Level Up (A5E) Sins of the Scorpion Age, Sword and Sorcery Campaign Setting

[Steampunkette]

So... Back to feats.

Religions:
Greenhorn (Beast)
Neophyte of the Dark Sea (Dweller)
Blood of Nefia (Flower)
Nefia Among the People (Flower)
Tongue of the Serpent (Serpent)
Novice of Fate(Weaver)
Initiate of the Mystic Arts (Witch)

Mage Schools:
Apprentice of Tyar (Illusion/Enchantment)
Shurutan Scholar (Abjuration/Divination)
Gurgan Foundling (Transmutation/Nature)
Pokenkwo Witch (Necromancy/Enchantment)

Fighting Companies:
Dawn's Training (Musarran)
Sandcrawler Training (Qeshi)
Maid of Jurikan (Achelbite)
Phaori-Ka Initiate (Sha-an)
Spear's Point (Myrkonan)
Youngclaw (Mbari)

Rogue Companies:
First of Seventy (Atorkhan and his Seventy and Seventy)
Kyrani Raider (Mounted Bandits)
Ringrunner (Ishtrada's Rings)
Tiran Rake (Nuztira and the Twelve)

Pirate Crews:
Blacksail Marauders (Shallow Sea Qeshi)
Deepdive Cutter (Shallow Sea Myri)
Red Light Runners (Khufu Sea Achelbite)
Thalissonian (Khufu Sea Ellenic)

Noble Houses:
Of the Five (Marad)
Lavrentiosan Scion (Ellenici)
Loyal Child of Achelb (Shuruta)
Noble Children of Qesh (Qeshi)
Red Bannerborn (Ngo)
Sons of Rudjet-Ka (Nnami)

Trade Consortiums:
Bloodstone Consortium (Scorpion Lands and Annam)
Breath of Annam (Annam and Khufu Sea)
K-C Trading Interest (Khufu Sea)

PS Apologies for slight name-plagiarism to a certain undead woman in a Stygian pyramid.

I think Howard would be annoyed, but his opinion matters as much as a fish's fart in the middle of the Pacific, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Steampunkette]

That's 102 feats... plus another 18 for the 6 curses.

120 feats... I can do that... I -think- I can do that...

 

[Steampunkette]

So... The Adamant Mountain fighting style originates in Musarra with the Minotaurs. The whole "Big strong implacable warrior with a big weapon" style. I think that may be the Dawnguard's style and I think maybe the Dawn's Training feat (The first of the 3) should maybe exemplify that. Tentatively (Subject to change when the PDFs drop) here's my thoughts for what the feat grants.

1) Access to the Adamant Mountain style if your class normally doesn't grant it. No free Maneuvers or Exertion, though.
2) Treat your Prestige as 1 higher while in Musarra.
3) Unyielding Flesh. While holding a weapon with both hands you may choose to expend your Bonus Action to reduce your movement speed to 0 until the start of your next turn. When you do so, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to your proficiency bonus until the start of your next turn.

So an Adept in Musarra joins the Dawnguard.
They gain Adamant Mountain as a Fighting Style they wouldn't normally have access to. They can't benefit from the "Heavy Weapon" maneuvers that the Adamant Mountain allows them to access, but they could benefit from things like "Unstoppable" that let them expend their reaction to avoid specific conditions.
While in Musarra, their Prestige is treated as 1 higher, giving them better access to the city as members of a well known and well trusted organization with ties to King Orodis himself.
They can expend their bonus action against an enemy with a very high attack bonus to reduce incoming damage -without- spending any Exertion instead of Dodging as a bonus action and expending exertion.

 

[Steampunkette]

Dawn Training
Requirements: Str 13
Trained to be a member of the Dawnguard of Musarra, you hold to a proud tradition of protectors and guardians who put themselves into danger to save others.
While in Musarra your Prestige is treated as being one level higher.
You gain proficiency in the Adamant Mountain tradition.
Unyielding Flesh: As a bonus action on your turn you may reduce your movement speed to 0 if you are wielding a weapon in both hands. When you do so you gain temporary hit points equal to your proficiency modifier.

Strength of Ukada
Requirements: Dawn Training, Str 15
Your training with the Dawnguard increases, and your ability to stop enemies in their tracks improves as you learn to fight like Ukada.
When you activate Unyielding Flesh any successful melee attack you make until the start of your next turn forces your target to make a strength saving throw against your combat maneuver DC. On a failure, they are knocked prone and their speed becomes 0. On a success they are not knocked prone.

Resolve of Isra
Requirements: Dawn Training, Strength of Ukada, Str 15
You are among the most elite members of the Dawnguard, and have unlocked the secrets of Isra's resolute nature.
When you use Unyielding Flesh you may immediately make a Constitution saving throw against each effect you are under which allows a saving throw. Once you use this ability, you may not do so, again, until you've taken a short or long rest.

Additionally, the temporary HP granted by Unyielding Flesh increases to double your proficiency bonus.

 

[Steampunkette]

Sandcrawler
Requirement: Str or Dex 13
While you've begun your training with the Serpentstalkers you don't really belong, yet, and are generally left on the shoreline during hunts.
You gain an expertise die to any roll to initiate a grapple or grab on basic maneuver.
You gain a swim speed of 20ft.
When grappling or grabbing onto a creature larger than you, you may Mount the creature, holding it with your legs to free your hands.

Serpentstalker
Requirements: Sandcrawler, Str or Dex 13, you have killed a Large or larger creature while Mounted on the creature.
You've earned the respect of your peers among the Serpentstalkers and gained additional training in their art.
You may now hold your breath for up to 5 minutes.
In addition, you gain an expertise die while mounted to any attack rolls or combat maneuver rolls made against the creature you have mounted.

Serpentslayer
Requirements: Sandcrawler, Serpentstalker, Str or Dex 15, you have killed a Large or larger creature while Mounted on the creature
You've grown to become a legend among the Serpentstalkers, and gained their deepest trust.
Your Prestige in the Scorpion Lands increases by 1.
While you are Mounted on a creature you have grappled or grabbed onto and have a rope or chain long enough to wrap around the creature you may tie yourself to the target. Doing so makes dislodging you impossible without breaking or untying the bonds, and allows you to use one hand on the rope to try and grapple the creature, regardless of size difference.

 

[Steampunkette]

Working on the Maid of Jurikan style and I started feeling super uncomfortable with the Girls Only idea for a knife-throwing specialization that twists the knife to cause low level ongoing damage...

And then it dawned on me... The Chroniclers are inside the setting. Yes, it's been said she trains only women, but any woman may join (Implying trans women are trained, of course)... but what if that's a widespread assumption rather than the truth?

She trains everyone. But because her first class was all women, everyone assumed she -only- trains women... so some guys may cross-dress to get knifethrowing skills and then find out the truth and have to decide whether to admit they made a dumb mistake over an assumption or double-down on it and continue cross-dressing. Or, y'know, realize something about themselves. Put on a dress, sign up as a girl, walk into the training yard, see other guys without dresses training... Funny foibles!

Might even be that the rumor is actively spread as the "Truth" to discredit Jurikan by her rivals.

 

[GuyBoy]

I like the fact that all of these, and doubtless those to follow, are ties so evocatively to the campaign setting.

 

[Steampunkette]

Maid of Jurikan
Requirements: Dex 13
Jurikan trains her disciples to be cunning, careful, and deadly. After her left hand was removed, she focused on a unique one-handed fighting style using daggers.
As a Bonus Action you may enter the Jurikan Stance so long as you are wielding one dagger and no other weapons or shields. While in the Jurikan stance you gain a +2 bonus to AC, your melee attacks with daggers deal 1d6 damage, and you can draw and ready a dagger as part of the attack in which you throw them. You can maintain this stance as long as you can maintain concentration on it, following all the normal rules for concentration.

While in this stance you may, once per turn when you hit with a melee weapon attack using a dagger,you may cause the target to begin to bleed. This deals 1d4 ongoing damage at the end of the target's turn until an action is spent to staunch the bleeding or they receive magical healing.

Jurikan's Dance
Requirements: Maid of Jurikan, Dex 15
As you have gained more experience fighting as Jurikan does, you have learned to dodge and weave between an enemies strikes with expert precision, or retaliate with deadly precision.

While in Jurikan Stance you may use a reaction when you are attacked, but before you learn whether the attack is a hit or a miss. Make an Insight Check against the attacker's Combat Maneuver Defense. On a success, the target must reroll the attack and take the lowest roll.

Once per turn when you would make an attack with a thrown dagger you may instead throw two daggers while in Jurikan Stance.

Additionally, when making a ranged attack with a dagger throw while within reach of an enemy, it no longer imposes disadvantage on your attack roll.

Slash of Jurikan
Requirements: Maid of Jurikan, Jurikan's Dance, Dex 15
You understand your dagger exactly as Jurikan does how to move when fighting with it, where to place it to extract the maximum pain, and how to tear your victims apart with little more than the flick of your wrist.

You can now apply your Twist the Knife to every melee weapon attack you make with daggers while in Jurikan’s Stance, but no more than once per target.

You may also choose to use your reaction to retaliate on someone who deals you damage, and make a ranged or melee attack against them with your dagger. You may make this attack before making your concentration check to maintain Jurikan's Stance.

Additionally, when you use Twist the Knife, the bleeding damage you deal increases to 1d4+Dex damage at the end of the enemy's turns.

 

[niklinna]

I had my husband look over it all and he got a bit confused about the religions. The idea is that people worship the Six and the Beast out of fear of the danger those deities pose, not out of love or affection, which the Flower gets -some- of. But the different religious groups I've outlined, so far, don't really represent that well because I just use the term "Worship" in the writeups.

You could use "supplicate" for the scary gods. Also, it occurs to me that the Flower could be a radical movement, causing a great deal of upheaval. Are those worshippers still on the fringe, gaining power (at whatever geographic/socioeconomic level), well-established in places? Think of the spread of Christianity & Buddhism (in their many, many sects & factions throughout their history) and the ways they changed various societies.

 

[Steampunkette]

You could use "supplicate" for the scary gods. Also, it occurs to me that the Flower could be a radical movement, causing a great deal of upheaval. Are those worshippers still on the fringe, gaining power (at whatever geographic/socioeconomic level), well-established in places? Think of the spread of Christianity & Buddhism (in their many, many sects & factions throughout their history) and the ways they changed various societies.

Pretty much, yeah. We're going with Supplicants who seek to placate the gods.

And yup! The Flower is not a full on Religion but seen as a Cult. Often called the "Cult of the Flower" it's actually two separate cults!

The Blood of Nefia, who hold up her martyrdom as the important part and extoll others to give all that they can to the church so it can be redistributed to those who need it.

Nefia Among the People, who hold that her willingness to fight and die as the important part, and who help others and encourage them to love their neighbors and work together.

Both of them fight each other as Heretics.