OSR Let's make Shadowdark classes!


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And here's a thief/wizard class, based on an idea that Gygax had for Unearthed Arcana but which we never actually saw. Probably not the best dungeon class, although you might not discover that until too late.

Mountebank class

Conmen, frauds, tricksters and liars, who make their living by their wits and not any actual magic. Probably.

Weapons: Crossbow, dagger, shortbow, shortsword, staff

Armor: Leather armor, mithral chainmail

Hit Points: 1d4 per level

Languages. You know one additional common language and one rare language (Shadowdark, pg. 29).

Learning Spells. You can permanently learn a wizard spell from a spell scroll by studying it for a day and succeeding on a
DC 15 Intelligence check.

Whether you succeed or fail, you expend the spell scroll.

Charm Person. You know the charm person spell.

Spellcasting. You can cast wizard spells you know. You do not start play knowing any spells or gain any additional ones when you gain a level. Instead, you must discover them in play. You otherwise use the rules for casting spells and using magical items as a wizard (Shadowdark, pg. 52).

Trickery. You are adept at trickery and deception and have the necessary tools of the trade secreted on your person (they take up no gear slots).

You are trained in the following tasks and have advantage on any associated checks:
• Telling and detecting lies
• Forgery
• Sneaking and hiding
• Applying disguises

MOUNTEBANK TALENTS
2d6 Effect
2 Gain advantage on initiative rolls (reroll if duplicate)
3-5 Learn one additional wizard spell of any tier you already know
6-9 +2 to Dexterity, Intelligence or Charisma stat
10-11 +1 to melee and ranged attacks
12 Choose a talent or +2 points to distribute to stats
 
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Depending on the adventure, mountebank is generally a worse thief and a worse wizard, but once the group finds a few wands, I think it'd be a pretty capable character class.
 


And now for a very specific priest-thief multiclass:

Slayer class

Into every generation, the slayers are born, the chosen ones. They alone have the strength and skill to fight the undead, demons, devils and forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. They are the slayers.

Weapons: Crossbow, dagger, longsword, shortbow, shortsword, spear, staff

Armor: Leather armor, mithral chainmail

Hit Points: 1d6 per level

Languages. You know Celestial and Diabolic.

Learning Spells. You can permanently learn a priest spell from a spell scroll by studying it for a day and succeeding on a
DC 15 Wisdom check.

Whether you succeed or fail, you expend the spell scroll.

Turn Undead. You know the turn undead spell.

Slaying. If you hit an undead, demon or devil, you deal an extra weapon die of damage. Add additional weapon dice of damage equal to half your level (round down).

Lore of the Order. You have advantage on checks associated with undead, demons and devils.

Deity. Choose a god to serve who matches your alignment (see Deities, Shadowdark pg. 30). You have a holy symbol for your god (it takes up no gear slots).

Spellcasting. You can cast priest spells you know. You do not start play knowing any spells other than turn or gain any additional ones when you gain a level. Instead, you must discover them in play. You otherwise use the rules for casting spells and using magical items as a priest (Shadowdark, pg. 52).

SLAYER TALENTS

2d6 Effect
2 Learn one additional priest spell of any tier you already know
3-5 Your Slaying deals +1 dice of damage
6-9 +2 to Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom stat
10-11 +1 to melee and ranged attacks
12 Choose a talent or +2 points to distribute to stats
 
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How does it go up in Tiers @Whizbang Dustyboots and I assume Int is its stat for Scrolls/Wands?
If the mountebank finds and successfully learns a spell of that level off a scroll, they have then unlocked that tier. And they otherwise cast spells and use wands and scrolls as a wizard. Clarified the description a bit.

I'm not convinced this is a good system. Will have to think about it. But I like the idea of characters that know only a handful of spells to start off with, in return for being robust in other areas.
 

The slayer, obviously, is great in a horror-themed game, but is weaker than a regular rogue when they're fighting regular wolves or bats, etc., at least until they find a wand of cure wounds.
 

Looking at the slayer getting Turn Undead by default, I wonder if the mountebank should get charm person by default as well. That's a pretty powerful spell to automatically have, but very narrow in scope.
 
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