Elemental Combatants

Wielders of elemental magic for physical combat.

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Acorn Warrior

A warrior of the summer. Acorn warriors are sacred warriors of the elementals of summer who are bonded to the season and gain powers from it.

To be an acorn warrior, one must meet and be worthy of the Oak Spirit, the elemental of all summers around the world. If they are worthy - being a friend to nature and dedicated to preserving the warmth, protection, and joy of summer - they gain special abilities and equipment. They are hunters and warriors who know the dangers of summer as well. They must observe festivals and rites of summer to maintain their magic.

The equipment they gain:

• Acorn cap: the acorn cap that acorn warriors wear are +4/+4 round caps (+1/+1 more in the summer, -1/-1 less in winter). The caps can absorb sunlight year-round to keep the acorn warrior warm.

• Oak leaf shield: a shield made from a giant oak leaf, it is +3/+3 (+1/+1 more in the summer, -1/-1 less in winter) and repels cold, wintry magic, and infernal powers.

• Oakbark armor: +7/+7 armor (+1/+1 more in the summer, -1/-1 less in winter) that allows them to appear to be an oak tree if they stand still for more than 30 seconds.

• Twig blade: a thin twig that acts as a +5/+5 sword (+1/+1 more in the summer, -1/-1 less in winter).

They also may be granted a summer steed. Some potential steeds include the following:

• Puuku: a spirit horse that is the horse of horses, a powerful horse that can influence all other horses.

• True herd horse: a powerful magical horse attuned to the plains.

• Forest horse: a powerful elemental horse attuned to natural law.

• Golden steed: a powerful elemental horse made of sunfire.

• Golden swan: a swan whose golden feathers glow in the sunlight.

• Summer stag: a stag of yellow fur and shining antlers who rises in the summer to serve the Oak Spirit.

• Sunhorn sheep: massive sheep who have light wool for the summer and whose horns burn with sunfire when they are angry.

• Dawn bison: bison who are said to bring the dawn when they run.

• Suntail skink: a large lizard whose tail is photosynthetic.

• Giant fritillary: the elemental lepidopteran of the summer.

• Giant dawn bee: a bee most potent at dawn.

• Giant golden beetle: a gold-based (instead of carbon-based) beetle.

• Goldenjacket: a yellowjacket made of sunfire.

• Megagrig: a grasshopper-like insect 9’ long that only comes out in the summer.

• Dawndraco: a pterosaur with a 13’ wingspan.

• Summer ern: a sea eagle said to bring summer in off the seas.

• Griffin: part lion, part eagle, amalgamation, not native to the Starfall region.

• Dawn sailfin: a fish whose fin absorbs sunlight and allows it to swim in the air temporarily.

• Rising goshawk: a hawk whose wings glow brightly as they rise under the sun.

• Giant sun lark: a very big sun lark.

Consult the GM for the powers of these potential steeds.

Acorn warriors may gain some of the following abilities as well:

• Summer attunement: acorn warriors gain bonuses in summer and take penalties in winter.

• Verdant sunblade: the greenery of summer and the flame of the sun wreath the acorn warrior’s sword for +5/+5 extra elemental sunfire damage.

• Oakspeech: acorn warriors can speak to oak trees and beings of summer.

• Warming aura: acorn warriors can warm everyone within 30’ at will.

• Solstice blade: on the solstice, acorn warriors can create a magical blade of sunflame of power 30/37/44/51, once per combat.

• Longday endurance: acorn warriors only have to rest once every other day after the vernal equinox and before autumnal equinox.

• Afternoon storm: acorn warriors can summon thunderstorms in the afternoon of a summer’s day once per week.

• Maypole dance: if the acorn warrior engages in the maypole festivals, they gain healing touch for the year.

• Dog day lag: in the dog days of summer, acorn warriors gain +1/+1 stun/wound to all attacks as the summer heat lags.

• Midsummer light: the acorn warrior can shine as brightly as the midsummer sun once per week.

Other abilities may be possible. Consult the GM.

PRO +3 ATH +1 STR +2 AWA +2 WIL +1 PRS +1 STH -3

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Brigand

A bandit of the hill lands who is attuned to them.

Brigands dwell in the hills and engage in robbery and violence, but they are often doing so against the settlers and colonizers on behalf of the wilderness itself. They learn to commune with the hills because they need to to survive there, but they become deep friends to nature as they do so. If they have not been an enemy to nature, the hills will accept and help them as they commune with them. Once they have communed and lived in the hill for at least a year and a day, they begin to gain abilities granted them by the elementals of the hill lands:

• Territorial sense: know when new people are in their territory, have familiarity with it

• Earthen redoubt: a brigand can form a wall of earth 2’ thick, 8’ long, and 7’ tall.

• Sudden slope: a brigand can create a slope on solid, unpolluted earth, going down from where it is at the time of creation (not up) of 6’ per round in combat and per minute out.

• Bump: a brigand can make the ground ripple, creating small mounds to create rough terrain or knock targets prone.

• Resounding depth: a brigand can listen to the earth of a hill and know if it has any caves or hollow space within it.

Other abilities may be possible. Consult the GM.

Brigands are bandits, and thus, there’s always a group of them. They are generally engaged in robbery and banditry, and usually use firearms, crossbows, and swords. Most ride horses.

PRO +2 ATH +2 STR +1 AWA +1 WIL / PRS -1 STH +2

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Cutthroat

Death is a part of nature, and thus, there is an element of death. Death Herself is a deity who is the ultimate psychopomp, the gatherer of souls, and the force of death itself deified. Her followers view natural death as sacred and unnatural death as an affront to their goddess. Furthermore, they view those who avoid natural death by infernal means - especially the undead - as anathema. Thus, some of her followers devote themselves to enforcing nature's intentions and avenging those who died unnaturally. These are called the cutthroats, elite assassins who wear white (the sacred color of Death Herself) and know when death is coming.

Unnatural death is death at the hands of other mortals (other than acts of self-defense or accident) in an avoidable circumstance. Avoiding a natural death by infernal means refers to necromancy, demonic contract, exploitative magicks such as feeding on blood or slaves, or other similar powers. Mass death events like genocide, war, intentional famines or droughts, negligent responses to natural disasters, impoverishing or enslaving people, poaching and over-hunting, and so on, but mostly, it means intentional plagues and pollution. Avoiding a natural death does NOT include using medicine, avoiding or fleeing an attack or disaster, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, or other natural acts of support.

To become a cutthroat requires years of study. They learn the religion of Death Herself, the science and mysticism of death, and the arts of killing. And in order to fully wield their power, they must face death, walk through the Beyond, and aide the souls of the deceased for a year and a day, before returning to the world of the living. Once they have completed this impossible journey, they are granted a white key that contains the powers of death and the afterlife. They can open invisible metaphysical gates by placing the key into an imaginary keyhole and opening, creating one of these effects:

• Gate of the Eye: soulsight, the cutthroat can see the souls of anyone within line-of-sight, gaining a +6 read people.
• Gate of the Hour: the cutthroat knows the hour (not the day, not the year, not the moment, but simply the hour of the day) someone within line-of-sight will die.
• Gate of the Moment: the cutthroat knows how someone died if their body or soul is within line-of-sight.
• Gate of the Intention: the cutthroat knows how someone who should have died if they are undead or otherwise infernally empowered to not die.
• The Locked Gate: if the cutthroat closes all gates in the area, no one may die within range of them (usually 44').
• Gate of the Shroud: the cutthroat's body fades into the Nether Realm, making them partially in the Spirit Realm, but invisible to those there.
• Gate of the Banisher: all undead within 44' of the gate must roll against it or be destroyed.
• Gate of the Ending: the cutthroat's target rolls against the power of the gate if they are within line-of-sight, and if they fail, they die.
• Gate of the Beyond: the cutthroat opens a gate into the Beyond or the Nether Realm, or a returning gate to the Spirit Realm.

Note: the world of Shem is in the Spirit Realm.

Cutthroats act only if they are instructed by Death Herself to do so. As such, they are often outsiders or temporary members. They are very devoted to their faith.

PRO +2 ATH +2 STR / AWA +2 WIL +2 PRS -1 STH +2

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Entangler

A warrior who uses elemental vines.

To be an entangler, one must commune with the greenery around them. There must be a sufficient amount of vines nearby, a certain density of plantlife, for there to be enough to be communed with. A forest, grassland, or wetlands will work. Greenhouses, gardens, orchards, and farms will likely also work. Green hills and mountains, underground forests, and the plant life of other worlds also works. But a few houseplants or the nearby potted sapling don't generate enough to work. A rare collection of trees within a desert or an oasis may be enough, but it will vary by location.

Communion requires mindfulness of all plantlife around the entangler and a deep meditation. The feel of the vines, the scent of their flowers, the sharpness of their thorns, the swish of their movement in the breeze, these must all be taken in as the mind slips into the collective consciousness of the green. Once meditating, the entangler must be accepted by the plants. This requires they not be involved in, for instance, industrial pollution, logging, or serial littering. In other words, you must be a friend to the plants. Once this is done (a series of AWA and WIL rolls), the entangler will be able to sense the energies around them when they are near enough greenery. To draw these energies to oneself to use, one must have a deciduous tree near enough to touch and, using the power to sense these elemental energies gained from green communion, focus on the breath of the plants and synch with it, focus on it, and will it inward.

Once an entangler has done this, the vines will entangle them, then be absorbed into them. They will gain the following abilities:

• Summon vines: the vines they absorbed can be summoned at any time, connected to them on their backs. A beginner entangler will have four vines; as they grow in experience, it can get up to 12.

• Control vines: any vines nearby will be under their control if they are within 30’. If they are part of a conscious being, the being must roll WIL vs. entangler’s STR.

• Thorn vine whip: the entangler may convert one of their vines into a thorny vine if it is not naturally so, making it a weapon of 15/21/27/33.

• Flowering vine dance: the entangler may dance with their vines to make them bloom, adding +3 PRS.

• Poisonous tendril: the entangler may cause one of their vines to be poisonous to the touch, ranging from 7 in power to 16.

• Grasping roots: if near large enough plants, the entangler may encourage the roots of nearby plants to grasp the feet or legs of those standing near them.

• Climber ladder: the entangler may encourage vines to form a ladder up a wall or other structure.

Entanglers are warriors who are devoted to protecting nature. They usually live in the wilderness and wield their powers against settlers and colonizers, often as part of either a native group or a group of refugees.

PRO +3 ATH +3 STR +2 AWA +1 WIL +1 PRS -1 STH +1

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Moonguard

A non-man attuned to one of the moons to fight for the world.

Moonguards attune to the moons via rituals of witchcraft, usually appointed by a local coven to be their chosen warrior.

There are three moons around the world of Shem: the Grey Moon, the Green Moon, and the White Moon. The cycles of the moons affect the amount of elemental moon energy cast upon the world. The White Moon is the weakest, but it is better when used for attacks and bindings. The Green Moon's is the next weakest, but it is best used for transformations and emotional magic. And the Grey Moon's is the most potent, which is best used for protections, healing, and findings.

Each moon has a cycle ranging from new (unseen) to full (wholly visible), waxing and waning from crescent to gibbous. The White Moon has a 26 day cycle; the Green Moon has a 30 day cycle, and the Grey Moon has a 28 day cycle. Lunar magic is solar magic reflected from the moons. When a moon is new, it produces no accessible lunar energy. When it is full, it is at its greatest strength. (This is reverse if you are on the moons, but that is unlikely to come up.)

Moonguards are granted their abilities by the moons themselves and the witches who selected them. Often they are novice witches who show promise as warriors, and thus, the witches encourage them to become moonguards.

Some abilities that are common include the following:

• Reflective armor: the moonguard can make their armor reflective like the moons, allowing it to repel esoteric energies.

• Binding circle: the moonguard can create a circle of light on the ground that binds a target in place and possible inflicts hexes, curses, or geases on them by throwing a whip or circular weapon at the feet of their target.

• Cyclical strike: the moonguard can invoke the cycles of the moons and inflict a wound that gets worse or returns under a specific phase of their chosen moon.

• Lunar empowerment: the moonguard gains bonuses and penalties to combat and magical abilities based on the phases of their specific moon (+3 full, +2 gibbous, +1 half, 0 crescent, -1 new).

• Triple form: the moonguard can create two illusory selves if their moon is full, even if it is day.

• Soft light: the moonguard may create a soft light in the palm of their hands to light the way.

• Unseen cloak: the moonguard may make their cloak reflective such that light ripples off it and makes them temporarily invisible if there is a half moon or better in the night sky.

Other abilities may be possible. Consult the GM.

Moonguards are rare and serve their covens and nature. They are often given a specific quest or task or have a specific enemy of the witches they must face, often a witchfinder. They are always non-men, as they are empowered by the witches to defend against purveyors of patriarchal violence.

PRO +3 ATH +3 STR +2 AWA +2 WIL +1 PRS +1 STH +2

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Ponene

A fencer who wields elemental lightning as their foil.

A ponene gains this power via rituals of weather magic. The learning process involves attuning to nature, specifically to different forms of weather, by meditating in them, using various ingredients including animal parts, plants, and special rituals to better attune to it, and by learning special spells (kept in ancient books called synnegrims). After years of study, a ponene must dance under a thunderstorm with their weapon and perform a ritual to capture lightning in their sword. If they succeed, they then practice for years to perfect their wielding of it. Wielding it eventually uses it up, so they must seek out and absorb lightning every so often. Many store multiple bolts to be ready.

Ponenes are protectors of nature. They are often chosen for specific foes or tasks by the weather elementals in an area, or invoked by local groups who seek a champion to fight for them. Their powers blend the weapon arts of the empires and colonies with the magic they have forbidden, making them the choice for when a noble or member of high society is an enemy to nature.

The gain some of the following abilities. Other abilities may be possible. Consult the GM.

• Lightning foil: their sword pulses with lightning, giving it a damage rating of 21/27/33/39.

• Rapid riposte: the ponene can move with lightning speed to riposte, gaining +9 on a single counter attack per combat.

• Shocking parry: if the ponene parries an attack, they can send a shock through their weapon if the opponent is using a metallic weapon, causing stun at a power of 22, once per combat.

• Dazzling feint: the ponene can create a dazzling lightning flash to feint at an opponent, giving themselves +3 or high die the following round to hit.

• Thunderous beat: if they choose to use a beat to start a combat (tapping the opponent’s weapon to signify the start of a duel), they can unleash a peel of thunder that makes the opponent lose their next action.

• Electric lunge: on a lunge, the ponene can spike the electrical energy in their weapon once per combat and give another +6 to the damage caused.

• Static disengage: they can disengage from an opponent by sending a shock of static electricity through the blades, giving them high die on disengagements.

• Cloud step: they may retreat from a battle by vanishing into a dark cloud.

• Ominous advance: if they advance on their opponent, it has the feel of an approaching storm, giving them +3 to intimidate.

Ponenes favor speed to strength, and they often have training in the ruling class’s traditions of fencing and dueling.

PRO +3 ATH +3 STR +1 AWA +2 WIL / PRS +1 STH +1

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Powderspark

A wielder of firearms who uses elemental fire.

Like ponenes, powdersparks are usually chosen to be projectors of nature using the weaponry of the ruling class so that they might be able to face them on their own terms. They are granted special abilities over fire in order to wield firearms without polluting the environment. To gain these abilities, they must prove themselves friends to nature via a series of tests, including dancing with elementals of fire. Like other wielders of fire magic, they must charm and feed the fire, coax it into a special bottle, and store it until use.

Once they have elemental flames to wield, they need a firearm that is designed for them. They must either devise this themselves, find a metallowright to make one, or get one from a mentor or other powderspark.

Once they have their flames, have proven themselves, and have a firearm, they must practice its use for years before they are steady enough to fully wield it.

Abilities include the following:

• Flameshot: the gun fires a blast of flame that adds +6 to the fire damage of the gun used.

• Smokeless shot: no smoke is released from the shot, meaning no penalties on the next round.

• Ash shot: the gun fires a blast of ash in a red cloud that blinds and clings to the target, damage rating 9/15/21/27 and blinding power 13+.

• Smoke step: if smoke is present on the field of battle, the powderspark can teleport anywhere there is smoke.

• Heat wave: after five regular shots or three flameshots, the gun of the powderspark will need to release heat. They unleash a wave of heat 30’ in radius that causes smokeless fire damage at 12/18/24/30.

• Rippling aim: the powderspark can take a turn to aim through the heat and smoke and gain +3 to hit, ignoring smoke.

• Blazing mote: the powderspark can fire a ball of pure molten metal and flame once per combat at +9 damage. This mote will start a fire of 20’ radius and power 19 around where it hit.

Powdersparks may also have other powers. Consult the GM.

PRO +2 ATH +2 STR +1 AWA +2 WIL / PRS +2 STH -1

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Scourge

The Scourge are pirates who wield weather magic.

Weather magic is controlled by the use of special staves called vanes (which are literally wind vanes atop a staff), made of special metal called birinj. A scourge gains a vane after they are tested, and then taught how to use it by a mentor within the crew they sail with.

The learning process involves attuning to nature, specifically to different forms of weather, by meditating in them, using various ingredients including animal parts, plants, and special rituals to better attune to it, and by learning special spells (kept in ancient books called synnegrims). After years of study, a scourge must sail out into a storm and perform a ritual to capture it in their vane. If they succeed, they then practice for years to perfect their wielding of it. Wielding it eventually uses it up, so they must seek out and absorb a storm every so often. Many store multiple storms to be ready. With multiple crew members using this magic, they can perform more powerful spells.

Scourges practice many specific spells to help with sailing, with raiding, with warfare, and with cleansing pollutants.

• Thunderhead shroud: a massive black storm cloud surrounds the ship to hide it. This requires at least four scourge casting at once.
• Galeforce sails: the sails are pushed by galeforce winds. The more scourge casting, the faster it goes, but it can be done with just one.
• Cannon thunder: cannons are empowered by magical thunder to add extra damage. The more scourge casting, the more cannons affected (one caster per cannon).
• Ball lightning: electricity dances throughout the ship, empowering weapons and objects. The more scourge casting, the more people or targets can wield this power.
• Waterspout leap: a waterspout carries the ship over a short distance, effectively making it jump. This requres at least four scourge casting at once.
• Storm rush: a full storm is summoned to push the ship and sea along, creating waves as a harbinger of the ship, to hit enemy ships or settlements as a preamble to a raid. This requires at least eight scourge casting at once.
• Catapult hail: hailstones fall as catapulted materials fall, enhancing their damage. This requires one scourge per catapult.
• Imbalancing torrent: a torrent of rain is directed at one side of a ship to capsize it. This requires at least six scourge casting at once.
• Cleansing downpour: a downpour of rain cleanses any pollutants in the area. The more scourge casting, the larger the area can be affected. At least two must cast.

Individual spells include the following:

• Lightning lash: a whip of lightning, damage 20/25/34/43.
• Thunder gun: the scourge's gun is as loud as thunder and shatters eardrums in a 20' radius, adding electrical damage to the shot +3.
• Cloud coat: a dark cloud forms around the scourge's upper body, giving them +3 dodge, +3/+3 more toughness.
• Slick rigging: a blast of rain slicks the rigging of an enemy ship.
• Waterproofing: the scourge's clothing and weapons become waterproof.
• Hailstone shot: a single shot from the scourge's gun is a hailstone that causes cold damage and gains an extra +3/+3.
• Wind jump: the scourge is buoyed by strong winds while jumping or swinging from ropes, +3 ATH.
• Skycutter: the sword of the scourge causes the sky to open up with rain and lightning when they first swing it in battle.
• Dark cloud: a dark cloud gives the scourge a +3 bonus to STH.

Not all pirates on a crew including scourges are scourges, but many are.

PRO +2 ATH +2 STR +1 AWA / WIL +1 PRS +1 STH /