The Foot of Blue Mountain

Small Subclasses for Arden OD&Vul

Intro/How to Use

These subclasses are small modifications to the core 4 classes I've made to help adjudicate the many classes and they're relevant usage requirements in Arden Vul. for each grouping, I've tried to:

When I reference something like HD, XP, or spell lists, refer to your favored OD&D retroclone for details. These are meant as layered additions onto the base classes and not full replacements. Use your noggin, I trust you to figure it out.

Fighter Subclasses

1. Mercenary

Everyone knows what this is. Get a flat +1 bonus damage to all attack and damage rolls. The mercenary is the only subclass that can use magic swords; sentient swords prefer qualmless hosts.

2. Wiskinga Berserker

You were taught to fight by the Wiskinga. Once per day, fly into a rage, gaining a +2 bonus to attack and damage for 1d3 rounds (rolled secretly by the referee). Additionally, you take one less point of damage from all sources. The Berserker must attack every round while raging; if you have no valid enemy targets, you must target a friendly one.

3. Archontean Marine

You were in the Archontean Navy, and trained in the ways of sea combat. You swim perfectly in all armor as light or lighter than chain and cannot be knocked prone while fighting. If fighting with 1 free hand, you may shove, pull, or trip opponents along with your normal attack (2-in-6 Chance of success).

4. Khumus Horsearcher

You lived among the Khumus for many years, learning their ways of warfare and horsemanship. You cannot be knocked off any horse and, provided you have trained it, any horse you ride will never flee in battle. When using a bow, you may make a single called shot once per day automatically.

5. Ranger

A druid rescued you from your burning village as a child and taught you the cruel laws of nature. You are not affected by rough natural terrain like thick roots or webs (or their equivalent magical spells). You can speak to animals, but poorly and with a thick accent; domesticated animals think your accent is boorish and regard you with contempt.

6. Imperial Goblin

You are a goblin freedman, emancipated through exemplary service in the Archontean military. When you wield a shield and spear, you may sunder the shield twice before the shield breaks instead of once, and may sunder your shield to protect any ally fighting nearby. Hirelings you enlist receive a +2 bonus to morale checks while you are fighting alongside them.

Thief Subclasses

1. Licensed Thief

You're a licensed member of the Benevolent Brotherhood. If you're in a major city, you have access to training automatically through your connections with the Brotherhood. If you're apprehended in a city, you can flash your credentials to escape once a month.

Since you've been professionally trained, you perform all thief checks instantly and don't need a turn of focused effort like the other classes do in order to perform thief activities.

2. Bard

You're a traveling performer, known for tricks and treats aplenty. Your many travels have given you linguistic talents; regardless of your intelligence, you know at least 4 spoken languages. You are the only thief subclass that may use items intended for Bards.

Your travels have given you a deft hand. You may create scrolls as a wizard of half your level, rounded down (minimum 1) for twice the normal cost, provided you have access to a spellbook to copy from. Additionally, you may perform 3 minor cantrips per day as per the guidelines outlined in the Learned subclass.

Your fame allows you into places a normal adventurer of your status could not normally get access to.

3. Assassin

You were trained in the subtle art of murder from a young age. You are the only thief subclass that may use items intended for Assassins.

When the Assassin would perform a sneak attack, if the blow connects the target must save or die. On a pass, they still take the extra damage as outlined in the Thief class.

Additionally, the Assassin may use a gear bubble to disguise themselves as the spell Disguise Self.

4. Abomination

You suffered a horrible disaster, magical or otherwise, and gained a terrible power in exchange.

The damage from the accident requires you to hide your features in polite company.

The nature of the power is up to you; work with the referee (preferably before the session)!

5. Archaeologist

You're a trained academic with a streak of adventure in your bones. When confronted with an archaeological artifact, there's a 2-in-6 chance you know a historical tidbit that is helpful.

When in town, you may function as a Sage for the purposes of answering historical questions, although you are only half as fast as a typical sage. While researching a question, you cannot adventure.

6. Hobbit

You were the deputy of a Hobbit sheriff, learning the customs of law-keeping (and breaking) officials among the smallfolk.

You may conceal clubs, cudgels, and quarterstaves in your clothing as easily as one might a dagger. Additionally, you can escape binds and restraints at will without a roll.

Cleric Subclasses

1. Acolyte

You are devoted to the tenants of your religion and God has rewarded you in kind. You may Lay On Hands to restore a number of hit points equal to 3 times your level. You may distribute this pool in any way you wish. This pool of healing refills once per week (upon completion of various rituals on the deity's holy day).

2. White Mage

Lose the ability to wear armor. Healing Spells are twice as effective, and you may also prepare spells from the traditional magic user list that bolster or sustain allies (featherfall, shield, etc.) You may spend a spell slot to protect a number of allies equal to the slot's level from the effects of a harmful spell or magical ability.

3. Druid

Lose the ability to wear metal armor and weapons. You may speak with all animals fluently, and they regard you as a pillar of their community. You get a new, distinct spell list.

Once per day, you may transform into a creature in keeping with the biome you currently reside in (cities and towns are the domains of rats, cats, and flies). You have 1hp and cannot fight while in this form until level 4, at which point you have the HD a fighter of the same level would have while in animal form and may fight as normal.

4. Paladin

You have taken a martial oath to serve your God. Gain the ability to use bladed weapons. You may call upon the might of your god to triple the damage of a number of attacks equal to your level per day. This must be declared before the attack is resolved, so a strike so empowered may still miss and be rendered useless.

5. Vampire Hunter

You were brought up in a now-destroyed order of undead hunters, devoted to destroying vampires and their brethren wherever they may lie.

Mundane weapons you Bless (as per the spell, 3 per cast) may damage to undead with nonmagical resistance. Additionally, you may turn undead without restriction; failing a turn undead check against a type of undead does not bar you from attempting to do so again.

6. Dwarven Battler

You were raised by a sect of highly reclusive Dwarven warrior priests. You may use axes, but lose the ability to turn undead.

Your mighty shouting technique inspires fear in the hearts of all living creatures; once per day, roll 2d6 and use the turn undead table to determine the efficacy of your shout. Turned Creatures are stunned for 1 round, while Destroyed Creatures are rendered sobbing noncombatants by the might of your breathy bellows.

Magic User Subclasses

1. Learned

You were trained by the Collegium in the ways of magic.

You may spend a spell slot to wield Maleficence, a powerful arcane technique which deals Xd6 to a single target or Xd6 damage to all enemies within a melee, where X is the level of the spell slot used for the attack. These dice explode. The manifestation of a Learned Magic User's Maleficence is unique to them and can have secondary effects (gusts of wind could be used to knock objects over, fire can set things aflame, etc.)

Additionally, the Learned may produce cantrip-like magical effects based on the spells they have prepared at the start of each day. These generally don't deal damage and are as a rule much worse than their levelled spell counterparts. Work with the referee to determine these effects.

2. Illusionist

You were trained by the Collegium in the ways of magic, with a focus in illusions. You get a new, distinct spell list. You are the only magic subclass that may use gear and spells intended for Illusionists.

A number of times equal to your level, you may cast "Minor Illusion" without spending a spell slot. At 4th level, this minor illusion becomes a phantasm, capable of inflicting real damage if the targets believe the illusion.

3. Necromancer

You were trained by the Collegium in the ways of magic, with a focus on life and death.

You may use the turn undead table like the cleric, although you turn at one level higher than your current level on the chart. Instead of making undead flee from you, you bend them to servitude; they follow your commands for 1d6 dungeon turns (rolled secretly by the referee). When a creature would be destroyed on the table, the Necromancer controls them permanently instead.

4. Wild Magician

You were born under an auspicious sign and have been magically gifted since you were young. The Collegium quickly "adopted" you into their programs and you grew up around academics in Nasileon.

Whenever you cast a spell, there is a 2-in-6 chance that the spell stays memorized in the furrows of your magically fertile mind. Your cantrips can be any effect and aren't tied to your currently prepared spells.

5. Street Magician

You flunked out of the Collegium, but not before learning a few tricks.

You cannot cast spells. You start with 3 scrolls, rolled randomly from the spell list, and can cast any scroll from any spell list without issue. When creating scrolls, the cost is half as much (though you must have a spellbook to copy from). Only you may cast scrolls created in this way (a product of your messy and untrained handwriting). You may cast two scrolls per round instead of one.

You may cast 5 minor cantrips per day as per the guidelines in the Learned Subclass. They must relate to recently cast scrolls (at the start of the game, assume you've already cast 1 scroll).

6. Elven Technique

You spent your youth training with elven warriors in a faraway forest.

You may wear leather and chain armor and use any weapon. While wearing these, you may cast spells provided you have a free hand and an unobstructed mouth.

Progress as per the original wizard xp table (the one found in any retroclone) instead of the modified one.