The Keeper [base class]

[nerulean]

Here is another class for my low magic campaign based on Catherine Fisher's Book of the Crow seriescoming up in a few months, and once again I’d very much appreciate your pointers. These guys are the only casters in the whole setting (with a few BBEG-type exceptions) so they’re probably a little overpowered to start with, but I’d like to try and keep them playable in comparison to everyone else.

Any help, hints and criticism you can give me would be very much appreciated! In particular, I’d love any more ideas you guys could throw at me for sense strands to give players more choice – just keep in mind the nature theme.

KEEPER

What does the keeper know?
The secrets of the world.
To whom does the keeper speak?
God and the Makers.
What does the keeper fear?
Nothing but despair.
- Litany of the Makers

The Order of Relicmasters, referred to more commonly as the keepers, are the clerics of Anara. They preserve the memory, lore and work of the Makers, devoting their entire lives to this service, and are revered and respected by the common people for the task they perform and the power they possess.

People are chosen early to become scholars of the Order, sometimes as young as five or six and seldom older than eighteen. They can receive their instruction in a shrine or temple along with many others, or travelling the wilderness with just their master, but in either case their education takes place almost solely one-on-one, with a single keeper training a single scholar, frequently forming a deep bond between the two.

A scholar’s education consists of many things. He will be taught how to read and write if he does not know already, and will begin to learn by heart the sacred texts of the Order, starting with the Litany of the Makers and the Book of the Seven Moons, and moving on later to more obscure texts like the Apocalypse of Tamar and the Sorrows of Kest. Contained within these books is a rich account of the history of the Makers and the legends and lore that has grown up around them, as well as their teachings and instructions to keepers in everything from conduct to ritual. All keepers revere these texts and consider the words within them holy.

A scholar is also instructed in the care and use of relics, powerful and often unstable artefacts left behind by the Makers. Though no relic is ever entirely safe to use, the keepers have made them their study and learned the ways of these holy devices.

The thing that sets keepers apart the most, however, is their ability to access the awen field, the soul of Anara. Through opening the third eye, keepers can see into this network of power that runs through all living things and use it to affect the world around them, from calling out to the consciousness of plants to changing the weather. They can also shape the awen within themselves to form sense lines that stretch from them into the world, bringing deeper perception, giving warnings, and even coalescing into solid force.

A member of the Order has no possession beyond what is necessary (though necessity can be loosely defined when travelling through a dangerous world) and is forbidden from carrying money, instead relying upon the donations of the people they serve or the results of their own labour to keep them sustained. They revere nature and seek meaning in the patterns of the moons, the behaviour of animals and in dreams and visions. Though a powerful keeper is capable of doing so, keepers are taught to respect all life and never to kill any creature with a soul.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills
The keeper’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather information (Cha), Handle animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (any) (Int), Sense motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

The Keeper
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th

1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Sense lines, Combine Awen|3|—|—|—|—|—|—

2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3||4|1|—|—|—|—|—

3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Minor sense strand|4|2|—|—|—|—|—

4th|+2|+1|+1|+4||5|2|1|—|—|—|—

5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Minor sense strand|5|3|2|—|—|—|—

6th|+3|+2|+2|+5||5|3|2|—|—|—|—

7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Major sense strand|6|3|3|1|—|—|—

8th|+4|+2|+2|+6||6|4|3|2|—|—|—

9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Major sense strand|6|4|3|2|—|—|—

10th|+5|+3|+3|+7||6|4|4|3|1|—|—

11th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Major sense strand|6|5|4|3|2|—|—

12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8||6|5|4|3|2|—|—

13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Major sense strand|6|5|5|4|3|1|—

14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9||6|5|5|4|3|2|—

15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9|Master sense strand|6|5|5|4|3|2|—

16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10||6|5|5|5|4|3|1

17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|Master sense strand|6|5|5|5|4|3|2

18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11||6|5|5|5|4|4|3

19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Master sense strand|6|5|5|5|5|4|4

20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12||6|5|5|5|5|5|5[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the keeper.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Keepers are proficient with all simple weapons. They are proficient with light armour, but not with shields.

Spells: A keeper casts divine spells which are drawn from the keeper spell list. When he gains access to a new level of spells, he automatically knows all the spells for that level on the keeper spell list so essentially his spell list is the same as his spells known list. He can cast any spells he knows without preparing ahead of time, as long as he has not used up his spells per day for that spell level.

To cast a spell, a keeper must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a keeper’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the keeper’s Wisdom modifier. Like other spellcasters, a keeper can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Keeper. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score.

Keeper spell list

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0 Level

Dancing lights
Know direction
Light
Message
Resistance
Dawn (SpC)
Naturewatch (SpC)
Mind flare: dazzle

1st Level

Bless
Calm animals
Charm animal
Command
Death watch
Endure elements
Entangle
Faerie fire
Identify
Obscuring mist
Protection from evil
Remove fear
Silent image
Speak with animals
Mind flare: prone

2nd Level

Aid
Animal messenger
Animal trance
Arcane lock
Augury
Calm emotions
Chill metal
Fog cloud
Gust of wind
Knock
Pyrotechnics
Whispering wind
Mind flare: blind
Mind flare: dazzle, mass

3rd Level

Bestow curse
Command plants
Daylight
Good hope
Magic circle against evil
Plant growth
Remove curse
Sleet storm
Speak with plants
Mind flare: daze
Mind flare: prone, mass

4th Level

Break enchantment
Commune with nature
Discern lies
Dismissal
Dispel evil
Modify memory
Mind flare: stun
Mind flare: blind, mass

5th Level

Banishment
Control winds
Control weather
Dream
Hallow
Wall of thorns
Mind flare: unconsciousness
Mind flare: daze, mass

6th Level

Analyse dweomer
Geas
Screen
Control plants
Earthquake
Cyclone
Mind flare: kill
Mind flare: stun, mass


Mind flare spells

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By reaching out with the force of his own awen, a keeper can overwhelm the mind of an opponent.


Mind flare: dazzle
Level: Keeper 0
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1d4 rounds
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is briefly dazzled.

Mind flare: dazzle, mass
Level: Keeper 2
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Mind flare: dazzle, except that it affects multiple creatures.

Mind flare: prone
Level: Keeper 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is knocked prone.

Mind flare: prone, mass
Level: Keeper 3
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Mind flare: prone, except that it affects multiple creatures.

Mind flare: blind
Level: Keeper 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1d6 rounds
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is briefly blinded.

Mind flare: blind, mass
Level: Keeper 4
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Mind flare: blind, except that it affects multiple creatures.

Mind flare: daze
Level: Keeper 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1d6 rounds
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is briefly dazed.

Mind flare: daze, mass
Level: Keeper 5
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Mind flare: daze, except that it affects multiple creatures.

Mind flare: stun
Level: Keeper 4
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1d6 rounds
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is briefly stunned.

Mind flare: stun, mass
Level: Keeper 6
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Mind flare: stun, except that it affects multiple creatures.

Mind flare: unconscious
Level: Keeper 5
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: 1d4 x 30 minutes
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is knocked unconscious.

Mind flare: kill
Level: Keeper 6
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The creature is killed.

Sense lines:

A keeper has the ability to into the awen in himself and extend it into intangible, invisible lines of energy called sense lines from his third eye which can be imbued with various different effects. A keeper may create a sense line a number of times per day equal to his keeper level plus his wisdom modifier. Up to that limit, a keeper can have as many sense lines active at once as he likes up to a maximum combined length of 15ft/keeper level, but the more he has active the harder it is to maintain concentration upon them.

Beginning a sense line (creating it and extending it into your own square) takes a move action, after which it takes a full round action to extend the sense line to the maximum length. A sense line can be made in any configuration provided it originates from the keeper's head, so for example a single long sense line could be sent ahead to scout the area or wrapped around a camp in a spiral to act as an alarm system in case anyone approaches. An already existing sense line can be moved 30ft per round if the keeper uses a standard action to concentrate on it, but does not need to concentrate to move it relative to himself: they automatically move as he does, unless deliberately anchored to solid points (a free action). One end must always remain in contact with the keeper's head if he wishes to discern any information from it.

A keeper is aware of any creature passing through his sense lines, and if the creature is tiny size or above he must make a concentration check to avoid the sense line being broken, DC 10 for a tiny or small creature, 15 for a medium or large creature, 20 for a huge creature, 25 for a gargantuan creature and 30 for a colossal creature. A sense line that is broken for any reason cannot be extended any further, and if the keeper has over half of his daily sense lines broken in an hour he becomes sickened for an hour from the last failed check

Certain environmental factors like bad weather conditions or difficult terrain can make it hard to maintain concentration on sense lines. When a sense line is extended into or passes through a square where such conditions occur, or when such conditions enter the same square as a sense line, the keeper must make a concentration check or the sense lines breaks and its movement is stopped for this round. Equally, if an already extended sense line is triggered in these conditions, an appropriate concentration check is required to notice this, otherwise the trigger passes unnoticed and the sense line may be destroyed: a keeper cannot make a check to stop the sense line being broken if he is unaware of the creature passing through it.

Sense line concentration checks

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{table=head]Cause | DC

No movement: sluggish water, very light breeze, stationary people | 6

Mild movement: quick stream, gusty breeze, average street | 12

Moderate movement: fast river, heavy wind, busy road, small combat | 17

Fast movement: river rapids, gale force winds, crowded market, big fight | 25

Ferocious movement: stormy sea, hurricane, pitched battle | 30

Moderate terrain: 2 squares of movement to traverse: steep slope, shallow bog* | 10

Difficult terrain: 4 squares of movement to traverse: deep bog, wide wall* | 15

Terrain requiring a DC 10 climb check to traverse | 20

Terrain requiring a DC 15 balance check to run or charge through | 20

Presence of powerful evil | Varies

Each aditional sense line active | +2

Light precipitation (rain, dust) | +2

Heavy precipitation (hail, sand, spores) | +4

Minor sense strand added to sense line | +2

Major sense strand added to sense line | +4

Master sense strand added to sense line | +6

One or more keepers present of lower level than you | -2**

One or more keepers present of equal or higher level than you | -4**[/table]
* Natural obstructions, such as undergrowth, do not apply.
** Not cumulative with each other.
All DC increases are cumulative.

Sense lines are made up of interwoven sense strands, each of which provides a seperate ability to the sense line. The essence of a sense line is made up of two strands, called the basic sense strands. Every sense line must consist of these two strands and may also contain one additional strand that the keeper knows which is chosen when the sense line is created and cannot be changed. The more powerful the sense strand, the harder it is to maintain concentration on the sense line. A keeper learns how to make the basic sense strands and one minor sense strand at 1st level, and learns one further sense strand at every odd level of the power level indicated in the table: minor, major or master. The DC for any sense strands that allow saves is equal to 10 + 1/2 keeper level + wisdom modifier.

Sense strands

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Basic sense strands:

Read terrain: By concentrating upon this sense strand as a standard action, you get an approximate awareness of the terrain along the length of the sense line.

Detect awen sources: You are automatically aware of the presence or absence of awen sources in the same square as your sense line, and their relative strength. Awen sources consist of all living plants or creatures except for abominations, as well as relics. This does not require an action. A keeper is entitled to a reactive concentration check to notice whenever a powerful awen source comes into the same square as an extended sense line.

Minor sense strands:

Detect sense lines: You can identify the shape and sense strands of any other sense lines in the same square as yours. Free action.

Project surface emotions: You can project feelings into the mind of a person the sense line is touching. The target is aware that these are not his own feelings, merely the feelings of others being shown to him, and an unwilling target is entitled to a will save to block them out. Standard action.

Read relic: You can learn the functions of a relic the sense line is touching. Standard action.

Read surface emotions: You can detect the current general mood of a person the sense line is touching. An unwilling target is entitled to a will save. Standard action.

Solidify sense lines, lesser: You can form sense lines into lines of solid energy that require a strength check DC 5 + your wisdom modifier to break, or an attack with a slashing weapon against AC 5 to remove their 2 HP. It takes a standard action to turn 5ft/keeper level of sense line solid, and you must spend a move action each round to make a concentration check or the sense lines cease to be solid.


Major sense strands:

Access awen in relics: You can draw power out of relics to augment your own ability. It acts as a keeper of level equal to its caster level for the purposes sense line concentration DCs and uses of Combine Awen, for which it will provide a single spell slot of the highest level a keeper of its caster level could cast. If the relic is attended, it is allowed a will save using its holder's save bonus. Standard action.

Activate relics: You can activate a relic the sense line is touching as if you had 30 ranks in use magic device. Standard action.

Alter surface emotions: You can alter the surface emotions of a person the sense line is touching. He does not realise the emotions are not his own, but may find the sudden change of emotions odd if the difference between his previous emotion and the new one is too vast. An unwilling target iss entitled to a will save to resist the effect. Standard action.

Communicate with plants: You can access the living essence in plants the sense line is touching, talking to them as if they were creatures with mental stats of 3d6. They are treated as having an attitude of indifferent or friendly. Takes a standard action to establish communication.

Project surface thoughts: You can project words or images into the mind of a person the sense line is touching. The target is aware that these are not his own thoughts, merely the thoughts of others being shown to him, and an unwilling target is entitled to a will save to block out the thoughts. Standard action.

Read surface thoughts: You can get a general impression of the current general surface thoughts of a person the sense line is touching. An unwilling target is entitled to a will save. Standard action.

Solidify sense lines: You can form sense lines into lines of solid energy that require a strength check DC 10 + your wisdom modifier to break, or an attack with a slashing weapon against AC 5 to remove their 7 HP. It takes a standard action to turn 5ft/keeper level of sense line solid, and you must spend a move action each round to make a concentration check or the sense lines cease to be solid.


Master sense strands:

Donate awen to relics: You can donate some of your power to an exhausted relic the sense line is touching to revive and use it. You can sacrifice any spells you have left that day to give a relic extra charges. Every two levels of spells you sacrifice gives one charge, up to a maximum of three charges for six sacrificed spell levels. Full round action.

Solidify sense lines, greater: You can form sense lines into lines of solid energy that require a strength check DC 15 + your wisdom modifier to break, or an attack with a slashing weapon against AC 5 to remove their 12 HP. It takes a standard action to turn 5ft/keeper level of sense line solid, and you must spend a move action each round to make a concentration check or the sense lines cease to be solid.

Alter surface thoughts: You can alter the surface thoughts of a person the sense line is touching. He does not realise the thoughts are not his own, but may find the sudden change of thoughts odd if the difference between his previous thoughts and the new ones are too vast. An unwilling target iss entitled to a will save to resist the effect. Standard action.

Command plants: As Communicate with plants but you may issue a Sugestion as the spell.

Combine Awen: When two or more keepers are adjacent, they can combine their spell power to create a single spell more powerful than either alone could cast. One keeper is chosen as the primary caster, and the spell must be cast on his action, so he must ready an action if he would be before the others in initiative order. Each other keeper must sacrifice spell slots of a total level equal to the spell to be cast (count cantrips as ½ level spells for this purpose) as a standard action. For each keeper who does this, the spell’s DC and caster level increase by 1.

[sigurd]

Interesting class.

My first comment as a player would be

So I have reduced cleric spells, and spells per day, and a wizard's hp..... I don't see any cures so presumably this is druidic?
No domains, no wildshape, no companion....
Is this universal? Are we the party never going to run into the standard classes as opponents?




Are these different sense lines cumulative and continuous?
Are you the DM, going to maintain the available sense lines at all times so that expanded senses have real uses? Or are you going to nurf this whenever it suits you? How long are the lines? and how can I maintain them? Can I rotate a line around me in a sweep?


Sigurd

[nerulean]

That's entirely right, less spells than a cleric, though you do get a lot of choice for a spontaneous caster, and you're pretty susceptible to a sword in the face, though con is probably your second highest stat, which helps out a little. I would say the druidic flavour is fairly obvious, though you could easily add the cures into the spell list. I didn't for flavour's sake, and we're using the vitality points system from UA in our campaign. Essentially, though, this class is the only casting class in the whole world, and they're all on the same side, which is a fairly hefty advantage.

I'll be playing the sense lines exactly as written. Whenever there's something to notice (and sometimes when there isn't, just to keep them on their toes), I'll ask them where their sense lines are at that particular moment in time, and yeah, you could do a sweep, though moving them takes a standard action. There's no time limit for how long a sense line can exist, and they can be in any shape and out to any distance, provided the number they've used that day doesn't exceed their total that day, and the total length out at once isn't higher than 15ft/keeper level. It doesn't take any effort to maintain a sense line unless it goes through tricky circumstances, in which case it's concentration check time.

[sigurd]

It seems consistent and well thought out. For my tastes it seems a little bland but I like casting a wide range of spells and the richness of a couple of schools of magic.

I don't know that I'd play a spellcaster that seemed like a lesser citizen. Might as well play a Barbarian and attack things. I'd be frustrated if the setting made my contribution to a party greatly reduced. If they are the worlds only spellcasters I'm sure it all balances out but I'd need a lot more fluff to feel good about what the class could do to make me forget what it couldn't.


Sigurd

[nerulean]

I think in terms of what this character can do, it's somewhere along the lines of 'divine bard'. I've taken the focus away from combat and pushed it towards adventuring in general, since the rest of the party is likely to be heavily martial, what with no other casters being around, so his abilities take longer to produce but last as long as it takes for them to become useful.

That said, I'm thinking of bumping the HD back up to d6 and giving them light armour proficiency. They shouldn't be in combat, but if they are, there's no reason they should die straight away.

[ChrisMcDee]

Interesting class. Not sure how appealing it would be to players as a whole but it definitely fills a niche for NPCs. I always liked the idea of non-Bard knowledge based classes like the Loremaster, but something about the Loremaster doesn't sit right with me. I definitely think there's potential for the Gandalf-type character who guides the rest of the party around and is generally invaluable to them in the course of their adventures. I hope this class works out

Overall I'd say it doesn't look too unbalanced (I'm no balance expert...) and I'd definitely consider playing one in an appropriate setting.

[nerulean]

Thanks very much! The Gandalf archetype is pretty much exactly what these guys are aimed at. In fact, in a recent D&D MST of the LotR films, I didn't spot him doing anything these guys couldn't do, magic-wise at least. True, he'd have more luck wading into battle than a keeper, but these guys have one or two other skills up their sleeves.

That said, any second now I will be changing the sense lines to make them a good deal more combat-viable. You've still got to make concentration checks to maintain them in combat, but now you can actually produce one in marginally less time than it takes to kill an opponent.

[ChrisMcDee]

Out of interest what are the other classes that you've having available to the PCs?

[nerulean]

Barbarian, fighter, ranger (non-casting variant), rogue, scout, swashbuckler and knight, of the books I’ve got, though that’s not all of them, plus the watchspy and a homebrew class I’ve still got left to make which is much closer to the bard in terms of what it actually does. If anyone particularly wanted to play a samurai and re-flavour it, I’d let them, though wonder why. Essentially, nothing with casting or a magic-like effect as an important part of the class.