ounce of wits will ever mislike a God out loud, lest he or she happen to be within earshot of someone who might take serious offence. See the Gods page for a list of the Gods.

The Gods Will Get Their Due: All gods must be respected, even those that are despised by a character. Any city that has the ill fortune of setting up shrines to some Gods but not to others will find itself plagued by divine disasters until the situation is remedied.

Patron Deity: Characters MUST choose a patron deity. Their patron deity must be the same alignment as the character, or one step removed. Note that there is no Neutral God, but Denev, a Titan and Earth Mother, may be listed as a patron deity.

Invoking Gods: Any time characters feel they will need special favour to succeed at a task, they may call upon their favored deity for help. Because the Gods are so heavily implicated in the affairs of mortals, characters in good standing with their deity will ALWAYS receive a boon. Characters may safely invoke their God once per day per character level. See the Gods page to find out what may be requested of each God. Characters may spend one, two or three rounds chanting, praying or otherwise invoking their God, and will typically earn a +1, +2 or +3 bonus to an important die roll.

Demigods: The Gods and Titans were fertile, and for each of the 8 Gods, there are dozens of lesser Gods called Demigods. They to be more regional or "racial" than the Gods, and typically grant lesser boons when invoked.

Avatars and Heralds: Each God and Demigod may manifest an avatar on the Prime Plane. This finite vessel for the power of a divine being may only exist in one place at a time, and if slain, may not return to the plane of its slaying for a set amount of time. Each God also has a Herald on the Prime Plane. The Herald is usually recruited from the ranks of favored followers and is elevated to near-Avatar levels of power. Heralds ply the Gods' business in the Scarred Lands.

Spell Components

I want mages and clerics to spend time casting spells, not keeping track of odd spell components. At the same time, I want the more powerful spells to retain their cost, simply to respect game balance.

In this campaign, characters will not have to keep track of most spell components - just assume the character has managed to keep whatever she needs in her "spell component pouch".

Expensive components, however, do not come free. This applies to any spell whose material component has a cost listed. Just cross it off your money when you cast the spell. Rarely, if the character has no access to her "spell component pouch" when casting, role-playing will come into play - for example a character that has been robbed, may have trouble casting spells and may have to scrounge for some bat guano to cast that powerful spell.

Spells that require a set-up or a focus remain unchanged. For example, if the spell description calls for a brazier to be set up, it's pretty much going to be a requirement. Clerics are not absolved from the need to present their holy symbol when required.

Monsters

Genies

There are no genies of any kind in the Scarred Lands, or in fact anywhere but in their home planes. They, like the arrogant dragons, thought themselves above the squabbles of the Gods and Titans, but learned the error of their ways. Summoning and binding magic was created by the Gods specifically to defeat, control and enslave the Genies, which include Djinn, Efreet, Dao and Marid. Only the Jann, earth-borne creatures with ties to the Elemental planes, remain in the Scarred Lands. All others have been trapped on their home planes, and only the most powerful of summoners may bring such a creature to the Prime Material Plane.

New Character Classes:

Fist of Mithril

In Mithril, a group of like-minded monks has gathered, intent on spreading the glory of Corean. They train and train and train, and yet receive very little acknowledgement from the paladins of Mithril. But they persevere: they know that they are part of Corean's Plan. These Monks are as the Monks in the PHB, with the following changes:

• Martial Arts Weapons: replace the list of permitted "martial arts" weapons with Longsword, dagger and quarterstaff. A Fist of Mithril may use these weapons with all monk attacks and special abilities, including base attack bonus, attack flurries, and damage.
• Alignment: Lawful Good.

Coreanic Paladin

In Mithril, Paladins are the greatest of the great. They are wise, powerful, and revered. Because they are in such great favour with their deity, they may multiclass freely with Clerics of Corean.

• Deity: Corean. While ordinary Paladins need not worship Corean (there are LG demigods, such as Goran), they only get this benefit if Corean is their chosen deity.

New Prestige Classes:

Here are listed the prestige classes available in addition to those in the DMG. I am limiting the information listed to the name of the class and the most likely class that will qualify for the prestige class. For more information, ask Richard!

• Incarnate (Druid)
• Sea Witch (Druid/Sorcerer)
• Summoner (Sorcerer/Wizard)
• Vigilant (Ranger)
• Mithril Knight (Paladin)
• Aerial Cavalier (Fighter/Ranger/Paladin)
• Brother of the Scarred Hand (Monk/Druid/Sorcerer)
• Forgemaster (Any)
• Gold Knight (Paladin)
• Iron Knight (Cleric/Paladin)
• Keeper of the Eternal Flame (Cleric)
• Knight of the Morning Sky (Cleric)
• Renewer (Druid/Ranger)

Incarnate Prestige Class

(Paraphrased)

(taken from Relics and rituals, p.12)

From an early age, those druids destined to become Incarnates have known that they share a link with past lives. Their absolute neutrality has come from their innate sense of renewal in the world, and the knowledge that the Balance is All.

Incarnates may assume the form of past life creatures, gain mastery of additional spell domains, and boast poison immunity and a fixed alignment.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements:

Alignment: Neutral.

Class and Level: 4th level Druid.

Feat: Quicken Spell.

Ability: Wild Shape.

Knowledge (Nature): 7 ranks.

Special: must never have been voluntarily anything but true neutral.

Class Skills: same as Druid.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features:

Weapons and Armor: Incarnates are proficient with clubs, darts, long spears, quarterstaves, shortspears, stone sickles and slings. They may not use weapons that contain any amount of metal. They are proficient with padded, leather and hide armors, and may use leather and wooden shields. An Incarnate wearing armor or bearing a weapon containing any metal will lose her magical powers while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.

Spells: Incarnates continue adding spell levels as though they were still druids.

Aerial Cavalier Prestige Class

(Paraphrased)

(taken from Scarred Lands Campaign setting: Ghelspad, p.228)

The Aerial Cavalier is adept at fighting on an aerial mount. The Harrier Riders of Uria, and the Valraven Riders of Corean are examples of Aerial Cavaliers. Other aerial cavaliers have access to mounts from the exotic stables afforded by their rich families, and occasionally, an adventurer will find and raise a flying mount from a young age, or make a pact with an intelligent mount.

Typical flying mounts in the Scarred Lands would be Great Harriers, Hippogriffs, Griffons, Tanil's Valravens and Giant Eagles.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements:

Skills: Ride (any aerial mount) 8 ranks; Handle Animal 8 ranks.

Feats: Mounted Combat, Lighting Reflexes

Special: The character must own or have access to the type of aerial mount chosen for the Ride skill, above.

Class Skills: Animal Empathy, Balance, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intuit Direction, Jump, Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Spot, Tumble.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features: Proficient with simple and martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields.

New Spells

New Scarred Lands Spells - last updated on Sep 20, 2004