Abilities
Abilities are used to customize your character and expand upon his capabilities in various ways. They are often the primary distinguishing factor between two characters. Some abilities serve to improve existing skills and general actions, such as attack rolls, while others grant new powers not normally available. In most cases, abilities are more powerful than skills, but also much more limited in scope.
Acquiring Abilities
You gain new abilities by spending XP. Each ability has an associated cost that allows you to use it at its lowest level. Most abilities can be further upgraded and customized by spending additional XP as specified in the ability's description. Some abilities and upgrades have prerequisites that must be met before you can purchase them. Prerequisites often include minimum skill levels or access to a different ability. If a prerequisite includes a skill specialization, then the total of your skill and specialization modifiers must equal the number given. If there is no specialization listed, then only the skill itself counts. If "Any" is given for the specialization, then apply your highest specialization in that skill. You can use magical or temporary effects to meet prerequisites, but if you ever lose that effect and fail to meet the prerequisite, then you also lose access to that ability or upgrade until you once again meet its prerequisites. You also lose access to any other abilities that use it as a prerequisite.
Ability Tags
Ability descriptions include several elements that describe how the ability functions. Tags appear at the top of the description between the square brackets. Not all abilities have tags. Tags with special rules are defined below.
Arcane
This ability allows you to create some type of magical effect, and cannot be used when magic is restricted.
Divine
This ability produces some type of holy or unholy effect that relies upon a connection to a divine being. It cannot be used when you are blocked from accessing your divine connection.
Enchantment
This ability involves imbuing an object with mana. The object is treated as magical when you use this ability on it. See the rules for investing mana in objects.
Ability List
Show only abilities with this tag:
Acolyte Training
[Divine]
Prerequisites: Culture 1.
Cost: 10 XP
Select a deity or religion to follow. You are considered a priest of this religion and are familiar with its tenets, beliefs, rituals, rules, and organization. All Lore checks you make involving your deity or religion gain a +4 bonus.
You gain either the holy or unholy classifier, depending on your chosen deity. If you stray from the tenets of your faith, you lose this classifier.
You may select this ability multiple times, selecting a different religion each time, but if you do so you are no longer considered a priest of the religion you originally selected unless the two are fully compatible with each other. Regardless, you may not have both the holy and unholy classifiers.
Action Surge
Cost: 30 XP
When you could normally take an action or reaction, you can gain AP by spending stamina equal to double the amount of AP gained. You cannot gain more than 3 AP per round in this way.
Adrenaline Rush
Cost: 30 XP
You can gain as much as 5 AP per round using this ability.
Arcane Attack
[Arcane]
Prerequisites: Arcana 1.
Cost: 20 XP
You have learned to harness your mana to heighten your natural abilities. When you make an attack roll, you can spend up to 3 mana to gain an equal bonus to the attack.
Armor Specialization
Cost: 30 XP
You have learned the strengths and flaws of a particular armor type and are able to capitalize on its defensive benefits. Select one type of armor, such as mail. While wearing that armor, you have a +1 bonus to your Defense.
You can gain this ability multiple times, each time applying to a different type of armor.
Artery Slice
Prerequisites: Melee 2.
Cost: 30 XP
When you deal a moderate or greater wound with a weapon with the slicing or armor piercing property, you may expend 3 stamina to cause the bleeding condition at a level one lower than the wound you dealt with a TN equal to your passive Melee (Dex + Weapon Group).
Bearer of Misfortune
[Divine]
Cost: 20 XP
When an opponent you can see within 10 yards makes any attack or check, you may spend 3 mana to force the target to roll twice and use the worse result.
When an ally within 10 yards of you who can see you makes a successful attack against a hostile target or succeeds on a check in a dangerous situation, they may choose to turn that success into a failure and restore 2 mana to you. You do not count as your own ally for purposes of this ability.
Blacksmithing
Cost: 15 XP
You have trained to work metal in a forge, and can use your abilities to manufacture a variety of metal objects. You gain the Blacksmithing skill at level 0.
Blacksmithing
Blacksmithing allows you to work with a forge to create metal objects. Most blacksmithing checks use Strength, but coming up with a new design might use Reason, and trying to copy an object you have seen might require Lore.
Smithing requires access to a forge and costs materials and fuel worth half as much as it would cost to purchase the object you are trying to craft. Melting down and reforging an existing piece costs 10% of the item's base cost.
Specializations
- Toolsmithing: Applies on attempts to craft any of the tools that most blacksmiths spend the majority of their time on, such as nails, hammers, horseshoes, woodcutting axes, chains, and the like.
- Armorsmithing: Applies on checks related to crafting metal armors, including plate, mail, brigandine, and others, or to create metal shields.
- Weaponsmithing: Used to craft metal weapons, such as swords, axes, spears, or maces.
Brawler
Prerequisites: Melee (Gauntlets and Claws) 2.
Cost: 10 XP
You count as wearing gauntlets even when unarmed. This allows you to use abilities or actions that rely on being armed, gain the gauntlet's block bonus, and invest mana into your fists as if they were weapons.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Melee (Gauntlets and Claws) 3.
Cost: 20 XP
Your base unarmed damage and damage for all weapons in the gauntlets and claws group increase by one die size (d4 to d6, d6 to d8, or d8 to d10) up to a maximum of d10.
Pummel
Prerequisites: Melee (Gauntlets and Claws) 3.
Cost: 20 XP
If you are unarmed or wielding weapons only from the gauntlets and claws group, you may spend 1 stamina to add damage from both hands to a melee attack made with either hand. You must be able to attack with both hands.
Cleave
Prerequisites: Athletics 2.
Cost: 20 XP
You gain the Cleave reaction.
Reaction: Cleave
Trigger You deal a moderate or heavier wound with a melee weapon.
Make a bonus attack with the same weapon at a -3 penalty to hit against a different target within 1 yard of the first and within reach of your weapon. The attack granted by this ability cannot be used to trigger another use of this ability.
Clear the Field
Prerequisites: Athletics 4.
Cost: 30 XP
The attack granted by the Cleave reaction may be used to trigger another use of the ability. You cannot target a single creature more than once, including the initially triggering attack.
Improved Accuracy
Prerequisites: Melee 3.
Cost: 25 XP
When you use this ability, you do not suffer the -3 penalty on the bonus attack.
Press the Attack
Cost: 20 XP
When you use this ability, you may move as if you had spent 1 AP on movement before determining whether a target is within range of the ability. This movement does not cost AP.
Wide Cleave
Cost: 15 XP
The target does not need to be within 1 yard of the target of the triggering attack.
Close Combat
Cost: 20 XP
If you hit with a melee attack from a closer range than your target's optimal reach, you may spend 1 stamina to increase the damage of your attack by 1d4. If you are closer than their minimum reach, the damage is instead increased by 1d8.
Close the Gap
Prerequisites: Acrobatics (Tumbling) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When you are targeted by an attack using the rebuff reaction, you may spend up to 3 stamina to improve your Defense against that attack by 2 per point spent.
Evasive Combat
Prerequisites: Reflex (Evasion) 2.
Cost: 15 XP
When you are targeted by an attack you can see originating within 1 yard of you, you can spend 1 stamina to gain a +1 bonus to your standard Defense against that attack.
Combat Awareness
Prerequisites: Reflex (Evasion) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
Attacks against you receive only a +1 bonus when you are flanked.
Perfect Awareness
Prerequisites: Reflex (Evasion) 4.
Cost: 40 XP
You cannot be flanked.
Combat Healer
Prerequisites: Healing (Wounds) 3.
Cost: 20 XP
The Treat Condition and Treat Wound actions have a speed class of C for you and you take only a -3 penalty to your check if you do not have a healing kit in hand.
Faster Healing
Prerequisites: Healing (Wounds) 4.
Cost: 15 XP
The Treat Condition and Treat Wound actions have a speed class of C+ for you.
Natural Healer
Prerequisites: Healing (Wounds) 5.
Cost: 30 XP
If you use the Treat Condition or Treat Wound action without a healing kit in hand, you may take a -2 penalty to the speed class to remove the penalty for not having a healing kit.
Defensive Riding
Prerequisites: Nature (Riding) 4.
Cost: 20 XP
You gain the Evasive Riding reaction.
Reaction: Evasive Riding
Trigger Your mount is targeted by an attack you can see.
Make a Nature (Prc) check. Until the end of the round or until you dismount, your mount's standard defense improves by 1 for every 4 points in the result.
Defensive Stance
Prerequisites: Melee 1.
Cost: 20 XP
When you take the defend action, you gain a +1 bonus to Defense and continue defending even after receiving a wound.
Brace For Impact
Prerequisites: Reflex 2.
Cost: 55 XP
When you are targeted by a weapon attack while defending, you may expend 1 stamina to gain an additional +2 bonus to Defense against that attack.
Deflect Missiles
Prerequisites: Resistance (Concentration) 1, Reflex (Interruption) 3.
Cost: 20 XP
When you are targeted by a ranged attack from an attacker you can see, you may spend 2 stamina to add your Dexterity to your Defense against the attack. If you are missed by the attack, the missile lands in a space adjacent to you.
Unusually large missiles, such as from catapults or ballistae, cannot be deflected with this ability.
Aimed Deflection
Prerequisites: Catch Missiles upgrade, Resistance (Concentration) 2.
Cost: 50 XP
If you use this ability and the attack misses you, you may spend 1 additional stamina and redirect it to another target within 30 feet of you and farther from the attacker than you are. Make an attack against the new target as if you had shot or thrown the deflected weapon.
Catch Missiles
Prerequisites: Reflex (Interruption) 4.
Cost: 20 XP
If you use this ability and the attack misses you, you may catch the missile in your hand if you have at least one hand free.
Improved Deflection
Prerequisites: Reflex (Interruption) 4.
Cost: 30 XP
When you use this ability, add an additional 1d6 to your Defense.
Delaying Attack
Cost: 20 XP
When you hit a target with an attack, you may expend 2 stamina to reduce the initiative of that target by 3, plus 2 per level of the wound dealt.
Desperation Attack
Prerequisites: Resistance (Willpower) 2.
Cost: 30 XP
When you make an attack, you may expend 3 stamina to gain a bonus to hit equal to the total number of wound slots you currently have filled.
Diehard
Prerequisites: Resistance (Willpower) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
You gain a +1 bonus to all checks to determine if you fall unconscious or wake up from unconsciousness. You may opt to make a standard roll instead of a wild roll for any such check.
Improved Toughness
Cost: 30 XP
You gain an additional +1 bonus to checks to remain conscious or regain consciousness.
Distance Runner
Prerequisites: Athletics (Running) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When you take the Dash action, your movement rate doubles until the end of the next round. If you use the action again while already running, you can optionally make a passive Athletics (Spd) check instead of a standard check to determine the additional movement rate increase.
Divine Smite
[Divine]
Prerequisites: Holy or unholy classifier.
Cost: 20 XP
When you make an attack against a creature with the opposite classifier from yourself, you may expend 1 stamina to add 1d6 damage to your attack. This damage is considered holy or unholy, based on your classifier.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Arcana (Divine) 1.
Cost: 45 XP
When you use this ability, you may spend an additional 1 stamina to increase the damage by 1d6.
Double Shot
Prerequisites: Aim 1.
Cost: 20 XP
When you make a ranged attack, you may spend 2 stamina to instead make two attacks against the same target at a -2 penalty to hit. Each attack requires its own ammunition.
Split Shot
Cost: 15 XP
When you use this ability, each attack may have a different target.
Triple Shot
Prerequisites: Aim 3.
Cost: 30 XP
When you use this ability, you may spend 4 stamina to make three attacks at a -3 penalty instead of two.
Double Strike
Prerequisites: Melee 1.
Cost: 20 XP
When you make a melee attack, you may spend 2 stamina to instead make two attacks against the same target at a -2 penalty to hit.
Sweeping Attack
Cost: 15 XP
When you use this ability, each attack may have a different target.
Triple Strike
Prerequisites: Melee 3.
Cost: 30 XP
When you use this ability, you may spend 4 stamina to make three attacks at a -3 penalty instead of two.
Elemental Weapon
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
Choose Flametongue, Frostbrand, or Lightningform. You can invest 1 mana into a weapon to grant it the chosen ability. You can gain this ability multiple times, choosing a different damage type each time.
Engulfing Flame
[Arcane]
Cost: 30 XP
When you deal a moderate or greater wound with fire damage, you may expend 3 mana to give the target the burning condition with a TN equal to 10 + your total attack roll modifier and a severity two levels lower than the wound dealt.
If your attack hit multiple targets, you can affect one for 3 mana, and additional targets for 2 mana each.
Familiar Bond
[Arcane]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 4.
Cost: 20 XP
You may perform a week-long summoning ritual to form a permanent bond with a semi-intelligent spirit and bind it to an animal to serve as your companion. This animal becomes your familiar, and has all the same statistics of the original animal, except that its Lore, Reason, and Persona are each increased to -3 if they are lower. If your familiar is killed, you immediately become aware of this, and may later bind the spirit into a new animal by performing the same ritual again. You may also perform a week-long ritual to release a bound animal, returning its statistics to normal and allowing you to bind the spirit to a new animal. You may only have one familiar at a time.
You may select the type of animal to become your familiar, but it must be no larger than size -8 (roughly equal to a small dog) and have no innate magical properties on its own. Your familiar obeys your commands to the best of its ability, but is not an automaton and has its own personality, as well as physical needs such as food and air.
As long as you can see your familiar, you are able to communicate with it telepathically as if speaking normally. Your familiar can also communicate telepathically with you if it can see you. It does not understand any spoken languages.
As an action (AP Cost D), you may sense your familiar's direction and distance as long as it is within 1 mile of you. You also learn if it is injured. If your familiar is farther than 1 mile, you learn only an approximate direction to it.
Bonded Senses
Prerequisites: Enhanced Telepathy upgrade.
Cost: 20 XP
While within 1 mile of your familiar, you can switch between your own vision, hearing, and other senses and those of your familiar as an action (AP Cost B). You can choose any number of senses to include. Each sense requires investing 2 mana, which is returned when you stop using that sense. While using your familiar's senses, you do not have those senses active on your own body. You use your familiar's Perception for checks made through their senses. If your familiar moves farther than 1 mile away while this is active, you lose access to its senses but do not regain your own until you use an action to transition back.
Bonded Skills
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 6.
Cost: 30 XP
While within 10 yards of your familiar, you may use its skill bonus in place of your own for a single check by spending 2 stamina.
Enhanced Familiar
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 6.
Cost: 45 XP
Your familiar's Lore, Reason, or Persona (your choice) increases by 4. The other two attributes increase by 1. Your familiar's attributes may not be increased above 5 in this way. Your familiar gains one moderate or severe wound slot (your choice).
From now on, you may spend AP to improve your familiar's stamina, mana, skills, and abilities exactly as you would spend AP on yourself, with the following restrictions: All prerequisites must be met by the familiar, your familiar may not gain a familiar of its own, and abilities that are not physically possible for the familiar to use cannot be learned (such as most weapon-based abilities).
If you summon a new familiar, it gains all improvements that your previous familiar had from this ability.
Enhanced Telepathy
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 5.
Cost: 15 XP
You can communicate telepathically with your familiar out to a range of 1 mile without needing to be able to see it.
Familiar Magic
Prerequisites: Bonded Senses and Shared Spells upgrades.
Cost: 30 XP
When you cast a spell while using at least one of your familiar's senses, you may spend 1 stamina per spell level to cast the spell as if you were in the familiar's location instead of your own.
Shared Spells
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 5.
Cost: 30 XP
Whenever you cast a spell that normally affects only yourself while touching your familiar, you may choose to have that spell also affect your familiar by increasing the spell's mana investment cost by 1 per spell level, or by spending 1 mana per spell level if there is no mana investment cost.
Verbal Communication
Prerequisites: Arcana (Summoning or Focus) 5.
Cost: 15 XP
Your familiar learns all the languages you know and can speak, read, and understand them as well as you can, even if that type of animal would normally have no way of producing the sounds of that language.
Fickle Master
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 6.
Cost: 30 XP
You can retrieve invested mana from any item at the end of a short rest instead of a long rest.
Focused Mind
Prerequisites: Resistance (Concentration) 4.
Cost: 30 XP
You are able to refocus your mind while you rest, honing it to perform a specific task. At the end of a long rest, you may invest 2 mana into yourself to gain a +2 bonus to a chosen skill. After each check using that skill, either spend 2 stamina or reduce the bonus by 1. The effect ends when your bonus is reduced to 0, you no longer have mana invested, or you use this ability again. You can reclaim invested mana as if it were invested in an item.
Improved Focus
Prerequisites: Resistance (Concentration) 6.
Cost: 60 XP
Your initial bonus is increased to +3.
Split Focus
Prerequisites: Resistance (Concentration) 6.
Cost: 40 XP
You may select two skills to focus on instead of one. The same bonus is shared between both skills.
Hold Breath
Cost: 10 XP
You have trained to hold your breath longer than normal. Add 2 rounds to your normal limit before you start losing stamina.
You may gain this ability multiple times, increasing the XP cost by 5 each time. The increased time limit is cumulative.
Improved Flanking
Prerequisites: Acrobatics 1, Melee 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When determining whether an opponent is flanked, you count as occupying both your own space and all unoccupied spaces within 1 AP of movement at your movement rate.
Into the Fray
Cost: 20 XP
At the start of combat, you begin with 2 more AP than normal.
Additional AP
Cost: 20 XP
At the start of combat, you begin with an additional 1 AP.
Invisible Weapon
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 3.
Cost: 20 XP
You can invest 4 mana into a weapon to cause it to become invisible to everyone but you. If you make a melee weapon attack against your target's defense, your target takes a penalty to its standard defense equal to the number of yards from you to your target.
Lighten Weapon
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 1.
Cost: 10 XP
You can invest 2 mana into a weapon to reduce its heft by 1.
Linguistic Studies
Cost: 10 XP
Choose a language you do not already know. You are able to understand basic words and phrases in that language. You can speak slowly in essentially correct grammar. Complex or uncommon words are beyond you. If the language has a written form, you can read and write with approximately the same level of understanding as you can speak. You can take this ability multiple times, each time selecting a new language.
Advanced Proficiency
Cost: 15 XP
You can communicate fluidly in any general topics and in areas pertaining to your interests and expertise. Complex conversations in areas outside your general realm of knowledge are still beyond you.
Fluency
Prerequisites: Advanced Proficiency upgrade.
Cost: 15 XP
You are completely fluent in the language.
Lucky
[Divine]
Cost: 30 XP
Whenever you roll one or more dice, you may spend 1 mana to alter the value of a single die by 1 point, as long as the result remains within the die's normal range. You must do so before learning the effects of the roll, but after you see the numbers on the dice.
Divine Favor
Cost: 25 XP
You may use this ability on any number of dice in a single roll, but may still only alter each individual die by 1 point.
Magic School: Blade
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana 1.
Cost: 30 XP
You have learned to channel magical powers through the weapons you wield, whether in melee or at range. You can use this to cast any spell in the Blade school.
Before you can use a weapon to cast spells, you must prepare it by investing 1-5 mana into it. You can then use that weapon to cast spells of a level up to the mana invested. All spells cast through a prepared weapon have a +2 bonus to their speed class and ignore the spell's normal range.
When you hit a target with a prepared weapon, you can cast a spell on the same target as a reaction by spending 3 mana per spell level + 1 mana per charge. If the spell affects designated targets, then only the target of the attack is affected. If it affects a radius, then the area is centered on the target. If it affects another type of area, such as a cone or line, then it begins in the target's space and extends away from you.
Ghost Strike
Prerequisites: Arcana (Blade) 6.
Cost: 30 XP
You can make your weapon pass straight through all nonliving material as if it were incorporeal. When you attack with a prepared weapon, you may spend 5 stamina to ignore the target's defense and threshold modifiers from armor, shields, weapons, and cover, and you treat the target's armor class as unarmored, regardless of armor worn or natural armor.
Portal Strike
Prerequisites: Arcana (Blade) 6.
Cost: 30 XP
As an action (AP Cost A), you conjure two invisible portals, one immediately adjacent to you and one at a location within 10 yards that you can see or precisely specify. You may attack through the portal as if your space and the one on the opposite end of the portal were adjacent. You cannot see through the portal, so if you are unable to see the target, you take a -5 penalty to your attack roll as if you were blinded. Only your weapon or its ammunition may pass through. The portal closes at the end of the round.
Magic School: Divine
[Arcane, Divine]
Prerequisites: Arcana 1, holy or unholy classifier.
Cost: 30 XP
You have gained the favor of your deity or another divine being. You can use this ability to learn and cast any spell in the Divine school.
Casting a spell requires that you call upon the source of your power and request its assistance. You must be able to speak freely.
When you cast a spell, you invest 5 mana per spell level plus 2 mana per charge and spend 1 stamina per spell level. Invested mana is returned when the spell ends.
Magic School: Focus
[Arcane]
Prerequisites: Arcana 2.
Cost: 30 XP
You have studied the art of magic and have learned to cast spells with the aid of a magical focus of some sort. You can use this ability to cast any spell in the Focus school.
Focus mages gain their magical powers through knowledge, study, and precise execution of rigorously practiced procedures. This magic must be channeled through a special focus in order to take effect. When you gain this ability, you become proficient in one of the following types of focus: orb, staff, tome, or wand. Each type of focus has unique properties described below. You cannot cast spells with a focus you are not proficient with.
Before you can cast a spell, you must use your focus to prepare it. During this process, you must be in contact with the focus and invest 1 mana per spell into your focus and begin to form it into the shape required for the spell, creating a magical bond between yourself and your focus. If this bond is broken, the spell is no longer prepared and you regain your invested mana. You can break the bond at will before the spell has been cast. It also breaks if you lose consciousness, if your focus is ever farther than 5 yards from you for more than 1 minute, or when the spell ends. If the bond breaks while the spell is active, the spell immediately ends. Each bond is effective for a single casting of a spell, but you can prepare the same spell multiple times.
Orb: Magic orbs are glass or crystal spheres, ranging from 3 to 8 inches in diameter, and can be transparent or opaque, and of any color.
To use an orb, it must be in hand and you must be able to gesture freely with both hands, holding no other objects. Preparing a spell requires 1 round per spell power level. Your base magic power is increased by 2 when using an orb.
Staff: Staves are long shafts of wood or occasionally metal, usually about the same height as the wielder or slightly taller. They often feature carved details, iron-shod tips, or various tokens attached to one or both ends.
To use a staff, it must be in hand and you must be able to move the staff freely and either speak or gesture freely with the other hand. Preparing a spell requires 1 round per spell power level. You may choose up to 2 spells you can cast without spending mana to store in the staff with a permanent bond. This bond does not break except when you die or you choose to break it. You designate which bonds are permanent when they are created.
Tome: Also known as a spellbook, your tome may take various forms, but is most typically a large, thick, heavy, leather-bound book. It contains your spells and accumulated arcane knowledge.
To use a tome, it must be within 1 yard and open to the correct page, and you must be able to speak freely. If the tome is in hand, you may automatically open it to the desired page with only a thought. Preparing a spell requires 1 minute per spell power level. All spells cast from a tome have a -1 penalty to their speed class. You may swap any prepared spell for another spell of equal or lesser power level as an action (AP Cost 6).
Should you lose your tome, you can attempt to copy the information into a new tome at the rate of one spell per day of work. At the end of the day, make a Lor [Arcana/Focus] check against a TN of the spell's power level, with a +1 bonus for each previous day attempting to copy the spell. On a success, the spell is added to the new tome.
Wand: A wand is a short implement, usually crafted from wood or other natural materials like ivory or bone, and 8-16 inches in length. They are often irregularly shaped and may have additional embellishments and decorations attached.
In order to be able to use a wand, it must be in hand and you must be able to speak and move the wand freely. You may prepare a spell as a single action (AP Cost spell's power level). All spells cast from a wand have a +1 bonus to their speed class. Each wand may only hold 1 prepared spell at a time, but may hold as many copies of that spell as you want.
Additional Focus
Cost: 15 XP
Choose a type of focus with which you are not already proficient. You gain proficiency with that focus type. You may take this upgrade multiple times.
Lasting Bond
Prerequisites: Arcana (Focus) 6.
Cost: 25 XP
When a spell you cast ends and the bond would normally be broken, you may spend stamina equal to one fifth of the spell's power level (rounded up) to instead maintain the bond, allowing you to keep the spell prepared.
Scribe Scroll
Prerequisites: Arcana (Focus) 5, Tome focus proficiency.
Cost: 35 XP
You can create scrolls that hold the magical power of your spells for later activation. Any focus spell you know can be written in scroll form.
To create a scroll requires one day of work per level of the spell. During this time, you must prepare the spell in a tome focus, then copy it onto a special scroll which costs an amount of gold equal to the spell's power level squared for costly inks, parchments, and other special materials.
Once a scroll is created, it can be used to cast the spell the same way you would use a tome focus. Once the scroll has been used to cast its spell, it crumbles to dust.
Anyone may attempt to read a scroll, but if they are not proficient in tome focuses, they must make a Lor [Arcana/Focus] check with a TN equal to the spell's power level. On a success, the spell is cast normally. On a failure by 5 or more, the scroll is destroyed but has no effect. Otherwise, nothing happens.
Still Spell
Prerequisites: Arcana (Focus) 4, Orb, Staff, or Wand focus proficiency.
Cost: 20 XP
When you cast a spell using an orb, staff, or wand, you may increase the spell's power level by 2 to remove the requirement to gesture with either hand.
Wordless Spell
Prerequisites: Arcana (Focus) 4, Tome, Staff, or Wand focus proficiency.
Cost: 20 XP
When you cast a spell using a tome, staff, or wand, you may increase the spell's power level by 2 to remove the requirement to speak. Spell effects are not silenced, and those that rely on verbal communication will still require speech.
Magic School: Innate
[Arcane]
Prerequisites: Arcana 1.
Cost: 30 XP
Perhaps it is inherited through your bloodline, perhaps it was a strange twist of fate or quirk of nature, or maybe a magic artifact or ancient ritual imbued you with this power, but somehow you have been given the gift of magic as an inherent part of your being. You are considered a magical creature, and can use this ability to learn and cast spells in the Innate school.
You cast your spells simply through concentrating on the desired effect, and require no specific speech, movements, or materials to do so. Your base magic power is increased by 2. However, innate magic is inherently unpredictable and not easily controlled, and there is always a chance for a spell to fail when you try to push too far.
Whenever you expend mana to cast a spell, you must make a Rsn [Arcana/Innate] check against a TN equal to 5 + the power level of the spell. On a failure, the spell fails to take effect, instead producing only a slight popping sound, puff of smoke, flash of light, or similar minor effect.
Magic School: Summoning
[Arcane]
Prerequisites: Arcana 2, Nature 1, Persuasion (Any) 2.
Cost: 10 XP
You can commune with spirits and persuade them to come to your aid, enabling you to summon and control magical creatures that can use their magic on your behalf. You must form a pact with a specific spirit before you are able to summon it and use its magic. In order to summon a spirit, you must be able to speak uninhibited.
You can learn any spell in the Summoning school, but each pact grants access to a different subset of these spells. The spirit can cast whatever spells you know that are in the summoning school and include its pact in the list. Each time the spirit casts a spell, it uses your magic power and mana to do so, but spends its own AP. Any checks required by the spell use your statistics.
Spirits have the following base statistics and cannot attack except with their spells or wear equipment of any kind: Str -3, Dex -3, Vit -1, Spd 0, Lor 0, Rsn 1, Prc 1, Prs 3, Sz -4, Sta 9, Mana 10, Def 15/15/9, Wounds 8/1/1/1/1, Thresholds -3/0/3/6/9, Mv 6.
Action: Summon Spirit
You summon a spirit with which you have made a pact, causing it to manifest in a physical form as a magical creature within 5 yards. The spirit uses its own AP pool but acts on your turn as you command it. It begins with 3 AP when summoned and can act immediately, then gains 12 AP each subsequent round on your turn. You can communicate telepathically with the spirit and it always understands your intentions and obeys them. If the spirit suffers a fatal wound, it disappears and cannot be summoned again for 24 hours. It also disappears if it is ever farther than 10 yards from you, if you fall unconscious, or if you dismiss it as an action (AP Cost 1). Each time it is summoned, the spirit has its full stamina and mana capacity and no wounds.
As long as the spirit remains, you cannot regain the stamina spent to summon it.
Distant Summon
Cost: 25 XP
When you use the summon spirit action, you may spend 2 additional stamina to extend the maximum distance the spirit can be from you without disappearing to 100 yards, and you can summon it at any point within this range that you can see.
Pact: Divine
Cost: 25 XP
You form a pact with a divine spirit. It usually manifests as a glowing orb of light. The spirit can fly at a movement rate of 12 and counts as a holy creature. It radiates moderate light in a 3-yard radius. You gain the holy classifier while the spirit is summoned. You cannot use this pact if you have the unholy classifier.
Pact: Earth
Cost: 25 XP
You form a pact with an earth spirit. It usually manifests as a short, bipedal creature comprised of jagged rocks and moss. The spirit can move through natural, unworked earth and stone as if walking on normal ground. It is immune to earth-based attacks and grants you a +1 bonus to Defense while summoned.
Pact: Fire
Cost: 25 XP
You form a pact with a fire spirit. It typically manifests as a hound comprised of roaring flames. It radiates moderate light in a 5-yard radius. It is immune to fire damage and grants you a +5 bonus to thresholds against fire damage while summoned.
Pact: Water
Cost: 25 XP
You form a pact with a water spirit. It most often manifests as a giant frog or other amphibious creature. The spirit can swim at a movement rate of 18 and can breathe underwater. It is immune to water- and cold-based attacks and grants you a +5 bonus to thresholds against cold damage while summoned.
Pact: Wind
Cost: 25 XP
You form a pact with a wind spirit. It typically manifests as a small, winged fey creature. The spirit can fly at a movement rate of 18. It is immune to air-based attacks and grants you a +1 bonus to all ranged weapon attack rolls while summoned.
Resize Summon
Cost: 15 XP
When you use the summon spirit action, you can spend additional stamina to set the summoned creature's size to any value from -10 to 5. Each point of difference from its base size costs 1 stamina. Each point increase adds a +1 bonus to all thresholds, a +1 to Movement, and a -1 to Defenses, while each point of decreased size has the opposite effect.
Tough Summon
Cost: 20 XP
When you use the summon spirit action, you can spend 2 additional stamina to grant the summoned creature a +3 bonus to its Vitality and additional wound slots, giving it the following modified statistics: Vit 2, Sta 12, Wounds 8/2/2/2/1, Thresholds -3/1/6/11/15.
Mounted Combat
Prerequisites: Nature (Riding) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When riding a mount, your mount acts on your turn instead of both of you acting on the worse initiative. Additionally, the Mount/Dismount action has a speed class of 2 for you, and attempting to regain control of a mount is a speed class 4 action.
Charger
Prerequisites: Improved Melee upgrade.
Cost: 30 XP
If you make a melee attack immediately after your mount takes the Dash action and moves at least 10 yards towards your target, your weapon deals 1d6 additional damage. If you are using a polearm one-handed, it instead deals 2d6 additional damage.
Improved Archery
Prerequisites: Aim 2.
Cost: 15 XP
When you spend AP to control your mount's movement, the AP cost of your next ranged attack in this round is reduced by an equal amount, to a minimum of 0.
Improved Melee
Prerequisites: Melee 2.
Cost: 15 XP
When you spend AP to control your mount's movement, the AP cost of your next melee attack in this round is reduced by an equal amount, to a minimum of 0.
Off Hand Training
Cost: 10 XP
You do not take the normal -2 penalty to accuracy when using a one-handed weapon in your off hand.
Ambidexterity
Cost: 20 XP
You treat your off hand exactly as your primary hand in all respects.
Oversized Weaponry
Cost: 20 XP
You treat your Strength score as 1 point higher when determining your maximum weapon heft.
Larger Weapons
Cost: 30 XP
You treat your Strength score as 2 points higher when determining your maximum weapon heft.
Point Blank Shot
Prerequisites: Aim (Any) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When you make a ranged attack against a target within half of your weapon's first range increment, you can expend 1 stamina to gain a +2 bonus to your attack roll.
Expanded Range
Prerequisites: Aim (Any) 5.
Cost: 40 XP
The maximum range of this ability is increased to the full first range increment.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Aim (Any) 4.
Cost: 50 XP
When you use this ability and hit your target, you may expend 2 stamina to deal an additional 1d6 weapon damage.
Quick Draw
Cost: 10 XP
You gain a +2 bonus to the speed class of the Retrieve or Stow an Item action. Once per round per hand, this can reduce the AP cost to 0.
Faster Access
Cost: 10 XP
The speed class bonus increases to +3.
Quick Healer
Cost: 30 XP
Whenever you make a recovery check to heal a wound, you may make a second recovery check at a -5 penalty immediately afterwards and gain the benefits of both.
Reckless Stance
Cost: 20 XP
As an action (AP Cost 2), you can change into or out of a reckless stance. While in the reckless stance, you have a -2 penalty to your standard Defense, and can expend 1 stamina to gain a +2 bonus to any melee attack.
Improved Accuracy
Cost: 50 XP
When you use this ability, the bonus to attack increases to +4.
Regain Footing
Prerequisites: Acrobatics (Gymnastics) 3.
Cost: 10 XP
When you use the change posture action, you can change from prone to standing directly. You may also stand up as a reaction instead of an action by spending 1 stamina.
Reliable Skill
Prerequisites: Level 3 in the chosen skill.
Cost: 30 XP
Choose a skill. When you make a standard check using that skill, you may spend 2 stamina before rolling to turn any negative result on the dice into a positive one of equal value.
You can gain this ability multiple times, selecting a new skill each time.
Resize Weapon
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
You can invest 1 mana into a weapon to grant it the Lengthening ability.
Second Wind
Prerequisites: Resistance (Willpower) 2.
Cost: 30 XP
You gain the Second Wind action. Once you use this action, you must finish a long rest before you can use it again.
Action: Second Wind
You take a moment to calm yourself and collect your energy reserves, readying yourself for continued action. Make a Vitality check and recover stamina equal to the result.
Faster Recovery
Prerequisites: Resistance (Willpower) 3.
Cost: 15 XP
When you use the Second Wind action, the speed class is reduced to 6.
Frequent Use
Cost: 50 XP
You regain use of the Second Wind action after a short rest.
Shield Other
Cost: 30 XP
You gain the Shield Other reaction.
Reaction: Shield Other
Trigger An ally you can see within reach of your weapon is targeted by an attack from an attacker you can see.
Your ally gains a +2 bonus to their standard defense against the attack.
Defensive Move
Cost: 30 XP
You may expend 1 stamina to move up to 1 AP's worth of movement immediately before triggering this ability. This movement does not cost AP, and is wasted if not used before using this ability.
Surprise Attack
Prerequisites: Aim 1, Stealth 1.
Cost: 20 XP
When you make an attack against a target who cannot see you or who is helpless or immobile, you may spend 1 stamina to increase the damage of your attack by 1d6. You must be at your weapon's optimal reach if making a melee attack or within the first range increment if making a ranged attack. You cannot use this ability against a target whose vital points you cannot reach, such as a giant standing over you, or who has no vital points, like most oozes.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Aim 2, Stealth 2.
Cost: 25 XP
When you use this ability, you may expend an additional 1 stamina to add another 1d6 damage.
Swift Strike
Cost: 20 XP
When you attack, you may expend 1 stamina to gain a +1 bonus to your speed class.
Faster Attack
Cost: 25 XP
When you use this ability, you may instead spend 2 stamina to increase the bonus to +2.
Toughness
Cost: 30 XP
Your base wound thresholds increase by 1 for moderate wounds, 2 for severe wounds, 3 for critical wounds, and 4 for fatal wounds.
Increased Toughness
Cost: 45 XP
Your base wound thresholds increase by another 1 for moderate wounds, 2 for severe wounds, 3 for critical wounds, and 4 for fatal wounds.
Two-Weapon Strike
Prerequisites: Melee 2.
Cost: 30 XP
As a reaction when you hit with a weapon in your primary hand, you may spend 2 stamina to make an additional attack against the same target with a different weapon in your off hand with a +2 bonus to speed class and accuracy.
Vengeful Heart
Cost: 20 XP
When you are hit by an attacker you can see, you may expend 1 stamina to gain a bonus to damage on your next successful attack against that attacker. The bonus is +1 if you received a light wound, +2 for moderate, +3 for severe, +4 for critical, and +5 for fatal. This bonus is lost if not used within five minutes or if you fall unconscious.
You can use this ability multiple times against the same or different targets. Only the highest bonus against each target applies.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Melee (Any) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
When you use this ability, the damage bonus is doubled.
Sweet Revenge
Prerequisites: Resistance (Concentration) 2.
Cost: 35 XP
If you use this ability and then damage the target who triggered it, you may expend 2 stamina to reduce the level of the triggering wound by one step, provided that there is at least one empty wound slot of the appropriate level.
Weapon Bond
[Arcane, Enchantment]
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 2 and either Aim (Any) 2 or Melee (Any) 2.
Cost: 20 XP
You gain the ability to magically bond with a weapon, granting several minor benefits.
Action: Bond with Weapon
You invest 3 mana into a weapon you are holding to form a magical bond with that weapon. You cannot form a bond with a weapon that is already bonded to someone else. You gain the following benefits as long as you maintain the bond:
- The weapon's magical properties function only for you.
- You gain a +1 bonus to damage with the weapon.
- You may spend 1 mana to instantaneously cause the weapon to appear in your free hand, provided that it is within 1 mile of you and on the same plane of existence.
Improved Damage
Prerequisites: Arcana (Enchantment) 3.
Cost: 40 XP
When using a bonded weapon, you gain a magical bonus to damage equal to your Reason (minimum of +1).
Wild Attack
Cost: 20 XP
When you make a melee attack, you can expend 2 stamina to make it a wild attack. When you do so, roll 1d8 in addition to your normal attack roll. If the die lands on 1-5, subtract the result from your attack roll. If it lands on 6-8, add the result to your attack roll.