Don't even bother harping on me about "balance this" or "balance that" I'm putting these here so some people who are reading the "Ralts Story Hour" get a feel of the ruleset I'm using for this game. This was adapted for a savage game in a savage setting with low magic.
Anyway, here they are. WARNING! I have used clinical terms for genitalia below. WARNING!
A lot of times, the first 2 or 3 rounds of combat are spent posing at one another. You know, flexing, showing off how badass you are with your weapon. My players and I decided who wins 2 of 3 Intimidation checks gains a +2 morale bonus to attack and AC against that opponent.
Spells are risky. With mage spells, you risk Arcane Burn. With divine spells, you risk "God Scream" which is the dying screams of the Gods backlashing onto you. That's why the spellcaster uses spirits instead of doing his own spells.
Non-spell summoning summoning and controlling outsiders. The "shaman" makes a circle on the ground, usually with his walking stick (Craft: Summoning Circle check) and summons a demon/spirit/angel/elemental/whatever with a willpower VS willpower check. (If the shaman gets a higher total on the willpower check than the target of the summoning, the summoned must show up) Then another Willpower Check (again, contested) to be able to give it orders. Each round, the summoner makes a willpower check and so does the summoned creature, if the summoner wins, the summoned creature must do the summoners bidding. If the creature wins, he usually beats the ever-loving piss out of the summoner, or tears off his head and eats it. To banish the creature, it's best 2 out of 3. Needless to say, the party "shaman" keeps it pretty low key.
Advising Spirits: When the PC gets a spirit, I draw up an NPC statblock, and give the spirit a couple of Knowledge skills, and Knowledge (History) for free, with a couple of ranks based on the time and the spirit's former intelligence and life. The PC's will occassionally summon up a spirit to ask questions like: "Are the spirits within this House of Dead angered at our intrusion?" (Translation: Are there undead waiting to kick our ass?) The shaman summons the spirit, makes the Willpower Checks, and then gets to ask 1 question per 3 points he made the check by (minimum of 1, max of 10 eventually)
All rolls on the table. Even mine. That way we all know everything's above the board.
Superstition: The PC's are superstitious, thier foes are superstitious, EVERYONE is superstitious. When the PC's enter a "House of the Dead" for the first time, they still make Willpower checks whenever something happens to see if they are considered "shaken" until they leave.
Contested Willpower checks are basically this: The summoner makes a Willpower Save (Check) and the summonee makes a Willpower Save (Check) and whoever has the highest, wins!
Bind Celestial [General]
You may bind a celestial to a specific location or deed.
Prerequisites: Call Celestial, Control Celestial, Wis 15, Cha 17
Benefit: You may make a contested Will save to bind a celestial to a location or to perform a task. Up to one check per point of Charisma bonus. Note that this can be construed as an evil act in some cases.
Special: The task given may not last longer than 1 month per level.
Bind Elemental [General]
You may bind an elemental to a specific location or deed.
Prerequisites: Call Elemental, Control Elemental, Wis 15, Cha 17
Benefit: You must make a contested Will save to bind an elemental to a location or to perform a task. You may make up to one check per point of Charisma bonus. You must have control of the elemental before you can bind it, however.
Special: The duration of the task may not last longer than 1 month per level.
Bind Fiend [General]
You may bind a fiend to a specific location or deed.
Prerequisites: Call Fiend, Control Fiend, Wis 15, Cha 17
Benefit: You may make a contested Will save to bind a fiend to a location or to perform a task. You may make up to one check per point of Charisma bonus. You must have control of the fiend before you can bind it, however.
Special: The duration of the task may not last longer than 1 month per level.
Bind Spirit [General]
You may bind a spirit to a specific location or deed.
Prerequisites: Call Spirit, Control Spirit, Wis 15, Cha 17
Benefit: You may make a contested Will save to bind a spirit to a location or to perform a task. You may make up to one check per point of Charisma bonus.
Special: The duration of the task may not last longer than 1 month per level.
Call Celestial [General]
You know the rituals necessary to summon a celestial without casting a spell.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Cha 15
Benefit: You may summon a celestial with hit dice equal to your level plus your Cha bonus without the use of spells, rituals or magical apparatus. This feat does not allow you to control the creature or bind it to your service. Calling a celestial is a full-round action; you must make a contested Willpower check against the summoned celestial's Will save to summon it
Normal: You must use a spell or magic item to summon a celestial.
Call Elemental [General]
You know the rituals necessary to summon an elemental without casting a spell.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Cha 15
Benefit: You may summon an elemental with hit dice equal to your level plus your Cha bonus without the use of spells, rituals or magical apparatus. This feat does not allow you to control the creature or bind it to your service. Calling an elemental is a full-round action; you must make a contested Willpower check against the summoned elemental's Will save to summon it
Normal: You must use a spell or magic item to summon an elemental.
Call Fiend [General]
You know the rituals necessary to summon an infernal creature without casting a spell.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Cha 15
Benefit: You may summon a fiend with hit dice equal to your level plus your Cha bonus without the use of spells, rituals or magical apparatus. This feat does not allow you to control the creature or bind it to your service. Calling a fiend is a full-round action; you must make a contested Willpower check save against the summoned fiend's Will save to summon it
Normal: You must use a spell or magic item to summon a fiend.
Call Spirit [General]
You know the rituals necessary to summon a spirit without casting a spell.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Cha 15
Benefit: You may call up a spirit (a banshee, ghost, specter, elemental spirit, etc.) with hit dice equal to your level plus your Cha bonus without the use of spells, rituals or magical apparatus. This feat does not allow you to control the creature or bind it to your service. Calling a fiend is a full-round action; you must make a contested Willpower check save against the summoned fiend's Will save to summon it.
Normal: You must use a spell or magic item to summon a spirit.
**Call XXXXX can also be used to banish a creature of the same type as the feat, with the following restrictions:
***The creature must have equal or less Hit Dice than the banishers character level plus thier Charisma Bonus.
***The character must succeed in two out of three contested Willpower Checks
Channel Spirit [General]
You can open yourself up to allow spirits to speak through you.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, Cha 13
Benefit: With a small amount of preparation, you can enter a light trance, during which you open yourself up to any spirits in the immediate area. The spirit(s) can then speak through you and communicate with the living.
Special: Spiritbinders gain the ability to channel spirits as a class ability.
Control Celestial [General]
You can exert your will over a celestial.
Prerequisites: Call Celestial, Wis 13, Cha 17
Benefit: Every round you must make a contested Willpower check against the celestial's Will save. If the celestial succeeds, it immediately gains another contested Will save, at which you suffer a –1 morale penalty for every previously failed check against this creature. Should the celestial succeed at the second one, it is immediately released from your control. It gains SR 100 and DR 100/- against any attacks leveled against it by you. If you succeed at the second one, you must retain control as normal for this feat.
Once you gain control (by making two successive victorious checks), the creature remains under your control until and unless you are knocked unconscious, killed, or release it. While you control the creature, you are protected from it as per a magic circle of protection.
Control Elemental [General]
You can exert your will over an elemental.
Prerequisites: Call Elemental, Wis 13, Cha 17
Benefit: Every round you must make a contested Willpower check against the celestial's Will save. If the celestial succeeds, it immediately gains another contested Will save, at which you suffer a –1 morale penalty for every previously failed check against this creature. Should the elemental succeed at the second one, it is immediately released from your control. It gains SR 100 and DR 100/- against any attacks leveled against it by you. If you succeed at the second one, you must retain control as normal for this feat.
Once you gain control (by making two successive victorious checks), the creature remains under your control until and unless you are knocked unconscious, killed, or release it. While you control the creature, you are protected from it as per a magic circle of protection.
Control Fiend [General]
You can exert your will over a fiend.
Prerequisites: Call Fiend, Wis 13, Cha 17
Benefit: Every round you must make a contested Willpower check against the fiend's Will save. If the fiend succeeds, it immediately gains another contested Will save, at which you suffer a –1 morale penalty for every previously failed check against this creature. Should the fiend succeed at the second one, it is immediately released from your control. It gains SR 100 and DR 100/- against any attacks leveled against it by you. If you succeed at the second one, you must retain control as normal for this feat.
Once you gain control (by making two successive victorious checks), the creature remains under your control until and unless you are knocked unconscious, killed, or release it. While you control the creature, you are protected from it as per a magic circle of protection.
Control Spirit [General]
You can exert your will over a spirit.
Prerequisites: Call Spirit, Wis 13, Cha 17
Benefit: Every round you must make a contested Willpower check against the spirit's Will save. If the spirit succeeds, it immediately gains another contested Will save, at which you suffer a –1 morale penalty for every previously failed check against this creature. Should the spirit succeed at the second one, it is immediately released from your control. It gains SR 100 and DR 100/- against any attacks leveled against it by you. If you succeed at the second one, you must retain control as normal for this feat.
Once you gain control (by making two successive victorious checks), the creature remains under your control until and unless you are knocked unconscious, killed, or release it. While you control the creature, you are protected from it as per a magic circle of protection.
Scribe Circle [General]
You know how to inscribe circles of power.
Prerequisite: Caster level 1, Int 11
Benefit: You can scribe magical circles used in summoning rituals. This feat is required to take Craft (Magic Circle) skill.
When a circle is used to call a summoned creature inside of it, the summoner gains thier charisma bonus to control/bind it.
When the circle is used to protect the maker and a few others (circles are a max of 5 foot radius +1 foot per rank in Craft (Magic Circle) they gain thier charisma bonus toward banishing/binding/controlling the creature.
Spirit Sense [General]
You can sense the world of the spiritual, a world that most have no clue exists.
Benefit: Once per point of Charisma bonus per day, you may consult with the spirits (as the augury spell) and gain the answer to one question or be warned of possible danger. Spirits who are restless or angry may speak to you, but their speech is often cryptic. Communing with the spirits requires a full minute of concentration; if you are interrupted during this time, the link is broken and the use is wasted. Communing with the spirits is not guaranteed to gain an accurate answer, or even an answer at all; you must make a Diplomacy check to gain a moderately accurate answer (the DC for the check is determined by the DM; the degree of success indicating the accuracy and clarity of the answer). A failed check means you do not find the answer, or you do not find any spirits willing to speak to you. A natural 1 means the spirits are angered, and you may not make any further communing attempts that day.
Special: You can sense the presence of spirits (ghosts, banshees, specters, elemental spirits, etc.) in a 60-foot radius with a successful Wisdom check (DC 15) as a full-round action. This ability can be used at will any number of times per day, as per the paladin's detect evil ability.
Summoning fiends and elementals and spirits has made all the difference for the party, as arcane burn does 1d6 points of damage per level, no DR, no SR, no save, no jack if you fail a concentration check. And yes, you have to make a concentration check EVERY time you cast a spell. God Scream is the same thing, just echoes of the God's dying screams echoing through the world.
Spirits, on the other hand, do not suffer this, and there are certian rituals that a shaman can use to heal characters with the Spirits (Think Conan the Barbarian the movie) but it's risky.
Paint Magic
Many civilized being consider the adornments on the skin of a savage tribesman to be nothing but decorations, or primitive superstition. Even explorers and adventurers make the same mistake, thinking that the carefully mixed berries and ground minerals painstakingly set into designs upon the flesh nothing more than decoration.
This is as far from the truth as possible. Even churches have forgotten the power of the very insignia and paintings that once were the symbols of their religions. Paint magic is the origin of the later rituals and tenets of faith, providing a primitive,
raw and primal form of channeling the power of a patron diety or worshipped creature. This chanelling of power, while temporary, can still enable a warrior of a savage tribe to outfight and kill warriors of the more civilized societies, who often feel superior, armed with more advanced weaponry and armor.
By painting designs on a clan member's face/body, the shaman can grant the wearer benefits or mark him with curses. The magic within the paint only lasts six hours unless otherwise specified.
Paint ingredients must be gathered last full moon of a season and mixed at first new moon of next season. Paints become powerless at the last setting of the 1st full moon of the next season
Aspect of the Hunter
Four lines down one side of the face
+2 sacred bonus to attack, damage, saves and ability checks
Eye of the Hunt
Triangle over left eye
+2 competence bonus to attack rolls
Hands of Speed
Handprints on a mount's flanks and upper legs or on a tribesman’s thighs
+4 enhancement bonus to Con checks for running, exhaustion, etc. +2 Enhancement bonus for encounter checks
Mark of the Hunt
Lines from eyes to top of ears/lines under eyes
+4 enhancement bonus to Spot checks
Spirit of the Wind
Wavy lines on chest, over shoulders, and down the back to the waist
+4 sacred bonus to AC
Strike Like an Eagle
Three lines painted on the backs of the hands, stretching from the wrist to in between each knuckle
+2 competence bonus to ranged attacks.
Totem’s Grasp
Handprints on arms
+4 enchancement bonus to strength
Totem’s Heart
Small painting of totem creatures over heart
+2 morale bonus to attack, damage, saves, and ability checks.
Veiled Sight
A third eye (closed) or a representation
+4 competence bonus to Hide/Move Silently checks
Tattoos, Scars, and Piercings
Symbols of powers have often been etched onto scrolls, into runes on metal or stone, and some call themselves innovative for carving runes into their own flesh, unaware that their ancestors did that before they were able to write.
Aspect of the Hunter
Scarring of the skin next to the eyes to draw the eyes at an upward angle
+4 competence bonus to Hide, Listen, Spot, +1 bonus to ranged attacks
Claws of the Totem
Branding of the fingertips with small representations of claws.
+2 luck bonus to BAB, damage, AC, saves
Freedom of the Wind
A small ring or button placed beneath the lower lip
+4 Insight to Diplomacy, Intimidate, Seduction (see Crimson Contracts)
Voice of the Totem
Piercing of the cheek to insert buttons or small rods engraved with representation of the totem
+2 insight bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate; OR +4 bonus to Bluff
Genitalia Piercing, often called Marks of Manhood or Attainment
Insertion of metal rings or studs into the head of the penis or clitoris
+2 enhancement bonus to Charisma, +2 morale bonus to Intimidate/Seduction checks
Grasp of the Totem
Upraised pattern of swirls scarred onto shoulderblades
+2 morale bonus to Strength checks
Sharp Toothed Child
Piercing of the nipples
+1 to Fortitude saves
Tongue of Silver
A small stud or button piercing the tongue
+1 to any Charisma-based skill checks
Tongue of the Viper
Splitting of the tongue.
+2 to Bluff or Diplomacy when lying
Touch of the Spirits
Removal of the foreskin or clitoral hood
+2 to Diplomacy and encounter checks (sacred), +1 morale bonus to Charisma based checks.
King of the Blind
Removal of one eye
Ability to see invisible, astral or ethereal objects
Mated of the Beast
Slicing of the penis head into thin strips, removal of the clitoral hood and inner lips
+2 reaction bonus
Rockbiter
Extraction of two front teeth
DR 5/lethal (works on subdual damage only)
Evil Wind Leaves the Body
Tattooed swirls on cheeks of buttocks
+5 resistance bonus to Fortitude checks against poison and disease
Mark of the Hunter
Scarring on left buttock in the pattern of the totems footprint
+1 BAB, +2 Hide, Listen, Spot (Sacred)
Marks of Manhood
This scarring differs according to each totem, and in some cases, each tribe
+2 morale bonus to encounter checks.
Marks of the Totem
Scarring or tattoing the body as if they had been bitten/clawed by the totem
+2 Sacred Bonus to AC and Saves.
Mask of the Totem
Scarring, piercing and tattooing on the face, including adjusting of the ear by slicing parts of, or sewing small colored beads onto its surface.
+2 Insight bonus to Listen/Spot OR +1 to BAB and AC, in addition to +2 encounter/Charisma based skill checks with other savage tribesmen. -4 to Charisma based checks when dealing with non-savage tribesmen.
Septum Piercing
Insertion of a bone, metal ring, or metal rod through the septum.
+1 Insight bonus to AC
Spirit of the Water
Piercing of the flesh at the base of the penis or the labia
+2 competence bonus to Move Silently, DR 5/magic
Toes/Fingers of the Predator
Cutting away the webbing on the fingers and toes
+1 Attack Bonus (competence), +1 to AC (dodge), and +4 competence bonus to Climb and Balance
Strength of the Beast
Scarring of the the biceps and chest to represent the bite or raking of the totem creature
+2 Strength Enhancement Bonus
Spirit Armor
A small rod or ring piercing the bone of the nose. The ring must be engraved with a representation of the enemy, or the bone must be from the body of the selected enemy.
DR 10/- against one type of enemy
Totem’s Aspect
Pattern of dots (ink or upraised scar tissue) on face
+2 sacred bonus to attack rolls, +4 bonus on applicable Totem skills (craft .
Totem’s Skin
Ritual scarring of the entire body
+1 to +4 natural armor, but loses same amount for Charisma bonuses when making diplomatic or encounter checks with non-savage tribesmen.
Unveiled Sight
A small ring placed onto the brow
+2 Insight bonus to Spot
OK, I haven't had a problem with the PC's wanting to slather on too much at a time, they're pretty reasonable, having played Rifts and learned that in an arms race, the GM always wins.
We kind of go by the "Magic Item" location chart, allowing one piercing per body slot. Paint isn't that big of a problem, it wears off, and creating a pot of paint costs 25 XP per application of paint so the shaman usually isn't too keen on brewing tons of paint up. Victory Without Fighting: During the posing phase, if the NPC rolls a 1 on his Intimidation and then fails a Willpower Check (DC: PC's intimidation roll) he usually surrenders right there. The players usually take a prominent piercing/bone from the defeated opponent and let him live, since, to quote the party's tank/shaman protector: "We can't build a reputation as badasses if everyone whose butt we kicked is dead!". I decided that they deserve full XP for enemies defeated in such a way, as it's no different than hitting the slub with a fireball. If the PC rolls a one and failes thier willpower check, I consider them
shaken for the duration of the combat, but so far, the PC's usually surrender, and the NPC takes a token (and gets XP!!!) If either person attacks the other before posing is finished, the one who is attacked gains the benifit of a barbarian rage. (Hey, rituals were VERY important to ancient warriors)
Counting Coup: Remember the Native American tradition of poking someone with a stick during a battle? Yeah, they do that too. This came up during the after game discussions, so we hammered out some fast and brutal rules.
- The character must not draw ANY weapons during the combat, and may only weild the decorated Coup Stick.
- The character must make a regular attack roll, if they hit, they have "Counted Coup" against that oppenent.
- The character touched must immediately withdraw from combat, acknowledging defeat.
- If the touched character is attacked, they immediately go into a barbarian like rage.
- The one who counted coup, and ONLY the one who counted coup, gets full XP for "defeating" the opponent.
- If a "defeated" warrior continues to attack, or the attacker uses an actual weapon, he is known as dishonorable and unworthy of respect and honor.
Soul Binding: One of the more fearsome powers of the shaman's is thier ability to "take the souls" of those slain in combat. By making a successful
Bind Spirit check, they may bind the spirit into an item or weapon, either to keep thier soul around as an "advisor" or a "protector", but they cannot use the spirit to create magic items. If they are bound as a protector, I convert them to an incorpreal undead of the same HD as the creature, and the shaman may try to bind it. So far, this has worked pretty good. A quick and dirty ruling that both I and the shaman's player are happy with is: Only one spirit per shaman level and point of Charisma Bonus may be possessed at any one time.
Yeah, I know. Rough, needs polishing and further playtesting, and there's probably loads of people who will tell me how easy it is to abuse this system, but guess what... My players don't.
Just figured I'd share.
--T Willard 
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