Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9436079" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/loTOXfb.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 271px" />Dark Mages are spellcasters who bypass the restrictions of Vancian magic by drawing upon their very own life force to power their spellcasting. As this magic draws from realms of nightmares, pain, and negative energy, their disciplines are banned in most lands and they organize in secret societies. Although they have the same Hit Die, THAC0, and Saving Throws of a Magic-User, their powers are neither arcane nor divine. Dark Mages cannot equip any armor or weapon save daggers and swords, and require a minimum Constitution of 13 in order to qualify for the class.A Dark Mage’s spell accessibility is still based on level, gaining access to 2nd level spells at 4th level, 3rd level at 7th, 4th at 10th, and 5th at 13th. But instead of using spell slots they draw upon hit points, harming themselves for 1 hit point of damage per spell level. Such damage can even take them to 0 hit points if they want to go out in a fatal fashion. They also don’t have to learn or prepare spells ahead of time, having basically every spell of proper level on hand. In exchange for this power, a Dark Mage suffers Decay each time they gain a level. The Decay causes a permanent alteration which is determined on a 1d10 table, ranging from milky white eyes that impose -2 penalty on attack rolls, halving movement speed as their legs atrophy, or animals always having a hostile reaction to the mage. If they get a result they already have, they suffer a permanent reduction of 1d3 to their Constitution score, to a minimum of 3.Dark Mages have 8 spells per spell level to choose from, for a maximum of 40. Quite a bit of these spells are drawn from the core rules, but we have various new ones such as Black Sword (2nd level, weapon emits purplish light and can deliver touch range spells via a physical attack), Conjure Poltergeist (2nd level, summons an invisible, incorporeal spirit that can telekinetically lift and throw objects as an attack), Dark Mist (3rd level, fills area around caster with dark mist that blocks vision and reduces speed and number of attacks of those inside), and Doomveil (5th level, living creatures within 15 feet of the caster cannot regain hit points from natural or magical healing). While there are some non-thematic spells such as Dispel Magic, Nondetection, and Wizard Eye, much of the Dark Mage’s selection revolves around darkness, negative energy, and general spooky evil stuff.There is one spell worth calling out for a potential <a href="https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/124869/what-is-a-bag-of-rats" target="_blank">Bag of Rats style exploit.</a> Vampiric Touch is a 3rd level spell unique to the Dark Mage, which lasts for 1 turn or until used. The caster touches a living creature, dealing 1d6 damage per 2 levels the caster has, up to a maximum of 6d6 damage. They regain an amount of hit points equal to the damage dealt, and excess hit points above their maximum hit points are treated as bonus hit points that disappear after one hour and are subtracted from first whenever they’d take damage.Due to the spell’s wording, the touch isn’t truly Vampiric in that it can heal much more hit points than the target has remaining, meaning that a Dark Mage who uses this spell on a small helpless animal or plant still gets the full amount as appropriate for their level. As it’s a 3rd level spell it deals 3 damage, so at lower levels it’s possible for the Dark Mage to lose more hit points than they heal on a low roll, but at 8th level and higher they always gain a net amount of hit points from the casting provided they land a hit. And since they aren’t limited by Vancian slots per day, a Dark Mage who has ready access to living creatures can basically use them as spell batteries. While this is thematically in keeping with an evil life-draining mage, it is something that can quickly unbalance the game if the DM doesn’t somehow put a close to the infinite power loop.Thoughts: The Dark Mage earns points for having a cool concept and variety of thematic spells. However, their effectiveness in comparison to a typical Magic-User is widely variant upon their Hit Points. A d4 Hit Dice doesn’t leave much room for variation, meaning that a high Constitution is more important than ever. And while uncommon, they are capable of lowering said score if they get unlucky on the Decay results while leveling up. Another thing acting against the Dark Mage’s favor is that their Hit Points and spells are inextricably linked, meaning that a hale and hearty caster can quickly run out spells for the day if they sustain damage from enemies focusing their attacks. While such a state of affairs is dire for any d4 class, a Dark Mage is less likely to pull a powerful spell as an escape clause if they’re so cornered. The Vampiric Touch spell in particular merits a wary eye, as it’s potentially the most useful and powerful spell this class can have.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/fqwBaMz.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 291px" />The Death Knight is a lich who pursued the path of the warrior first and foremost, and is usually (but not always) beholden to a vile higher power such as a wicked deity, demon lord, or Lovecraftian alien entity. They’re another unholy warrior style class, having the Hit Die, THAC0, and Saving Throws of a Fighter but a much better progression on Saves vs Spells than that class. Their experience growth is that of a Paladin’s, and unlike martial classes they cannot wear armor heavier than leather. Death Knights also gain limited access to Magic-User and Necromancer* spells at 9th level, having the spell slots of a Paladin but learning and memorizing spells via a spell book. They also can turn and command undead and gain a warhorse as per the Avenger. Strangely their ability score requirement is a minimum Intelligence of 13, which doesn’t have any bearing on their primary abilities, and given that they cannot perform magical research or craft items this attribute is even less likely to be useful.<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/414657/old-school-essentials-the-necromancer" target="_blank">*A standalone free class released by Necrotic Gnome.</a>The Death Knight has some truly unique features of its own. It can see invisible things within 60 feet, and has a variety of undead immunities and resistances. Of most interest to the resource-based adventuring of OSR games, Death Knights don’t have to eat and sleep, meaning that there’s no need for them to lug around heavy rations for themselves and can stand guard while the rest of the party sleeps! However, they can be turned by Lawful Clerics given that they’re undead. And as they gain levels, their corpselike features become more prominent, to the point that at 7th level it becomes impossible for them to pass as a living creature barring illusion magic and expert disguises.Thoughts: I am totally down for an undead warrior class, and in getting quite a bit of front-loaded abilities they are quite the appealing choice. However, being restricted to leather armor and a shield for protection makes them quite fragile for a martial class at low levels. Their Aura of Fear helps obviates this with penalties on attack and damage rolls in melee, encouraging them to get up and close, but when it comes to ranged attacks they’re just as prone to ending up pin-cushioned as any lightly-armored character. Additionally, as the typical healing spells and potions only work on living targets, a Death Knight will need to rely on natural healing in order to restore their hit points, which can put them out of commission for quite some time. A party with a Death Knight more or less mandates a Necromancer PC or retainer to patch them up, as the latter’s spells only kick in for the Death Knight at 9th level.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/pk6mMjM.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 345px" />The Demonist is a divine caster who opts to summon fiends to do their dirty work rather than directly relying upon spells. They require a Charisma of at least 13, reflecting the necessity of a smooth tongue in bargaining with the most evil beings of the Multiverse. Their Hit Die, THAC0, saves, and experience progress as a Cleric’s, but they cannot wear armor heavier than leather and are only proficient with daggers and swords as weapons. While incapable of true Vancian spells, they can perform Magical Research as per a Magic-User, and have permanent immunity to mind-affecting and mind-reading spells of all kinds. Additionally they can elect to have a dagger or sword become their focus weapon, which once per day for 1 turn they can imbue it with supernatural power, dealing additional damage and heals the Demonist for the total damage inflicted. Once again, the text is a bit unclear on something, saying that with an attack roll “the spell is used up.” But as it’s not a spell in the traditional sense nor does the Demonist use spell slots, is this meant to be a more natural language wording than an explicit mechanic?As for the Demonist’s most iconic ability, they can Summon a creature from the darker planes of existence once per day. It requires 1 turn of prayers to do this, and the demon stays on the plane for 24 hours or until it fails a morale check (at which point it disappears) or is slain. Demons have a unified stat block, with Hit Dice, AC, and the damage of their primary attack increasing with the Demonist’s level, and they attack and save as a Fighter of the same level. The damage of their attack is quite peculiar, being 1d2 points per level. So overall they aren’t really heavy hitters but their damage has a very appreciable minimal floor by middle to higher levels.For some variance, summoned creatures have a random Ability and Weakness determined by a d20 roll for each. The Abilities tend to be either utility or offensive in nature, such as regenerating 2 hit points per round, emitting a foul stench imposing -2 on attack rolls in melee, infravision out to 60 feet, or the ability to climb or fly but with no speed listed. They have a default speed of 40 feet, so I presume it’s the same as this. Their Weaknesses tend to be based on personality traits (tries to subvert the intent of the Demonist’s orders, will flee from bright things and areas, etc) or physical limitations (can survive out of water for 4 hours maximum, always attacks last, etc).The Demonist also gets unique percentile skills, but unlike the prior classes are more or less truly unique in several ways. They can Control Undead, but use percentile rolls to determine the success or failure of the endeavor, and they have a chance of summing a creature known as a Cacodemon once per week. The Cacodemon is less creature with a stat block and more an entity which can perform one of several specific tasks, such as healing the Demonist to full hit points, making a single opponent in a later combat vanish somewhere else, be loaned a magical item for a day, etc. In exchange the demon asks for a price of wealth, a non-consumable magic item, a permanent 1 point reduction of an ability score, or the Demonist voluntarily accepting a Geas. The Demonist can also erect a magic circle, which isn’t percentile-based but grants a bonus on saves from a wide variety of supernatural creatures to those standing inside it.Thoughts: Unlike the other spellcasting classes, the Demonist is less of a true caster and more of someone who primarily relies upon summoned and controlled monsters to do their bidding. Like having a familiar or animal companion, but EVIL. In having a d6 Hit Die and proficiency with swords, they are better at close-range combat than the other caster classes covered so far. Being able to temporarily give their focus weapon a supernatural boost that can heal the user helps in this regard. While the demon minion won’t be a good damage-dealer until 4th and later levels, their scaling Hit Die and Armor Class (the latter which tops out at 0 or 19 depending on whether you use ascending or descending values) gives them more staying power than your typical domesticated dog or hireling.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/wRQDl8c.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 356px" />The Duellist represents those Renaissance and later-era swordsmen who eschew heavy armor and shields in favor of relying upon speed and agility to overcome foes. They have the Hit Die, THAC0, saves, and Experience growth of Rangers, and have a minimum required Dexterity of 13. They can only use leather armor, and for weapons only daggers, staves, and swords. Like Rangers they are surprised only on a roll of 1. For unique abilities they gain +2 on saves made to resist fear, can identify the magical properties of swords and daggers after spending 1 turn examining them, and when fighting with a weapon in each hand they make attack rolls normally with the primary weapon and can make an extra attack per round with the secondary weapon at a -2 attack penalty. They also gain a bonus to AC against foes attacking them with weapons, and gain a bonus on attack and damage rolls when fighting opponents wielding weapons. The class notes that these bonuses don’t apply to opponents fighting with weapons, so this inevitably begs the question of whether monsters with claws, fangs, pincers, and the like count as having “weapons.” I presume no, as the stereotypical dueling parries imply them being used against manufactured weapons, but it is something I can see being brought up during play.And speaking of parrying, a Duellist has the opportunity once per combat to repel an attack from a weapon that would ordinarily kill them via a successful save vs death. If they make the save, they take no damage.Thoughts: The Duellist is another strange class for this book thematically speaking, in that nothing about it screams antiheroic or villainous besides a single sentence about “using their unique skills to make a profession of murder by twisting the rules of duels and honor to their benefit.” So I presume the general idea of the class is a sadistic serial killer who found a socially acceptable outlet for their violent urges. Okay, I can see that, but the class’ skill set doesn’t necessarily translate to this, basically just being a lightly-armored warrior.As for the class’ mechanics in particular, I actually like it, for its flavor is strongly reinforced by the mechanics. What it loses in armor and shields it makes up for in other abilities. As for it’s major weak point, the lack of a dedicated ranged weapon besides thrown daggers and the unclear wording on “opponents with weapons” can make them less reliable than a standard Fighter or similar class in such situations.Thoughts So Far: Of the four classes covered here, my favorite is the Duellist, and the Demonist looks not too shabby either. The Dark Mage and Death Knight have a lot of nifty features but can easily crumple if played incautiously or without the right party set-up in the Death Knight’s case. The Dark Mage is my least favorite due to the very exploitable nature of Vampiric Touch.Join us next time as we finish this review when we cover the entrancing Houri, the unpredictable Jester, the pyromaniac Red Wizard, and the folkloric Witch!</blockquote>

Verification