Benefits
Character Benefits
Character benefits are perks that include many areas of character development including physical traits, education, fighting styles and magical training. Some of your most powerful abilities will often be unlocked with Character Benefits.
Name Rank Pre-requisites Description
Character Benefit List
| Benefit Name | Rank | Prerequisites | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Background | 1-2 | CC | Gain 1 Rank in your choice of two benefits from the following list: Status, Fame, Income, or Language. Rank 2 increases the benefit to 2 Ranks in your choice of two benefits from the list. |
| Perfect Memory | 2 | CC | You have a perfect memory and may recall things with photographic clarity. |
| Giant | 2 | CC | +1 Health, -1 Dodge (may not be reduced below 1) |
| Improved Speed | 1-2 | +1/+2 Speed | |
| Improved Initiative | 1-2 | +1/+2 Initiative | |
| Toughness | 1-3 | Constitution 3 | Retain consciousness until -1, -2, -3. |
| Armor Training | 1-2 | Improve maximum dodge for Medium or Heavy armor by 1 or 2 points. | |
| Weapon Finesse | 1 | Allow use of Dexterity instead of Strength for Large weapons such as Longswords. Small and Light weapons gain this feature automatically, and weapons larger than Large size may not gain this feature. | |
| Meditation | 1 | Recover mana through meditation even without a restful sleep. Normal fatigue penalties apply to rolls. | |
| Language | 1-2 | Intelligence 3 | Rank 1: Read/Speak language, Rank 2: Fluent |
| Quick Draw | 1 | Dexterity 2 | Draw a weapon as a free action. |
| Ritual: Template Focus | 1-5 | Non-Adept Template | Attunes you to a magical focus which provides casting bonuses. |
| Ritual: Familiar | 2 | Sorcerer Template, Seed: Summon 1 | Permanently bind a Rank 1 Outsider from your chosen plane |
| Ritual: Planar Gate | 2 | Sorcerer Template, Any Seed 4 | Create a portal to your chosen plane. |
| Ritual: Conceal Object | 1 | Sorcerer Template, Conceal 2 | Magically conceals an object from detection spells, and prevents it from radiating magical auras. |
| Ritual: Rapid Animation | 2 | Sorcerer Template, Slay 3, Animate Dead 1 | When a target is slain by Slay, it is immediately animated as if by Animate Dead. Doing so costs the additional mana of Animate Dead for each target affected. |
| Fighting Style: One Hand & Shield | 1-5 | Melee Weapons 2 | Defensive style focused on preventing damage and protecting nearby companions. |
| Fighting Style: Dual Wield | 1-5 | Dexterity 3, Melee Weapons 3 | Offensive style focused on dealing maximum damage to a single target. |
| Fighting Style: Assassination | 1-5 | Stealth 3 | Offensive style focused on dealing a single killing blow. |
| Fighting Style: Two-Handed Weapons | 1-5 | Strength 3 | Offensive style focused on dealing damage to multiple targets. |
| Fighting Style: Ranged Weapons | 1-5 | Ranged Weapons 3 | Offensive style focused on improving ranged combat. |
| Fighting Style: Thrown Weapons | 1-5 | Thrown Weapons 3 | Offensive style focused on improving thrown weapons. |
| Fighting Style: Spellsword | 1-5 | Race: Elf/Faerie, Template: Mage, Dexterity 3, Melee Weapons 3 | Balanced style focused on merging magical prowess and bladework together. |
| Favored Template | 2 | CC | You gain access to a Template not traditionally associated with your race. |
| Bonus Template | 4 | Gain a bonus Template with a single Rank 1 power. This template is not required to be from your race’s Favored Templates. |
Character Benefit Descriptions
Bonus Template
Your character gains access to another character template. The new template gains only a single Rank 1 power.
Template Focus
Sorcerer Focus
req. Template Sorcerer
| Rank 1 | Planar Shielding | Your magic defense against Sorcery increases by +1. Note: This does not apply to constructs, summons, or conjured weapons created by Sorcery. |
| Rank 2 | Basic Focus | The focus now provides a Focus bonus to all spells from this template when wielded. The bonus is +1 (Rank 2), +2 (Rank 3-4), +3 (Rank 5). The magic imbued in this device is not compatible with enhancement bonuses, so a weapon turned into a focus could not also be enchanted with an enhancement bonus. |
| Rank 3 | Life Tap | You may voluntarily take 1 point of Mortal damage to regain Mana equal to your Magic score. |
| Rank 4 | Planar Power | Once per day you may grant 9-again to a spell. |
| Rank 5 | Chaos Guard | When a spell results in Backlash dice, you reduce the pool by 1. |
Mage Focus
A Mage's focus is core to a mage's persona and presence for mages and wizards across endless stories and worlds. Some manifest as a staff, some as a wand, though there are other possibilities such as orbs. Not all Mages may choose to make a focus, however those that do will realize benefits to their casting. Mage staves and wands staves are unique and personal. They may take many shapes and designs, colors and carvings, metal or wood. They are anything but ordinary.
Only one Mage Focus may exist at a time for any one Mage, who is attuned to that Focus, and the abilities of that Focus are dependant on the Benefit rank obtained.
If the Mage ever loses the Focus, either separation by planar magic or by the Focus's destruction (voluntarily or otherwise), the Mage may re-create the Focus. Recreation takes 1 day for each rank previously purchased. During recreation, all mana is consumed each day and not available for any other purpose, and no break in creation is permitted. If the Mage desires, he can recreate the Focus at a lower rank than previously obtained, however future rank increases must be paid at full cost. During recreation, the Mage may change any previous choices made for the prior Focus, if applicable.
Req. Template Mage
| Rank 1 | Mage Light | The mage may cause the focus, or part of the focus, to glow with light at the strength of normal torch light. This light may be any color chosen by the mage when this rank is obtained, and may not be changed afterwards. Any magical aura lit by this ability is visible to the mage as per Detect Magic. |
| Rank 2 | Basic Focus | The focus now provides a Focus bonus to all spells from this template when wielded. The bonus is +1 (Rank 1-2), +2 (Rank 3-4), +3 (Rank 5). The magic imbued in this device is not compatible with enhancement bonuses, so a weapon turned into a focus could not also be enchanted with an enhancement bonus. |
| Rank 3 | Mana Focus | The mage may transfer mana into the focus that may be used at a later time. The maximum permitted mana storage is equal to the mage’s Magic score. This mana storage has no expiration. This mana is not accessible to any other creature or power, including mana drain effects. The mage must be in physical contact with the focus to use the stored mana. |
| Rank 4 | Extension Focus | Magecraft spells cast through the focus may have their casting attributes modified depending on what type of focus is used.
Staff: Deliver Touch spells (functions as Reach), and ranged AoE spells may be altered to become point blank AoE centered on the caster but excluding the caster from the effect. Wand: Deliver Touch spells (normal melee distance), and any AoE effect may have it’s width reduced by half to double it’s length, extending away from the mage. Sphere: Maintain the concentration of a sight, sense, illusion, or divination spell for the mage (only one such spell at a time) freeing the mage from the concentration requirement. |
| Rank 5 | Chromatic Focus | Magecraft spells requiring multiple spheres cast through the focus have their cost reduced by 1 to a minimum of 1 mana. |