Building Bhakashal - NPC Generation - The Jinx
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Bm3eK6
OK, next up in the NPC generation was a guide that the party had to hire to help them find the hideout of a NPC warlock they were trying to catch. I decided that their guide would be a Jinx. A Jinx is a hybrid class in Bhakashal that is a combination of thief and druid, but focused on plant based spells only. Jinx’s build houseboats and travel through the marshes, sometimes becoming involved in local events, sometimes passing through.
So they work well as a “guide” for the party.
Let’s go!
A. Choose from Bhakashal’s 20 character classes
The Jinx!
B. Generate Stats
Statistic Generation Bhakashal
For each stat roll 3d6
Apply stat minimums
Switch any two stats (you cannot produce a result less than a minimum)
Apply playable group bonuses
NOTE: 18’s may only be generated naturally, e.g. by unaltered dice roll
S 5 6 2 - 13
I 6 6 6 - 18
W 1 1 2 - 6
D 4 1 1 - 6
C 3 3 3 - 9
C 6 4 2 - 12
Stat Minimum Jinx - WIS 14 DEX 12
S 5 6 2 - 13
I 6 6 6 - 18
W 1 1 2 - 14
D 4 1 1 - 12
C 3 3 3 - 9
C 6 4 2 - 12
Switch DEX and INT
S - 13
I - 12
W - 14
D - 18
C - 9
C - 12
C. Choose a Playable Group
I have decided to make this particular NPC human
Apply ability score bonuses:
+1 CON, +1 WIS
S - 13
I - 12
W - 15
D - 18
C - 10
C - 12
Now determine ability score modifiers
3: -3
4-5:-2
6-8: -1
9: 0
10-11:+1
12-14: +2
15-17: +3
18: +4
S - 13 [+2]
I - 12 [+2]
W - 15 [+3]
D - 18 [+4]
C - 10 [+1]
C - 12 [+2]
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
+1 per / 2 levels base (+3), plus ability score mods
Paralyzation STR and CON [+6]
Poison - CON and DEX [+8]
Death Magic - WIS and CON [+7]
Petrification - STR and CON [+6]
Polymorph - WIS and CHR [+8]
Breath Weapon - DEX and INT [+9]
Spell - WIS and INT [+8]
For HP, you roll for levels 1-5, or take the average for each. Then each level thereafter you get to reroll one result if desired. So I roll 5d6, I get 1,1,3,4,6,3 or 18. I choose to reroll the first 1 and get a 3, so the HP go to 20
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
Human abilities:
1. Humans can move at 12” on land and move at 9” through the trees (at some point in the billions of years between now and Bhakashal humans became tree dwellers again for a time)
2. Humans have infravision, and they can also stand bright light much better (+4 on saving throws against brightness related blindness).
3. If humans stop moving and concentrate (taking an action) they can enhance their hearing, reducing the chance of surprise to 1 in 6 as long as they maintain concentration.
4. Humans have 8 “preferred” skills: musician, dancer, tinkerer, blacksmith, weaponsmith, carpenter, shipwright or scribe
You can either choose from these or roll on the skill table, I choose to use one of the preferred skills as I fancy making him a musician. Bhakashal has a list of standard and unique musical instruments. I decide that he plays the hmyal sphere, forged by the saan, it has buttons you press that make sounds by pressing on a crystal in the center. With an 18 DEX he is pretty competent as a player.
F. Choose Deity and Languages
The musician vibe is working so I choose Bhamal , God of Beauty and Music
With a 12 INT he gets two languages in addition to human (in Bhakashal, every playable group has one language they are all familiar with, then there are of course local dialects and such, humans are no different). I decide since he lives in the marshes he will speak Urdyll (plant people) and Vodnik (castor people).
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
He’s going to travel light as he carries most of his tools and equipment on his boat, on his person he carries:
Backpack, thieves tools, (3) iron spikes, (2) flasks of oil, flint and steel, 50’ rope and grappling hook.
He dresses in browns and yellows, favors long, loose fitting sleeveless shirts (so as to be able to access his tattoos) and wears long boots and a dark green cap.
H. Assign Wealth
This is rolled for given the class:
75gp
50sp
(3) 200 gp rubies
200gp silver necklace
I. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
As a Jinx he will want to stay fast and unencumbered, so no armor. As for weapons, the Jinx follows the weapon progression of the thief, so that’s 2 weapons to start and an additional weapon at 5th level. decide to give him multiple daggers as he has an 18 DEX and can dual wield them as well as throw them. In addition he will have a staff. For the third slot, I choose to take a crossbow.
His attack bonus as an arcane/martial character is +1 every 3 levels, so e.g. +1 at 1st, 4th, 7th.. So that’s +2.
His strength bonus is +2, but for any weapon 50gp or less in weight (e.g. his daggers and his staff) he gets to apply his higher DEX bonus of +4. Note that rolling an 18 in Bhakashal for a stat is very rare (approximately 0.5%) as you cannot generate an 18 with bonuses, so I decided to lean into this with the weapon choices. He will get a +6 to hit with his daggers and staff, which is impressive. However, do keep in mind that WvrsAC modifiers mean that, against metal armor, he gets a -2 with the daggers and a -4 with the staff.
J. Calculate Encumbrance
He is travelling light with no armor and minimal equipment, his encumbrance is around 200gp, which means he can carry an additional 200 gp before slowing down by 3”.
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
Jinx’s have a number of abilities:
A. 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 first level they get the Beastial’s ability to identify plant type, and pass without a trace T
4. 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
B. Thieving Skills
Bhakashal applies a +5% modifier to base thieving skills per point of DEX bonus, and +5% per point of INT modifier to HN and RL, since he has a DEX of 18 (+4) and INT 12 (+2) that gives him:
PP: 75% OL: 67% FRT: 65% HIS: 57% MS: 67% HN: 30% CW: 92% RL: 40%
+4 to hit and x3 to damage for backstab
C. Spells
Each of the spellcasting classes in Bhakashal works a bit differently based on where their magic comes from.
Jinx’s are master horticulturalists and herbalists, they have 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% modifier per spell level.
If they fail they may never ask for that spell again. 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.
So the Jinx does not have to find spells like the warlock does, instead, they have access to the full list of spells for their class at a level equal to half their current level, rounding down. So for example, a 3rd level Jinx could meditate and ask for any 1st or 2nd level spell from their list. They can do this until they have a number of tattoos on their body equal to 2x their WIS bonus + 1 additional spell per 3 levels of experience. So for our guy, he gets 6 + 2 or a max of 8 spell tattoos at 6th level.
A Jinx can cast 1 spell per day per level of experience.
All Jinx spells, regardless of their level, have the verbal and somatic components mentioned and 1 segment casting time per level of spell. Note that for the Jinx there are no material components for their spells other than the tattoos on their bodies. This gives them an advantage over beastials (druids) who have material components. Beastials, on the other hand, have access to a much wider range of spells.
For NPCs I generally roll for their spells rather than choose, so I will do so here as well. To keep it interesting I roll to see which level of spell he chose to meditate for randomly, doing this I get two first level spells, three second and three third.
1st Level - Apothecary, Purify Air
2nd Level - Augury, Locate Monstrous Plants, Wood Shape
3rd Level - Clairaudience, Leaf Blades, Treespider
The Bhakashal spells in this list, for reference:
Apothecary
Level: 1, Casting Time: 2 rounds, Range: 1” per level, Duration: permanent, Area of Effect: 1 plant per level, Components: V,S, Saving Throw: none
The apothecary spell allows the beastial to locate plants of whatever kind is desired within the spell range and extract the active ingredient of interest to the beastial to be stored for later use. So, for example, the beastial could have the spell look for poison plants and if found, extract the poison safely. The spell can only work if a plant of the desired kind is in the area, so it is useful for the beastial to know something about the plants in the area before he casts this spell.
Purify Air
Level: 1, Casting Time: 3 segments, Range: 4”, Duration: 1 round, Area of Effect: 1” rad globe per level, Components: V,S,M Saving Throw: none
The purify air spell immediately removes large particulates and noxious fumes from the AOE. It is intended to mitigate the impact of fires. If used on a gaseous spell or monster power then it will disperse the spell effects if the beastial is higher level than the caster of the spell, if it is a monster power use HD.
Locate Monstrous Plants
Level: 3, Casting Time: 3 segments, Range: special, Duration: 1 hour, Area of Effect: special, Components: V,S,M, Saving Throw: none
A beastial can use this spell to locate monstrous plants, either a predesignated kind (e.g. the beastial is looking for tri-flower fronds) or just dangerous monstrous plants of any kind. It does not give the beastial any special protection, though forewarned is forearmed. The beastial will be able to find any monstrous plant designated or not, within the range of the spell. Specific searches are limited to a 3 mile radius, generic ones to a 6 mile radius.
Wood Shape
Level: 2, Casting Time: 3 segments, Range: Touch, Duration: permanent, Area of Effect: six cubic feet plus one foot per level, Components: V,S,M, Saving throw: special
By means of this spell the beastial can form an existing piece of wood into a shape which will suit his or her purposes. For example, a wooden weapon can be made, a special trapdoor fashioned, or an idol sculpted. By the same token, it would allow the spell caster to reshape a wood door, perhaps, so as to escape imprisonment, providing the volume of wood involved was within the limits of the area of effect. If the beastial attempts to shape a moving target (e.g. an enemy weapon) they must score a "to hit" roll and gain possession of that object, and it gains a saving throw, if that saving throw fails the beastial can shape the object in any way she pleases, or even cause it to come apart completely. Magic items get their bonuses applied to the save (with an additional +1 save bonus per "power"). A magic wooden item shaped by the beastial will can be destroyed for good if it fails its save.
Leaf Blades
Level: 3, Casting Time: 2 segments, Range: 4”, Duration: 1 round, Area of Effect: special, Components: V,S,M, Saving Throw: 1/2
This spell must be cast near a tree with leaves. When the beastial casts leaf blades, 5 leaves per level of the beastial are transformed into sharp edged projectiles that can be directed in any combination at a maximum of 1 victim for every level of the beastial. Each leaf does 1 hp of damage to any victim who has at least some exposed skin, save for half. Note that a completely armored victim would be immune.
Treespider
Level: 3, Casting Time: 1 round, Range: touch, Duration: 3 turns/level, Area of Effect: special, Components: V,S,M, Saving Throw: none
When cast in a forested area, treespider pulls together vines, branches and other plant material from the area to assemble 8 “legs” that meet at a central ring (or platform). The beastial then steps into that ring or on to the platform, and the legs stand up (placing the beastial anywhere from ground level to 20’ up in the air). A 3rd level beastial can carry the weight of the beastial + regular gear + up to 300 GP, every two levels thereafter 1 passenger more or up to 2000gp in materials. The beastial can make the legs can walk at up to 18” for the whole spell duration, and can additionally charge up to three times in the duration for double move for up to 1 round at a time. The treespider can climb, and this is where it gets its name, as the best way to move through a forest is to climb atop the trees and jump from treetop to treetop. Moving in this way the treespider can effectively move at 24” for the spell duration (no charging while doing this, and no double speed, 24” is the max). The treespider is AC 5, has the same HP as the beastial who created it, other than trampling (by accident) the treespider has no attacks, so no THACO. It is +2 on saves versus lightning, -2 on saves versus fire, -1 on saves versus cold. An entangle spell can be used to repair damage to a treespider, and a turn wood spell will destroy it completely if the beastial fails a save
One thing I love about NPC spell casters is that you can use their spell list to create some background for the character. Jinxes travel through the marshes on their longboats, offering their services to local communities and sometimes acting as guides.
The combination of Apothecary and Locate Monstrous Plants means that this NPC will likely use their herbalism skills quite a lot, so perhaps one of his regular activities in the marshes will be to provide his unguents and healing mixtures in exchange for goods and services (as opposed to just making them for himself).
He can use purify air when he encounters fires. Augury is another role playing gem, a spell he could cast for local communities or individuals to help them make important decisions.
Wood shape combined with an 18 DEX suggests that he might make “carvings” of figures much like a sculptor makes statues out of clay, and trade them or gift them to gain favor.
L. Assign Magic Items
For pre-generation of a PC of this level, Bhakashal has generation rules, 1 permanent magic item per 4 levels of experience and 1 temporary item per 2 levels of experience.
For our new Jinx I rolled the following
Staff of Mouths (45)
The staff of mouths is 5’ long and has a cluster of carved wooden mouths attached to the upper end of the staff. Whenever a successful "to hit" is made with the staff, in addition to 1-6+2 damage the victim will have 1-3 of these "mouth’s" attached to them. Each mouth drains blood at the rate of 2 hp per round until destroyed, they have 5 hp each and have an AC of 5. The staff will regrow mouths until 100 have been generated then it will crumble to dust.
Since this Jinx can make his own potions, I would use potions from their list if I rolled a potion on the table, which I did twice, and since he can create, in principle, as many as he wants, I decide to give him multiples of each:
(2) Potion of Clairvoyance
(3) Plant Control
Finally, as he can make healing mixtures, I give him a few of these.
(2) healing mixtures
M. Assign Personality Traits
I roll these from the tables at the back of the DMG, and I stop when I have an interesting combination. This time I get:
Dandyish, opinionated, aesthetic, interest in politics
So he’s a snazzy dresser, he opines on subjects easily, he lives simply (other than his clothing) and he has an interest in politics, which for our purposes, means that he is a font of information about factions in the marshes where he travels.
N. Assign Name
I wanted a strong sounding name this time, and came up with… Brackwith Mune
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