Building Bhakashal - New Classes - The Jinx

I was building random encounter tables last week, and this week it was supposed to be tables for the city. But then I ran two sessions of D&D on Friday, and I was wired for sound after the second one. Then I had an inspiration for a new class for Bhakashal.

My last new class was the slayer, I created the slayer using the same game design principle as the cleric, e.g. a cleric is essentially a fighter/magic user, combining class functions of both. A slayer is a ranger/assassin in that sense. The idea I had for this class was a combination of druid and thief, but I wanted to focus on plant based druid abilities, as my setting has druids called “beastials” who are connected to the animal side of nature. This new class will balance this out.

The Jinx

A group of Warlocks from the Bhakashal marshes practice a variation of magic based on ancient lore from the long lost nation of sorcerers who ruled the fallen empire Bhakashal was built upon. 

Known as “Jinxes”, they roam the thousands of rivers and lakes that dot the marshes, living on longboats of their own creation. They are often musicians. They trade goods and services: a Jinx might join a village’s harvest or hunt, play music in exchange for food or money, transport passengers, aid locals against aggressors or explore the marshes for lost magic items. They are skilled with their hands, and good with technology.

Jinx’s are master horticulturalists and herbalists, they get the Druid’s ability to identify plant type, and pass without a trace. They have also used plants to gain the ability to use magic. Jinx’s use herbs gathered and prepared from sentient plants in the marshes to enter a transcendental state and ask extra dimensional beings for spells, these beings are referred to as “demons”, but are really just otherplanar life forms of power. When a jinx asks for a spell they roll a “to know” roll based on their wisdom with a + 1% bonus per Jinx level - 2% per spell level. 

If successful they wake with the spell tattooed on their bodies. From that point forward, the Jinx may cast the spell by touching the script for the spell on their body and speaking the script, which is in the demon tongue. When the Jinx casts the spell here on our plane, it brings the demons power in their dimension.

A jinx must have a minimum intelligence of 12, wisdom of 15, dexterity of 12 and minimum charisma of 15.

They may use any weapon, wear no armor and have the weapon proficiency and “to hit” profile of a thief. They save as magic-users or thieves, whichever is better. They progress in levels as a magic-user.

All jinx’s live the ilfe of an iternerant wanderer, and as a result they get thief skills as a thief of equivalent level. They do not, however, join local guilds, they self train in their thieving skills (that is why their advancement is slower than a thief).

Jinx’s all have one of the following skills in addition to basic hunting/fishing, boating and shipwright skills: 

1. Mapmaker/Navigator

2. Weaponsmith

3. Musician/instrument maker

Herbalism

1. A fist level Jinx can prepare herbal remedies from mixtures made of magical plant parts that cure 1-3 hp per batch. It takes a week of searching for components in the marshes and mixing/preparing to make a single application. First level Jinx’s start with 3 applications.

2. A first level Jinx can also make unguents from marsh plants that repel insects, mask their odor from predators (increasing the odds of them surprising others outdoors by 1 in 6), or make them smell like animals or monsters known to the jinx. Each unguent works for 24 hours. Same preparation time as above.

3. At third level a Jinx can make any of the following potions using herbs from magical plants found in the marshes, each one takes a week to gather and prepare:

Clairaudience, Clairvoyance, ESP, Plant Control, Treasure Finding

Spell Casting

A Jinx can cast a number of spells per day equal to their level.

All Jinx spells, regardless of level have the verbal and somatic components mentioned and 1 segment casting time per level of spell.

Spell Acquisition

The Jinx may commune with their demons for any of the listed spells. They roll a “To know” roll based on their wisdom, +1% per Jinx level -2% per level of the spell. Any level spell may be asked for. 

If successful the spell is tattooed on their body permanently when they wake from the trance. 

If they fail they may never ask again. 

If they fail with a roll of 90% or more, they may not commune for another spell for at least a month’s time.

They can do this until they have a number of tattoos on their body equal to their wisdom - 10 + 1 additional spell per 3 levels of experience.

Jinx’s may commune for the following spells:

1. All plant related spells from all classes

2. All divination spells from all classes

3. Custom spells listed below

Jinx Spells

1st Level

Apothecary, Cache, Crop Growth, Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Detect Snares and Pits, Entangle, Floral, Forest Runner, Harvest, Identify, Leaf Warrior, Locate Animals, Locate Plants, Nourish, Paper, Plant Raiment, Predict Weather, Read Magic, Repair Plants, Root, Splinter, Shilelagh

2nd Level

Augury, Barskin, Know Alignment, Detect Charm, Detect Invisibility, ESP, Find Traps, Locate Monstrous Plants, Plant Sanctuary, Tangled Swamp, Thornskin, Treetop, Trip, Warp Wood, Wood Shape

3rd Level

Clairaudience, Clairvoyance, Create Viridi, Green Armor, Hanging Garden, Join Plant, Leaf Blades, Locate Object, Plant Growth, Snare, Tree, Treespider, Wood Storm

4th Level

Detect Lie, Divination, Fungus Beast, Hold Plant, Hunger Plant, Plant Door, Speak with Plants, Sticks to Snakes

5th Level

Animate Plant, Anti-Plant Shell, Blood Moss, Commune, Commune with Nature, Contact Other Plane, Loam, Pass Plant, Thorncage, Tree of the Circle, True Seeing

6th Level

Find the Path, Fire Seeds, Legend Lore, Stone Tell, Transport via Plants, Turn Wood, Wall of Thorns, Wicker Man

7th Level

Animal to Plant Transformation, Deep Grove, The Green Man, Transmute Metal to Wood, Vision

Longboats

All jinx’s apprentice as shipwrights, and build their own longboat. A Jinx longboat is 30’ in length and tapers slowly to 6’ in the middle. They are enclosed and the section below deck has storage compartments for cargo. The boats have a 10 pole for propulsion as well as oars and a sail. 

Many Jinx’s in the marshlands use a potion made from irridis plants to attract giant eels and harness them for propulsion, one weeks time of searching and preparation allows them to make enough to draw a giant eel and keep them around for 4-6 months. One giant eel can pull a 30’ longboat at 12”, two may pull at 18”. 

It has enough space on top to fit 3 med creatures, and has a canopy/tent that can be used to block the sun or when sleeping at night. 

They are made from gorgai wood, gorgai trees grow leaves and branches out of the top only, they are cut down and boats are carved from them. The wood is a dark, wine red color and the boat has 30 hp, and will begin to sink when reduced to half hp (1 turn), and to one quarter hp (1 round). 

Example

Ralious Keeska is a 1st level Jinx with a wisdom of 15. Having finished his apprenticeship recently, he has constructed his longboat and has his three prepared healing packets. He carries a broadsword and a sling as a weapon, and wears no armor. He has skill as a musician and instrument maker.

He prepares to commune for his first spells. 

With a wisdom of 15 he can ask for 5 spells at 1st level. These spells can be of any level, however if he fails his rolls they can never be asked for. He decides to try for a first level spell, crop growth, as he can use that to trade for goods, food and wealth as he travels.

His odds are 65% {Wisdom) +1% (level 1 Jinx) - 2% (level 1 spell) = 64%

He rolls a 45, and when he awakes from his trance the spell is inscribed on his left arm.

He then decides to commune for a combat spell, he chooses entangle, same odds, but this time he rolls 77%, he fails, and may never commune for this spell.

Ralious tries a different tack and communes for Create Viridi (viridi are humanoid plants), this is a 3rd level spell, so his odds are 65% + 1% - 6% so 63%. He rolls a 4 and is successful. Another tattoo appears on his right arm.

Ralious now picks detect invisibility, his odds for that are 65+1-4=62%, he rolls a 60 and is successful.The spell appears on his chest

Next he decides to try for a higher level spell, speak with plants, he has a 65% + 1% - 8% = 58% chance. He is successful with a roll of 22. That spell appears on his upper back.

For his last spell, he chooses to try for another 4th level spell, hold plant, but rolls a 92%, now he must wait at least a month before trying to commune again.

So out of the gate Ralious has the following:

• Spells on body: crop growth, create viridi, detect invisibility, speak with plants

• Casts 1 of those spells per day

• 3 healing packets (heal 1-4hp)

• Two masking unguents

• Skills as a hunter/fisher, boater, shipwright and muscian/instrument maker

• Longboat

• No armor

• A broadsword and a sling as weapons