ACKS Apprentice Level Characters Update 1

My ACKS Apprentice Level Characters rules have been updated to include Bard, Explorer, Dwarven Craftpriest, Elven Nightblade, Barbarian, Priestess, Shaman, as well as (Surprise!) Bugbear Warrior, Goblin Warrior, and Orc Warrior.

Goblin Custom Classes

Goblins stand 3' to 3 ½' tall, with surprisingly strong, wiry builds. Their eyes are usually dull and glazed, varying in color from red to yellow, and sometimes flicker red in the dark. Goblins’ skin color ranges from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red; usually all members of a single tribe are about the same color. They spend most of their days underground, but they are also nocturnal and may be found on the surface at night. Goblins are archenemies of dwarves, who they hate above all other humanoids, followed closely by their distaste for gnomes.

Requirements

All goblin classes require a minimum Constitution 9 or better.

Class Category Values

Fighting: Due to their short stature, goblins may never use human-sized two-handed weapons (such as two-handed swords or pole arms) or longbows, regardless of their Fighting Value. Goblins with broad or narrow weapon selections must include short swords, and at least two of darts, javelins, slings, or spears among their selections.

Divine: Goblins rarely allocate build points to the Divine category. See the Mystic Path goblin custom power, however.

Arcane: Goblins rarely allocate build points to the Arcane category. See the Mystic Path goblin custom power, however.

Goblin Value

When building a goblin custom class, assign between 0 and 4 build points to the class’s Goblin Value. At Goblin 0, all goblins gain the following goblin custom powers:

Value	Goblin	XP Cost
4	Goblin 4	2000
3	Goblin 3	1750
2	Goblin 2	1500
1	Goblin 1	1250
0	Goblin	1000

·         Bestial Tongues: All goblins speak their native tongue and two bonus languages, selected from the following list based on their tribe’s proximity to other beastmen and monsters: Bugbear, Draconic, Gnoll, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Orc, Ogre, Troll.

·         Fearsome Size: Goblins grow unnaturally strong and increasingly corpulent as they advance in experience. When they reach 2nd level, the goblin gains a +1 bonus to damage rolls due to his size. At 3^rd level, the damage bonus is increased to +2 and the goblin’s great size and strength grants a +2 morale bonus to goblin henchmen, retainers, and followers. At 5^th level, the damage bonus is increased to +3, at 8^th level it is increased to +4, and at 12th  level it is increased to +5.

·         Mystic Path: When a goblin gains a level of experience, he may choose to gain one level of arcane or divine spellcasting in lieu of all other benefits he would normally accrue from leveling (e.g. hit points, attack throws, saving throws, proficiencies, etc.) A goblin may acquire a maximum of 6 arcane casting levels and/or 8 divine casting levels in this manner.

·         Small: Goblins have a base movement rate of 60'. Experienced goblins of fearsome size retain a base movement rate of 60' due to their bowed legs and overburdened frames.

·         Subterranean: Goblins gain infravision to a range of 90’. However, goblins suffer a penalty of -1 to attack throws when in sunlight.

·         Unempathic: Goblins suffer a -2 penalty to the reactions, loyalty, and morale of humans and demi-humans.

·         Wolf Rider: Goblins know how to breed, groom, and train dire wolves, as well as how to handle dire wolves under difficult circumstances, such as using a weapon from its back.

Additional points allocated to the Goblin Value stack with points allocated to the Fighting Value for purposes of calculating the rate of improvement for attack throws, to a maximum of 4.

EXAMPLE: The standard goblin warrior is built with Hit Dice 2, Fighting Value 1, Goblin Value 2. The goblin warrior’s attack throws increase as if his Fighting Value were (Fighting Value 1 + Goblin Value 2 =) 3.

Experience Point Progression After 8^th level

Unlike the experience point progression for human and demi-human classes, the experience points progression required to advance in Goblin classes always continues to double, even after 8^th level.

Base Class (Goblin Monsters)

Goblin Warrior

Hit Dice 2, Fighting Value 1b, Goblin Value 2.

The Goblin Warrior class is to Goblin Custom Classes as the Orc Warrior class is to Orc Custom Classes, except, note that a 1st level Goblin Warrior is a Goblin Champion.  A normal Goblin is a “0th level” adult Goblin.  Applying my Apprentice Level Characters rules to 0th level Goblin Warriors leads to the progression below.  Now, my Goblin females and young will fight as Goblin adolescents and runts, respectively.

Goblin Warrior

Experience	Title	Build Points	Hit Die	Attack Throw	Saving Throw	Fighting Styles	Special
0	(runt)	Goblin 0, Hit Dice 0, Fighting 0	d4	0th lvl	0th lvl	1	All Goblin 0 powers
54	(adolescent)	Goblin 1, Hit Dice 1, Fighting 0	d6	0th lvl	0th lvl	1
96	(adult)	Goblin 2, Hit Dice 1, Fighting 1b	d6	Mnstr1	0th lvl	2
150	Champion	Goblin 2, Hit Dice 2, Fighting 1b	d8	Mnstr1	F1	2	1st lvl Goblin Warrior

Mystical Orders

Merlin: Shall I tell you what's out there?

Arthur: Yes, please.

Merlin: The Dragon. A beast of such power that if you were to see it whole and complete in a single glance, it would burn you to cinders.

Arthur: Where is it?

Merlin: It is everywhere. It is everything. Its scales glisten in the bark of trees. Its roar is heard in the wind. And its forked tongue strikes like... [lightning strikes]

Merlin: Like lightning — yes that's it.

Excalibur film (1981)

All magic flows from the Dragon, the Creator of All. Nature, magic and the Dragon are ubiquitous, one and the same. Mystics of the Dragon are masters of both natural and supernatural, using each in harmony with the other. From the ancient Order of the Dragon, new orders formed focusing on different aspects of the Dragon. Oldest of these mystical orders are the Seven Animals: the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard, the Snake, the Praying Mantis, the Monkey and the Dragon.

Following are one existing and three new orders for the Player’s Companion Mystic. The Order of the Dragon is the Mystic as it appears in the Player’s Companion. Other orders replace the weapons, special abilities and proficiency list additions of the base (Dragon) Mystic with those noted for the order.

Order	Weapons	Special Abilities	Proficiency List
Crane	dagger, dart, flail, javelin, longbow, shortbow, short sword, spear, staff, sword	1st level: Weapon Finesse, 2nd level: Fighting Style (single weapon or two weapons), 4th level: shimmer once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round, 6th level: command of voice, 8th level: fly (self only) once per day; each use takes 1 round	Alertness, Art, Combat Trickery (disarm), Cat Burglary
Dragon	dagger, dart, flail, longbow, pole arm, short sword, spear, staff, sword, whip	1st level: mindful, 2nd level: strength of spirit, 4th level: probability trance, 6th level: command of voice, 8th level: perceive intentions	Arcane Dabbling, Eavesdropping, Illusion Resistance, Lip Reading
Leopard	battle axe, dagger, flail, hand axe, javelin, longbow, short sword, spear, staff, sword	1st level: Skirmishing, 2nd level: Fighting Style (missile weapon or two weapons), 4th level: swift sword once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round, 6th level: Combat Trickery (knockdown), 8th level: Weapon Focus	Alertness, Ambushing, Mimicry, Sniping
Tiger	battle axe, dagger, flail, great axe, longbow, morning star, short sword, staff, sword, two-handed sword	1st level: Fighting Style (two weapons or two-handed weapon), 2nd level: strength of spirit, 4th level: striking (self only) once per 8 hours; each use takes 1 round, 6th level: Weapon Focus, 8th level: Combat Trickery (force back)	Alertness, Combat Trickery (sunder), Dungeon Bashing, Intimidation