Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Sorcerers of Gruagach/ Pictish Sorcerers

Spells (Gruagach)
Sorcerers of Gruagach have access to the following spells.

Note that as Pictish sorcerers, they must achieve one higher class level to cast their spells than clerics of other gods do and also have a 3 in 6 chance of being able to cast each of their spells an extra time per day. Last, they have a 1 in 20 chance of having one of their spells accidentally go off when stressed (see Pictish Sorcery in Part I for details).

1st Level: Command, Create Water, Cure Light Wounds, Detect Evil, Detect Magic, Light, Protection from Evil, Purify Food and Drink, Remove Fear (reversible), Resist Cold, Detect Snares and PitsD, Faerie FireD, Pass without TraceD, ShillelaghD, Summon Familiar*

2nd Level: Augury, Bless, Delay Poison, Dispel Magic (gained at a lower level than other clerics), Hold Person, Holy Chant, Resist Fire, Reveal Charm, Snake Charm, Speak with Animal, Spiritual Weapon (wielded by a phantom fey being), Produce FlameD, StumbleD, Warp WoodD, Detect Invisible* (via sunlight)

3rd Level: Animal Growth, Continual Light, Cure Blindness (reversible by use of sunlight), Cure Disease, Feign Death, Glyph of Warding, Locate Object, Prayer, Remove Curse (reversible), Striking (on non-metal weapons only), SnareD, Stone ShapeD, Water BreathingD

4th Level: Create Food and Water, Cure Serious Wounds, Detect Lie, Divination, Exorcise, Neutralize Poison, Protection from Evil 10’ Radius, Speak with Plants, Sticks to Snakes, Hallucinatory TerrainD, Repel VerminD, Summon Sylvan BeingsD, Explosive Runes* (must traced over stone), Polymorph Self*

5th Level: Atonement, Commune, Cure Critical Wounds, Dispel Evil, Flame Strike, Insect Plague, , Pictish Geas (as Quest, though the compulsion can be to right any wrong, rather than  just undertake a quest), Plane Shift, Commune with NatureD, Transmute Rock to MudD, Cone of Sun (as Cone of Cold*, but does 1/2 damage and causes blindness to targets- save vs. spell negates; double damage and no save though to beings that hate sunlight)

6th Level: Animate Objects (by connecting with their spirits), Find the Path, Heal, Speak with Creatures, Stone Tell, Summon Aerial Spirit (can be used to summon Fey or Totemic spirits)

7th Level: Control Weather, Earthquake, Gate, Regeneration, Restoration, Symbol (must be scribed onto stone), Wind Walk, Summon Monster V* (Pictish Beasts only, see below)


Pictish Druids & Shamans
Gruagach is served not just by sorcerers, but by druids and shamans too. As discussed in Volume II, to make Pictish druids and shamans, follow these steps...

Pictish Druids
1. Replace select cleric spells with druidical ones, especially ones that involve plants and animals
2. Replace club, staff, spear, sling, or rocks with the sickle (scimitar) as one of the allowed weapons
3. Replace Turn ability with a 1st-level druid spell that can be cast at will (see Volume II for the list)
4. Can also have them experience some or all aspects of Pictish Sorcery, making them truly distinct from other types of druids

Pictish Shamans:
1. Replace select spells with the ones listed for shamans (see Volume II)
2. Lose the ability to Turn- instead can become ethereal for up to one round per day per level
3. And as with Pictish druids, Pictish shamans can still experience some or all aspects of Pictish Sorcery, making them truly distinct from other types of shamans


Pictish Warriors
Wild and wiry like their sorcerer counterparts, Pictish warriors happily don woad paint, run around in barely any clothing (or even none), and scream at their foes in thick accents that few non-Picts can understand. They thus can add 1 per odd level to any combat-related roll each round when doing so (+1 at 1st level, +2 at 3rd level, etc.) or even 2 per odd level to a non-combat related roll that involves being rustic or somehow involves spirits (whether intoxicating or ethereal) (+2 at 1st, +4 at 3rd, etc.). On the other hand, they will never use any armor (except for shields) and also experience the standard -7 penalty to all Charisma checks made with non-Picts for wearing woad paint, though they might be too busy screaming to even notice.

Mve: 40’; AC 7; HD: 1+2; Attk: 1; Dmg: by weapon; SP: +1 for combat rolls/ +2 for rustic or spirit-related rolls per odd level when woad-painted, barely any clothing, and yelling barely intelligibly; -7 CHA penalty when dealing with non-Picts; Sve: F1; Mor: 8; Align: N



Pictish Beasts
These amorphous, horse-like beings are highly respected by the Picts, appearing on much of their art. Pictish beasts are at home both in the water and on land, and also mix elements of the fey and totemic spirits. As a result, they are able to blink at will (as per the spell) and can each also empower up to one worthy Pict at a time, though they are also fond of eating Picts and other mortals when hungry enough (a base 50% chance whenever encountered).

(Illustration: Struthious Bandersnatch)

Mve: 60’, swim 100’; AC 5; HD 5; Atk: 1 bite; Dmg: 2d6; SP: blink, grant one Pict +2 to all rolls as long as he or she honors the beast, amphibious; SV F5; AL N.



Next week, we explore followers of a Finnish deity!