Thursday, July 20, 2023

Twk: Four More Dread Archetypes for the Problem

These are so more sub-classes for my Problem Class, which is intended to be my version of the Spook from Esoteric Enterprises.  If you don't know what that means, basically it means you're human who is slowly turning into Something Else due to your continued use of otherworldly forces, inhuman bloodline or a curse.  You can find the first sequel to that original post here.     

from here
Revenant

The Good Book instructs those who cling to it not to seek revenge, for vengeance belongs to God alone.  Justice arrives through the consequences of violating Natural Law, of suffering in this life or of the naked misery of clinging to wickedness.  But in certain cases, Justice arrives in a far less subtle form.  You are a servant of Heaven, a soul who cried out for justice and received a special dispensation to hunt and destroy the ones who wronged you.  You are a soldier of God, an Angel of Vengeance.  You are Revenant and you live again.

To become a Revenant, you must have been seriously wronged by someone.  To track down and punish this person is your goal.  This person is known as your Principal Target.    

First Fruit: You can, when in the presence of evil, fly into a frothing, righteous rage.  While raging, you get +2 to Atk and Damage, but enemies get advantage on all saves against ranged projectiles.  You also cannot perform any task requiring intelligence, tact or anything other than screaming and violence.  Additionally, while raging, you can ignore the effects of Horrible Wounds, unless they would stop you from taking certain actions (such as rolling attacks at disadvantage) or kill you outright.     

Predator's Eye: By looking into someone's eyes, you can see his sins.  Confessed sins or those that have been paid for are invisible to you, but those that linger and stain the soul are vivid to your sight.  

Rotten Bloom: By touching someone, you may place a mark upon him.  This mark is invisible, but can still be detected by those who can sense mana.  As long as a target is marked by you, you can sense their location and general direction, with your sense of his location getting more precise the closer you are.  If you're across the room from your target, you could pierce their nipple blindfolded, but if they were on the other side of the country, you would only be able to know that they were somewhere "That way".   

Natural Born Killer: By meditating for an hour with a weapon in your hands, you can bless the weapon and make it a tool of holy vengeance.  This causes the weapon to become magical and holy for the purposes of overcoming resistances and do +1d6 damage on a hit when used against an evil creature.  If this creature was marked by you, the weapon does +2d6 damage.  If this creature is one that personally wronged you, your blessed weapon does +2d6 against them, or +3d6 if they are marked.  You may only bond with two weapons at one time, and only you gain these effects when wielding them.    

Malign Form: You may cover yourself in an illusion that makes you look like another person.  You can look like anyone, as long as that person has the same bodyplan as you.  You could disguise yourself as a human servant of your enemy, but not as pile of tentacles and gaping mouths.  You can also take the form of one of your enemy's victims.  When confronted by a victim, especially if that victim is supposed to be dead, enemies must make a morale check or be frightened.  

Born Again: 

Agent of Vengeance (Darkness): When confronted by your Principal Target, you choose blood.  You must punish this person to the fullest extent.  For every stripe he gave you, you return it.  For every blow, every lash, every cruelty is paid back in full.  Then, as a further measure, destroy your Principal Target in the most terrible way you can.  Do this and you will become an Agent of Vengeance.  You will become Ageless, immune to the flow and degradation of time, and Immortal, only capable of dying if slain in the act of pursuing justice or by becoming corrupted and being slain as an act of justice.  

But should you choose this path, you will become a barely human shell of your former self.  Your personality will become eggshell thin, a layer of rice paper over the iron rod of judgement that crushes the wicked.  You will constantly be able to sense those who deserve retribution and will be compelled to pursue them.  Once you have selected a target, you must pursue them and render judgement, not abandoning the pursuit until you see justice is done or die.  If you refuse to select a target, you will feel a stronger and stronger pull in their direction until you have no choice.  If you go more than 7 days without selecting a target or taking some action to pursue them, you die in your sleep.      

Servant of Mercy (Light): When confronted by your Principal Target, you instead take a more radical choice.  You forgive the person and let go of your anger and hatred.  If you do so, you may still punish the person, they have still committed a sin, but you must not revel in it nor indulge in any cruelty.  If you do so, you become a Servant of Mercy.  You lose all your Revenant powers, but instead gain the ability to heal wounds, purge diseases and poisons and remove negative conditions.  You also gain the ability to absorb damage and readminister it to those who deserve it.  You also lose any Dark Convictions you picked up from being a Revenant.    

A Revenant's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I cannot rest."  You do not like to sit idle or feel like you're not doing anything.  When you haven't done anything to pursue vengeance against a wicked soul or your Principal Target, you must save or take some action to advance this goal, even if it's something as simple as buying more ammunition.  
2- "I will not stand idly by."  If you see an act of injustice, no matter how small, you must save or intervene, no matter the personal consequences.  
3- "I must protect him/her."  If you see a person you regard as innocent, you will feel the need to protect them.  If such a person is in danger, you must save or rush to his defense.  
4- "I am unworthy."  You do not like others wasting time thinking about you.  All that matters is the goal.  If you have the chance to refuse help, you must save or do so.  You will not refuse help that is needed to keep you alive or prevent your death, but anything that is not absolutely critical can be put off.  
5- "I cannot control my temper."  You are filled with violent, barely controlled anger.  When you get angry, or something happens that could make you angry, save or react in a violent or angry manner.  
6- "I should not be alive."  You are wracked with survivor's guilt.  Others suffered far worse, but you survived.  As such, you take risks that others would find unacceptable.  You can ignore Fear saves or other effects that might prevent a more rational person from leaping into danger.  Additionally, if faced with such a situation where you could achieve your revenge, even if death is likely, you will take it, unless you successfully save.  

by Bogna Gawrońska
Human Parasite

You ever hear of social vampires?  They are people who drain energy and attention from others but never contribute anything.  They are a detriment to any social circle or poor fool who fails to dissuade one from latching on to them and bleeding them white.  You don't like people talking about such things, as anyone talking about Human Parasites might start asking pointed questions about you.  And as soon as that happens, nothing good is likely to result.  

First Fruit: You can, as a free action, exude a field of anti-memetic radiation.  This makes you appear to be boring, drab and utterly forgettable to observers.  They must successfully save to pay attention to you or notice what you are doing.  If you do something interesting, they may receive bonuses to their saves.  If you are doing something dangerous that concerns them, they automatically pass.  Similarly, if you are doing something normal or otherwise uninteresting, they may receive penalties to their saves.  For example, if you are at a party and are lurking by the buffet instead of socializing, it would be easy to overlook you.  If you started making a scene and screaming at one of the guests, it would be easier to notice you.  If you pulled a knife on someone and tried to stab them, almost everyone would notice you.  You can turn off the field as a free action.  

Predator's Eye: You have the ability to see thermal radiation.  This allows you to see living creatures in cooler environments and be able to navigate in pitch-black environments.  This does not always work if you're in a hot environment, such as a rocky area with a hot climate.  In such places, with stones that have been baking in the sun all day, you will find it harder or impossible to pick out living things from their environment.  

Rotten Bloom: You can secrete a cloud of pheremones that lower stress hormones and induce a vague sense of euphoria in humans.  This affects everyone within 30'.  Humans that are affected by this must successfully save to take hostile or violent action.  If they are already in a dangerous scenario, they automatically pass.  Additionally, creatures under the influence of your pheremones will be much more agreeable and treat you as someone they like.  You can also touch someone to give them disadvantage on any of his saves against this ability, as you can coat your hands in a thin slime that contains a much higher amount of the pheremones.    

Natural Born Killer: You develop a pair of stingers concealed in the third finger of your hands.  When you touch a creature with one, you can sting that creature.  Creatures stung like this must save or be paralyzed for one minute, and are permitted a new save each round to end the paralysis early.  Additionally, X times per day, where X is your CON modifier, you can sting a creature to do 2d6 poison damage, save for half.    

Malign Form: You grow a cluster of muscular tentacles that emerge from a cavity in your back.  These tentacles have a reach of 10' and can be used to make melee attacks which do 1d4+STR damage on a hit, automatically grapples the target unless you wish otherwise.  These tentacles are strong enough to hold you and are covered in suction cups, so that when they are extended, you can add double your STR modifier to checks made to climb, lift or manipulate objects.  You can also use your tentacles to make a bonus attack on your turn if they are extended.  It is a full action to extend and retract your tentacles, though even when extended, you can still hide them under a baggy coat or layers of fabric.  Your tentacles can also be used to secrete your pheremones.  If seen with your tentacles out, creatures automatically save against your Anti-Memetic field.    

Born Again: 

Parasite Queen (Darkness): You have finally matured enough that the urge to procreate has finally come upon you.  You tentacles change, becoming tipped with new ovipositors.  Your pheremones become stronger, now they intoxicate humans who are exposed to them and reduce pain and harmful sensations.  They also become addictive.  Creatures exposed to them will feel the need to experience them once again and must successfully save for (7-X) days to get over their craving, where X is their COG modifier (add Negative modifiers to 7).  

While intoxicated, you can inject your eggs into a human.  These eggs will incubate inside their human hosts for three weeks.  After that, they hatch and begin burrowing through their host and devouring them from inside.  This does 1 CON damage a day, until day 7, then it does 1d4 CON damage a day.  This continues for 1d4+1 more days, after which the larvae are fully grown and emerge from their host.  The larvae will then devour the weakened host, unless provided with an alternate food source.  Any creature reduced to 0 CON by this process dies and is devoured down to the bones by the larvae.          

Ethical Consumption (Light): Your race has always needed humanity, as a food source and as a way to incubate your youth.  But there is another way, far less dangerous for the host.  You will need to find a specific type of human, an Ultimate.  These are humans who naturally possess a specific heritage that makes them nearly impervious to intrusion and interference, chemical, psychic or otherwise.  Once you locate this person, convince them to help you reproduce.  With their superior genome, you will be able to produce high-quality offspring in a way that does not put the lives of lesser humans in danger.  If you do this, once your offspring is born, you can pupate and continue to the next stage of your life-cycle.  You'll spin yourself a cocoon and enter it, your body undergoing physiological changes while inside.  

You will become more beautiful inside there, gaining an appearance of otherworldy beauty.  Others will be hesitant to harm you, unless you have proved to be a threat to them and theirs.  You will lose your tentacles but instead gain a pair of wings and gain the ability to fly.  Your stingers will change as well, becoming long, retractible blades that can cut through anything short of stone and tempered steel.  You also gain a pair of antennae that allow you to sense the emotional state of everyone around you.  Finally, you will gain the ability to dispense your pheremones as dry dust from your wings, which you can blast outward in a great flap of your wings, or leave a trail behind you as you fly, which will slowly rain down on those underneath.      

A Human Parasite's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I like this person."  You meet a human you actually like and not just as a potential incubator or food source.  Whenever you have the chance, you must save or you'll sneak off to spend time with this person.  
2- "Is this ethical?"  You are troubled by ethical concerns.  When confronted with a moral quandry or questionable situation, you must save.  On a failed save, you will be unable or unwilling to rationalize it and must instead think through the action and determine whether or not it would be ethical to do such a thing.  If it is, then you may do it.  If not, you may not.  Your allies may help you by offering their own arguments or rationalizations.  
3- "I don't want to hurt them."  You are disgusted with yourself and the fact that your race needs to harm humans.  Whenever you would use your abilities in a situation that isn't a life-or-death situation, you must save to do so.  
4- "I just need someone to talk to."  You are desperately lonely.  If given the chance to talk to something intelligent, you must save or begin dumping your backstory, troubles, woes on that person.  
5- "I bet they would understand."  You know that the Elders told you that you must keep your existence secret, that humans would react badly if they knew, but this person is different.  You bet if you told them, things would be different.  Whenever you get close to a human and feel like you can trust them, you must save or reveal your secret to them.    
6- "I don't want to be around them."  Being around humans fills you with impulses you're not comfortable with.  When given the chance to shun the company of Mankind, you must save to avoid doing so.

from here
Violetblood

In ancient days, mankind was prey to the monsters and creatures which haunted the wilds of our world, able to defeat us through their superior physical and magical abilities.  To combat this, humans organized first into bands, then tribes, then nations.  We built walls and cities and instituted strict watches to keep us safe.  But these early cities were hot-beds of violence and disease, little safer than the countryside.  Hearing the pleas and cries of their people, Humanity's Gods heard the lament of their children and sent them a gift.  They sent them Kings.

A true King is appointed by God, granted divine right from birth to rule over people or peoples.  You are one of these lucky few, granted special status by blood and birth.  In this Godless, democratic age your talents are likely not to be acknowledged, but that does not erase them.  Regardless of whether anyone plants a crown on your head, you are Royal.   

First Fruit: You have preternatural Charisma.  If you look someone in the eye and ask them for something reasonable, they must make a save.  On a failed save, they will give you what you ask for.  What is "reasonable" depends on that creature's opinion.  Creatures will not give you anything they need to survive or anything that might immediately imperil them.  Additionally, creatures who dislike or have good reason to distrust you automatically pass their saves, unless there is some compelling reason why they would listen now.  

Predator's Eye: You can, by studying a group of creatures, identify the one most submissive and most willing to submit to your authority, presumed or otherwise.  You will still need to convince that creature to listen to any requests and there is no guarantee that the creature will listen, but it will listen, unless it has a good reason not to.

Rotten Bloom: Your Charisma takes on a supernatural level of power.  You can now impose your will on groups of creatures.  If you are confronted by a group of creatures who you have not attacked, you may attempt to convince them to do something reasonable.  They must succeed a Charisma save or do what you ask.  "Reasonable" here means what the majority of those creatures think would be appropriate given their status and circumstances.  Creatures who have a good reason to dislike you or have felt you made an unreasonable request automatically pass their saves.    

Natural Born Killer: Your intellect increases to the point where even in the chaos of battle, you always remain cool and collected.  You can almost always see what the best options are, even if others are blind to them.  If you give a creature an order as an action, and that creature obeys, it gets advantage on any roll it makes as a result of following your order.  Additionally, if you order it to make an attack and it hits, it can add double your CHA modifier to the damage roll.    

Malign Form: You are now surrounded by an aura of kingly radiance.  When enemies first see you, they must successfully save to attack or directly harm you.  Indirect harm is always permitted.  Creatures may attack you if you strike first or to defend themselves from your aggression.  

Born Again: 

Gluttonous Tyrant (Darkness): Your Charisma becomes an overpowering cloud that constantly clings to you.  Creatures who spend too long around you will find their wills gradually ground down, until they are little more than instruments for your will.  For every 1 day a creature spends in your presence, reduce that creature's COG by 1 (min 3).  Creatures who have their Cognition reduced to less than half of it's normal around you become unable to disobey you, unless they pass a save.  They also gain advantage on any save against Charm or Fear, if they feel that the orders they are being given would contradict what you told them to do.  

You gain the ability to consume your subjects.  By touching one of your retainers/followers, you can drain life from them.  By touching them, you can drain as many points of HP as they have and transfer them to yourself.  If you drain at least 8 points of HP a day, no longer need to eat or drink, though you still feel the desire to do so.  If you eat the flesh of your followers and drink their blood, you gain double the amount of HP/FS you would ordinarily recover from such a meal.  

Your maximum HP increases to 50, but it decreases by 1 each day.  

White King (Light): You are visited by an Angel in a dream, who reveals who you are entrusted with.  You are the representative and steward of one of the nations and must care for it.  You will find your current nation in crisis.  You will likely need the help of your friends and allies to save your people.  You will be granted the crown of this nation and the right to rule over it, but also responsibility over it.  

The Angel also gives you three gifts to ensure that you can fulfill your destiny.  First, you will be given a sign that heralds your coming.  The people who see it will know that their King is coming.  Second, you will be given the power to remove afflictions such as poisons, diseases, and other negative effects from others and take them unto yourself.  You will also gain the ability to transfer your HP to others through touch.  Finally, you will be given a small magical trinket which will, in some mysterious way, aid you on your quest.    
 
A Violetblood's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I deserve this."  When you see something valuable, special or important, you must save or be convinced that you deserve to possess that item/creature/title/etc.  
2- "I am better than them."  You become convinced that you are better than other humans.  When given a chance to assert your superiority or pull rank to avoid something unpleasant, you must successfully save or do so.  
3- "They should be grateful."  You become irritated by the lack of adoration from those you consider beneath you.  When not properly praised, you must successfully save or become unhelpful and irritable.  
4- "Why should I help?"  You decide that some problems are beneath your notice.  You must successfully save to intervene, otherwise you abandon those with the problem to their fates.  
5- "I don't want this."  You become stricken with the desire that this burden of leadership and power is something you suddenly dislike.  You must successfully save or when given the opportunity, you will shirk your duties as much as possible.  
6- "I don't want to die."  You become terrified of death.  When faced with potential death, you must save or become frightened.  On a failed save, you will immediately seek to escape or otherwise evade the danger.  

by Peter Mohrbacher
Nephilim

Sinful and sensual, you are descended from not only a line of ancient royals, rulers, administrators and governors, but of a deeper line, one that surpasses humanity in grace, vitality and power.  You suspect that many legends of superhuman warriors, kings and leaders flow from those inhuman ancestors or hybrids like yourself.  Despite your woefully human appearance, you possess greater spiritual abilities than them, who are chattering monkeys in comparison.  And though your skills are nothing compared to those wielded by those in generations past, you are still a formidable foe.  Your people survived Alexander, the Macabees, the Catholics, Calvinists, Roundheads and Yankees.  Whatever you're faced with, you know you'll be able to survive and thrive.  For now matter who comes after your tribe, they somehow always find themselves serving you grapes while you recline on cushions and silk.     

First Fruit: You can exude an aura of emotional energy that causes those who interact with you to save.  On a failed save, creatures around you will be affected by this emotion that you are inflicting upon them.  Even on a successful save, the creature will still be affected, but they will realize that this feeling is not natural and is coming from you.  This feeling can be any emotion you want, as long as it is a feeling and not a specific desire.  For example, it could be something like angry, happy, sad, but not something like hungry or sleepy.  

Predator's Eye: You can, as a free action, open your third eye and peer into the Shallows of the spiritual realm.  This allows you to see the auras of living creatures, which reveal their emotional states via corresponding colors and patterns.  For example, a bank robber currently in the middle of a heist would have an aura thick with fear (of being caught) and excitement (of the potential loot he's about to obtain).  

Rotten Bloom: You can now cause your aura to exude a specific desire, such as being hungry, sleepy or any other common desire.  Creatures must save or immediately try to satisfy that desire.  Creatures who pass their save can resist this impulse, but they must save again if they spend too long around the source of that desire.  You can also remove this aura from yourself and place it over an object, which becomes the new source for that desire.    

Natural Born Killer: You can, as an action, try to suppress a creature's desires and emotions.  As an action, you can force that creature in a Cognition (COG or INT if you don't use my ability scores) contest.  If the creature wins, nothing happens.  But if you win, then the creature is struck into a near-fugue state as all their desires and emotions vanish and they enter a null state created by their own confusion.  Until the creature is reminded of why he is doing what he is doing, he will do nothing.  For example, if in a fight, that creature will stop fighting until reminded why it was fighting or given a reason to continue fighting, such as someone trying to stab them.  

Malign Form: Your form becomes plastic, dependent on the feelings and desires of others.  The more time you spend around someone and closer the contact, the more you will change to suit their desires.  For example, if you are with a man who likes beautiful women, your form will naturally change to become more feminine and beautiful, regardless of how you looked before.  If you are with someone who wants a strong leader, you will change to more closely fit whatever their visual idea of what a leader is.  Additionally, these changes only reflect the closest relationship/contact you have at the time.

Born Again: 

Avatar of Desire (Darkness): You become an archetype of manipulation, a puppeteer who plucks at the strings of the strongest.  The mightiest men and the highest Gods are no match for your silver tongue and generous gifts.  You gain the ability to learn people's desires by tasting their blood and the ability to shapeshift to whatever form they would most desire.  You can become a seductive temptress perfectly tailored to your target's preferences, or you can take the form of a ghostly mother to a widowed child.  

Additionally, any creature who gives into one of the desires you motivated them with becomes weak to your influence.  Such creatures are more likely to listen to you and have disadvantage on mental effects directed against them when produced by you.     

Shepherd of the Flock (Light): You recognize the immense harm your abilities could produce, but also the great benefit they could produce for humans.  You become a beneficient guardian, one who teaches humans how to better themselves, to elevate their consciousness above the muck of base desires and animal drive.  You gain the ability to read the minds of nearby humans and detect the presence of immaterial beings.

A Nephilim's Dark Convictions:
1d6
1- "I want to help that person."  When a human is particularly helpful, kind or otherwise draws your interest, you develop a fixation with helping them whenever you can.  When given a chance to help that creature, you must successfully save to resist.  You will be self-sacrificial and careless with your resources when doing so, as nothing is more important in the moment than helping your little friend.    
2- "I want to harm that person."  When someone does something that offends, upsets or irritates you, you must successfully save or develop a fixation with harming that creature.  Your fixation depends on the offense and is usually proportional.  When you have the chance, you must successfully save or commit an act of malice against that creature.     
3- "These little monkeys are very funny."  You tend to underestimate humans and why wouldn't you?  I mean, just look at them?  When humans do something seemingly stupid, you must successfully save or overlook what they did as nothing more than primate foolishness.  
4- "I fail to understand why I should care."  You fail to care about many things that so bother humans.  When faced with their problems, you must successfully save in order to actually care about them.  If you fail, you regard them as things beneath your notice or otherwise irrelevant to you.  
5- "I fear divine vengeance."  When you see something that reminds you of God, you are stricken by fear of eternal punishment.  You must successfully save or take action to attempt to either mitigate your guilt impulsively or flee from the source of your fear.
6- "I am your superior."  You are overtaken by a sense of immense smugness.  Whenever you see someone fail at a task, you must successfully save or condescend to them.

by artorifreedom

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