Classes

The difference between a priest and a cleric is that while priests choose to follow a religious order and worship its deities, clerics are chosen by divine forces whether they like it or not.

While many clerics are priests, most are like wandering emissaries sent to spread the influence of divine power. Good clerics do this by performing good deeds and being an inspiration to others. Evil clerics use terror and fear to force the masses into worshiping their hideous deities. There are no Neutral clerics.

Hirelings. Clerics get a full class bonus when hiring hirelings of the same social inclination. If the Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic part is different they only get a half bonus. If their alignment (the Good / Neutral / Evil part) is different they cannot work together, providing the cleric knows about it.

Spells. Clerics start casting spells at 1st level. Their first two spells should always be Consecrate and Turn Unbelievers. They use Spirit when determining the number of spell levels they can memorize. Any spell can be memorized but they only gain a half bonus if its type is not Divine.

Arms & Armor. Clerics can wield any weapon and wear any armor just as long as it presents the cleric in a positive light by way of their faith. Good clerics need to appear good. Evil clerics need to appear evil. They may disguise themselves but only for special occasions and short periods of time.

Cleric XP. Clerics gain xp by donating wealth to the needy or religious organizations at a rate of 1 xp per $1 given. Clerics also gain 100 xp by performing consecrations. This should increase in tandem with the size of what is being consecrated.

Ours is a physical world that needs to be dealt with in physical ways. Philosophers can ponder, leaders can blather, spell-casters can mess about with arcane mysteries and druids can lick their toads, but when you get right down to it, everything that has ever mattered over the course of history was settled by muscle and the weapons that it wields. Fighters may not be the most exciting characters but the effectiveness of their brute simplicity knows no bounds.

Arms & Armor. Fighters can wield any weapons and wear any armor they like, although they tend to gravitate towards the heavy armor and shields for obvious reasons.

Fighter XP. Fighters gain xp by training, which costs $1 per 1 xp and requires time spent at a training center or guild. They may also gain xp by carousing which costs $2 per 1 xp and can be done nearly anywhere.

Professionals are never called Professionals, they are Farmers, Bakers, and Candlestick Makers. It’s what they do for a living.

This is the simplest of callings. You rename it to fit the profession and its class bonus covers anything that seems right. They have no interesting features but they do advance in level with greater speed than any other class. Some professions commonly found in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world are:

Actor, Architect, Armorer, Artist, Astrologer, Baker, Barber, Barkeep, Barmaid, Beekeeper, Blacksmith, Brewer, Butcher, Carpenter, Cartographer, Chandler, Cobbler, Cook, Cooper, Courtesan, Dancer, Driver, Engineer, Farmer, Fisherman, Fishmonger, Fletcher, Fortune-Teller, Game Master, Glass-Blower, Herald, Herder, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Jailer, Jeweler, Judge, Laborer, Lady-In-Waiting, Leather-Worker, Locksmith, Lumberjack, Mason, Mayor, Merchant, Midwife, Miller, Miner, Money Changer, Mortician, Musician, Navigator, Noble, Peasant, Perfumer, Performer, Philosopher, Pilgrim, Potter, Priest, Rat-Catcher, Roofer, Rope-Maker, Rug-Maker, Sage, Sailor, Scribe, Sculptor, Seaman, Seamstress, Servant, Silversmith, Stable-Hand, Stonemason, Storyteller, Steward, Surgeon, Surveyor, Sycophant, Tailor, Tanner, Tax Collector, Teacher, Town Crier, Toymaker, Trapper, Weaver, Woodcarver, Woodsman, Village Idiot.

Should one of these (such as the Sailor) ever become a class of its own? Use that class instead of the Professional.

Jack-Of-All-Trades. The Jack-Of-All-Trades is a master of none. This professional dabbles in everything and gains half its class bonus to all but the most obscure pursuits (ex: they cannot cast magic spells).

Arms & Armor. Professionals can wear and wield anything but they will not normally carry anything which doesn't fit their profession. They come with more money than the other classes because professionals have day jobs.

Professional XP. Professionals gain 220 xp per month by simply getting up and going to work. This loses 20 xp for every level the professional has. So a first level professional will get 200 xp per month, at second level 180 xp per month, and so on. Eventually, they bottom out at eleventh level and gain nothing per month. These XP can only be put towards the Professional class.

Beginning professionals may seek out an apprenticeship or train at a guild costing $1 per 1 xp. They may also be self-taught, costing $4 per 1 xp.

The call of the Thief is to live fast, live well, and do as little actual work as possible.

Which is not to call them lazy. When it comes to sneaking into some armored fortification to steal a handful of jewels worth more than most people make in a year, the thief will work hard to grab those stones. Even if it takes five years of constant labor to do so.

Just don't ask them to hold down a day job.

After that, thieves are a disparate bunch coming from all walks of life. They are trained in picking locks, picking pockets, searching rooms, sneaking about, eavesdropping and any skill which helps them get what they want without anyone having to know about it.

Arms & Armor. Thieves can wear any armor for purpose of disguise but prefer light armor for daily use. When it comes to weapons, they like small easily hidden ones such as cudgels, daggers, nunchucks and short swords. On the whole, thieves like to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.

Thief XP. Thieves often acquire xp by training at a guild of some sort, exchanging $1 per 1 xp. Thief guilds tend to be very territorial. Voices carry so while outside of ones home base it is best to resort to carousing which costs $2 per 1 xp.

Warlords know the value of charisma. While they are more than willing to fight on their own, they know that their true purpose is to serve as an inspiration to others, leading them onto victory.

Sometimes they are out on the bloody edge of the attack. Other times they are cheering from the sidelines. And at some other less inspiring times they can be found in the back, plotting out strategies while the rest of the party does their fighting for them.

One thing is true. Whether a fighting unit is a continental army or a band of street thugs, there always seems to be a warlord standing among them. Like the king in a game of chess, they may not be the most powerful piece on the board but whether the warlord stands or falls can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Arms & Armor. Warlords are all about presentation. While they can use any arms and wear any armor, they like to stand out from the crowd and appear bold and courageous. They will usually be found wielding the best stuff they can find.

Warlord XP. Warlords gain 10 xp every time they win initiative in battle. They can also gain xp by training at the standard rate of $1 per 1 xp or carousing for $2 per 1 xp.

Wizards are people who have fallen in love with the study of magic. While typified by the eccentric scholar living alone in a decrepit tower surrounded by teetering stacks of books, many more are just everyday people who have found a few spells and are teaching themselves how to cast them.

One place you will not find a wizard is on a battlefield or deep in a dungeon blasting goblins or dealing with dragons. At least, not if they can help it. Wizards tend to be very reluctant adventurers who know they suck at fighting. Still, sometimes a wizard needs to do what a wizard needs to do. Especially after some warlock has put them out of a job.

Intelligent! Wizards spend countless hours milling through books, trying to remember all that they read. This is not a class for the simple-minded. A character needs at least an Intellect 12 to be accepted as a Wizard.

Spells. Wizards start casting spells at 1st level. They can cast any spell that is not Divine. While you do get to pick a new character’s spells, further level advancement only increases the character's spell level limit. New spells need to be acquired while out adventuring.

Arms & Armor. Wizards can wear armor. They just won’t. Any wizard caught carrying a shield or wearing any armor heavier than Light is seen as an insult to the wizarding community and will be shunned. Wizards who wear armor scream that their magic is not good enough. Even worse, they may actually be a Warlock.

Wizard XP. Wizards gain xp by training at a guild where they are a member in good standing, often exchanging $1 per 1 xp.
They can also teach themselves but the obscure nature of their study raises the price to $10 per 1 xp. Shunned wizards have no choice but this one.

Dwarves are stocky rumbling bearded folk who live under mountains, hate to leave their mountains, and seem to talk of nothing but the mining of their beautiful mountains.

Mountains, gold, steel, battle-axes, throttling dwarf tossers, beheading orcs, killing giants and beer. Mountains of beer.

Most dwarves are miners and rarely seen above ground. However, since it is nigh impossible to herd cattle in a cave they do make regular excursions to the surface world to purchase eggs, ale, beef, grain, cabbage or anything else the rest of the mine might need, such as beer.

You can never have enough beer.

Underground Survival. Through many generations, dwarves have adapted to life underground. They have little fear of cramped spaces and are good at identifying rocks and natural passageways as well as tool-hewn ones. Dwarves can often sense tremors and cave-ins coming. They rarely get lost underground.

Dwarvish. All dwarves speak both Common and a native tongue called Dwarvish. To the unknowing, Dwarvish sounds like monotonous grunting, the verbal equivalent of a hammer pounding on an anvil, but it is an intricate language which is quite adept at conveying large amounts of information with just a few syllables. Dwarves gain a fluency bonus equal to their level in Dwarf. High level dwarves pride themselves by refusing to speak anything but Dwarvish when they can get away with it.

Arms & Armor. Dwarves are very practical. They live in their armor and prefer short heavy weapons such as axes and war hammers.

Dwarf XP. Dwarves gain xp by accruing wealth and not spending it, 1 xp per $1. This wealth cannot be gained from financial trickery or inheritance. It needs to be dug out of the ground, earned as a wage or properly stolen. Then it needs to be hidden some place safe that only the dwarf knows about.

A dwarf who loses his wealth will not only be infuriated by the loss but also be stuck with a deficit of xp points. These need to be replaced before the dwarf can advance in any class.

Nobody, not even the elves themselves, knows where they come from. Many suspect that elves are refugees from a distant kingdom that was destroyed during the great cataclysm. Despite being very slow to age none of them have memories stretching back far enough to remember that dark period of history.

Possibly because of their long lives, most elves are uninterested in raising a family or owning a dwelling. They tend to be solitary wanderers, often in search of clues to their past as well as a possible direction forward into an uncertain future.

Elvish. Elves speak both Common as well as Elvish, a language with a deep and mysterious past. Elves pride themselves on their ability to speak Elvish and gain a fluency bonus equal to their class level. Often this is used to see who can perform the best recitations of ancient Elvish poetry.

Powers. Elves are power-users who start at 1st level. They can choose any non-Divine spell as a power but only gain half a class bonus in casting it. Nature spells are their domain and they gain a full bonus when wielding them.

Fae Lights is a power that all elves are born with. The ability to use Fae Lights to weave elegant patterns is a cultural obsession. Elves will often compete to see who can draw the most beautiful pattern with the greatest strength winning it.

Orcs. To say that elves and orcs do not get along is a dramatic understatement. They will try to kill each other on sight. They may even go out of their way just to do so.

Arms & Armor. Elves can wear any kind of armor and wield any kind of weapon or shield. More often than not they wear light to medium weight armor and carry a sword and a bow.

Elf XP. Any time an Elf comes across a new piece of ancient elvish lore, they should make a Luck Save minus their level in Elf. Success means it is something they have never heard before and they gain 500 xp per success.

Halflings stand three to four feet tall. If they truly were half the height of the humans they resemble those humans would be huge. Yet, someone coined the term halfling and it has stuck with them ever since.

Generally speaking, halflings are jovial, pastoral people not given to adventure when they can help it. They would much rather herd sheep, monger cheese, brew ale and smoke curious strains of pipe weed than run a magic ring to volcano delivery service, but sometimes duty calls.

Small Size. The Halfling is a small-sized character which comes with more complications than most medium-sized characters. Be sure to read about Body Size under Adventure in the Core Rules before deciding to run one!

Arms & Armor. Halflings can wear and wield anything they like but they prefer the comfort of light weapons and armor. Unpretentiousness is important to halfling societies and any halfling caught walking about in a full suit of tailor-made platemail will be seen as haughty if not odd at the very least.

Halfling XP. Halflings are often smitten by wanderlust and gain XP from traveling to new and exciting places. Each month spent out and about seeing the world brings in 300xp to a max of 1800xp after which they need to return home and spend that same amount of time unwinding before going back out on adventure. These XP can only be spent on the Halfling class.