OSR How to make a Witcher for OSE

[kapars]

Hi everyone,

I’m brand new to OSE and was wondering what would be the best way to make a Witcher? My initial thoughts are maybe race as class by combining Ranger with Half-Orc, the thought being they get Infravision (for a gold cost making Cat potion) but get a negative reaction from the general population? Where I run into trouble is getting the right combination of spells Shield (Quen), Produce Flame (Igni), Charm Person (Axii), and something for Aard? No spell list seems to do the trick.

Edit: For clarity this is from a homebrewing perspective

 

[AverageMojito]

You could treat Shield, Flame, Charm and Aard as skills, instead of spells, usable once per turn. The Witcher is never a full caster (or even half or third caster), but uses their few tricks often and get better in using them in time.

Carcass Crawler #1, the 'zine from Necrotic Gnome themselves, does that to the Cleric and the Magic-User, creating an Acolyte and a Mage class. The Acolyte, for example has a limited number of spell-like skills that emulate Cleric spells, like Bless and Purify Food and Drink. They never get real spells, but they can use their skills without daily limits, rolling on a chance to activate.

Charm should be a temporary effect measured in rounds or turns. If you want it as powerful as Charm Person, the actual spell, make the skill usable once a day instead of a turn.

 

[Yora]

Just for confirmation, with ranger and half-orc we are talking Advanced Rules, right?

Using ranger as the starting point seems like a good idea. Maybe give it slightly better saving throws, as I think even a young 1st level witcher would be better than a 1st level fighter in that regard. This would contribute to requiring higher XP to level up, though. The ranger as it is in the advanced rules has fairly modest XP requirements. Paladins, barbarians, and knights all require more than the default ranger, so making a version of the ranger that is overall stronger wouldn't be a problem.

 

[kapars]

Just for confirmation, with ranger and half-orc we are talking Advanced Rules, right?

Using ranger as the starting point seems like a good idea. Maybe give it slightly better saving throws, as I think even a young 1st level witcher would be better than a 1st level fighter in that regard. This would contribute to requiring higher XP to level up, though. The ranger as it is in the advanced rules has fairly modest XP requirements. Paladins, barbarians, and knights all require more than the default ranger, so making a version of the ranger that is overall stronger wouldn't be a problem.

Yes, this would be Advanced rules. Which save table do you recommend?

 

[kapars]

Just for confirmation, with ranger and half-orc we are talking Advanced Rules, right?

Using ranger as the starting point seems like a good idea. Maybe give it slightly better saving throws, as I think even a young 1st level witcher would be better than a 1st level fighter in that regard. This would contribute to requiring higher XP to level up, though. The ranger as it is in the advanced rules has fairly modest XP requirements. Paladins, barbarians, and knights all require more than the default ranger, so making a version of the ranger that is overall stronger wouldn't be a problem.

Excellent, I have that Zine. The Skill based makes a lot of sense. I think it might actually have something in the Mystic I can use for Aard.

 

[Yora]

Yes, this would be Advanced rules. Which save table do you recommend?

I think I would go with paladin saves. Better than fighter and ranger, but not yet as high as dwarves, for which it is their main special ability.
Having poison and paralysis the best and third best save seems right for a witcher. And even the saves against spells are still better than those of a fighter of the same level.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I would actually use the Kineticist from Carcass Crawler #1 as an initial model. It's a Jedi class, with a number of Mental Powers you can choose from. Kineticists start with 3 powers and can have up to 9; these could be a model for signs -- maybe start with 2 and go up to 5, and just have the five from the base game available.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Giving it a little more thought:

	Aard: "Telekinetic thrust that can stun, repel, knock down, or disarm opponents, or remove barriers." The Kineticist has a power, kinetic wave, which is a good version of this.
	Igni: "Pyrokinetic burst that can repel and ignite opponents and start fires." This is probably best modeled at the beginning by looking at burning oil and maybe reaching burning hands level at some point.
	Yrden: "Protects the area from malicious forces. Makes non-corporeal entities become vulnerable to physical attacks." This one is tricky. It seems like a version of protection from evil, going to 10' radius at some level, with an added corporeality component.
	Quen: "Forms a protective field to shield from attacks." The Kineticist has a power, kinetic shield, which is a good version of this. It should probably also protect from magic missiles at some level, like the shield spell.
	Axii: "Calms people and creatures. Mind manipulation." Oddly, the Kineticist doesn't have this ability despite the class clearly being based on Jedi, with the Jedi mind trick being their most famous ability. This can probably be modeled on hold person, with it becoming hold monster at some point.

 

[kapars]

Ok, so if I take the Ranger, give it the Half-Orc Infravision and Charisma penalty, Paladin saving throws and then the five abilities above would that be balanced? It seems maybe too good? Instead of Infravision how about allowing Magical research but only for traps and potions? If it needs to be balanced by slower progression which progression chart?

 

[RealAlHazred]

Yeah, that seems too good -- anyone who was planning to play a martial would be hard pressed to play anything else! The Kineticist has bard hit dice, attack progression and saving throws. If you use that, and add Infravision and the signs above, starting with 2 signs at first level, and then getting an additional one at 5th, 9th, and 13th level, that looks like how Gavin might stat it out. The Kineticist can only activate each of their powers twice a day; not sure what frequency would work with the witcher. You probably need to give them a good Listening-at-doors ability as well; in the game you're always hearing everybody else's conversations.