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Crossed Paths
Overview for players
The map of the world is the same as our own. Political boundaries are approximately as they were in 20 B.C. The Roman Empire controls most of the Mediterranean. Germanic Vikings control Scandinavia & much of European Russia. Germanic horsemen & barbarians control much of modern Germany & France. Huns-like horse warriors control central Europe North of the Danube. The lands beyond the black sea are not well known to most Europeans. Though travelers & traders go there & report rich, civilized lands beyond the lawless hinterland. Sub-Saharan Africa is largely unknown, as is the Americas & Australia (which may not exist in the same form in this word – only the DM knows for sure at this point).
In general, wars are won by warriors. Magic is not common. Clerics, sorcerers & druids rarely exceed 6th level or so. Rome has formal wizardry schools, which produce powerful wizards & are a key to their military success. Elves & gnomes also have wizards, elves being the original & most powerful. Other races & known human cultures do not have wizards. Deities are active, but are generally prevented from direct interference in the affairs of mortals. You don’t meet them, or their servants, on the roads. Humans are by far the most populous of the races, & probably the most powerful, though the true power held by the elves is unknown & no human ruler has truly tested that power.
Character Generation:
Take the default array: 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 10. Arrange per your tastes. If you would rather generate your characteristics another way, that might be arranged.
PCs start at second level. Starting gold is max for the PC’s first class. Classes are describes below & are restricted to those in the PHB. I’m not necessarily familiar with the feats not in the Players Handbook, & permission is needed to use any of these other feats or skills. There are no known psionics.
All that said, I want players to be able to play a character they like. Deviation from the above may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. Don’t be afraid to ask.
Races:
Human. For simplicity, the following are the standard Human races/cultures (Pantheon in parentheses) These are less “racial” divisions, as cultural. Thus specifics apply to the culture where the PC was raised, not his/her genetic heritage. Skill/feat restrictions only apply at first level. Vikings speak Germanic. Each other race has its own language. There is no “Common” tongue, Latin being the lingua franca of the Roman Empire & is spoken by many outside it. PCs can substitute Latin for common as a language known.
Romans. These can be of any ethnicity. The people of any Roman province in good standing are citizens. They can be of any class. Pick a region and ethnicity for your PC.
Viking. Tall, blond & somewhat barbaric. Typical classes would be barbarian, cleric, druid, bard, fighter, Rogue and Ranger. Typical skills would involve sailing, & the outdoors. Could be from Scandinavia or Russia. Bonus skills must be some combination of swim & Knowledge (nautical), which are class skills at first level. Take 5 ranks if these are normally class skills. They worship the Norse gods.
German: Fierce warriors, though generally uncivilized. Bows are not considered noble weapons, and the lack of horse archers limit their effectiveness. They worship the Norse gods.
Gypsy: olive skinned stateless people, often mistrusted & discriminated against. Found mostly in central Europe. Often rogues, fighters & druids. Bonus skills must be in either sense motive or bluff, which are considered class skills for all classes at first level. If these are normally class skills, take 5 ranks in them, combined.
Greeks: Heirs to the greatest ancient human civilization. Common among powerful wizards, bards, & fighters. The Greeks have the best relationship with the Elves of any human group. They worship the Greek Gods.
Itialians/Spanish: Backbone of Rome. Often wealthy & from prosperous, connected families. Make up the bulk of wizards & monks. Spain is known for its Calvary. They worship the Greek Gods.
Gauls (French). Parts of Gaul are under Roman rule, & many Gauls serve in the Roman army & attend the Roman academies. But many are still barbarians at heart. They worship the Greek Gods in the South, & Norse gods in the North.
Huns. Horse warriors. Generally barbarian, Ranger, Rogue, Fighter multiclass. Generally have mounted combat as a skill & often mounted archery. Favor composite bows. 4 ranks of Ride, & mounted combat are starting bonus skill/feat. If Ride is already a class skill, start with 5 ranks of Ride. Begin game w/long composite bow (if proficient) & light warhorse. They worship Greek, Norse & Egyptian gods.
Slavs: Common in the Balkans, but not their own rulers. Slaves & vassals to the Huns & Romans for centuries They worship Greek gods.
North Africans Heirs to an ancient empire, now smashed by the Romans. Now most are Roman citizens. The North Africans worship the Egyptian gods.
PCs could be of other races as well, Indian, black African, Chinese, etc. We’d just have to derive a plausible reason for his/her presence in the campaign. For the most part, stick to standard Mediterranean, European races for humans.
Non-Human Races.
Elves: Elves do not commonly mix with humans. They are rarely seen in human lands. They hate to risk their long lives amidst the unpredictable & violent human lands. They are a powerful force in the world, however, & control sections of forest all over the known world, as well as the entire enclave of Switzerland. They wield powerful magic & have high level characters of many classes. If you wish to play an elf, there are several subraces, which vary from standard DnD rules to tall, Tolkenesque elves. The subraces are:
High Elf: As per Players Handbook
Sylvan Elves: As per PH, but no ability adjustments & favored class is Ranger. These elves average about 5’6” for both males & females
Grey Elves: Per PH, but ability adjustments are: -2 Str, -2 Con, +2 Dex, +2 Int. They tend to be smaller & darker toned.
Melnibone: not available as PCs at this time.
Drow: allowed as per Forgotten realms (+2 ECL), or no ECL, but reduce a couple characteristics. It might well be hard to fit them in.
Playing an Elf as a PC carries a number of advantages & disadvantages. Know that elves are very rare & attract a lot of attention wherever they go. Elves can not be Barbarians, Monks, or Paladins. Elves start with Elvish + one other language of their choice + int languages.
Half Elves. These are also rare. They are often just seen as unusual looking humans, & there is no official count of their numbers. Half elves can be of any class. There have been several powerful half-elves in the Roman hierarchy. Half elves are like the PH, but get one additional skill point per level which must be in listen, spot, knowledge or craft.
Dwarves: Dwarves are fairly common in the Roman empire & in other mountainous regions. They are generally respected by humans & their skills with metal & stone much in demand. Their lawful bent make them very much at home with the Romans, & they generally get along much better with them than other human sub-races. They do sometimes get involved with the wars of men, but are more commonly at war with orcs, goblins & other subterranean humanoids. The greatest known Dwarven kingdom is in the Pyrenees. Dwarves cannot be wizards, Paladins, or Monks.
Gnomes: Gnomes are fairly common in hilly regions in the known world. They mistrust the serious Romans, but try to cooperate with the more powerful humans. Their magic system is less formal than that of humans, most being illusionists. They cannot be Paladins or Monks.
Halflings. Halflings are integrated with many human lands. They are much more common in western Europe than Eurasia or Africa. They prefer warm climates with good agriculture weather. They are often roman citizens are treated as equals (generally). They could only be wizards or monks if trained by the Roman academy.
Half Orcs: Half orcs are rare but certainly do exist, particularly in the Balkans & central/eastern Europe where orcs are more common. They can become Roman citizens, though there is considerable prejudice against them in most human & demi-human lands. They can be of any class, though it would be quite rare for them to have the connections & ability to become a Monk or Wizard.
Classes:
Barbarians. Rare among the Romans, halflings, gnomes, & dwarves. Very common among northern Europeans. Unknown among Elves.
Bards. Common. Open to all races.
Clerics. All cultures & races have their own Gods. Choose a god from Norse, Roman, Egyptian for humans, depending upon subrace. Demi-human gods same as Greyhawk. Clerics do not get the following spells:
All levels: Summon Monster
7th: Repulsion, Word of Chaos
8th: Fire Storm
9th: Energy Drain, Implosion, Storm of Vengeance
Druids: More common among barbaric races, particularly English.
Fighters. Common. Includes all Roman army regulars. Roman soldiers start with Chainmail, Large wooden sheild & longsword.
Monks: This is a human invention, as far as is known. The only known schools are in the Roman empire & entry is only available to a choice few. They graduate with the rank of corporal in the Roman army. There are three schools: Stonefist, the official school of the Roman army (generally Lawful Neutral), the Scarlet Brotherhood(lawful evil), and the velvet hand (lawful good). The latter two are sanctioned by the army, but have different entrance requirements. Perhaps 1% of monks are halfling or halfelf. Other races are unknown as monks. Monks have disguise as a class skill if they are Academy graduates. They are required to serve 20 years in the service of Rome. They are not well known to other cultures & the Romans attempt to keep their existence under wraps, in order to use them for surprise.
Paladins: Paladins can come from any human area. They are generally trained in a monastery dedicated to a LG god. Many were sent there as orphans or unwanted children. Most common in the Roman empire, but respected in most all human lands, Paladins & their monasteries can be found anywhere. Virtually all are human.
Rangers: Common among all races.
Rogues: ditto
Sorcerers: Rare, but they do exist in every race & subrace. They are unorganized, but very respected in lands without wizards.
Wizards: The only human schools are in Roman lands. Most wizards are graduates of the state academy & are called Watchmages. Upon graduation they are assigned tasks as soldiers: to defend borders etc. Though less structured assignments are not unusual. There are two other Roman schools. The Arcane Brotherhood (generally Lawful Evil) & The Order of the Many Starred Cloak (generally good). The Many Starred Cloaks are of Greek origin & their academy is in Athens. They are the oldest of the human academies. Graduates of the Watchmage are required to serve the State for 20 years after graduation, though they are paid well for it.
To be accepted into these academies, an applicant must have a sponsor & show great talent. As such, they are most commonly from rich families of roman citizens. Though lucky & talented outsiders can be accepted if they find a sponsor.
All wizards, if recognized, are feared and respected among the populace of Rome. Among other cultures they may be subject to mistrust or even attack, as they are associated with the Roman state. The Many Starred Cloaks are more universally accepted, as educated men realize their good intentions.
Upon graduation from the academy, all wizards are given a cloak. Black for the Arcane Brotherhood, Reddish-brown for the watchmages, & grey for the Stars. Theses high-quality cloaks are trimmed with color according to specialization.
Abjuration: Orange
Conjuration: Blue
Divination: Brown
Evocation: Yellow
Illusion: Green
Necromancy: Black
Transmutation: Purple
Enchantment: Red
Universal: White
Each school starts with certain spells & skills, but none are inherently more powerful.
Spell Mastery can still be taken as a feat, but each wizard gets one spell per level that can be memorized for free, that can be cast w/o a spell book. This spell must be one which he/she could cast before attaining that level. (Thus upon attaining 5th level, the wizard would pick a 0, 1st, or 2nd level spell to master. At first level, the wizard can pick a 0 or 1st level spell)
Deities. For simplicity, only three main human pantheons are available: Greek, for the Roman world, Egyptian, for the southern and eastern Mediterranean, and Norse, for the Germanic, Scandinavian, & Russian Barbarians. I believe these deities are listed in the Dieties & Demigods book, but I don’t own it. Most of you should be familiar with these deities & we can work out what the domains & weapons would be.
