Friday, October 25, 2019

B/X (OSR) Essentials Class - Witch Hunter

I'm about to resume my B/X Essentials (well, actually now it's Old School Essentials!) RPG game, tentatively known as the "Gloomburg" campaign, which is set in a very Solomon Kane-Warhammer-The Midderlands-Symbaroum-ish blender campaign setting called the Border Ghostlands, with places named appropriately spooky things like Gloomwood, Daghold, Blackspire Peaks, Gloomburg, Blackhaunt Forest, Mistwood, Moontower, and so on and so forth. All very Doom Heavy Metal-ish and Nordic, I suppose. 
At any rate, I've needed a very loosely "Solomon Kane-ish" type class to help fill in some of the setting vibe, so this is what I've come up with. Feel free to let me know what you think! I've done very limited playtesting so far, so it's likely to continue to evolve (see notes below for changes). Hat tip to JB of the B/X Blackrazor blog for some of the original inspiration for this class, his Witch Hunter from a-way-way back in 2010.
Image copyright 2009 Epic Tales Limited,
Davis Film Productions S.A.S.,
Czech Anglo Productions SRO.
All Rights Reserved.

B/X CLASS: WITCH HUNTER

The witch hunter stands a beacon of light in the darkness against witchcraft, demonology and sorcery. His martial prowess and divinely-granted powers aid in his quest to protect the innocent and destroy evil. (More fluff text to be added later.)
Requirements: STR 9, WIS 9, CHA 9
Prime Requisite: WIS
HD: 1d6 (+1 per level after 9th level)
Max Level: 14
XP: as fighter
THAC0: as fighter
Saves: as cleric
Weapons: all 1-handed melee, crossbows, firearms
Armour: leather, chainmail, shields
Hunter of Evil: Can hide in shadows and move silently as thief of equal class level (if wearing leather only).
Limited Possessions: May only keep wealth and possessions that they can carry (or pack on mount). Excess must be donated to charitable groups that protect the innocent, or groups devoted to eradicating witchcraft and sorcery. Donating to other PCs forbidden.
Protect the Innocent: Sacrifice a number hit points to provide an equal bonus to allies/innocents on saving throws vs evil magic. Lasts 1 hour if protected in advance or allows a new save on existing spell effect at double bonus. Subjects must be touched.
Repel Witchcraft & SorceryCan turn demons, devils, magically summoned creatures, and evil spellcasters like a cleric turns undead.
Thwart Magic: Can detect magic like the spell 1/day per 5 levels (1-5/x1, 6-10/x2, etc.), and can dispel magic or remove curse like the spells 1/day starting at 5th level (2/day at 10th level and higher).
Tracking: Can track like a ranger of equal class level.


Edit 1 (Oct 25, 2019): Changed the Harness Magic ability to be useable from 1st level, but with scaling chances of failure based on spell level vs class level.
Edit 2 (Nov 8, 2019): MAJOR REVISION. Added WIS 9 requirement. Reduced hp to +1/level after 9th. Updated Hunter of Evil to note equal class level. Updated Limited Possessions to note specifics of donations. Updated Repel Witchcraft & Sorcery to remove 2 levels lower than cleric stipulation. Removed Harness Magic ability completely to better reflect "opposed to magic" vibe. Removed Detect Magic & Dispel Magic abilities and replaced with Thwart Magic. Added Tracking ability.

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