Unorthodox Wizards (previews)

[TheLe]

[imager]http://www.TheLeGames.com/Images_Covers/tn/UnorthodoxWizards_tn250w.jpg[/imager] The Le Games Announces Unorthodox Wizards!

Unorthodox Wizards is the last core class in the Unorthodox Series, and we're making sure it lives up to the high standards set by the previous books. Here's a sneak peek at the creepiest class, the Horse Flesh Devourer:

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HORSE FLESH DEVOURER
Hailing from savage tribes where horses are prized and valued for their military advantage and social prestige, the Horse Flesh Devourer is a deviant, a rebel, and an outcast. They eat the flesh of the horse gifted to them by their tribe in order to force a supernatural metamorphosis. The Horse Flesh Devourer becomes a tauric creature, combining the lower half of a horse with the upper half of a man. Most Horse Flesh Devourers are slain as quickly as possible during their slow transformation process; however, those who complete the process become feared and respected, given deference reserved for powerful warlords. When they gain control over the very thing the tribes value, their station and importance become immeasurable, making them a force not to be contended with.

Adventures: A Horse Flesh Devourer sees adventuring as an opportune way to escape persecution from his tribe, increase his arcane knowledge, and learn valuable arcane secrets. While adventuring, the Horse Flesh Devourer hopes to avoid prejudice and danger as he undergoes his unorthodox transformation process.

Characteristics: At first, the Horse Flesh Devourer receives a special mount with which he becomes bonded. He learns to sway the attitudes of all horses. At a certain point, to initiate his change, the Horse Flesh Devourer kill and consume the flesh of his bonded mount, and thus he undergoes the metamorphosis to become a tauric creature. He becomes a quadruped, larger, stronger, hardier, and more resistant to damage. Eventually, he can command horses, and as he gains experience, he can control more and more horses.

Alignment: Killing and devouring the flesh of a valued mount is not a good act, and thus the Horse Flesh Devourer may not be of good alignment. As the society from which he hails frowns upon his actions, he must go against tradition and custom, and thus cannot be lawful.

Religion: A Horse Flesh Devourer believes in personal power, both from his magic and his own personal transformation. Nonetheless, some may still wish to worship deities whose portfolios pertain to arcana, horses, or travel.

Background: The Horse Flesh Devourer hails from a long tradition of deviant wizards who have practiced the same sort of rebellious actions to increase personal power. Their circle of wizards remains apart from society, practicing their bizarre rituals and rites in secret. A Horse Flesh Devourer is not known as such until he commits the horrific act of murdering and eating his mount, at which point he must guard against being lynched.

The only reason these wizards are not murdered on sight and banished due to their mere existence is because of their potential. A Horse Flesh Devourer has the potential to unite all horse nomad tribes because of his ability to control horses. When a powerful Horse Flesh Devourer unites the tribes, they present a threat to civilized society that is almost unequaled in the world. The tribes’ days of pillaging, raping, and looting is a past about which stories are told with an aura of awe and nostalgia, and many yearn for such days again. Only when the power of a Horse Flesh Devourer cannot be challenged, he is thus not to be destroyed.

Races: Of the civilized races, only humans are ignorant, callous, and power hungry enough to contemplate such a disgusting act in order to increase personal power, nonetheless actually do so. These types of wizards are also prevalent among the goblinoid races that prize horses in their society. The goblinoid races, not being inclined to care about horses in a sentimental sense, are more easily swayed to follow such a gruesome path.

Other Classes: The Horse Flesh Devourer is an arcane caster, and thus works well with other such characters. He finds empathy with fighters and rangers, as he hails from a martial society and has some combat ability and the maneuverability to be a skirmisher. He doesn’t understand the urban mannerisms of the bard and the rogue, and his disrespect of animals earns him distrust and outright antipathy from druids. Being a savage class, he finds the most in common with the barbarian.

Role: The Horse Flesh Devourer’s main aspect is that of the arcane spellcaster, although he isn’t as effective as a wizard or sorcerer due to his receiving fewer spells per day than a wizard of similar level. His higher hit points, better base attack, and increased speed and physical ability scores give him more survivability than a normal wizard, and allow him to function as a high mobility skirmishing warrior.

Sample Class Abilities:

Bonded Mount: The Horse Flesh Devourer begins play with a light warhorse with which he shares a special bond. The Horse Flesh Devourer receives a +5 on Handle Animal checks made against his bonded mount, and the time to train his bonded mount is cut in half.

Devour Flesh (Ex): Any time before or while achieving third level, the Horse Flesh Devourer must kill and devour his bonded mount. Having done so, at third level he gains extraordinary abilities from the spirit of his dead mount. Upon devouring the flesh of his mount, his base speed increases by +10 feet.

Quadruped (Ex): Upon reaching fourth level, the Horse Flesh Devourer’s body lengthens and he sprouts a second pair of legs from the back of his elongated pelvis, turning him into a true quadruped. His base speed increases by +10 feet. He receives a +4 to resist trip attempts. When charging into combat, the Horse Flesh Devourer does double damage (triple damage if he wields a lance).
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Gives me the creeps everytime I read it.

Unorthodox Wizards has an expected release date of Friday June 13th. It contains the following five alternate Wizard classes (full 20 levels): Horse Flesh Devourer, Immortal Requient, Necropimp, Crimson Mage, and Pact Wizard.

Unorthodox Wizards is written by Orion Cooper, edited by Derek M. Koch, and the cover art is provided by Bradley K. McDevitt.

Keep an eye on this thread for more previews!

The Le Games, We Enhance Worlds!

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[Pinotage]

Excellent, The Le! Can't wait to see the product on the 13th. Deliberately Friday the 13th?

Pinotage

 

[GravyFingerz]

Yay!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

You know that I am waiting for this! (Any guesses on my favorite D&D class?)

The Auld Grump

 

[TheLe]

A second preview of Unorthodox Wizards has been posted. The preview for the Pact Wizard can be found exclusively at the The Le Games Yahoo Group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLeGames

It's free to join!

The PDF Preview comes straight out of the book itself, so images are included within this pdf preview. Note that the Pact Wizard is also the cover image!

As a special bonus, Orion Cooper (author of Unorthodox Wizards) posted a new never before seen Wizard variant class - the Paranoia Mage! Both files can be found in the yahoo group in the FILES section.

-The Le Games, We Enhance Worlds

 

[TheLe]

Preview: Necropimp

Unorthodox Wizards is almost here! In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of the Necropimp...

The Necropimp is a necromancer who animates the corpses of dead humanoids and forces them to sell their bodies in mindless prostitution. There are very few professions that are more reviled than the Necropimp, who combines business practice, immorality, and arcane training to become the must gruesome of pimps. The only thing more despicable than a Necropimp is one who uses children for his business, but thankfully, there have been no such Necropimps, as they must even have some sort of code of ethics. Thank the gods there are no pedophile Necropimps.

Adventures: A Necropimp is an entrepreneur first and foremost, wanting to set up shop and establish undead brothels within the cities of the civilized world. However, Necropimps sometimes adventure for gold and arcane secrets, bringing along his assortment of giggling undead prostitutes to protect him and do his bidding.

Characteristics: The Necropimp can make a negative energy backhanded slap that allows him to damage his opponents and heal his undead. As he increases in experience, he can make his Necroslap at range, or even affect multiple opponents at once. He gains several abilities that allow him to modify zombies that he raises with the animate dead spell, either to make them better prostitutes or dangerous opponents.

Alignment: Raising the corpses of the dead to become unliving slaves is evil; raising the corpses of the dead to become unliving prostitutes is especially evil, and thus the Necropimp can only be of evil alignment.

Religion: The Necropimp, if he worships a deity, will often choose one that allows the raising of undead. He often comes into conflict with the servants of deities who are abhorred by the raising of undead.

Background: Very few people in the right frame of mind actively decide to become a necromancer and a pimp. The majority of Necropimps tend to be insane, with a penchant for profit and a willingness to violate basic rights and laws to animate corpses and force them into prostitution. The circumstances needed to produce a Necropimp are rare, and thankfully so.

Races: Of all the races on the Material Plane, only humans are insane and debauched enough to come up with the concept of animating corpses and forcing them to sell themselves in mindless prostitution. Not even the savage races are organized, civilized, or creative enough to come up with such a distasteful practice or profession.

Other Classes: The Necropimp is often at odds with good characters, especially characters that cherish freedom and individuality, and thus he tends to avoid paladins, chaotic rangers and barbarians, and other characters that do not have flexible morality.

Role: The role of the Necropimp is that of support and a “pet” wizard. He raises and commands several undead prostitutes (his pets) and sends them to fight for him or perform other tasks. Although he has the full spell compleiment of a normal wizard, the animate dead spell is his bread and butter, and is indirectly responsible for the majority of his class features. Thus, a Necropimp focuses on this spell and abilities primarily.

Game Rule Information
Necropimp’s have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Intelligence determines how m any bonus spells the Necropimp receives, his maximum spell level that he can cast, and how hard his spells are to resist. Constitution allows him to last longer in combat. A high Dexterity score is also good as to make the Necropimp more difficult to hit combat.

Sample Class abilities:

Necroslap (Su): A Necropimp can make a backhand slap and put forth negative energy behind it. The Necropimp can sacrifice a spell slot to make a Necroslap, a melee touch attack that deals 1d8 points of negative energy damage per level of the spell slot sacrificed.

Sensual Undead (Su): Beginning 5th level, when the Necropimp animates zombies using the animate dead spell, he can modify them to suit his needs. Sensual Undead allows the Necropimp to give the zombies he raises a pleasing appearance, as if they were alive. Upon viewing the zombie, the target must make a Will saving throw against DC 10 + half the Necropimp’s class level + the Necropimp’s Intelligence modifier, or be charmed as if the zombie had cast a charm person spell on the target. For each “undead” ability the Necropimp has, the DC is increased by +1.

Conversely, the Necropimp can give the undead a truly frightening appearance. If he chooses to do so, the undead causes opponents to become shaken if they fail a Will saving throw, instead of being charmed.

Unorthodox Wizards is available on Friday, June 13th.

-The Le Games, We Enhance Worlds

 

[TheLe]

Unorthodox Wizards will be available today. It will MSRP for $4.95. It comes with 5 new Wizard classes and five new Wizard feats. If you have not done so already, I highly recommend you pick up 50 Cent Wizard Spells, since it contains a full 20-level look at the Horse Devourer class.

In the meantime, here's a little look at one of the new classes in this book, the Immortal Requient:

The source of all that is immaterial to a humanoid is the soul, an intangible entity possessed by all sentient creatures. Most ignore the implications of the soul while some revel in and celebrate it. There are those who are more than willing to sell what they feel to be a cheap commodity for a promise of power.

The Immortal Requient is one who has sold his soul so that he may live forever and plumb the depths of all arcana. However, upon completion of the transaction, they find they have bargained for more than they could handle. Once a normal wizard, he now finds himself devouring the very thing he does not have, and in hopes that one day, he may regain what he lost. If an Immortal Requient chooses not to devour souls, he will waste away to nothing and eventually expire. In the interest of his own survival, he feeds.

Adventures: Immortal Requients adventure in the ever-constant search for souls to devour and to find the secrets of regaining their own soul. Whether they are arcane secrets, souls to devour, or eldritch magic, all are the province of the Immortal Requient’s search for a soul of his own.

Characteristics: The Immortal Requient receives his immortality by selling his soul. He escapes the ravages of time, but the adverse effects of losing his soul in such a way cause his body to decay unless he consumes other souls. As he grows more powerful, he can use the energy from devouring these souls to fuel many abilities, such as self-healing, paralyzing his foes, improving his own spell casting, blasting a ray of energy, stealing life energy from his foes, and even causing his foes to prematurely age. Eventually, the Immortal Requient can use the energy from the devoured souls to form a new soul of his own, bringing his search to a close.

Alignment: Even though the Immortal Requient may begin life as a neutral or good being, and even though the act of selling one’s own soul is not, in itself, an evil act, the actions required to preserve himself and reach his eventual goal are definitely evil actions, and thus the Immortal Requient eventually becomes evil.

Religion: Immortal Requients tend to be as religious as any other man, although the search for a soul is their priority in life. Immortal Requient’s tend to revere gods of magic and knowledge, with some evil ones revering gods of death and the afterlife.

Races: Most of the human-like races have long life spans, and thus are not as attracted to the prospect of selling one’s soul for immortality. Humans, being the shortest-lived race, are more likely to do so than any other race, for the chance to spend countless millennia studying magic. If any of the savage races had more developed traditions of magic, they, too, may choose the path of the Immortal Requient.

Other Classes: Immortal Requients find it hard to work with good clerics and paladins, as they do not condone the Immortal Requient’s activities whatsoever. Most other classes are unaware of the Immortal Requient’s condition, and thus have no qualms working with an arcane spell caster, whose power is a valuable asset with any group.

Role: The Immortal Requient’s role depends on their spell selection, although their aptitude for manipulating soul energy give them a great variety of abilities that do not base themselves on per spell casting power. They tend to not specialize in any facet of magic; rather, they prefer to let their spell selection cover many types of situations. As immortal beings, they are not necessarily short sighted, and prefer to be prepared rather than caught unaware.

Game Rule Information
Immortal Requients have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Intelligence determines how powerful a spell an Immortal Requient can cast, how many spells he can cast, and how hard those spells are to resist. In addition, Intelligence determines how hard many of his class features are to resist, as well as some of their durations and effects. A high Dexterity is helpful to an Immortal Requient, making him harder to hit. A good Constitution score is also favorable, which gives the Immortal Requient more hit points.

Alignment: Any evil.

Hit Die: d4.

Class Skills
The Immortal Requient’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Ride (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Immortal Requient.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Immortal Requient’s are proficient with all simple weapons, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with an Immortal Requient’s movements, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.

Immortal (Ex): An Immortal Requient does not age and does not suffer any penalties to his physical ability scores for aging, although bonuses are accrued for mental ability scores. An Immortal Requient cannot die of old age. In addition, the Immortal Requient is immune to any effects that age him.

Soulless (Ex): The Immortal Requient has relinquished his soul through an arcane pact, thus escaping the ravages of age but succumbing to a desire to become whole again (see the Mortal Thirst class feature). The loss of the soul leaves the Immortal Requient with an absence of sensation. The Immortal Requient is immune to all fear and morale effects (even beneficial ones), as well as any effects that alter the emotions of the Immortal Requient.

Unfortunately, the Immortal Requient cannot be raised or resurrected by any means, even by the use of a true resurrection, limited wish, or wish spell.

The Immortal Requient is immune to the Souldrinker class feature.

Souldrinker (Su): With a touch, the Immortal Requient can consume the soul of any creature that can be raised or resurrected from the dead. The victim must be between –1 and –10 hit points before the victim can be affected by the Immortal Requient’s Souldrinker class feature. The victim is allowed a Will saving throw to negate the effect; the DC is 10 + half the Immortal Requient’s class levels + the Immortal Requient’s Intelligence modifier. If the victim fails his saving throw, the victim cannot be raised or resurrected by any means, even by use of a limited wish or wish spell. In addition, the Immortal Requient accumulates a number of Soul Tokens equal to the hit dice of the victim.
Using this class feature is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity.

Mortal Thirst (Ex): As one who has relinquished his soul, the Immortal Requient has only one sensation: the desire to be whole again. The desire is so strong that unless accommodated, the Immortal Requient begins to waste away.

At the beginning of each day, the Immortal Requient suffers 2 points of ability damage to all his ability scores. No saving throw or resistance can protect against this damage unless the Immortal Requient uses his Consumption class feature.

Consumption (Su): By expending a number of Soul Tokens equal to the Immortal Requient’s hit dice and activating this class feature as a free action, the Immortal Requient is immune to the Mortal Thirst class feature for one week and instantly heals all ability damage caused by Mortal Thirst.

Rejuvenation (Su): Beginning 2nd level, by expending a number of Soul Tokens equal to the desired effect and activating this class feature as a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Immortal Requient heals a number of damage equal to 2 hit points per Soul Token spent.

Unorthodox Wizards will be available today in three formats (all for one price): Portrait PDF, Landscape PDF, and easy to cut-copy-paste Rich Text Format version.

-The Le

 

[GravyFingerz]

Yay, it's finally released, and no thanks to me

As a writer's note, I didn't write the feats. Just the classes. Just so we're clear.