Building Bhakashal - Character Creation - PCs - The Gyre
When I was setting up the classes for Bhakashal I wanted to create one that had the kind of freedom I experienced when I first ran an illusionist. Illusions are free form spells, you can make them what you want them to be. I liked how that worked at the table, and I wanted the equivalent for a magic-user.
For today’s PC/NPC creation entry I am going to stat up a Gyre. Gyre’s require a decent amount of creativity from the player, but for the right kind of player they are a great fit. I will stat up a 4th level version so you can get an idea of how the system works for this kind of caster, as it is not as straightforward as the other classes.
Forward ho!
Process
A. Choose a character class
B. Choose a Playable Group and Faction
C. Generate Stats
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
F. Choose Deity and Languages
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
I. Calculate Wealth
J. Calculate Encumbrance
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
M. Assign Personality Traits (optional)
N. Customize Playable Group Lore (optional)
O. Name Character
P. Assign magic items (for creating NPCs and PCs above level 1)
A. Choose Class (d20)
Choice - Gyre - Faction - House Ynris [LG]
B. Choose Playable Group (d12)
Chitin - Insect People
Garudin - Bird People
Humans - Primate People
Jugyi - Turtle People
Kutya - Dog People
Malu - Fish People
Rakasta - Cat People
Saan - Lizard People
Togmu - Frog People
Urdyll - Plant People
Vodnik - Castor People
Yalan - Snake People
Rolled: 12 - Yalan
C. Generate Stats
For each stat roll 3d6
6 1 6 /5 3 3 /1 6 6/ 4 4 1/ 1 2 3/ 5 4 1
S13 / I 11 / W 13 / D 9 / C 6 / C 10
Apply stat minimums
INT 15 WIS 10 DEX 10
S13 / I 15 / W 13 / D 10 / C 6 / C 10
Switch any two stats (you cannot produce a result less than a minimum)
Switch CHR and CON
S13 / I 15 / W 13 / D 10 / C 10 / C 6
Apply playable group bonuses
+1 INT, +1STR
S 14 / I 16 / W 13 / D 10 / C 10 / C 6
Apply Ability Modifiers
S - 14 [+2]
I - 16 [+3]
W - 13[+2]
D - 10 [+1]
C - 10 [+1]
C - 6 [-1]/-5%
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
All classes get a +1 bonus per 2 levels of experience, so that’s +2 base for a 4th level Gyre
Paralyzation STR and CON [+7]
Poison CON and DEX [+4]
Death Magic WIS and CON [+5]
Petrification CON and CHR [+2]
Polymorph WIS and CHR [+3]
Breath Weapon DEX and INT [+6]
Spell WIS and INT [+7]
Hit Points
Class based, roll or take the average (1/2 HD), d6 for a Gyre:
I’ll roll for all - 6,6,3,4 = 19HP
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
PCs get a roll on the Bhakashal Skill table once for every point of INT bonus
Three rolls: 6, 7, 65 Artist, Artist, Musician. For their instrument I choose the traditional Yalan instrument, the cassion - made of tempered glass, a cassion is shaped like a “Y”, and played by striking the “arms” of the instrument with a tempered glass rod and squeezing with the other hand on the “trunk” to modulate the vibrations
PCs also get a skill(s) related to their playable group: Astrologer
Bhakashal Skills
Other playable group abilities:
9” move, climb trees, swim at 15”
Amphibious
Prehensile tails - on a critical the victim is coiled in tail and must make an open doors roll to be free (Open doors - d6 roll with STR bonus, roll 6), 2-4 hp damage per rd
1 in 6 Yalan have a poisonous bite, save versus poison or paralysis for 1-4 rounds (this was NOT rolled)
Tough, leathery skin - WvrsAC leather
never surprised by flying creatures, and get a +1 to hit against all flying opponents
F. Choose Deity and Languages
Rolled: Iospha – God of Fire
Characters get the language of their playable group and one other language of their choice, and then one roll on the table for every point of their INT bonus. If a duplicate is rolled, roll on Special Table 1 instead.
So Yalan and Saan to start. Three rolls on the table produce Saan, Chitin and Togmu. The Saan duplicate gets a roll on Special Table 1, and that gets a 1, Black Dragon
So: Yalan, Saan, Chitin, Togmu and Black Dragon
Bhakashal Languages - (3d12)* Special Table 1 - (d12)
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
Equipment - Backpack, 50’ rope, (3) iron spikes, flint and steel, (3) torches, waterskin, iron rations, blanket, spyglass - 210 gp encumbrance, 50 gp cost
Clothing - none
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
No armor - AC: 9
Attack bonus: +1 to hit
Initial number of weapons: 1
Hand Axes double as thrown missiles, so I will take two of those:
(2) Hand Axes [+3/+2] 1-6/1-4, WS: 2, WvsAC [-2M/+1N], Criticals - Dual Wield/Remain
Weight 50gp, cost 2gp total
I. Assign Wealth
All PCs start with 50 gp, a 50 gp gem and 50 gp piece of jewelry, plus 10gp per ability score bonus point in whatever form they want
Deduct cost of equipment, armor and weapons - 50 + 2 = 52gp
For PCs and NPCs above 1st level, add [100 gp + 100 gp gem + 100 gp jewelry]/level plus 50gp per ability score “+” to wealth. = 850gp, + 400 gp gem + 50 gp gem + 400gp ring + 50gp earring
I decide that they will use their wealth to hire 3 henchmen (chain armor, longsword, heavy crossbow and glaive), deduct 300gp for armor, 30 gp for basic equipment and 125gp for weapons, plus 150 gp for yearly fees = 605 gp + 52 gp = 657 gp leaving our PC with: 193 gp, 400 gp ruby, 50 gp opal, 400 gp ring, 50 gp earring
J. Calculate Encumbrance
Weapon Weights are found in the weapon listings. - 100 gp
Armor Weights are found on the Armor Table - none
Equipment weight is precalculated for equipment packs, otherwise consult the Equipment Weights table - 240 gp
Deduct 50gp per point of CON and STR bonus - 150 gp
Total all weight and consult the Weight/Movement table - 190 gp, leaving 310 gp before shifting down a movement category
Weight/Movement Table
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
Gyres have a unique spell casting system and progression. All effects are linked to their level of experience. A gyre casts generic magic, linked to an aspect, e.g. animals, fire, water, etc.
1. Gyres can create [X HD / Y damage / +Z] magical effects based on level of experience, where X and Z are the Gyre’s level, and Y is d4 per level.
2. Gyre spells get an indoor range of 1” per level, outdoor range of 3” per level
3. Gyre AOE spells are 1” per level in radius
4. Gyre spell durations are 1 round / level or 1 turn / level depending on the nature of the spell
5. Spells that impact the Gyre get no save (e.g. body alteration)
6. Spells that amplify existing tendencies in targets do not get a save (e.g. magnifying emotions, growing a fire)
7. Otherwise all Gyre spells get saving throws, and any with AOE damage get saves for half.
8. All spell parameters associated with the Gyre can be split up in any way desired within an individual casting, e.g. if the Gyre is 6th level and can charm up to a 6HD creature, they could also charm two 3HD creatures.
9. Objects created by the Gyre that need to have HP assigned to them (e.g. a wall of stone) get [d2 per level + the Gyre’s level] in HP, e.g. a 5th level earth Gyre could create a wall of stone that was 5’ across, 5’ high and 5” thick that could absorb 5d2+5 damage. Generic creatures not detailed in the monster books get HD like normal monsters, so for example a light Gyre could create a “light elemental” with 5HD, e.g. 5d8 HP.
Some Examples:
1. A 1st level Gyre who specialized in animals could:
Summon or charm a 1HD animal
Grow wolf fangs that would do d4 damage on a bite
Increase the ferocity of a guard dog, adding +1 to its damage.
2. A 2nd level Gyre who specialized in Fire could:
Create a 2HD fire creature that does 2d4 damage
Make a fire sword that does 2d4 damage
Add fire to an existing sword to do +2 to damage
3. A 3rd level Gyre who specialized in Water could:
Summon a 3HD sahuagin
Make an ice shield that absorbs 3d4+3 damage, or adds +3 to their save versus fire
Create a patch of ice 30’ in radius which forces a saving throw versus petrification to cross without falling, save penalty of -3.
4. A 4th level Gyre who specialized in Air could:
Make up to 4HD of creatures fly
Allow the Gyre to fly for 4 turns
Create a wind that would slow down flyers to a ¼ of their speed
5. A 5th level Gyre who specialized in Earth could:
Create a 5HD rock creature that could fight, doing 5d4 damage in one attack per round or d4 damage and 5 attacks per round
Create a wall of stone that can take 5HD damage
Kick up a storm of dust that would blind all opponents for 5 rounds
6. A 6th level Gyre who specialized in Lightning could:
Sheathe themselves in lightning making their touch do 6d2 damage, or anyone hitting them saves versus spell or take 6d2 damage
Shoot chain lighting that magnetizes 6 targets in plate mail armor, or one target at a save of -6
Absorb up to a 6HD lightning bolt and fire it back at its caster
Flexibility on the part of the referee and creativity on the part of the player are key to making a Gyre work in play.
Transformation
Note that any Gyre can transform themselves into an animate/monster version of their aspect, if one such version exists in the game, upon reaching the level equal to their HD. So for example, an animal Gyre could transform themselves into a 1HD wolf at 1st level, a 3HD wererat at 3rd level, a 4HD werewolf at 4th, etc. A space Gyre could transform into a 4HD blink dog at 4th level and a 6HD displacer beast at 6th. A water Gyre could transform into a 3HD water weird at 3rd level, or a 8HD water elemental at 8th. However, they are allowed only one such transformation per day when they are less than 5th level, two from 5th to 9th, and 3 per day from then onwards
Spell Casting Progression
The listed HD/Range/Effects listings by level are the maximum castable, a 6th level Gyre can charm no more than 6HD of creatures, no more than 6 creatures at a time, do no more than 6d2 damage, etc.
The Gyre gets one casting at their level of power (e.g. for a 6th level Gyre, charming up to a 6HD creature) per level per day.
So, for example, a 3rd level water Gyre could summon a 3HD sahuagin, charm a 3HD merman and create a 3HD water elemental (that does 3d2 damage per attack) in one day.
A 10th level Gyre could summon a 10HD creature ten times per day.
Given their deity, this Gyre will take on fire as their aspect, so they may create any of the above effects at the 4th level of power up to 4 times per day, so for example, our Gyre could:
Summon or charm a 4HD fire monster
Cast “burning hands” that do 4d4 damage
Add fire to a sword that will do +4 fire damage for 4 rounds
Throw up to 4 fireballs outdoors for up to 12” distance that explode in a 4” radius doing 4d4 damage save for half
Make a wall of fire around them that does 4d4 damage to anyone passing through (save for half)
Set up to 4 targets in a 4” radius of the caster on fire for d4 damage each
Absorb up to 4d4 hp of fire damage, or add +4 to their save versus fire damage
Transform themselves into a 4HD firedrake (but only once per day)
etc.
Finally, all warlocks and sub-classes have level specific roles associated with their chosen path of domain play development. I decide that they are a Akhaada warlock, one who fights in the arena for their House, so their full title would be Akhaada Combatant Tertius Gyre, and their level specific role would be to fight in the arena solo or under command of a higher level Akhaada warlock.
L. Assign Personality Traits (Optional)
Hedonist, Abrasive, Truthful
M. Customize Playable Group Lore (Optional)
Yalan are renowned glassmakers, since he rolled “artist” twice, he will be a glassmaker and in his downtime he makes glass sculptures
They will stay near windows when indoors so they can see the sky
Will not fly unless the need is dire or they are compelled to do so
value honor above all other virtues
12’ long, green skin, yellow eyes, asp head
N. Name
Xalak Pheer the Sardonyx
O. Magic Items
For PCs and NPCs being made above 1st level, assign magic items as follows:
Level / 3 in permanent magic items - 1 permanent item
Level / 2 in temporary magic items - 2 temporary items
Note: when creating a PC above 1st level, rather than taking a magic weapon/armor that doesn’t fit the character if you roll one up, just change interpret it to fit what they have. It’s a conceit, but it makes more sense than having your 4th level Gyre carrying around a +2 two handed sword they have no proficiency with. Assumedly, in regular play, that would have gone to someone who needed it or it would have been sold.
Permanent Magic Item - Rolled: +3 sword, I will “interpret” that instead as a pair of matched brass +1 hand axes
Temporary - Rolled:
Potion of Growth
Potion of Extra Healing
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