brian 333
2018-01-27, 10:03 PM
A barbarian tribe's hereditary kings have ruled their people for generations, each coronation occurring at a rock formation in the exact center of their domain.
The members of a noble family have for generations interred their dead in the same mausoleum.
A minor lord of a castle has a chapel in his keep bearing the death masks of three generations of ancestors.
Each family has a deeply rooted history in a place, and to them this is holy ground. It is a place for those who have crossed over to gather and observe the antics of their still living children. But it is also a place these children can go for wise counsel and on occasion the ancestors come back to help insure the continuity of their lineage.
The Spirit Guide
A direct descendant who prays at his ancestral shrine may obtain a spirit guide who offers consolation and vague, cryptic advice. More specific advice can be gained by asking for it. The guide will be allowed to answer it to the best of its ability, (they don't know everything,) limited to one word per level of the petitioner.
Incense, wine, or other expensive consumables must be offered, and vague advice can be had as if in a dream. If specific advice is wanted the guide will give it within limits, but thereafter be unable to reappear for a number of months equal to the number of words spoken.
The Spirit Guardian
Wizards and sorcerors call these familiars. Non wizards who obtain a Spirit Guardian only do so as a result of a serious threat to the family shrine. The spirit will inhabit a nearby animal, (never beast or magical beast, etc.) Dogs are favored, as are other pets. (An emperor was once known to hold a canary as his guardian.)
These creatures can fight, but seldom do. Instead they typically advise their descendants and watch over them during sleep periods, Although they are called from their ancestral shrine, they are otherwise treated as familiars with a telepathic link which allows them to understand each other's speech. The other benefits of a familiar are not granted to a Spirit Guardian.
The creature begins play as a familiar of the appropriate level for the character, but it cannot earn exp or level up with its master. A petitioner may only summon a guardian spirit when in dire need, and then only once per lifetime. When the need is no longer urgent or the guardian dies, the guardian returns to its place in the shrine.
A wizard or sorceror who summons a familiar while in a family shrine will obtain an ancestral spirit to animate the familiar, regardless of the situation.
Guardians Identify Descendants automatically, and Identify Family Members which are not direct descendants upon a successful Will save.
Guardians can see into the Etheral Plane at will, and magical concealment relying on Etheral properties have no effect on Spirit Guardians.
A guardian may take a lethal blow for its master, dying automatically in the process. The blow must be a hit which would kill the descendant. If the descendant would have positive HP after an attack is calculated it does not qualify for this ability.
Only one guardian may be summoned in a lifetime. Otherwise, the rules for familiars apply on the Spirit Guardian's death.
Peach if you like. Or if you don't!
The members of a noble family have for generations interred their dead in the same mausoleum.
A minor lord of a castle has a chapel in his keep bearing the death masks of three generations of ancestors.
Each family has a deeply rooted history in a place, and to them this is holy ground. It is a place for those who have crossed over to gather and observe the antics of their still living children. But it is also a place these children can go for wise counsel and on occasion the ancestors come back to help insure the continuity of their lineage.
The Spirit Guide
A direct descendant who prays at his ancestral shrine may obtain a spirit guide who offers consolation and vague, cryptic advice. More specific advice can be gained by asking for it. The guide will be allowed to answer it to the best of its ability, (they don't know everything,) limited to one word per level of the petitioner.
Incense, wine, or other expensive consumables must be offered, and vague advice can be had as if in a dream. If specific advice is wanted the guide will give it within limits, but thereafter be unable to reappear for a number of months equal to the number of words spoken.
The Spirit Guardian
Wizards and sorcerors call these familiars. Non wizards who obtain a Spirit Guardian only do so as a result of a serious threat to the family shrine. The spirit will inhabit a nearby animal, (never beast or magical beast, etc.) Dogs are favored, as are other pets. (An emperor was once known to hold a canary as his guardian.)
These creatures can fight, but seldom do. Instead they typically advise their descendants and watch over them during sleep periods, Although they are called from their ancestral shrine, they are otherwise treated as familiars with a telepathic link which allows them to understand each other's speech. The other benefits of a familiar are not granted to a Spirit Guardian.
The creature begins play as a familiar of the appropriate level for the character, but it cannot earn exp or level up with its master. A petitioner may only summon a guardian spirit when in dire need, and then only once per lifetime. When the need is no longer urgent or the guardian dies, the guardian returns to its place in the shrine.
A wizard or sorceror who summons a familiar while in a family shrine will obtain an ancestral spirit to animate the familiar, regardless of the situation.
Guardians Identify Descendants automatically, and Identify Family Members which are not direct descendants upon a successful Will save.
Guardians can see into the Etheral Plane at will, and magical concealment relying on Etheral properties have no effect on Spirit Guardians.
A guardian may take a lethal blow for its master, dying automatically in the process. The blow must be a hit which would kill the descendant. If the descendant would have positive HP after an attack is calculated it does not qualify for this ability.
Only one guardian may be summoned in a lifetime. Otherwise, the rules for familiars apply on the Spirit Guardian's death.
Peach if you like. Or if you don't!