Orinthonian Sects: Tales of Wyre SH

[Cheiromancer]

Let me know if this seems balanced.

Goetic Magician

From "The Ethical Use of Arcane Magic: an Oronthonian's Guide," by Deacon Rhodin of Iua.

"Beware the temptations of Goetia, for those who would use diabolism to achieve their foul ends, our Lord has no mercy. Pain and suffering immeasurable shall be their lot, as their souls are condemned to the pit. There they will be immersed in great lakes of boiling lead, until the last days."

Roland’s discourse continues in a similar flowery and rhetorical vein for several pages, admonishing the true believer against using dark magics and citing numerous theologians to back up his point. Further into the chapter, beneath a stylized plate of a wizard fleeing from a horned demon, Roland finally addresses the nature of Goetic magic.

"What is Goetia, you may ask? It is the greatest peril. It is dealing with fiends to achieve your ends, and claiming that your ends are good. Only the purest and most stalwart of souls may endure such vileness without the taint falling upon them. Are you one of these? I doubt it.”

Several magical diagrams follow, accompanied by descriptions of summoning rituals.

A goetic magician is an arcane specialist who follows a strict code of conduct when dealing with fiends.

Hit Dice: d4.

Requirements
To become a goetic magician, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Knowledge (the planes): 6 ranks
Knowledge (religion): 6 ranks
Diplomacy: 6 ranks
Feats: Augment Summoning, Skill Focus: Knowledge (Religion) or Skill Focus: Knowledge (the Planes), Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Spell casting: must be able to cast dimensional anchor, lesser planar binding, summon monster IV (or higher) and four arcane enchantment (compulsion) spells, at least one of which must be of level 4 or higher
Languages: must be able to speak Abyssal and Infernal

Class Skills
The goetic magician’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter Four: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Level...BAB...Fort.....Ref….Will... Special.......................Spellcasting
1.........+0.....+0......+0....+2.... fiendish luck, goetia....+1 level of existing spellcasting class
2.........+1.....+0......+0....+3.... unholy bargain............+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3.........+1.....+1......+1....+3.... goetic initiate.............+1 spell power
4.........+2.....+1......+1....+4.... hard bargainer............+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5.........+2.....+1......+1....+4.... the will and the way....+1 level of existing spellcasting class
6.........+3.....+2......+2....+5.... goetic master.............+1 spell power


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the goetic magician prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The goetic magician gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Fiendish Luck (Su): Once per day the goetic magician may reroll one ability or skill check; the better result automatically applies.

Goetia (Ex): The special abilities of the goetic magician class are known collectively as goetia. If a goetic magician uses goetia when summoning or calling a creature, and then instructs that creature to hurt, kill or oppress a non-combatant sentient being of good alignment, future use of goetia will be corrupted. Usually this means that conjured creatures will no longer be completely under the goetic magician’s control.

The degree to which conjured creatures will disobey or try to harm the goetic magician will be similar to the way that the goetic magician abused her powers, but to a greater extent. If the harm is slight and indirect (due to careless instructions, say), conjured monsters will thereafter be unruly, and disobey in minor ways; if the harm is direct and explicitly ordered, they will become completely uncontrolled. A similar corruption of class abilities will occur if the goetic magician fails to fulfill a bargain with a fiend. These penalties can be removed only by fully repairing the harm done and making additional reparations (generally three times the value involved in the breach of the code of conduct).

Unholy Bargain (Su): The goetic magician may, in place of any planar binding spell, cast the corresponding planar ally spell instead. Only evil creatures may be called, and they react to the goetic magician as if she were evil.

Goetic Initiate (Su): When a goetic magician of 3rd level or higher casts a summon monster spell, it is treated as the equivalent spell of one level higher for purposes of summoning evil creatures. For example, a goetic magician refers to the summon monster V list for evil outsiders when casting summon monster IV. Furthermore, when casting any planar binding or planar ally spell, she can call an evil creature with 3 HD more than is normally allowed.

+1 Spell Power: This ability increases the goetic magician’s effective caster level by +1 for purposes of determining level-dependent spell variables such as damage dice or range, and caster level checks only. She does not gain additional spell slots or spells known.

Hard Bargainer: At 4th level the goetic magician can bargain with extraplanar creatures so that the payment for services rendered is only 50% the standard fee.

The Will and the Way (Su): At 5th level the xp costs for any conjuration spell the goetic magician casts are reduced by 50%. When she is otherwise capable of casting 8th level spells, she automatically adds Lesser Gate to her list of spells known. Lesser Gate is an 8th level spell that can only use the “creature calling” function, but which is otherwise identical to Gate.

Goetic Master (Su): As Goetic Initiate, except the goetic magician refers to the summoning list two levels higher than the one for the summon monster spell she is casting. Furthermore, when casting any planar binding or planar ally spell, she can call an evil creature with 6 HD more than is normally allowed.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Oh, here's a tidbit I found in the compiled story hour. Eadric's player originally posted it.

The Church of Oronthon

This is designed as a background note to Sepulchrave’s “Lady Despina’s Virtue” thread in the Story Hour forum. As I don’t really have anything to contribute to the ongoing saga, I thought I’d provide some information about the Church that my character (Eadric) belongs to.

If you’ve been following the story, you’ll know that things are changing – a schism has occurred which may render all of this obsolete. This, then, is the structure of the Church in its original form. Sep was a doctoral student of comparative religion, so he’s well informed about the way religions develop historically. Surprisingly, the high fantasy element doesn’t play that much of a role in the way things are set up.

Oronthonianism is loosely based on late medieval Catholicism, and the cosmology itself is influenced by Dante and Milton. The names of many celestials (Palamabron, Enitharmon, Rintrah) are borrowed from William Blake’s poems – especially “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” The Urgic Mystics, a heretical sect of Oronthon worshippers (to whom Eadric’s brother, Orm, belongs) hold views which most closely resemble those of Blake and Emmanuel Swedenborg.


Some General Thoughts

The Church of Oronthon, from Eadric’s perspective, consists of two movements

(1) Orthodoxy. This is by far the largest grouping, and the one to which Eadric belongs.

(2) Heterodoxy. This consists of all of the alternative interpretations of Oronthonianism. It is a catch-all phrase, and includes the Urgic Mystics, Reconciliatory Sophists and other more obscure denominations. From the Orthodox perspective, all of these groups are heretical. They do not concern us.

Traditionally, Orthodoxy is led by the Archbishop of Morne, who possesses the indwelling spirit of the deity. He is served by the Magistratum who enforce the codes, and the Pastorate who provide spiritual guidance to the masses. The Curia, who advise on matters of doctrine, are drawn from both groups. The Great Conclave consists of the Curia, plus other holy men drawn mostly from the Pastorate.

One of the things in “Defenders of the Faith” which impressed Sepulchrave was the Contemplative PrC. He saw it as a means to bypass the idea that church priests needed to be members of the Cleric class in order to demonstrate divine favor. Now the scholar and introvert could realistically be portrayed, and mysticism could regain a central role in the religion – something which was otherwise hard to accomplish within the class limits of D&D.

In short, this is the way it works:

1) The vast majority of clergymen, from local village priests, through deacons, abbots and Bishops are members of the Expert class. Their specialty is Knowledge (Religion), and they possess other skills such as Profession (Counselor), Sense Motive, Diplomacy etc. which support this. They spend time advising people on religious matters, presiding at ceremonies and rites of passage, and doing other humdrum and mundane duties. They comprise the Pastorate.

2) A small minority of Chuch members demonstrate certain “Gifts.” These people do not get involved in the day-to-day organization of the Church, but are trained to fulfill special tasks. These people are members of the Cleric and Paladin classes, or of PrCs which evolve from them. They are supported by a huge staff of Experts. They are the Magistratum.

3) Members of the Contemplative Prestige class – those who are considered most holy – do not tend to come from the Cleric or Paladin classes. Because the only prerequisite of the Contemplative is ‘Knowledge (Religion): 13 Ranks,’ it actually makes sense to have the sedentary, meditative ‘Expert’ types grow into this role. The Archbishops are always Contemplatives.


The Magistratum

The Magistratum – the body which enforces correct behaviour and dogma – consists of two wings, both of which are politically active.

(1) The Temple. A member of the Temple is called a Templar – this is something of a misnomer, because it includes other classes as well as the Templar PrC. The Temple is both the physical building of the Great Fane in Morne, as well as the institution of those sworn to preserve it. Lawful Fighters, Paladins and Clerics form the backbone of the Temple. Often, the members of the highest echelons of the Temple are represented by Prestige Classes: notably the Warpriest and Templar PrC proper. The Templars guard relics, protect the Archbishop, and prosecute holy wars. The Mission, originally a separate wing, is now a subdivision of the Temple. It is concerned with proselytizing, but because most of its members are off converting heathens, it has little political clout.

(2) The Inquisition is responsible for rooting out corruption and demonic and/or diabolic influences. Paladins tend to be under represented in the Inquisition and Clerics are more common, although most deputed Inquisitors are, in fact, members of the Expert class. Again, the highest tiers of this wing of the Magistratum is where the PrCs tend to be found. As well as the Church Inquisitor, the Sacred Exorcist and Consecrated Harrier PrCs are suitable templates for modelling some of these specialist characters.


Monotheism

Sepulchrave’s world is close to monotheistic, and Oronthonianism is by far the most common religion in the North. The ‘Old Faith,’ practiced by Nwm, still has adherants, but its popularity has been gradually declining for centuries. Orthodoxy uses the words ‘Pagan’ and ‘Heathen’ liberally to describe anyone who is not a follower of Oronthon.

One of the ideas touched on earlier in the thread is that Oronthon is, in fact, ‘schizophrenic.’ This may or may not be true, but with dozens of different groups all emphasizing different aspects of the deity, both within Orthodoxy and beyond it, it is hard to discover who the ‘real’ Oronthon is, behind all of his facets.
The deity’s possible multiple personalities become most obvious when you consider members of the Cleric class. The domains of Good, Healing, Law, Protection, Retribution, Sun, Strength, Creation, Exorcism, Glory, Inquisition and Mysticism can all be related to Oronthon. A Cleric who emphasizes Good and Healing is going to have a different perspective than one who focuses on Law and Retribution.

Although Oronthon is ostensibly Lawful Good, obviously his clerics can legitimately be LN or NG. Clerical domain selections reflect these different emphases. One of Eadric’s main complaints against the system is that the Magistratum has become too doctrinaire – emphasisng Law above Good. Many Templars and Inquisitors are, in game terms, Lawful Neutral. Cynric’s distrust of certain members of the Curia also reflected this. As a Contemplative – one who has spent the time and energy to truly come to grips with what his god represents – Cynric was aware of the imbalance and the tension and difficulty that it caused.

The hierarchical nature of the church exacerbates the problem, because a respect for the Law IS important. Consider someone in Tahl’s position. His immediate superior is the Inquisitor General, Melion. Tahl is LG but Melion is LN. Tahl will follow orders to a point, but when his “Goodness” is compromised too much, he is faced with a difficult dilemma. Does he defy the Law or not? If he places the Good above the Law, does he, by default, actually takes a step towards becoming NG?

Poor Eadric is constantly bombarded with alignment paradoxes which make his head hurt. Serves you right for choosing a Paladin, you might say. You’re probably right. Some hard choices lie ahead.

 

[Cheiromancer]

The nice thing about Rogue's Gallery is that threads don't drop onto page two as fast as they do in House Rules or (heaven forbid) General. The bad thing is that hardly anyone reads the threads here.

I am posting some material in House Rules;Feats and Domains (Wyre). That's probably a good place for game mechanics stuff.

 

[Tirlanolir]

This is awesome, Cheiro. I'm so glad you are doing this!

 

[Gidien]

Well, nix my comments about the Reconcilitary Sophists. In that case, what are the new followers of Saizhan referred to? I guess I will one day have to go back and reread the SH.

I wonder what sort of in game benefits there are to practicing Saizhan, if any? it says Eadric meditates a lot... Does this represent progressing along a mystical path, maybe a new PrC? It seems to conflict with his taking fighter levels, since as a fighter it would seem that his training emphasis would change from more religious/mystical practices to simple combat drilling.

Can anyone think of some ideas for a Follower of the Lightning Path Prc?

 

[Cheiromancer]

I posted some material over on the Feats and Classes (Wyre) thread. The Goetic Magician from this thread, a slightly updated Heretical feat (whose thread I asked a mod to close, so that discussion could be confined to the main thread), and several new feats: Morally Flexible and Ethically Flexible, representing a possible take on the Irrenites, the Risen Demon template... that's about it.

The Lightning Path PrCl should provide benefits to both arcane and divine casters, and should be something a paladin wouldn't mind taking. Either we are talking about a class template (a way of modifying Wizard so it becomes "Lightning Path Wizard") or we are talking some kind of feat combo. Peaceful (and prolonged) contact with a fiend would certainly be a prerequisite. There should be some fairly hefty penalties for "falling" from the path- it is narrow, and steep, and slippery.

I would suggest a litle (3 to 5 level) prestige class or class template. For "narrow" I would suggest an exacting code of conduct, with draconian penalties for failure (death, destruction or madness). For "steep and slippery" I would suggest that the prestige class must be completed in a short time interval. (A year, perhaps, or six months, during which time you cannot take levels in another class.) The lightning path provides a lot of power, but it is better not to start on the path than to start it without completing it, or to start it and falter along the way.

 

[the Jester]

Rogues Gallery threads are cool- but I too wish there was a lil more action over here.

Your current version of the GM seems spot on to me; I think it's now balanced with a straight wizard.

 

[Shadow at the Edge]

these prestige summoner classes lead to so much DM pain.....

very hard to stop a PC wizard/cleric summoning and capturing your well crafted foe!

 

[Cheiromancer]

Welcome to the boards!

You are correct about the summoning of foes. In Sep's story hour alone Rurunoth and several other balors and Mariliths were summoned, and several infernal magnates. It is a mark of Sepulchrave's genius that the campaign proceeds so well despite all the high level shenanigans of his players.

 

[Cheiromancer]

This is awesome, Cheiro. I'm so glad you are doing this!

BTW, thanks for the positive feedback.

It is nice to get encouragement for stuff. Even if someone doesn't have anything in particular to say, a "good job" really helps. Of course, if someone just wishes I would shut up they wouldn't post a "good job" comment...

One thing that strikes me as odd about the recent shift in the Church of Oronthon is the culture shock that must be occuring in the religious culture of Wyre. The relaxing of all the old norms about orthodoxy and discipline is like jumping from medieval Europe to modern times in what, a year or two? Simple, pious peasants must be having a terrible time processing the changes.

I half expect there to be a backlash- a splinter church that claims that Tramst is a false prophet and tries to re-establish the Church. Who knows? From their perspective they may be right.

Of course, the presence of celestials tends to corroborate Tramst's claims. Now if *other* celestials show up (maybe claiming to be the "real" Rintrah and Urthoon) and denounce Tramst as an imposter.... Too weird? Or an interesting premise for LG vs LG conflict?

I wonder if any of this would invite new game mechanics. An "old time religion" or "orthodoxy" feat, say.