Building Your Character

In this topic, I shall include everything you need to establish your character in a by-the-numbers format which I hope will be easy to digest, especially if you're unfamiliar with the game system and material of Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition.


1. Bloodline or Allegiance
2. Name
3. Race and Racial Traits
4. Alignment
5. Age, Sex and Appearance
6. Deities
7. Character Class Restrictions
8. Abridged Class Overview - Basic Character Classes
9. Abridged Class Overview - Prestige Classes
10. Abridged Class Overview - Racial Classes
11. Abilities
12. Skills
13. Languages
14. Feats
15. Starting Equipment
16. Spells
17. Creature Types

In the present timeline, one year has passed since the House of Ainsley was felled in a great disaster, ending the lives of all connected with the House--nobility and servants alike--and casting the province of Bardosylvania into a state of lawlessness and unending terror. A great wall of dense fog has newly arisen along Bardosylvania's borders, and fearful commoners whisper of strange happenings both within Ainsley Manor and within the yard of Saturninity Hill, the great cemetery which has kept Bardosylvania's dead for over 300 years; Saturninity Hill was abandoned and left to ruin, avoided by the masses after baleful portents followed the interments of Lord Darrovan Ainsley and the last of the Ainsley fallen in their family crypts beneath the chapel and the summit of the hill.

One year after the Fall, select nobles and people of prestige receive wax-sealed letters freshly written from Lord Darrovan's hand, bidding them to come to Bardosylvania and liberate his House from an unholy curse. Some suspect that Lord Darrovan--and perhaps others--survived the doom of their bloodline. Others suspect a hoax or a ruse. And still others suspect...worse.

Spurred by curiosity and the promise of arcane opportunity, a number of death priests and necromancers from all across the continent make preparations for their journeys and descend on Bardosylvania in hopes of finding Saturninity Hill, investigating the curse and discerning how Lord Darrovan supposedly contacted a number of his former associates one year after his death.

Most of them perish long before seeing their destination.


(In the event where a character can justifiably lay claim to both the Ainsley lineage and an outsider order--such as an Ainsley cleric who serves the Scarlet Order--only the House of Ainsley boon applies; either the Ainsley character is too involved in the House's affairs to fully commit to the order and reap its rewards, or the order--viewing the Ainsley member as being wealthy and self-sufficient--curries good relations with the character yet reserves its resources for its less privileged members. Exception: Ainsley bastards can fully commit to the humble Vesperanti, but then it is assumed that the Ainsley is a lost relative who has been wholly assimilated into the lower class; the Ainsley would receive the Vesperanti boons, but with neither a signet ring nor a verifiable claim to nobility he or she would receive no House of Ainsley boons; those will need to be earned through the course of the campaign, as the character struggles to prove or discover his or her true heritage.)




The House of Ainsley - Your character is a direct descendant of the House of Ainsley, whether through blood, through marriage or both. Later, you will be able to look over the family tree and select your character's place in it, whether a direct child or sibling, a bastard born between by an unknown parent and a wayward noble, a noble from another family wed into the House (whether out of love, greed or political convenience) or a distant forebear whose name has been all but forgotten. The choices are yours.
House of Ainsley characters, being nobility, begin with roughly double the starting amount of Gold and whatever gear it affords, randomly determined between 2003 and 2300 Gold. (Outsiders receive anywhere between 902 Gold and 1100 Gold during character creation.) If the Ainsley character is a Human embraced by the House as a noble relative of the Lordship, this Gold is the character's rightful earnings, entitlement of privilege or inheritance; if the Ainsley character is a Half-Elf, a Half-Orc or a bastard Human descendant, this Gold represents alimony or child support to ensure the well-being of the bastard and his or her lowly caregiving parent, "hush money" to keep the bastard from coming forward and disgracing the philandering aristocrat half-responsible for the bastard's conception, or (if the character was orphaned, unacknowledged by the Ainsley parent or conceived through rape instead of consensual unwed carnality) trickle-down charity from the orphanage, monastery, convent or charity house responsible for seeing to the character's upbringing and passage into adulthood, the better to ease the departure and help the half-noble make his or her own way through the world.
(This is a higher starting amount than the previous system from the CoHGuru forums allowed. Corwin Ainsley will hence receive an additional 600 Gold in compensation--most likely along with his treasure map--and any other Ainsley characters whose players decide to join us on Illusion Vale will receive this compensation as well.)
Though it would have applied in earlier times, House of Ainsley characters presently receive no bonuses to reactions from nobles, boyars, upper-class merchant-princes or other aristocrats; widespread news of the House of Ainsley's extinction coupled with fearful superstitious rumors of the Ainsley Curse extinguished what little influence they had. However, in the Chapter Zero prologues this bonus still applies; aristocrats will regard an Ainsley character as if his or her Charisma were one bracket higher (-1, 0, +1, +2, +3, etc.) so long as a signet ring or other proof of lineage is provided. Through the course of play, this boon can be restored--or even improved--should the House of Ainsley rise to reclaim and rebuild their domain, and perhaps build on it further....


Characters from outside the family are also acceptable, though they will most likely be necromancers and death priests come to investigate the Ainsley Curse; few other living people would readily agree to rub shoulders with dark powers or court the life-leeching essences of the Underworld. No more than half of the active player-characters may be outsiders; in a party of six, at least three player-characters must be relatives of the Ainsley family, and no more than three can be necromancers, death clerics or DM-approved "special cases".


Necromancers (Wizards and Sorcerers who specialize in the School of Necromancy) may be either independent or members of one of three orders:

The Dark College of Morribord - These scholarly mages educate new necromancers into their order with organized lessons, strict tutelage and centuries of musty tomes and forbidden lore. Traditionally, one student from every class is slain by dark forces upon that class' graduation from the Dark College, to become one more cadaverous subject for the applied lessons of future necromancers; of course, we can safely assume that your necromancer was not this hapless soul.
Characters from the Dark College of Morribord receive 50% more spells in their spellbooks during character creation, factored for each spell level. Most of these spells should be Necromancy spells, if possible. Only Wizards--and not Sorcerers--may hail from the Dark College of Morribord.

The Order of the Ebon Flame - Necromancers from the Order of the Ebon Flame cast themselves madly into the crucible of experimentation, preferring untested chants over centuries-old formulae and construction of dark magical artifacts over the temporal fruits of prestidigitation. Many students under the Ebon Flame's tutelage die horribly in haywire experiments and disastrous incantations before they can ever become fully-fledged necromancers...but those who do survive to become necromancers are hardened souls indeed.
Necromancers from the Order of the Ebon Flame receive one of three "grab bags" containing a small number of assorted and randomly determined minor magic items of Arcane origin.

The Vesperanti - Dismissed as "peasant gravediggers" by both the Dark College and the Ebon Flame, the Vesperanti are the continent's "blue collar" order of necromancers. The Vesperanti receive their dark knowledges not through ancient libraries or bone-layered laboratories but through oral traditions and hands-on training. Of the three orders, the commoners and lower classes accept the Vesperanti most freely, as these necromancers must serve the citizenry as undertakers, morticians, physicians, butchers and other occupations related to life and death in the courses of their humble educations.
During character creation, each Vesperanti character must invest at least 4 Skill Points in a Craft or a Profession signifying a job or occupation. All the character's dealings with commoners are then treated as if his or her Charisma were one bracket higher (+1, +2, +3, etc.). Each Vesperantus also receives a free henchman, either a Level 3 Expert or a Level 4 Commoner. This servant is an aspiring student of necromancy whom the Vesperanti have placed in your necromancer's charge. The servant will obey any reasonable command, but be sure to look after your servant's well-being; the Vesperanti do not reward negligent necromancers nor replace students lost through apathy or carelessness.


Death priests (Clerics who follow a death-related deity and have chosen Death as one of their Domains) may either be independent or hail from one of three orders:

The Scarlet Order - The Scarlet Order is one of the clergies established in service to Wee Jas, the goddess of death and of magic. The province of Bardosylvania was founded on the backs of outcasts and criminals who conquered the beasts and savages of an untamed land to build their own nation, and many of the survivors--including their leader, Bardos Ainsley I, a cruel knight banished from neighboring Konegheim to become the first Lord of Bardosylvania--championed worship of Wee Jas and thanked the goddess for her mercy and her providence. Three centuries later, Lord Darrovan Ainsley, scoffing at the idea that Wee Jas would have any bearing in his reign, closed every Scarlet Order church in Bardosylvania and drove their priests and paladins from the land. Even from outside those borders the Scarlet Order watched the House of Ainsley fall, then ventured in to inter the rash of death in the disaster's wake. And as Lord Darrovan's heart-robbed body was laid to rest, the revered Abbot Bereghel Menlott beheld as the skies darkened over Saturninity Hill, the earth blackened and the trees for miles around began to wither and die.

The Scarlet Order wishes to restore Wee Jas' religion to Bardosylvania, hoping that her appeasement will withdraw the curtain of darkness from the blighted land. But does Lord Darrovan oppose them still?
Clerics from the Scarlet Order receive one of three "grab bags" full of randomly determined minor magic items of Divine origin, to aid them in their duties. Paladins also serve the Scarlet Order and may be chosen as player-characters; their unusual perspective and training gives them the option to Rebuke undead rather than Turn undead, though this choice is permanent and irreversible. Paladins, being Lawful Good, will tend to interact poorly with any Evil player-characters in the party, so be forewarned.

The Triad of the Winnowing Scythe - This order serves three malevolent death gods: Nerull, Afflux and Orcus. Though the clerics of the Winnowing Scythe can perform rites and services for each of the three deities, they must choose one to serve above the other two. Within the order, the clerics of Afflux maintain great libraries and attend the needs of education, art and philosophy among the order's faithful. Nerull's clerics specialize in murder and assassination, many of whom continue on as rogues and assassins under the Triad's training. And Orcus' clergy continues to refine the dark arts of death magic and necromancy, animating small armies of undead in their duties; many Orcus clerics are trained in wizardry by the Triad and soon join the prized ranks of True Necromancers.
Clerics of this order may cross-class freely during character creation and may receive certain special items depending on their class combinations. Clerics of Afflux can cross-class as cleric-bards and receive a free masterwork musical instrument, clerics of Nerull may cross-class as cleric-rogues and receive a free set of masterwork thieves tools, and clerics of Orcus may cross-class as cleric-wizards and receive a large 300-page spellbook stamped with a silver relief of the Skull of Orcus; this spellbook weighs only 7 lbs and functions as an unholy symbol if the cover is boldly presented. No other cross-class combinations are encouraged or rewarded by the Triad. And single-class clerics of the Winnowing Scythe receive bone unholy symbols of their respective deities; this unholy symbol is empowered, allowing the cleric to Rebuke undead two more times per day if the symbol is used in Rebuke attempts. Regardless of their class or classes, all clerics of the Winnowing Scythe begin with two common human or demi-human undead skeletons at their command; these skeletons are imbued by the Triad and do not count against the maximum number of undead that the cleric may command. The skeletons are mindless and do not evolve, but successful and devoted service to the Triad of the Winnowing Scythe will at times be rewarded with additional skeletons granted (or lost skeletons replaced) by the Triad.

The Cult of the Twilight Candle - This is a selective order of clerics who serve Evening Glory, the goddess of beauty, love and love beyond death (or undeath). The Cult chooses and approaches their prospective members--not the other way around--from those who have lost their loved ones to fatal accidents, murder, suicide or other such tragic ends. With the promise of eventual reunion with their lost loves does the Twilight Candle entice new followers into their (admittedly small) numbers, and those who persevere and become fully ordained clerics may see this reunion realized with the cursed and bittersweet gift of undeath.
Clerics of the Twilight Candle each receive one white everburning candle with which to guide the ghosts of the beloved dead home; these candles function as holy symbols (or unholy symbols, in the cases of Evil clerics) and can ignite with a command word, and nothing short of prolongued and complete immersion in water, gale-force winds or the will of the attuned cleric can extinguish the candle flame. These clerics also gain the company of either a ghoul or a vampire spawn...the undead remnants of the cleric's loved one. If a ghoul, the ghoul is treated as a servant completely submissive to the cleric's will (though the devotion between cleric and ghoul is usually mutual). If a more powerful vampire spawn, the vampire spawn behaves as an independent ally and may come or go as he or she pleases. These undead loved ones may evolve over time, as the cleric does.


Independents include unaffiliated necromancers, death priests or (less commonly) other types of characters who, for whatever reason, have been invited to Bardosylvania or otherwise bear an interest in investigating the Fall of the House of Ainsley or the Curse which seems to creep from Saturninity Hill and spread slowly across the land. They receive no starting bonuses yet act as free agents, commanded by no one. In a bleak land where mortal perils are as near as the shadows, freedom to pursue one's own agenda--or to save one's own neck without the fetter of duty or allegiance--is a precious asset in itself.

Your character needs a name, of course. Choose one. But not just any old name, mind you.

If yours is an Ainsley relative or other native of Bardosylvania, keep in mind that Bardosylvania has a culture similar to that of medieval England and the Celtic lands, with a strong hint of the superstitious beliefs, wariness of outlanders and the hardened yet fearful backbone from medieval Transylvania and Romania. Names and surnames with a Teutonic tone are preferred, with Celtic names being a close second. Bardosylvanians descended from the native barbarians who were subdued by the conquering settlers and integrated into their culture may have Daco-Romanian names instead.

Of course, it's possible that your character married into the House of Ainsley from the aristocracies of other nations. Names and marriage follow the same tradition of our own culture: the husband's name remains intact while the wife adopts her husband's surname. Hence, through these imported husbands it is possible to have Ainsley relatives with surnames other than Ainsley (such as Barrovik Stern, a Karkovan knight who was permitted to wed Lyria Ainsley--Lord Darrovan's younger sister--after Karkova was laid to ruin by the loyalist Imperial nations during the Imperial Civil War, which ended only five years before the present time of the campaign). Imported wives may have interesting cross-language combinations of name and surname, such as "Andrahilde Ainsley" and the like.

Some of the nations most likely to arrange or permit marriages with the Bardosylvanian nobility:

Konegheim - This duchy is the reason that Bardosylvania came to exist three centuries ago, when the Konegheimer knight Bardos Ainsley was disfavored by his knightly order and turned to criminality, terrorizing the forests of South Konegheim as a robber-knight for years. Though cruel and widely feared, Bardos Ainsley became a local folk hero for his defiance against the iron-fisted Duke of Konegheim. The Duke's soldiers finally rounded up Bardos Ainsley and all of his bandits and vassals, executed half of the followers and banished the rest--along with Ainsley--to the wild lands southeast of Konegheim. Eventually, after that motley band succeeded in carving a fledgling lordship from the wilderness, Duke Wulfrid pardoned Bardos Ainsley and permitted his return to nobility as Bardosylvania's first lord decades later. Relations between Konegheim and Bardosylvania rose, fell and rose again as generations passed, but Konegheim and the rest of the empire have slowly turned their backs on Bardosylvania in light of the Ainsley family's growing infamy. Konegheim's culture most closely resembles a Teutonic amalgam of medieval Germany and England.

Nellowswann - The neighboring barony across the Black Earth River is a prosperous trade nation with many bountiful plains. Nellowswannian foodstocks and Bardosylvanian lumber switch hands at a brisk pace, and political relations between the two nations follow, with newlywed knights, ladies and merchant-princes finding new homes in neighboring lands. Nellowswann's culture closely resembles a more optimistic high-fantasy version of late medieval England, with hints of Swiss culture in the rural regions.

Former Karkova - With the ruin of their defeated kingdom, Karkovan noble houses found their loyalties divided. Some nobles remain in Karkova, striving to stave away anarchy and rebuild their homeland as others gather their vassals and lead them to new lives in any land which will welcome such indigent refugees, including former enemies such as Bardosylvania. Karkovan culture resembles Russian culture as it was during the reign of Catherine the Great, with German undertones among the commoners and lesser nobles.

Fioriallia - Here lies the majestic seat of the White Empire, where the Faceless and Eternal Emperor oversees his vast domain. While few of the lofty folk who surround and attend the rarely witnessed Emperor would sully themselves by courting the lesser nobles of other Imperial nations, some see great political advantage--or freedom from the restraints of such high offices--in marrying into such lesser houses. Fioriallian culture resembles the Italian papal, commercial and artistic culture of the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, with a central government which resembles that of the ancient Roman Empire.

Former Hrothjurgan Major - This former Imperial nation sided with Karkova in their rebellion against the Empire, and with their Karkovan allies they were crushed and scattered. Hrothjurgan Major was formerly united with Hrothjurgan Minor as one nation before the war, and both nations are governed by alliances of battle-hardened tribal jarls who tend to scorn the comforts and pretenses of nobility. Still, one may occasionally find a jarl or chieftain wearied of tribal feuds and seeking a more comfortable life, while reputation of his or her martial prowess may ensure a prestigious position among the knighthood or military of a welcoming noble house. Hrothjurgan culture combines the artistic culture and technology of Middle-Ages Germany with the warlike tribal culture and naval prowess of Dark-Ages Norway and other Scandinavian nations.

Omikoros - This bountiful nation's king is practically a figurehead, as the bulk of political power rests with the many merchant-princes who fill the Senate's seats and manage the community forums. And even the king and the merchant-princes must lend an ear to the prestigious caste of heroes who have proven themselves against the great mythic monsters of Omikoros and who hold peerless influence over the masses through popularity alone. Omikorisan culture combines the common culture and artistic culture of ancient Greece with the government of the Roman Empire and the artisan crafts, metalworking and commerce of medieval Italy.

The Ainsley family is a proud human family, and there is much pomp and scrutiny regarding whom an Ainsley relative may wed. An Ainsley who procreates without the bond of marriage will face scorn and consternation from family and peers alike, and courting a non-human mate is practically unthinkable. Still, such deviations from the norm do happen from time to time.

Humans are the recommended race for Ainsley characters, whether cultured noble progeny or bastard offspring. Half-elves and Half-orcs are also permissible as Ainsley descendants but will always be bastards, rejected by the House for their scandalous origins.

Outsiders may hail from any of the standard races (and perhaps a few nonstandard races; feel free to ask about them). The House of Ainsley is not above dealing with nonhumans but regards them with a degree of distrust and superstitious avoidance. Only the Elves routinely encounter the Ainsley family in their heavily forested mutual homeland, and so they have earned a more comforting familiarity than most.


The star that burns twice as bright burns half as long; so it is with humans, the shortest-lived of the civilized common races save for their half-orc offspring. Millenia of such temporal existences has imbued humanity with a strong drive to evolve, to adapt and to change...and change they do, at a pace which the static and long-lived elven populaces find dizzying. Such constant change in human nature has led to great diversity among human nations, cultures and ethnicities, though the halflings show a remarkable talent for keeping up and getting whatever they can out of human civilization.
• Size: Medium
• Base movement: 30 feet
• 1 extra Feat at 1st level.
• 4 extra Skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.


Elves are often attracted to human drive and passion, and humans are often attracted to elven grace and wisdom. The children of such unions combine human heartiness with keen elven senses, giving them a certain balance with which to face the world. The mix of human and elven blood yields a surprising degree of social grace and features which most humans consider attractive, leading to further generations of half-elves.
• Size: Medium
• Base movement: 30 feet
• Immunity to Sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A half-elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
• Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Any


These wild and brutish hybrids born between human and orc find reluctant welcome--at best--among humans and orcs. They inherit the traits of both parents, combining strong orcish muscles and larger size with human insight, resourcefulness and tolerance for bright light. Orcish culture looks down its collective nose at these half-human mongrels, yet many a tribe of orcs is led by a cunning and perseverent half-orc who has proven himself and risen above his "betters".
• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma.
• Size: Medium
• Base movement: 30 feet
• Darkvision: Half-orcs (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, or Abyssal.
• Favored Class: Barbarian
• Favored Alignment: Chaotic Neutral


Hill dwarves are a doughty and noble warrior race who excel at metalcraft, stoneworking and war. Though often gruff and taciturn, they are the most outgoing dwarves and, hence, the dwarven subrace most commonly found among human, gnomish, halfling and elven populations.
• +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma.
• Size: Medium
• Base movement: 20 feet. However, dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).
• Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants a dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Dwarven Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
• Stability: A dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing firmly on the ground.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.
• +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Fighter
• Favored Alignment: Lawful Good

Mountain dwarves live deeper beneath the mountains than hill dwarves do but not as far beneath as deep dwarves. Standing about six inches taller than hill dwarves and fairer of skin and hair, they are mostly an isolationist race. They also claim to be the first dwarven race and that all other dwarves descended from mountain dwarves, an attitude which does nothing to endear them to their cousins.
Stats: As above.

Perhaps the deepest dwelling dwarves, the skin of deep dwarves is either very pale or twinged with red. They have very little contact with surface dwellers, relying on hill dwarves or mountain dwarves to trade their goods or conduct any affairs with the surface.
Stats: As above, save for:
• +3 Racial bonus to Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities.
• +3 Racial bonus to Fortitude saves against poisons.
• Darkvision up to 90'.
• Light Sensitivity: Deep dwarves suffer a -1 penalty to Attack rolls when in direct sunlight or within the radius of a Daylight spell.
• Favored Alignments: Lawful Neutral or True Neutral

Malformed, degenerate, wicked and often deranged, the derro are human-dwarf hybrids native to the Underdark. They dress savagely and delight in slaving and torture. Their skin is white with bluish tint and their white eyes are devoid of irises and pupils.
Stats: As above, save for:
• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -4 Charisma
• Spell Resistance 18.
• Darkvision up to 30'.
• Blind-Fight Feat
• Sunlight Vulnerability: Derro lose 1 point of Constitution for every hour they are exposed to sunlight, dying if their Constitution reaches zero. This Constitution damage is healed at the rate of 1 point for each day spent in darkness.
• +1 Level adjustment (Derro advance in Level as if they were already one Level higher.)
• Favored Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Gray-skinned and typically bald (including their women), the duergar are abhorred and hated by the nobler dwarven breeds, who often wage war with them. Dreaded even by their neighbors in the Underdark, the bleak duergar cultures revere Laduguer, a joyless god who demands constant toil.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Constitution +2, Charisma -4
• +4 Racial bonus to Move Silently checks.
• Immune to paralysis, phantasms and magical or alchemical poisons (but not to normal poisons).
• Spell-Like Abilities: Enlarge (1x/day) and Invisibility (1x/day) as if cast by a wizard twice the duergar's Level (minimum Level 3); these can only affect the duergar and whatever he or she is carrying.
• Darkvision up to 120'.
• Listen +1, Spot +1
• Alertness Feat
• Light Sensitivity: Duergar suffer a -2 penalty to Attack rolls, Saves and all Skill checks and Ability checks while exposed to bright sunlight or the effects of a Daylight spell.
• +1 Level adjustment (Duergar advance in Level as if they were already one Level higher.)
• Favored Alignment: Lawful Evil


Aloof guardians of the forests, countless high elves study magic and swordplay for all their centuries-long lives. Fair of skin and either blond or dark of hair, the high elves' artisans sculpt wood and forge the famed elven metal mithril with great mastery.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution.
• Size: Medium
• Base movement: 30 feet
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Elven Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Wizard
• Favored Alignment: Chaotic Good

Gray elves are the most regal of the elves. Taller and more willowy than high elves, the gray elves seclude themselves away in mountain citadels. Their hair ranges from pale golden to silver in tone, and they prefer splendid clothing and furnishings.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Strength -2, Dexterity +2, Constitution -2, Intelligence +2

In startling contrast to all other elven breeds, wild elves are primal, barbaric and tribal. They call themselves the Grugach and contend that they alone among the elves have lost none of their connection to the natural order. Their skin is tan or light brown, and their hair tends to be either black, brown or dark green.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Dexterity +2, Intelligence -2
• Favored Class: Sorcerer

The wood elves represent the middle ground between the cultured high elves' civilization and the feral wild elves' bonds with the wild. Their treetop villages rise among the deepest and most ancient forests, and their hair--usually yellow or copper in tone--is commonly worn in intricate braids.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Strength +1, Dexterity +2, Constitution -2, Intelligence -1
• Favored Class: Ranger
• Favored Alignment: True Neutral

These peculiar elves are to the seas what their cousins are to the forests, fashioning towering oceanic villages from shell and coral. Their skin ranges from light blue to silvery green, their hair is often deep blue or emerald green, and their fingers and toes are webbed for ease of swimming.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Dexterity +2, Intelligence -2
• Gills: Aquatic elves breathe water and can only survive out of the water for one hour per point of Constitution.
• Swimming speed: 40' per round.
• Favored Class: Fighter

Banished long ago to the Underdark by the other elven races and their god Corellon Larethian, the dark elves harbor strong rancor for their surface-dwelling cousins. Drow culture is matriarchial and theocratic--worshipping the spider goddess Lolth--and the drow themselves sport dark gray or jet black skin, with blood-red eyes and stark white or silvery hair.
Stats above, save for:
• Females: Dexterity +2, Constitution -2, Intelligence +2, Charisma +2
• Males: Dexterity +2, Constitution -2, Intelligence +2, Charisma -1
• Favored Class: Cleric (for females) or Wizard (for males)
• Drow elves lack the usual elven weapon proficiencies and must arm themselves according to Class.
• Spell Resistance 11 + Class Level.
• +2 Racial bonus to Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities.
• Spell-Like Abilities: Dancing Lights, Darkness and Faerie Fire, each usable once a day and cast as if by a sorcerer of the drow elf's Level.
• Darkvision up to 120'. This replaces elven low-light vision.
• Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to any bright light blinds a drow elf for 1 round. In addition, they suffer a -1 penalty to all Attacks, Saves and Skill checks while exposed to bright light.
• Level Adjustment +1
• Favored Alignment: Neutral Evil


Known for wit, cleverness and guile, rock gnomes are inveterate tricksters, inventors and explorers. Blue-eyed and waist-high to most humans, gnomes habitually test the character of friends and acquaintences through pranks, puzzles and riddles, and gnomish culture is thick with alchemy and illusion magic.
• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength.
• Size: Small. As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Base movement: 20 feet
• Low-Light Vision
• Gnomish Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. In addition, a gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
• Favored Class: Illusionist (Wizard specializing in Illusion magic).
• Favored Alignment: Neutral Good

Shy and elusive, forest gnomes are not easily contacted even by elves and sylvan fey. They are almost a foot shorter than rock gnomes and can live to be 500 years old.
Stats: as above, save for:
• Languages: Elf, Sylvan and an Animal tongue which permits very basic communication with animals.
• Spell-Like Ability: Pass Without Trace at will.
• +1 Racial bonus to Attack rolls against kobolds, goblinoids, orcs and reptilian humanoids.
• +4 Racial bonus to Hide checks, or +8 in wooded areas.

Wiry and gnarled in body, with brown or gray skins and gray eyes, svirfneblin are rarely easy on the eyes of most humanoids. They too live in the Underdark, though their hidden cities are constantly sought by their mortal enemies: drow elves, kuo-toa and mind flayers. Though unpleasant to deal with, svirfneblin are one of the few benevolent races which call the Underdark home, and their skill with forging and imbuing potent magic items is legendary.
Stats: as above, save for:
• -2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom, -4 Charisma
• Spell-Like Abilities: Deep gnomes do not share their cousins' talents with Illusion magic, but can use Blindness, Blur and Change Self (each once a day), as if a wizard of the gnome's Level. Svirfneblin also have continuous Nondetection effects on themselves.
• Stonecunning: Same as the Dwarf ability.
• Darkvision up to 120'.
• Spell Resistance 11 + Level.
• +2 Racial bonus to all Saves.
• +4 Dodge bonus against all creatures (no special bonus against giants).
• +2 Racial bonus to Hide checks, or +4 in dark underground areas.
• +1 Level adjustment


Halflings are cunning and resourceful survivors who always seem to find a place to fit into any culture. They prefer comfort and days of relaxation to superficial shows of wealth and will go to great lengths to obtain such.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
• Size: Small
• Base movement: 20 feet
• +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks.
• +1 racial bonus on all saving throws.
• +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear: This bonus stacks with the halfling’s +1 bonus on saving throws in general.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Halfling. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favored Class: Rogue
• Favored Alignment: True Neutral

Taller and slimmer than lightfoot halflings, tallfellows commonly speak Elven and are fond of keeping company with elves in their groves.
Stats: As above, save for:
• +2 Racial bonus to Search, Spot and Listen checks. Like an elf, a tallfellow who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door makes a Search check as if actively searching for it.
• Tallfellows are less athletic than lightfeet and receive no bonuses to Climb, Jump and Move Silently checks.

Deep halflings are shorter and stockier than lightfoot halflings. They take pleasure in gems and fine masonry and often work proudly as gemcutters, jewelers and masons. They often keep company with dwarves, with whom they frequently trade advice on their works.
Stats: As above, save for:
• Darkvision up to 60'.
• Stonecunning: As the Dwarf ability.
• +2 Racial bonus to all Appraise and Craft checks involving stone or metal works.
• Like tallfellows, deep halflings receive no bonuses to Climb, Jump and Move Silently checks.

Bardosylvania is a land of order--and often a tyrannical order, at that--hacked and carved and shaped from the bosom of primal chaos and unearthly dread. The reigning Ainsley family embodies this order and enforces it with an iron hand, with a history of quickly suppressing upheavals and subjecting criminals to public tortures and executions, if only to make examples of those who would flout or violate the lord's laws.

Hence, the Ainsley family does not support the Chaotic alignments, nor will they suffer the presences of--let alone deal with--those who do. The Ainsleys are aware of the civil unrest which lurks just beneath the skin of Bardosylvanian culture, and any hint of rebellion or disorderliness is met swiftly and forcefully by Bardosylvania's bodies of authority.

Of course, the generations of the House of Ainsley typically lean towards the Lawful Evil end of the spectrum, with only the occasional Good noble among them to ease the burdens of the commonfolk. What else could one expect from a noble family mired in centuries of greed, cruelty, paranoia, inbreeding and lunacy, with a feared archcriminal as their progenitor?

Always bear in mind that this setting is not one of high fantasy, where good people live in golden kingdoms and evil people live in black castles leagues away. In settings of horror or dark fantasy--such as the Fall and Rise of the House of Ainsley--good people and evil people are not separated by social castes or physical distances. Here, good people and evil people so commonly work together, live together, sit down for dinner together, fall in love with each other and sire children together...not so much unlike this reality, come to that.


On one axis--the moral axis--lie Good and Evil. These are quite self-explanatory; selfless people lean towards virtue, benevolence and Good, while selfish or monstrous people lean towards wickedness, malice and Evil. Morally Neutral people are liable to view both good and evil as their right hands and left hands, employing either whenever practical yet never committing fully to either; a Neutral person might steal a ruby from an innocent jeweler to buy a new wagon one day, then give the rest of the money to a squalid orphanage the next.

On the other axis--the ethical axis--lie Lawful and Chaotic, or Law and Chaos. Lawful people hold themselves to personal standards of conduct and order; they typically respect the laws of the societies in which they live or travel, adhere to strong personal discipline, stand by their freely given word and perform their duties with all the diligence and dignity they can muster. Chaotic people are far more fickle and unreliable, typically doing as they please on a whim, flouting governments and laws and deceiving or breaking promises however it suits them. Ethically Neutral people tend to walk the line between Law and Chaos, freeing their spirits yet keeping them on long leashes, and tempering their wild sides with certain aspects of honor, restraint or loyalty.

I would recommend a minimum age of 15 years (for human or half-human characters) and a maximum of 50 years...but those are mostly my own estimations. Children or elderly folk tend to be less than viable as characters. What constitutes a child or an elder varies with longer-lived races such as elves and dwarves, of course.

If you would prefer to determine your character's age randomly, these tables should help. Your character's race determines the base age (longer-lived races such as elves take longer to mature, while shorter-lived races such as humans and half-orcs mature faster), and your character's beginning Class adds a variable to that base amount (instinctual or less formal Classes like barbarians and sorcerers require very little training, while the more cerebral Classes like monks and wizards require years and years of dedicated study and training before a character can truly master the fundamentals of such Classes).

And since players in this campaign begin play with Level 5 characters (single-class or any reasonable multi-class combination), you might want to add about three to five years on top of that age, to represent your character's greater experience and advanced training.

Human: 15 years
Dwarf: 40 years
Elf: 110 years
Gnome: 40 years
Half-Elf: 20 years
Half-Orc: 14 years
Halfling: 20 years

Barbarian, Rogue or Sorcerer:
Human: +1d4
Dwarf: +3d6
Elf: +4d6
Gnome: +4d6
Half-Elf: +1d6
Half-Orc: +1d4
Halfling: +2d4

Bard, Fighter, Paladin or Ranger:
Human: +1d6
Dwarf: +5d6
Elf: +6d6
Gnome: +6d6
Half-Elf: +2d6
Half-Orc: +1d6
Halfling: +3d6

Cleric, Druid, Monk or Wizard:
Human: +2d6
Dwarf: +7d6
Elf: +10d6
Gnome: +9d6
Half-Elf: +3d6
Half-Orc: +2d6
Halfling: +4d6



Male or female, of course.



The average heights and weights of characters vary by their races and sexes. With most specimens, expect some deviation from these averages in either direction; larger races (such as humans, half-orcs and the short-but-stocky dwarves) stray further from these averages than the smaller races (such as gnomes and halflings) do.

These averages pertain to adults in their prime. For children and elders, the average heights and weights would be considerably lower.

Human Male: 5'9", 165 lbs
Human Female: 5'4", 130 lbs
Dwarf Male: 4'2", 165 lbs
Dwarf Female: 4'0", 135 lbs
Elf Male: 5'0", 105 lbs
Elf Female: 5'0", 100 lbs
Gnome Male: 3'5", 45 lbs
Gnome Female: 3'3", 40 lbs
Half-Elf Male: 5'4", 145 lbs
Half-Elf Female: 5'2", 125 lbs
Half-Orc Male: 5'9", 175 lbs
Half-Orc Female: 5'3", 135 lbs
Halfling Male: 3'1", 35 lbs
Halfling Female: 2'11", 30 lbs



Natives of Bardosylvania tend to have hair colors along the lines of black, dark to light brown, auburn or dark red; blond or light red hair are uncommon. Otherwise, human hair colors, lengths and styles have the same breadth as it does in this reality, varying mainly by culture and nationality. Bardosylvanians of either sex--fearful and suspicious lot that these people are--tend to cut their hair short in order to keep bandits, roving undead creatures and other enemies from taking hold of it; hair longer than shoulder-length is rare among native Bardosylvanians.

Elves native to Bardosylvania tend to have brown hair, with a lower percentage of blond, gold, silver or white hair appearing in the less forested regions; black hair is almost unknown among the elves here. In the heavily forested areas, red hair, scarlet hair or green-tinted hair are not unknown; some observe the greater numbers of dryads in these regions and speculate that the two races may have somehow interbred at some point in history. Elven women tend to grow their hair much longer than the men do, with knee-length and ankle-length hair being fairly common; such hair is often kept in twists and braids to better avoid snagging it on trees and undergrowth.

Dwarves have a very small presence in Bardosylvania yet number considerably in the nearby Konegheim, Brustagg and Hrothjurgan provinces. Dwarves tend to have hair which is black, dark brown, dark red or gray (even among younger dwarves); in fair and windy Hrothjurgan, dwarves of all ages commonly sport hair which is blond, fiery red, silver, gray or white. The men in most dwarven cultures grow their hair and beards long, commonly braiding them or adding ornamentation such as beads. Dwarven women tend to keep their hair long and braided, and a small minority of dwarven women in southern regions may have very light facial hair; female dwarves in Hrothjurgan and northern Brustagg don't have facial hair at all, and body hair among either sex is absent in these northern reaches.

Gnomes have hair colors similar to those of their larger cousins, the dwarves, though gnome hair leans towards lighter shades such as sandy blond or ghost gray. Gnome males prefer short beards which they groom and sculpt into a variety of shapes and styles. Males may be naturally bald. Female gnomes do not often braid, style or decorate their hair in these regions, preferring to keep it free and flowing.

Halfling hair is almost entirely black or dark brown, with dark red and auburn being less common; blond or fiery red hair is practically unknown among halflings. Halflings of both sexes are entirely devoid of facial hair and body hair, and hair is usually kept short to accommodate the typical halfling's nimble, athletic lifestyle.

As for the half-breeds, they may take their hair from either parent; black, dark gray and even dark blue-black are more common among half-orcs, while shades of blond are more common among half-elves. Hairstyles may vary; half-orcs raised among orcs may have their hair shaved or plucked into various tribal styles (such as topknots or mohawks), while human-reared half-orcs favor more conservative hairstyles.



Among humans, native Bardosylvanians lean towards brown, hazel or green eyes, with blue or gray being very uncommon. Humans of other regions vary, with Hrothjurgander eyes being almost entirely blue, and the Arabianesque Lebeqis having dark brown eyes, with black eyes being common and dark blue or turquoise eyes being rare.

Dwarven eyes lean towards dark shades such as brown, black or dark gray. Elven eyes tend to be deep green, with occasional instances of gray, yellow or violet eyes among them; brown or hazel elven eyes are uncommon, and blue is unknown. Conversely, gnomes almost always have blue eyes, ranging from light ice blue to deep sapphire blue. Halflings usually have brown eyes, with hazel and green also being common. Orcish eyes tend to be black, dark brown or amber in color, with gray or dark red eyes being uncommon.



In this region, humans and halflings tend to have fair or lightly tanned skin. In warmer, less forested regions such as Lebeq Prime or Calaix, darkly tanned or light brown skin becomes more common. Elven or half-elven skin tends to be fair or even pale, while dwarves and gnomes tend to have ruddy complexions. Half-orc skin usually has a gray tone, and ritual scarrification, tattooing and branding are common among half-orcs hailing from orcish cultures.

These are the standard gods and higher powers present in the campaign. If your character has a good reason to follow any other deity from any other Dungeons & Dragons setting--such as the Devourer from Eberron--simply ask and I'll see if I can accommodate you.

While clerics are the only Class who must choose a deity during character creation, other characters from other Classes can certainly justify giving their faith or servitude to a suitable deity. Paladins and druids follow divine teachings quite often, and even the humblest fighters and barbarians on many a battlefield may offer brief prayers to Heironeous, Moradin, Gruumsh or Hextor as the first volleys of arrows race skyward.

Remember that a deity's followers typically cannot deviate from the deity's Alignment by more than one degree--along either the moral axis or the ethical axis, but not both--without abandoning the faith. Heironeous is a Lawful Good deity; therefore, his followers must be either Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral or Neutral Good. Any followers of Heironeous who deviate to Alignments other than those quickly become apostates, usually either grieving their perceived falls from grace, cursing the god who "abandoned" them or rejoicing in their newfound freedom from the god's standards.


Wee Jas
Goddess of Death and Magic
Wee Jas is the most prominent deity in Bardosylvania, her religion first borne to the primal land by the outcast Bardos Ainsley and his cohorts. Lord Darrovan Ainsley tried to scrub her religion from the superstitious province, yet her hand remains firmly set on the spirit of the land.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Death, Law, Magic


Nerull
God of Death
In Wee Jas' hands, death is an instrument of mercy or justice. But in Nerull's hands, death is a thing of murder, butchery and terror. Ever an opportunist hungry to spread his dominion, Nerull's cults followed Wee Jas' faithful into Bardosylvania, ready to catch and convert any who might turn from Wee Jas' just and tempered path.
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Death, Evil, Trickery


Heironeous
God of Valor
A favored god among paladins, Heironeous epitomizes honor, courage and resolve. His half-brother is the terrible Hextor, and Heironeans and Hextorites clash against each other often.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Good, Law, War


Moradin
God of the Dwarves
Moradin is the father of all dwarves, and legend claims that Moradin fashioned the first of the dwarves from metal and gems and breathed life into them. He and his priests are held in the highest esteem by most dwarven civilizations, and entire clans have been known to wage war with each other over disputed possession of Moradin's temples.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Earth, Good, Law, Protection


Yondalla
Goddess of the Halflings
The mother of all halflings, Yondalla espouses harmony among all halfling kin and valiant defense against their enemies. Halfling villages everywhere give heartful thanks to Yondalla with every bountiful harvest.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Good, Law, Protection


Ehlonna
Goddess of the Woodlands
The goddess of the woodlands watches over all the good folk who live their lives in harmony with the forests. Ancient copses of trees are often magically shaped to form her shrines, and many fey creatures such as dryads and brownies are counted among her clerics.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Animal, Good, Plant, Sun


Garl Glittergold
God of the Gnomes
Garl Glittergold found the first gnomes deep within the earth and led them upward to the sunlit world. Ever since, he has proven to be a cunning protector of the gnome race, and his clever brand of pranks and guile are advocated among his followers.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Good, Protection, Trickery


Pelor
God of the Sun
The eternal adversary of all that is evil, Pelor sends his champions forth across the land, scouring away corruption and unholiness with his cleansing and searing rays of light.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Good, Healing, Strength, Sun


Corellon Larethian
God of the Elves
There are numerous conflicts among the legends of how Corellon Larethian, the father of all elves, created this ancient and long-lived race. But such could be expected from a deity with so distant a past. When Corellon Larethian and Gruumsh once met in battle, the God of the Elves put out the orc god's left eye. Elves and orcs have been staunch enemies ever since.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Chaos, Good, Protection, War


Kord
God of Strength
Kord is a simple god who finds no greater pleasure than beholding--or taking part in--the many displays of athletic prowess. A fair number of myths and legends describe wrestlers, weightlifters and pugilists who answered the challenge of a nameless strongman, only learning their mysterious challenger's identity afterwards as Kord--pleased with his opponent's might--granted a holy boon.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Chaos, Good, Luck, Strength


St. Cuthbert
God of Retribution
St. Cuthbert, often believed to be a mortal who ascended to godhood, is a foremost enforcer of the law. With his stout cudgel in hand he brings justice to criminals, anarchists and corruptors, and mages who court demons or other champions of chaos may find themselves struck low by one of his many paladins.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domains: Destruction, Law, Protection, Strength


Boccob
God of Magic
Magic and lore are Boccob's meat and drink, and he finds veneration among clerics and wizards alike. Eons of knowledge are locked away in Boccob's vast celestial library, and so many of his devotees would work their entire lives away for a chance to read but one of his countless tomes.
Alignment: True Neutral
Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Trickery


Fharlanghn
God of Roads
Wherever there are paths and destinations, there are travellers. And where they go, so goes Fharlanghn. Fharlanghn has very few temples, but he has many roadside shrines. And astute travellers who happen by those shrines on more than one occasion will notice that they are never greeted by the same cleric twice.
Alignment: True Neutral
Domains: Luck, Protection, Travel


Obad-Hai
God of Nature
Obad-Hai represents the balance of nature in all its aspects. Both kind and cruel, both calm and tempestuous, both bountiful and lean, both sodden and drought-plagued...these and more are embodied in the God of Nature.
Alignment: True Neutral
Domains: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water


Olidammara
God of Thieves
The vagabond deity Olidammara lives the life of a free spirit, boastfully indulging in wine, women and song. (Not all of the wine was acquired legitimately, of course.) His clerics are few and his temples are fewer, but many a thief raises a glass to his honor after a successful heist, and forbidden courtships occasionally end in matrimony presided over by one of his scandalous priests.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Domains: Chaos, Luck, Trickery


Hextor
God of Tyranny
Iron-fisted despots, bloodthirsty generals and terrifying warlords find favor with Hextor, the wicked god of tyranny and conquest. While his dark temples do exist, one would be just as likely to find his priests working from a weathered tent at the edge of a razed and smouldering village. The churches of Heironeous are strident enemies to the spread of Hextor's cults, and clashes between Heironeans and Hextorites often ring and peal for miles around.
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Destruction, Evil, Law, War


Vecna
God of Secrets
As a power-mad wizard who ascended to godhood, Vecna is a dark legend among many lands and many planes, including the bleak and secluded Demiplane of Dread where he once struggled to topple the Dark Powers who govern the Land of the Mists. Long ago, Vecna's traitorous lieutenant Kas struck out his eye and hacked off his hand, and to this day Vecna's cultists will gladly kill anyone to claim those grisly relics.
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Evil, Knowledge, Magic


Erythnul
God of Slaughter
Erythnul is bloodthirst unbound, and he finds homage from those who find delight in bloodshed, torture and murder. Owing to the chaotic and explosively violent nature of his followers, his cults can only prosper among warlike tribes of raiders; in civilized lands, all but his most subtle priests are quickly rooted out and put to the sword.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Trickery, War


Gruumsh
God of the Orcs
The one-eyed father of the orcs guides his children to be strong and to crush any who stand before them. Might is the only merit worthy of respect among Gruumsh's faithful; weaklings are swiftly and brutally culled from his cults, and leaders of his sects hold their positions only until the next wave of ambitious upstarts rise up and strike them from their perch. Leaders who can cut down mountains of would-be usurpers and keep hold of their thrones for years find the greatest favor with their god.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Strength, War


Afflux
God of Blood and Torture
Afflux never flinches from sacrificing the living to discern what made them once alive, and he will coldly peel away any amount of skin, drain every drop of blood and burn every nerve ending to find such revelations. Afflux's priests are masterful torturers who revel in the agony they cause in their captives, and throngs of devoted vampires gather at Afflux's altars to sup from the torn, steaming and bloody remains of each ritual sacrifice.
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Domains: Knowledge, Evil, Deathbound, Undeath


Doresain
God of the Ghouls
The insatiable demi-god Doresain appeals to all those possessed of hunger which can never be sated. The King of the Ghouls teaches that to exist is to eat and to eat is to exist, and rites conducted by Doresain's priests routinely devolve into fearsome cannibalistic orgies. Ghouls are as likely to be enthralled subjects to Doresain's clerics as they are to be the clerics themselves.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Hunger


Evening Glory
Goddess of Love Beyond Death
In Evening Glory's teachings, love can last forever. And what better way to ensure that love lasts forever than through the eternal preservation of lovers that is undeath? Evening Glory's faithful priests, undead and necromancers are the few of their kinds not inherently possessed with malevolence, but rare is the crusading sun priest or paladin who pauses to listen to them.
Alignment: True Neutral
Domains: Magic, Protection, Charm, Undeath


Orcus
Demon Prince, Lord of Undeath
The demon prince Orcus once claimed Doresain as a vassal, but that dominance is no more. And Orcus once enjoyed great power among the demonic nobility of the Hells, but the murderous schemes of other demon princes put an end to him. Now, unlike many demons who meet death, Orcus has arisen in undeath. His vengeance against the other demon princes will come in time; he understands the value of patience, and for now he plots to fortify his religion, gather followers and slowly but assuredly reclaim what power was lost to him.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Death, Darkness

The House of Ainsley is an old family of warriors, huntsmen and priests, and their Classes reflect this.

While the family has traditionally cast a wary eye on witchcraft, this does not prevent their more educated progeny from pursuing the arcane arts, nor does it prevent innate mystic talents from emerging in gifted individuals. Wise sorcerers and wizards keep their spellcraft and their familiars hidden from family and peers.

Ainsley parents, being strict disciplinarians, tend to rear children who are groomed to assume roles of office as proper ladies and gentlemen...but from time to time a willful child defies their sternest attempts at correction. The House has been known to send their unruly children to monasteries and boarding schools in Nellowswann and other lands; when such children come of age and return home, most return with great discipline, hale bodies and--if the child resolved his or her discord--skill in the arts of fighting as well as insights leading to mastery of mind over body. In short, they leave home as rebels and return as monks.

The House of Ainsley police themselves for the wayward behaviors which can lead a person to "reprobate" Classes, yet some bards and rogues mesh particularly well with the family in such roles as poets, musicians, scouts and spies.

And though they often hunt game in their leisure time, Bardosylvanian forests are very dangerous--especially after dusk--and few Ainsleys are willing to involve themselves with the lands enough to attune themselves to the natural world on a spiritual level; hence, few Ainsleys have the inclination to become druids.

Entirely forbidden is the Barbarian class; there simply are no more barbarians in Bardosylvania, save for the occasional vagabond from outside her borders. The land was occupied by the tribal Vorgirs and Sergs long before Bardos Ainsley I and his settlers came, but over the coming centuries were these barbarians brutally driven away, imprisoned or exterminated. Though Serg tribes have not existed for almost 100 years--and the Vorgirs were dispersed even sooner--the House continues to oppress Bardosylvania's assimilated Serg-Vorgir descendants and police them warily, ever fearful of an uprising instigated by discontent Serg-Vorgirs aspiring for a return to the old ways.

Ainsley Nobles - Acceptable Classes
Cleric (Wee Jas), Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Wizard

Ainsley Nobles - Restricted Classes (No more than one player-character from any restricted Class)
Cleric (other deity), Bard, Druid, Monk, Rogue, Sorcerer

Ainsley Nobles - Forbidden Class
Barbarian


The outcast bastards of the Ainsley bloodline enjoy a different degree of latitude in finding their callings. Some are left entirely on their own, dwelling in ignobility and flocking to Classes which increase their chances of surviving such squalid environs. Other such unwanted children are taken in by temples, monastic orders or druidic circles, nurtured to maturity by the guiding hands of the clerics, monks or druids appointed over them. And still others walk alone as sorcerers, the latent dark mystic taint of Ainsley blood manifest fully in those uncanny individuals who often frighten any superstitious folk they happen across.

But without the House of Ainsley's sanction or support, few such bastards can hope for sponsorship into one of the land's exalted orders of paladins or prestigious colleges of wizardry. And while some such outcasts endure alone in the wild--becoming barbarians in their own right--the complete absence of barbarian tribes in the region ensures that no such tribe will take the Ainsley bastard in and educate him or her in their ways. Death from wolves or exposure to long Bardosylvanian winters often befalls such lone souls, making Ainsley barbarians very rare indeed.

Ainsley Bastards - Acceptable Classes
Bard, Cleric (any deity), Druid, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer

Ainsley Bastards - Restricted Classes
Barbarian, Paladin, Wizard


As for outsiders, they are quite varied. Whether battle-weary fighters from Brustagg, wandering bards bearing the arts of Omikoros or runic wizards from Hrothjurgan, they may at times find their ways to dread Bardosylvania. But only the necromancers and death priests have the greatest cause to venture to Bardosylvania--the beckoning of Lord Darrovan Ainsley himself--and will thus arrive in greater numbers.

Outsiders - Acceptable Classes
Cleric (possessing the Death domain or serving a deity related to death or undeath), Wizard (specializing in Necromancy), Sorcerer (whose complement of spells is high in Necromancy), Bard (either associated with the Winnowing Scythe, possessing Requiem (a special Feat which allows bard songs to affect undead) or training up to the Dirgesinger prestige class), Paladin (serving Wee Jas or principles similar to hers), Rogue (associated with the Winnowing Scythe or training under an assassin order; typically, only Evil rogues go this path).

Outsiders - Restricted Classes
Cleric (any other), Wizard (any other), Sorcerer (any other), Bard (any other), Paladin (any other), Rogue (any other), all other Classes.

Each Class represents a different manner of dealing with the perilous world in which the characters live, and each comes with its own merits and shortcomings. Choose wisely to best suit your preferences.

All basic Classes listed here are detailed as they would be for a Level 5 character of that class--Level 5 Bard, Level 5 Wizard and so forth--in regard to beginning abilities. All characters begin this campaign at Level 5, including cross-classed characters (ie. a Level 3 Rogue/Level 2 Sorcerer).


Barbarian
This rough, uncultured and often brutish warrior is a dedicated survivor hailing well away from civilized lands.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Lawful
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st; Intelligence modifiers apply)
Beginning Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple Weapons, all Martial Weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Barbarian Rage (twice daily), Fast Movement, Uncanny Dodge
Special Disadvantages: Illiteracy. And barbarians who become Lawful become too civilized for the barbarian's savage and self-reliant path; such ex-barbarians can no longer Rage and may not gain anymore Levels as a barbarian, though they retain all other abilities.


Bard
These travelling performers are jacks of all trades, often employing fighting, thievery and spellcasting in equal measure.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Non-Lawful
Hit Points: Low (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple Weapons plus one weapon from a specific list of Martial and Exotic weapons
Spells: Bard Spells (Arcane), lesser spellcaster
Special Abilities: Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge
Special Disadvantages: Bards who become Lawful lose their free spirit and may no longer gain Levels as bards, though they retain all bardic spells and abilities.


Cleric
These priests and keepers of faith devote themselves to all manners of gods, serving these higher powers and bearing their manifest powers.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (8 + 2 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: All Armor (Light, Medium or Heavy) and Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple Weapons. Clerics may also gain proficiency with their deity's favored weapon, if applicable.
Spells: Cleric spells (Divine), strong spellcaster. Clerics also gain addition spells based on their deity's Domains; each cleric chooses to specialize in two of his or her deity's Domains during character creation, and these Domains usually cannot be changed (short of switching deities, an action which may invite disfavor from the previous deity as well as his/her/its clerics and followers).
Special Abilities: Turn Undead (for Good clerics) or Rebuke Undead (for Evil clerics; Neutral clerics must choose to either Turn or Rebuke at character creation, and cannot switch without deviating from their Alignment). Bonus languages: Celestial, Abyssal and Infernal.
Special Disadvantages: Clerics cannot cast spells from an Alignment directly opposed to that of the cleric or the cleric's deity. Good clerics cannot cast Evil spells, Chaotic clerics cannot cast Law spells, etc. Clerics who deviate too far from their deity's code or Alignment also lose all spells and divine abilities, and cannot recover them--or gain Levels as a cleric--until the cleric atones.


Druid
Druids channel the primal forces of this world as both Nature's masters and servants by existing in a state of harmony with the natural order.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Neutral (Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil)
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor
Beginning Weapon Feats: Druidic (club, dagger, dart, longspear, quarterstaff, scimitar, sickle, shortspear, sling)
Spells: Druid spells (Divine), strong spellcaster
Special Abilities: Nature Sense, Animal Companion
Special Disadvantages: Druidic oaths prevent the druid from wielding weapons other than druidic weapons, and they may only wear armor or take up shields crafted from organic materials (wood, leather, bone, etc.); metal armor is forbidden. Violating these oaths renders the druid unable to cast spells until one day after the offending material is discarded. Druids who deviate from Neutrality or cease to revere nature lose all spells and abilities and may not recover them or gain Levels as a druid until the ex-druid atones.


Fighter
Whether noble knights, bloody warlords, hardened soldiers or brutal thugs, these sturdy and well-trained men- and women-at-arms are found wherever steel sings in battle.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: High (d10 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (8 + 2 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: All Armor and Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Three bonus Feats specific to fighting ability, possible Weapon Specialization (a weapon mastery specific to Fighters).
Special Disadvantages: None


Monk
Unarmed and unarmored by disciplines and vows, monks begin as the weakest warrior Class, yet their training imbues them with great mystic powers as they master their arts.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Lawful.
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None. Unarmored monks receive Armor Class bonuses from high Wisdom, along with the usual Dexterity adjustment. Monks who learn Armor Feats lose the Wisdom bonus while wearing armor.
Beginning Weapon Feats: Monk weapons (club, light crossbow, heavy crossbow, dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, shuriken, siangham, sling). Monks can also deal lethal damage (not mere subdual damage) with unarmed strikes; this base damage increases as the monk rises to higher Levels.
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Unarmed Strike, Stunning Attack, Evasion, Deflect Arrows, Still Mind, Slow Fall (20 ft), Purity of Body, increased unarmed damage, increased movement speed, +1 Armor Class when unarmored
Special Disadvantages: Monks whose Alignments deviate from Law can no longer gain Levels as monks, though they do retain all their monk abilities. Monks also lose the ability to gain Levels as monks if they deviate to another Class (read: multi-classing). The path of a monk demands great dedication if the monk is to evolve into mastery.


Paladin
These crusaders wield weapons and zeal in defense of their faith. Often working for temples alongside clerics, paladins wield a lesser degree of holy power as well.
Alignment Restrictions: Lawful Good only
Hit Points: High (d10 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (8 + 2 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: All Armor and Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: Paladin spells (Divine), lesser spellcaster
Special Abilities: Detect Evil, Divine Grace, Lay on Hands (can heal by touch), Divine Health (immunity to disease), Aura of Courage (immunity to fear), Smite Evil, Remove Disease, Turn Undead, Special Mount (a steed who shares an empathic link with the paladin)
Special Disadvantages: Paladins may not knowingly join with Evil characters, nor may they employ hirelings who are not Lawful Good. The paladin's Code of Conduct also forbids deceit, use of poison, neglect towards those in need or sloth in defending the innocent. Paladins whose Alignments deviate from Law or Good lose all spells and abilities, including the special mount.


Ranger
Wild warriors who dwell in the wilderness, rangers are peerless hunters and stalkers who know their prey in every detail.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: High (d10 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: Ranger spells (Divine), lesser spellcaster
Special Abilities: Track, two Favored Enemies (bonuses to detect, stalk, deceive and harm two types of enemies, such as giants or undead), two-weapon fighting (if wearing light armor or less, a ranger may wield two weapons at much lower attack penalties)
Special Disadvantages: Non-Evil rangers may not choose their own race as a Favored Enemy.


Rogue
An assortment of sneaks and scoundrels, rogues range in scape from thieving cutpurses to devious tricksters to fleetfooted scouts to patriotic spies. Few can match the rogue's prowess at getting into secured places.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: Low (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Very High (32 + 8 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: Light Armor
Beginning Weapon Feats: Rogue weapons (hand crossbow, light crossbow, dagger, dart, light mace, sap, shortbow, shortsword; Medium-size rogues may wield the club, heavy crossbow, heavy mace, morningstar, quarterstaff and rapier as well)
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Sneak Attack (extra damage against flatfooted or flanked targets), Traps (can find and disarm any kind of trap), Evasion, Uncanny Dodge
Special Disadvantages: None


Sorcerer
These arcane mystics are born with innate power, casting spells which spring less from training and more from intuition and raw natural talent. Sorcerers don't gather new spells as wizards do, knowing fewer spells yet casting them more frequently.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: Very Low (d4 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (8 + 2 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None. Armor hinders the casting of Arcane spells, and sorcerers tend to avoid wearing it.
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple weapons
Spells: Arcane spells, strong spellcaster
Special Abilities: Summon Familiar (with 100 Gold of materials and preparation, may call forth a small magical animal to serve the sorcerer utterly)
Special Disadvantages: If a sorcerer dismisses his or her familiar or allows it to die, the sorcerer incurs a loss of Experience and cannot replace the familiar for a year and a day.


Wizard
These scholarly mages draw their command over the arcane arts from years of apprenticeship and study. Every ancient inscription, draconic scroll or musty old tome has the potential to bring greater knowledge--and power--to an inquisitive wizard.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Hit Points: Very Low (d4 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (8 + 2 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None. Armor hinders the casting of Arcane spells, and wizards tend to avoid wearing it.
Beginning Weapon Feats: Wizard weapons (club, dagger, light crossbow, heavy crossbow, quarterstaff)
Beginning Item Creation Feats: Scribe Scroll
Spells: Arcane spells, strong spellcaster
Special Abilities: Summon Familiar (with 100 Gold of materials and preparation, may call forth a small magical animal to serve the wizard utterly), one bonus Feat (either Metamagic, Item Creation or Spell Mastery (which allows a wizard to permanently memorize a number of spells)). Wizards may also take Draconic (the exclusive dragon tongue) as a bonus language. Wizards may specialize in a certain School of magic (such as conjuring or necromancy), forsaking one or more other Schools to gain more mastery over the chosen School.
Special Disadvantages: If a wizard dismisses his or her familiar or allows it to die, the wizard incurs a loss of Experience and cannot replace the familiar for a year and a day. Wizards also cannot prepare their spells (except for spells preserved through Spell Mastery) if their spellbooks are ever lost or destroyed.

Not anyone can join the ranks of a Prestige Class, for these represent those who have found their way to specific avenues of mastery.  Still, for whatever their rarity, such uncommon characters would be assets to any noble house seeking to reclaim what dominion it has lost....

As with the basic Classes, Prestige Classes never subtract anything previously granted by the character's other Classes.  A Fighter who becomes a Fighter/Death's Chosen does not lose all armor or weapon proficiencies; it simply means that the Death's Chosen class has no new armor or weapon proficiencies to offer Fighters (or any other Class, for that matter).

All listed abilities are those for the first Level of each Prestige Class.  At first glance, the Pale Master might seem a very weak Prestige Class with its distinct lack of special abilities, but--after a number of stolen undead powers and undead body parts grafted onto the pale master's living, amputated flesh--the Level 10 Pale Master emerges a very powerful fiend indeed.


Assassin
Assassins are proficient and well-trained killers, skilled at locating their targets, striking swift and lethal blows and escaping before others come to avenge the slain.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Evil (though this evil is usually the simple moral void which would allow someone to routinely murder for personal gain)
Requirements (to take this Prestige Class): Move Silently 8, Hide 8, Disguise 4, Special: must perform a successful contract killing to earn tutelage from a master assassin or assassin guild.
Hit Points: Moderate (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor
Weapon Feats: Assassin weapons (hand crossbow, light crossbow, heavy crossbow, dagger, dart, rapier, sap, shortbow, short sword)
Spells: Assassin spells (Arcane), lesser spellcaster
Special Abilities: Sneak Attack, Death Attack, poison use


Blackguard
Unlike the cold and ethical assassins, blackguards are true champions of evil, black knights who consort with hellspawn and devote themselves to dark gods and wicked causes.  They earn their nicknames as "anti-paladins" in many ways.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Evil
Requirements: Base Attack +6, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Intimidate 4, Cleave, Sunder, Special: must make peaceful contact with a devil, a demon or any other evil outsider; the character need not be the outsider's summoner.
Hit Points: High (d10 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: All Armor and Shields
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: Blackguard spells (Divine), lesser spellcaster
Special Abilities: Detect Good, poison use.  Blackguards who are former paladins also gain extra Blackguard abilities to compensate for what they lost in their falls from grace; those who bask in the light and walk away from it too often become the darkest and most sinister villains.


Death's Chosen
Not every mortal is content to serve living authorities.  Some, whatever their reasons, pledge their service and their lives to the undead--acting as the imbued champion of a powerful undead liege--and draw unnatural power from the union.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Good
Requirements: Base Attack +5, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Spot 2, Special: must be accepted by a sentient and more powerful undead master, such as an ancient lich or an elder vampire.
Hit Points: High (d10 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Shield of the Master, Vigor of the Chosen
Notes: Unlike most Prestige Classes (which have maximum Levels of 10), Death's Chosen only go up to Level 3.


Dirgesinger
Unlike the bard, the dirgesinger's songs are never of joy or celebration, only of sorrow and despair.  The kinder of these bleak musicians are content with composing enduring melodies and laments for the dead; the crueler dirgesingers slay the world's joys in teaching that love, hope and life itself are all futile.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Good
Requirements: Knowledge (Religion) 4, Perform (any) 8, Requiem, Bardic Music
Hit Points: Low (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Song of Sorrow (which can strip the Will and resolve of any who hear it; the Dirgesinger learns a new, terrible Song with each Level)
Notes: Dirgesingers only go up to Level 5.


Dread Pirate
Many a seafaring robber or ruffian lays claim to the title of "pirate," but to actually make a fortune through piracy is no easy task.  And only those who succeed--through cunning, nimbleness, information gathering and an intimidating reputation--may earn the mantle of Dread Pirate.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Lawful
Requirements (to take this Prestige Class): Base Attack +4, Appraise 8, Profession (Sailor) 8, Swim 5, Use Rope 5, Quick Draw, Weapon Finesse, Special: must own a ship worth at least 10,000 Gold; how the ship was acquired is irrelevant.
Hit Points: Moderate (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: High (6 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light and Medium Armor
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial Weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Two-Weapon Fighting, Fearsome Reputation, Rope Swing, Wind at Your Back, Shifting Deck, Come About,, Concealed Weapon Attack, Raise the Black Flag, Scourge of the Seas


Dungeon Delver
While most adventurers have a variety of skills for plundering crypts and labyrinths, the Dungeon Delver is a specialist in dungeon crawling, even forsaking social skills to focus on defeating any stonework or mechanism.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements (to take this Prestige Class): Climb 10, Craft (Masonry) 5, Disable Device 10, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Open Locks 10, Search 10, Alertness, Blind-Fight, Special: must first survive a great trial underground, such as surviving a cave-in or exploring the Underdark for a year.
Hit Points: Moderate (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Very High (8 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light and Medium Armor
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial Weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Danger Sense, Blindsight, Stonecunning, Reduce, Darkvision, Treasure Sense, Find the Path, Phase Door


Fang of Lolth
Some adventurers in their careers may acquire a drow elf trinket called a Fang Scarab.  And of those, some--wittingly or not--activate it and become arachnoid hybrids, abominations which are not without their advantages....
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Lawful and non-Good
Requirements (to take this Prestige Class): Base Attack +5, Use Magic Device 10, Special: must acquire a Fang Scarab and get it to function via Use Magic Device (DC 25).
Hit Points: Moderate (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: High (6 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Climb bonus, Jump bonus, Use Magic Device bonus, Sneak Attack, Spider Bite, Spider Climb (Speed 20'), Natural Armor, Spider Vision, Summon Swarm, Spider Limbs.  At Level 10, the Fang of Lolth's race changes to Vermin.


Loremaster
Some mages and priests view knowledge as a prize in itself.  These sagely spellcasters may become loremasters, the keepers of rare insights, secrets, lost languages and fields of expertise.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Two Knowledge skills (any kind): 10 ranks in each, ability to cast seven different divination spells (all 3rd Level spells or higher), any three Metamagic or Item Creation feats, Skill Focus: Knowledge (any kind).
Hit Points: Very Low (d4 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: As any previous spellcasting Class.  Levels in Loremaster are treated as Levels in the previous Class in regard to numbers and levels of spells; A Level 10 Wizard who gains one Level in Loremaster would cast spells as if a Level 11 Wizard.
Special Abilities: Loremaster Secrets (permanent bonuses, skills or spells which keep accumulating with every other Loremaster level)


Lurking Terror
No longer content to wait for living prey to come to them, these undead fiends take swiftly to the hunt, silently creeping through shade and springing forth to kill at the right moment.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Undead character, Hide 8, Move Silently 8.  If the character is an incorporeal type of undead, the need for the Move Silently skill is waived.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Deathly Power (some of the Lurking Terror's undead abilities--such as a vampire's dominating gaze--become harder to resist)
Notes: Lurking Terrors only go up to Level 3.


Master of Shrouds
Seeming to prefer the company of the undead over that of the living, masters of shrouds are typically death priests who seek further mastery over the grim powers of undeath.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Good
Requirements: Base Will Save +5, Concentration 5, Knowledge (Religion) 5, Spellcraft 5, Augment Summoning, Spell Focus (Conjuration), able to cast Protection from Good (Divine version), able to Rebuke Undead
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None; Level 2 Masters of Shrouds begin gaining new Divine spells as if gaining Levels in the Cleric class.
Special Abilities: Extra Rebuking, more potent Rebuke Undead


Master Vampire
Any vampire can command a pack of lesser spawn, but only the more forceful and charming master vampires can hope to command an entire tribe or clan of their many "children".
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Character must be a vampire who must control at least two vampires or vampire spawn which were created through his or her Create Spawn ability.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: As existing spellcaster Class (if any)
Special Abilities: More Spawn (Charisma increases the number of vampires that the Master Vampire can command), Turn Resistance
Notes: Master Vampires only go up to Level 3


Outlaw of the Crimson Road
Outlaws and highwaymen often come to that lifestyle by fate and against their will.  But a few desperate men and women come to embrace that fate, rebel agains the law which condemned them and walk the Crimson Road into legend.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements (to take this Prestige Class): Base Attack +4, Bluff 5, Disguise 5, Gather Information 5, Intimidate 5, Ride 5, Special: A legal authority must pronounce the character an outlaw by writ (usually through placing a bounty on him/her) though the character need not be guilty of the crimes named therein. Special: Must abide by the Outlaw's Code and choose a type of people (orphans, the poor, clergy, women, elves, etc.) to spare from his/her predations; the people granted this immunity will come to idolize the Outlaw as a folk hero and aid him/her in times of need, so long as this Code is never broken.
Hit Points: Moderate (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: High (6 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor
Weapon Feats: All Simple, one chosen Martial, Net (Exotic)
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Ambush, Life on the Crimson Road (Bonus Feats), Evasion, Fugitive's Luck, Leadership, Improved Evasion, Ranged Disarm, Legend, Cheat Death.


Pale Master
Surely the most debased of necromancers, these mad wizards and sorcerers seek unity with undeath by inviting it into their own flesh and bone.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Good
Requirements: Knowledge (Religion) 8, Skill Focus: Knowledge (Religion), able to cast Command Undead (Arcane) and Vampiric Touch (Arcane).  The character must also have spent three or more days sealed in a tomb with active undead; the contact with the undead may be peaceful or violent, but the character should ideally survive the experience.
Hit Points: Very Low (d4 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: None; later Levels in Pale Master gain spells as if Levels in the character's previous Arcane spellcasting class.
Special Abilities: None initially...


Shadowdancer
These guilesome artists of deception play with tricks of light and darkness, pixie-leading enemies into danger or slipping into strongholds with a nigh-phantasmal grace.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Move Silently 8, Hide 10, Perform (Any) 5, Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: High (6 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor
Weapon Feats: Shadowdancer weapons (club, crossbow (hand, light or heavy), dagger, dart, mace, morningstar, quarterstaff, rapier, sap, shortbow, short sword)
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Hide in Plain Sight


True Necromancer
True mastery over the dark arts of necromancy comes neither from the arcane path nor the divine path, but from both tied together in one corrupt soul.  True necromancers and their undead minions are feared by good civilizations; more often than not, this fear is quite justified.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Good
Requirements: Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Spell Focus (Necromancy), able to cast Summon Undead II (Divine) and Command Undead (Arcane), able to Rebuke Undead, access to the Death Domain.
Hit Points: Low (d6 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: None
Weapon Feats: None
Spells: Levels in True Necromancer are alternately treated as Levels in the character's Arcane class and the character's Divine class with regard to spellcasting.  A Wizard/Cleric/True Necromancer would gain spells as if growing as a Wizard, then a Cleric, then a Wizard again...
Special Abilities: More potent Rebuke Undead
Notes: True Necromancers go all the way up to Level 14.



Due to the natures of these Prestige Classes, they are not the best suited for the campaign's needs...certainly not suited enough to permit no more than one instance of each among the party.  But an enterprising player could certainly put one of them to good use.


Arcane Archer
The elves have a truly ancient reputation as both masterful archers and powerful mystics.  But a small number succeed in binding both masteries together, becoming arcane archers.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Elf or half-elf character, Base Attack +6, Weapon Focus (any bow; crossbows don't count), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, able to cast 1st Level Arcane spells.
Hit Points: Moderate (d8 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Enchant Arrow +1


Dwarven Defender
The knights and champions of the many dwarven gods, lieges or causes, the dwarven defenders will root themselves to the earth and never budge from the spot, even to shield their charges against the most overpowering onslaughts.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Lawful
Requirements: Dwarf character, Base Attack +7, Dodge, Endurance, Toughness
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Low (2 per Level)
Armor Feats: All Armor and Shields
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Defensive Stance (once per day)


Ephemeral Exemplar
Some ghosts, wraiths and spectres bemoan their intangibility; others revel in it.  The latter may come to master their state--and turn it towards greater ends--as ephemeral exemplars.
Alignment Restrictions: None
Requirements: Character of any incorporeal undead type, Base Attack +3, Base Will Save +5
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor and Weapon Feats: None. Very rarely can incorporeal undead wear armor or bear arms at all.
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Improved Deflection, Turn Resistance
Notes: Ephemeral Exemplars only go up to Level 3.


Tomb Warden
Uncommon is an undead creature who stands devoted to the defense of the dead.  Tomb wardens are those who choose eternal guardianship of a tomb, crypt, cemetery or other house of the dead, and the consecrated earth--and its dead--reward their guardian well.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Chaotic
Requirements: Undead character, Base Attack +3, Base Will Save +5, Toughness. The character must choose some sort of mass resting place (such as Saturninity Hill or the Ainsley Crypts), and dedicate himself or herself to its defense.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (4 per Level)
Armor Feats: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor
Weapon Feats: All Simple and Martial weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Turn Immunity (the Tomb Warden cannot be Turned or Rebuked while within his or her tomb, crypt, catacomb, cemetery, ossuary, etc.)
Notes: Tomb Wardens only go up to Level 3.  If a Tomb Warden either leaves the protected ground for more than seven days or relinquishes guardianship of it, the Tomb Warden loses all Class features (except for armor proficiencies) and must undergo atonement to reclaim them.



Because of the campaign's nature, these prestige classes are off-limits to players.  However, these classes will certainly appear from time to time, usually among the player-characters' enemies....


Master of Radiance
Hailing from the ranks of druids and sun-worshippers, masters of radiance wield sunlight itself against the darkest of night, scouring away what hapless fiends and undead fall beneath their cleansing rays.
Alignment Restrictions: Any non-Evil
Requirements: Knowledge (Nature) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 5, able to cast Daylight (Divine)


Sacred Purifier
The sacred purifier crusades against the tides of undeath in this world, never resting until their unholy foes have been struck back to their eternal rest.
Alignment Restrictions: Any Good
Requirements: Base Will Save +5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Extra Turning, able to cast 2nd-Level Divine spells, able to Turn Undead

Some races and racial subtypes are inherently supernatural in nature, and many of these races have exploitable supernatural powers which can improve and perhaps even multiply as the character gains mastery over the self. The racial classes relevant to this campaign are listed below.

(As of today--December 27th, 2009--I've gone ahead and removed the question marks. We already have an active ghoul as an NPC henchman with the party, so I might as well let the rest of the cats out of the bag. Future players of Ainsley characters, take note here, for your character's fate may be outlined below.)


Ghoul / Ghast
Ghouls can be treacherous enemies; they can move swiftly, attack fiercely, paralyze with a death-infused touch and spawn more of their kind from their slain victims. The most powerful of these cannibalistic flesh-eaters evolve into ghasts, who can exude a debilitating stench to cripple any living foes or prey who draw too near.
Maximum Level for this Class: 8; Ghouls become ghasts at Level 6.
Alignment Restrictions: None, but ghouls and ghasts gravitate towards Chaos and Evil; rarely can undead cannibals become Lawful, and even more rarely are they Good.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per level) (But, as with all undead, ghouls and ghasts have no Constitution scores and, therefore, receive no Constitution-based bonuses or penalties to Hit Points.)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Bite and Claw attacks, Natural Armor (a ghoul's skin toughens with age, raising her Natural Armor Class as she evolves into higher Levels), Paralysis (inflicted by the ghoul's teeth and claws, this ability grows more powerful as the ghoul evolves and can eventually affect such creatures as elves, who are normally immune), Ghoul Fever (infected humanoids may die from this inflicted disease, only to rise from death as ghouls themselves), Stench (ghasts may blanket their vicinities in clouds of stench and corruption strong enough to sicken and weaken the living)
Special Disadvantages: Flesh Hunger (Ghouls and ghasts must fill their guts with flesh--living or dead--at least once every three days. Failure to do so will slowly but inexorably unravel the ghoul's mind, sinking the ghoul into madness and eroding her Wisdom by 2-8 points for each subsequent three-day period spent without satiating the ghoulish hunger. A ghoul reduced to zero Wisdom becomes a ravenous beast incapable of any self-control until she has fed enough to ease the hunger and restore her Wisdom to a positive number.)


Vampire Spawn / Vampire
Pound for pound, these blood-drinking fiends enjoy the greatest degrees of power among the undead yet are hindered by the most crippling weaknesses as well. They begin their undeaths as vampire spawn--little more than determined, arrogant and vicious hemophages--yet can survive to evolve into fully fledged vampires, the legendary terrors of the night.
Maximum Level for this Class: 8; Vampire spawn become vampires at Level 7.
Alignment Restrictions: Any, though Evil is preferred; few vampires come to grips with their monstrous nature enough to master it and move towards benevolence.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Bonus Feats (Alertness at 2nd Level, Lightning Reflexes at 5th Level, Improved Initiative at 8th Level), Blood Drain (may steal blood and Constitution from a defenseless victim, temporarily boosting the vampire's Hit Points), Spider Climb, Fast Healing (the vampire steadily recovers lost Hit Points at Level 5 or higher), Gaseous Form (at Level 7, the vampire may transform into mist; between Fast Healing and Gaseous Form, a vampire can return from most forms of death), Domination (the vampire may shackle a mortal's will with eye contact alone), Energy Drain (the vampire's unarmed blows grow more powerful and can even strip away at the victim's soul and life force, reducing his Level), Create Spawn (living creatures who perish to Blood Drain or Energy Drain may rise from death as vampires or vampire spawn themselves)
Special Disadvantages: Numerous...direct sunlight, running water, boldly presented holy symbols, garlic, wooden stakes, mirrors, inability to enter homes without being invited inside...the usual baker's dozen of Achilles heels. Most of these are mere inconveniences, but sunlight and water are almost always fatal and will result in the complete destruction of the vampire. Blood Thirst is another concern; the vampire must drink living blood every day--at least 1 Constitution point's worth--or begin a steep slide into Wisdom loss and depravity.


Wight
These twisted and soulless abominations are little more than revenants fueled both by stolen soul matter and by their hatred of the living. They stalk silently through night and shadow, relentless in the endless pursuit of their hated prey.
Maximum Level for this Class: 8
Alignment Restrictions: Any, but typically Lawful Evil. Spawned of sheer malice or violence, rare is the wight who approaches Good, and most are too habit-driven or disciplined in their hunts to sink into Chaos.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Stealthy (wights are uncannily silent for all their cold fury and receive a +8 racial bonus to Move Silently checks), Slam (unarmed wights deal blows with enough power and force to rival those of vampires), Create Spawn (victims slain by wights become wights themselves, and rise from death very quickly compared to other undead spawns), Energy Drain (similar to that of vampire spawn and vampires)
Special Disadvantages: Soul Hunger (wights must steal the life forces of the living via Energy Drain at least once a day, or the wight will plunge sharply into Wisdom loss and insanity; even one stolen Level or Hit Die is enough to sate this need, however)


Mohrg
Never created by other mohrgs, these skeletal monsters are almost always born from lifetimes of great wickedness, murder and villainy, dying without ever atoning for their sins. Serpentine tongues and tendrils of pulsing flesh writhe within their ribcages, curl around their bones and tear rents through their withered skins, lending a horrid appearance to match their horrid souls.
Maximum Level for this Class: 20
Alignment Restrictions: Any Evil. By their very nature are mohrgs villainous, and a mohrg striding towards mere moral Neutrality--let alone Good--would demand nothing less than an epic effort.
Hit Points: Very High (d12 per Level)
Skill Points: Moderate (16 + 4 per Level after 1st)
Beginning Armor Feats: None
Beginning Weapon Feats: All Simple weapons
Spells: None
Special Abilities: Slam (unarmed mohrgs lay into their foes with unearthly rage-fueled blows, even more powerful than those of vampires and wights), Improved Grab (Level 9 mohrgs may easily ensnare nearby enemies with their lashing tendrils), Paralyzing Touch (victims touched by a mohrg's clawed tongue may be paralyzed; young mohrgs may only paralyze so many times per day, while older mohrgs have unlimited paralyzing power), Create Zombie (victims slain by a mohrg rise as zombies under the mohrg's control within days of their deaths)
Special Disadvantages: None, though their slow evolution and humble powers at earlier levels may spell doom for many less cunning mohrgs before they reach maturity.



Mummy
(The moist soil and cool climate of Bardosylvania do not support natural mummification, nor do Bardosylvanian morticians partake of the ritual embalming necessary for undead mummies to arise. The dead are laid out in state just long enough to ensure that they are truly dead, then are buried or interred as quickly as possible.)


(Note that Ainsley Skeletons and Ainsley Zombies--possessed of their former minds yet otherwise similar to their mundane counterparts--do not have Classes of their own, though they are similar enough to normal living humanoids to evolve as such. Ainsley Skeletons and Ainsley Zombies attain certain bonuses as they evolve in standard Classes or Prestige Classes, such as an Ainsley Zombie's Improved Toughness or an Ainsley Skeleton's Turn Resistance, both gained at Level 6.)

At the core of almost every character are six Abilities.

Strength - A character's physical might and muscle. Among other things, Strength affects the ability to land blows in melee, the damage which such blows inflict, the amount of weight which a character can carry without slowing down or collapsing and other Strength-based actions, such as moving large objects or bashing open locked doors.

Dexterity - A character's hand-eye coordination and agility. Among other things, Dexterity affects accuracy with ranged weapons, the character's Armor Class (through ducking, dodging and feinting) and Reflex saving throws which allow a character to escape sudden dangers without coming to harm.

Constitution - A character's health, vitality and resistance to injury. Constitution affects a character's Hit Points (indicating how much harm a character can withstand before going unconscious or dying), durability for performing prolonged tasks without tiring, and Fortitude saving throws which allow a character to withstand poisons, diseases, supernatural energy drains or similar attacks.

Intelligence - A character's intellect, education, recollection and memory. Intelligence affects a character's Skill Points, identification of things such as mystic relics or supernatural phenomena, or--in the case of wizards--the number of spells which a wizard may learn or cast daily.

Wisdom - A character's wits, common sense and ability to determine the most favorable course of action. Wisdom affects a character's Will saves and resistance to magical or mind-influencing attacks. Various classes also hinge on Wisdom; clerics, druids and rangers can learn or cast more spells through Wisdom, while monks gain higher Armor Classes through their ascetic arts.

Charisma - A character's appearance, social grace and force of personality. Charisma affects the character's interactions with others, the number of henchmen or hirelings who will follow the character, or--in the cases of bards and sorcerers--the number of spells which can be learned or cast. Bards also use Charisma in both mundane and mystic performances, while druids and rangers use Charisma to call animals to their aid, and clerics and paladins find Charisma crucial in their power to Turn or Rebuke the undead.


The scores of each Ability vary. High scores provide bonuses to actions related to that Ability, while low scores incur penalties instead. The ranges for bonuses or penalties are such:

Score (and modifier)
1 (-5)
2-3 (-4)
4-5 (-3)
6-7 (-2)
8-9 (-1)
10-11 (0) These are Average scores for this Ability
12-13 (+1)
14-15 (+2)
16-17 (+3)
18-19 (+4)
20-21 (+5)

Beginning characters tend to have Ability scores ranging from 3 to 18, not counting racial adjustments for non-humans. Ability scores higher than 21 are possible for player characters, yet are unlikely without the aid of magic or prolonged character development. And various powerful creatures will naturally have very high Abilities; giants are legendary for their vast reserves of Strength and Constitution, while dragons and mind flayers typically possess levels of Intelligence far beyond the rank and file of the adventurers who insist on hassling them.

Skills are just that: the collection of skills, talents and knowledges which represent the scope of a character's training and experiences.

Certain skills come more naturally to characters of certain Classes. Rogues routinely use the Open Locks skill in the course of their intrusions, while the more martially inclined Fighters rarely find themselves in positions where lockpicking is needed. Hence, Open Locks is a class skill for Rogues yet is a cross-class skill for Fighters, who must invest twice as many Skill Points to develop the Open Locks skill.


• Alchemy (Int)
The art of blending strange ingredients in secret ways to make marvelous substances.

• Animal Empathy (Cha)
The art of persuading animals to do as you wish.

• Appraise (Int)
The art of determining the true worth or value of anything you behold.

• Balance (Dex)
The art of remaining on precarious surfaces or supports without falling.

• Bluff (Cha)
The art of easing suspicions through acting, speech, body language or other subterfuge.

• Climb (Str)
The art of scaling sheer vertical surfaces.

• Concentration (Con)
The art of focusing on and completing your tasks despite hazards or distractions.

• Craft (Any) (Int)
The art of mastery over a particular craft, trade or art involving the fabrication of certain items. Unlike Profession, Craft covers a variety of artisan trades which produce tangible goods. Examples include but are not limited to Craft (Armorsmithing), Craft (Blacksmithing), Craft (Bookbinding), Craft (Bowyering and Fletching), Craft (Carpentry), Craft (Gemcutting), Craft (Pottery), Craft (Trapmaking), Craft (Weaponsmithing) and Craft (Weaving).

• Decipher script (Int)
The art of piecing together interpretations of any written language with which you lack complete fluency.

• Diplomacy (Cha)
The art of influencing or persuading others through etiquette, tact or other social graces.

• Disable Device (Int)
The art of neutralizing, crippling or sabotaging traps, locks or other mechanical devices.

• Disguise (Cha)
The art of altering appearances to impersonate others.

• Escape Artist (Dex)
The art of escaping snares, bonds, holds or confines.

• Forgery (Int)
The art of both penning forgeries and detecting forgeries.

• Gather Information (Cha)
The art of gathering rumors, questioning people and ferreting out the insights of others.

• Handle Animal (Cha)
The art of rearing, handling and training animals.

• Heal (Wis)
The art of mending wounds and treating maladies.

• Hide (Dex)
The art of remaining unnoticed by others, even in plain sight.

• Innuendo (Wis)
The art of conveying and receiving secretive messages through deceptive speech.

• Intimidate (Cha)
The art of intimidating others through means such as verbal threats, implied threats or body language.

• Intuit Direction (Wis)
The art of following one's internal compass, the better to avoid getting lost.

• Jump (Str)
The art of leaping and bounding to greater heights and distances.

• Knowledge (Arcana) (Int)
Familiarity with ancient mysteries, magic traditions, cryptic symbols, mystic civilizations of bygone ages and other tidbits of the arcane.

• Knowledge (Religion) (Int)
Familiarity with gods, pantheons, holy symbols, worship customs, unearthly beings and other details related to religion.

• Knowledge (Nature) (Int)
Familiarity with the natural world and the forces of nature, such as seasons, flora, fauna and weather patterns.

• Knowledge (Any other intellectual field) (Int)
The talent of being well-versed in a variety of knowledge not covered by any other Skill. These are suitable for character development, and one never knows when such insights may prove to be useful. Examples include but are not limited to Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering), Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (History), Knowledge (Royalty and Nobility) and Knowledge (Planes and Cosmology).

• Listen (Wis)
The art of hearing, identifying or interpreting aural stimuli.

• Move Silently (Dex)
The art of moving or travelling without being heard by others.

• Open Lock (Dex)
The art of defeating locks or similar security mechanisms.

• Perform (Cha)
The art of proficiency in artistic expressions and entertaining performances. More ranks in Perform mean more performing arts with which your character is familiar.

• Pick Pocket (Dex)
The art of stealing or acquiring small objects through sleight of hand.

• Profession (Any) (Wis)
The art of mastery over a certain professional service or role. Unlike the Craft skill, Profession covers a variety of roles whose services are intangible or indirectly productive (typically in the role of harvesting or refining resources) yet nonetheless valuable. Examples include but are not limited to Profession (Apothecary), Profession (Brewer), Profession (Cook), Profession (Farmer), Profession (Herbalist), Profession (Herdsman), Profession (Innkeeper), Profession (Miner), Profession (Mortician), Profession (Sailor), Profession (Tanner), Profession (Teamster) and Profession (Woodcutter).

• Read Lips (Int)
The art of understanding speech through lip movements alone. Naturally, one must first be familiar with the language spoken, but this skill is invaluable when overhearing the conversation at hand would be impossible or impractical, given the circumstances.

• Ride (Dex)
The art of riding, handling and safely dismounting a mount. There are many variants of the Ride skill, each for riding a different kind of mount; Ride (Horse) will cover all horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, but Ride (Horse), Ride (Elephant), Ride (Griffin) and Ride (Dragon) are four different skills.

• Scry (Int)
The art of using mystic means to scry, divine or observe from afar.

• Search (Int)
The art of finding objects or spatial details which are not immediately obvious to observers.

• Sense Motive (Wis)
The art of seeing through lies, deceit and subterfuge.

• Speak Language (None)
The art of fluency over an additional language.

• Spellcraft (Int)
The art of identifying spells, enchantments or other magic effects.

• Spot (Wis)
The art of noticing people or other creatures who are trying to avoid detection.

• Swim (Str)
The art of swimming, diving and navigating underwater.

• Tumble (Dex)
The art of employing acrobatics to achieve great physical feats or to avoid danger or injury.

• Use Magic Device (Cha)
The art of activating or controlling arcane devices even if one is untalented with wizardry or sorcery.

• Use Rope (Dex)
The art of tying or untying knots, binding captives or otherwise employing ropes in certain tasks.

• Wilderness Lore (Wis)
The art of surviving in the wilderness, reaping its bounties and avoiding its hazards.


Check your Class below. Class skills are inherently familiar to the Class in question; Bards, Sorcerers and Wizards routinely witness or practice feats of Alchemy and Arcana Knowledge in the course of their studies, and the abilities to open locks and pick pockets are practically mandatory in the Rogue's illicit trade. Ranks in Class skills are earned on a 1-for-1 basis; A Rogue would have spent four skill points to raise her Open Locks to 4 and would spend 1 more point (5 points total) to raise Open Locks from 4 to 5.

Forbidden skills are off-limits to all but certain Classes. For example, nobody but Druids and Rangers may have Animal Empathy due to a "nature sense" or familiarity which eludes even the Barbarians, and nobody but the cunning and adaptable Bards and Rogues may take the Use Magic Device skill; Sorcerers and Wizards find the skill completely unnecessary (as the use of magic items comes quite naturally to them) and all other classes are so completely ignorant of the workings of arcane magic that any attempt to use wands, spell scrolls, spell books and the like could only end in failure.

If any skill described above is not mentioned at all under your Class, it's a cross-class skill and will cost 2 Skill points for each rank in that skill (ie. a Necromancer or other Wizard wanting to take Forgery would spend 2 points for Forgery 1, 4 points for Forgery 2, et cetera).


Barbarian
Class Skills: Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Intuit Direction, Jump, Listen, Ride, Swim, Wilderness Lore
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Scry

Bard
Class Skills: Alchemy, Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Decipher script, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Intuit Direction, Jump, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (any other), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Pick Pocket, Profession, Scry, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Read Lips

Cleric
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Scry, Spellcraft
Addenda:
Clerics with the Animal Domain and/or the Plant Domain may take Knowledge (Nature) as a Class Skill.
Clerics with the Knowledge Domain may take any Knowledge skill as a Class Skill.
Clerics with the Travel Domain may take Wilderness Lore as a Class Skill.
Clerics with the Trickery Domain may take Bluff, Disguise and Hide as Class Skills.
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Use Magic Device

Druid
Class Skills: Animal Empathy, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Intuit Direction, Knowledge (Nature), Profession, Scry, Spellcraft, Swim, Wilderness Lore
Forbidden: Decipher script, Read Lips, Use Magic Device

Fighter
Class Skills: Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, Swim.
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Scry, Use Magic Device.

Monk
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (Arcana), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Swim, Tumble
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Scry, Use Magic Device

Paladin
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Ride
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Scry, Use Magic Device

Ranger
Class Skills: Animal Empathy, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Intuit Direction, Jump, Knowledge (Nature), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Ride, Search, Spot, Swim, Use Rope, Wilderness Lore.
Forbidden: Decipher script, Read Lips, Scry, Use Magic Device.

Rogue
Class Skills: Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Decipher script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Innuendo, Intimidate, Intuit Direction, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Pick Pocket, Profession, Read Lips, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device, Use Rope.
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Scry.

Sorcerer
Class Skills: Alchemy, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (Arcana), Profession, Scry, Spellcraft.
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Use Magic Device.

Wizard
Class Skills: Alchemy, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (all skills), Profession, Scry, Spellcraft.
Forbidden: Animal Empathy, Decipher script, Read Lips, Use Magic Device.

Whether through the Speak Languages skill or a positive Intelligence modifier (which determines how many extra languages a character may speak; someone with an Intelligence of 18 could be fluent in four additional languages, for example), many sentient creatures embrace multilingual fluencies to better enable communication with the many races and cultures of the world.

This is a list of all languages spoken, written and read by various creatures in the campaign. All player characters speak Common (though barbarians may not necessarily be able to read or write in the Common tongue) as well as any bonus racial languages (ie. all elves speak Elven, and drow elves speak Undercommon as well).

Characters with higher Intelligence scores and/or Skill Points invested in learning additional languages may choose additional language fluencies, listed below:


Abyssal (spoken by demons and other Chaotic Evil outsiders)
Aquan (spoken by water elementals and similar)
Auran (spoken by air elementals)
Celestial (spoken by Good outsiders, like angels and divas)
Common (spoken by most civilized creatures such as humans, elves, halflings, et cetera. It is usually not necessary to choose this language, as most player characters speak Common inherently.)
Draconic (spoken by dragons and related kith. Among the humanoids, only wizards may learn Draconic, as the magical heritages of wizards and dragons cross paths so often throughout history and prehistory.)
Dwarven
Elven
Gnome
Goblin (spoken by goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears and other related races)
Giant (spoken by giants, ogres, ettins...)
Gnoll
Halfling
Ignan (spoken by fire elementals)
Infernal (spoken by devils and other Lawful Evil outsiders)
Orc
Sylvan (spoken by dryads, centaurs and other forest dwellers, usually fey ones)
Terran (spoken by earth elementals)
Undercommon (spoken by drow elves, mind flayers, derro and other sentient dwellers in the Underdark)


Note that some languages may require an explanation as to why a certain character knows the language in question, or how he or she came to learn it. Clerics and paladins often read and speak fluent Abyssal, Celestial or Infernal--as they must often deal with deities and other Outsiders in the course of their duties--but a peasant would be most unlikely to master so much as a few words of such a language, let alone the entire language (and a peasant who did speak such a language would likely come under the scrutiny of any number of churches or temples, who might be very interested in finding out if the peasant has had any regular contact with the Outsiders, and for what reasons...).

Please consult the Feats topic for both an explanation of what a Feat is as well as a lightly detailed list of Feats available in this campaign.

The specific number of Feats which your character possesses at the start of the campaign depends on several factors, which are listed here:

2 Feats (for being a Level 5 character)

+1 Feat if Human

+1 Fighter Bonus Feat if a Level 1 Fighter
+1 more Fighter Bonus Feat if a Level 2 or Level 3 Fighter
+1 more Fighter Bonus Feat if a Level 4 or Level 5 Fighter

+1 Wizard Bonus Feat if a Level 5 Wizard

Your character begins the campaign with a certain amount of money. Here is your chance to spend some or all of it in purchasing your character's starting equipment; these items represent whatever gear your character has gathered over the preceding years prior to the prologue.

Remember that certain items may be vital to your character's Class and Skills. Gemcutters can only perform the crudest sculptings on the softest or most brittle semi-precious stones without the benefit of a gemcutting kit (a variety of artisan's tools), a paladin would be sorely pressed to ride his special mount without a saddle and a bridle, and a wizard without a spellbook or two is like a galley without sails. Choose your equipment wisely.

Due to the expansiveness of the list, I have placed it in its own topic, found here.

The spell list is huge. And I mean huge. It's so huge that we would probably be better served if I just linked those official .RTF from Wizards of the Coast here, rather than copy, paste and modify the entire list into these forums.

Be sure to take note of the spell's Level. A spell with a Level of "Sor/Wiz 5" is a 5th Level arcane spell when cast by sorcerers and wizards. Spell levels are not equal to character levels, of course; a Level 5 Wizard cannot yet cast 5th Level spells--that ability comes when the wizard rises to Level 9--just as a 20th Level Wizard might know and cast many 5th Level spells.

Certain divine spells are also denoted by Domains, rather than Class levels. For example, the Teleport spell has "Sor/Wiz 5, Travel 5" listed as its levels. This means that, though Teleport is normally an arcane spell reserved for sorcerers and wizards, the spell may also be taken as a Domain spell by any cleric who took Travel as one of his or her two Domains granted by the cleric's deity. So as soon as your cleric of Fharlanghn (who chose Travel and Protection as his Domains) can cast 5th Level spells, he can prepare either Teleport or Spell Resistance (the 5th Level Protection spell) as his daily 5th Level Domain spell in addition to his normal complement of 5th Level divine spells.


Big Index of Spells, Part I
Big Index of Spells, Part II


Spells (A-B)
Spells (C)
Spells (D-E)
Spells (F-G)
Spells (H-L)
Spells (M-O)
Spells (P-R)
Spells (S)
Spells (T-Z)

There are a number of different types for the various creatures of the universe, as follows:


Aberrations (weird magical creatures, like beholders or carrion crawlers)
Animals
Beasts (like animals, but not perfectly natural...owlbears and griffins, for example)
Constructs (like golems and gargoyles)
Dragons
Elementals
Fey (faeries)
Giants
Humanoid [pick type: goblinoids, humans, elves, reptilians, et cetera.]
Magical Beasts (displacer beasts, blink dogs and such)
Oozes (slimes, jellies, gelatinous cubes, et cetera)
Outsiders [pick type: devils, demons, celestials, efreet, djinn, slaadi and so on]
Plants (including plant-like creatures, such as treants)
Shapechangers (like werewolves)
Undead
Vermin (giant spiders, giant centipedes, et cetera)


How does this list pertain to character creation? Because this list is useful to rangers and certain creatures who may choose Favored Enemies. Such characters and creatures gain bonuses to checks related to tracking, locating, subduing and killing quarry from a type or race chosen as one's favored enemy.

A ranger cannot choose his or her own race as a favored enemy unless the ranger is of Evil alignment. For biracial rangers (such as half-elf and half-orc rangers), this applies to both parent races. On the same token, biracial characters are treated as being both parent races for the purposes of Favored Enemy; a Ranger skilled in tracking orcs could track half-orcs with equal proficiency.