Sunday, September 1, 2013

Campaign Design - Base Classes: Shugenja

Shugenja
(from Oriental Adventures and Complete Divine)

The shugenja is a divine spell caster who casts spells by attuning himself to the primal energies around him and focusing such energy through his body to produce magical effects. A shugenja's spells are written on ofudas that the shugenja carries with him, serving as a divine focus for casting the spell. Among the elemental-blooded, the shugenja are the questers into the divine mysteries of reality, complementing the arcane investigations of their wizardly brethren with their explorations of the spiritual realms.

Abilities: Intelligence determines how powerful a spell a shugenja can cast, how many spells the shugenja can cast per day, and how hard those spells are to resist. To cast a spell, a shugenja must have an Intelligence score of 10 + the spell's level + the shugenja's Intelligence modifier. High Dexterity is helpful for a shugenja. A good Constitution gives a shugenja extra hit points, a resource that he is otherwise low on.
Race: Elemental-Blooded (Aquan-Blooded, Auran-Blooded, Ignan-Blooded, or Terran-Blooded).
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d6.
Luck Die: d3.

Class Skills
  • Skill List: The shugenja's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft: Any (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge: Any (Int), Profession: Any (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
  • Note: Because the Three Worlds campaign uses the Skills by Character house rule, the list of class skills given here is only included for the sake of completeness, and is not used by characters in the campaign setting.
  • Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Intelligence modifier) x 4.
  • Skill Points at Each Additional Class Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shugenja:
  • Base Attack Bonus: Poor. A shugenja gains +½ base attack bonus per class level.

  • Fortitude Base Save Bonus: Poor. A shugenja gains +1⁄3 base Fortitude save bonus per class level.

  • Reflex Base Save Bonus: Poor. A shugenja gains +1⁄3 base Reflex save bonus per class level.

  • Will Base Save Bonus: Good. A shugenja gains a +2½ base Will save bonus at first level, and an additional +½ base Will save bonus per class level.

  • Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shugenjas are proficient with all simple weapons and the shortsword. They are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

  • Spells: A shugenja casts divine spells, but her spell knowledge is limited, much like that of a sorcerer. Your shugenja begins play knowing four 0th-level spells, and two 1st level spells of your choice, plus one 0th-level spell and one 1st-level spell determined by his shugenja order. At each level, the shugenja gains one or more new spells, as indicated on the Shugenja Spells Known table. The number of spells a shugenja knows is not affected by her Intelligence bonus. One spell of every level is determined by the shugenja's order; sometimes these spells are normal spells on the shugenja spell list, but often they are additions to the spell list. Half of the spells a shugenja knows must be of his chosen element. A shugenja is limited to casting a certain number of spells of each level per day, but she need not prepare her spells in advance. The number of spells she can cast per day is improved by her bonus spells, if any, granted by her Intelligence score. A shugenja may use a higher level spell to cast a lower-level spell if she so chooses. The spell is still treated as its actual level, not the level of the slot used to cast it.

    To learn or cast a spell, a shugenja must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for saving throws against shugenja spells is 10 + the spell's level + the shugenja's Intelligence modifier. Shugenja's do not have spell books, though they write their spells on ofudas. These ofuda's serve as divine focus items and must be read as part of the spell casting. Shugenjas can use the Scribe Scroll feat to create magic scrolls that work the same as a wizard's or cleric's scrolls. As a spontaneous spell caster, a shugenja must take more time to cast a metamagic spell than a regular spell. If a spell's normal casting time is 1 action, casting a metamagic spell is a full-round action for a shugenja. For spells with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell. Shugenjas cannot use the Quicken Spell metamagic feat.

    Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered shugenja level after that, a shugenja can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the shugenja “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be at least two levels lower than the highest level shugenja spell the shugenja can cast. A shugenja may swap only a single spell at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level. A shugenja must still honor his elemental focus.

  • Element Focus: All shugenjas have a favored element: air, earth, fire, or water. At least half the spells a shugenja knows at each spell level must belong to her favored element. This is reflected on the Shugenja Spells Known table, which indicates how many spells of each level must be spells of the shugenja's favored element. Shugenjas automatically gain the benefit of the Spell Focus feat for spells from their favored element (+1 to spell DCs) regardless of its school. At the cost of specializing in one element, a shugenja is prohibited from learning spells associated with a different element. The shugenja of the Order of the Ineffable Mystery can specialize in any of the four elements, and also trains shugenjas who specialize in the fifth element void. The prohibited element is dictated by the favored element, as described below.

    • Air: Air spells are subtle, involving travel, intuition, influence, divination, and illusion. Earth is the prohibited school for air shugenjas. The Order of the All-Seeing Eye and the Order of the Spring Zephyr specialize in air magic.

    • Earth: Earth spells involve resilience and resolve, health and growth, the body and its strength. Air is the prohibited school for earth shugenjas. The Order of the Impenetrable Crucible and the Order of the Perfect Sculpture specialize in earth magic.

    • Fire: Fire spells are destructive and blatant, though they also deal with intelligence, inspiration, and creativity. Water is the prohibited element for fire shugenjas. The Order of the Consuming Flame specialized in fire magic.

    • Water: Water spells involve transformation, cleansing, healing, and friendship. Fire is the prohibited element for water shugenjas. The Order of the Forbidding Wasteland and the Order of the Gentle Rain specialize in water magic.

  • Sense Elements (Sp): One of the first “spells” a shugenja learns – a magical effect so basic that it becomes a spell-like ability – is the ability to sense elements. As a full-round action, shugenja can become aware of all sources of one chosen element (air, earth, fire, or water) within 10 feet of herself. The shugenja learns the size of the objects but not their precise location or actual nature. By concentrating longer, a shugenja can extend her magical senses, or gather more information about the elements she has detected. Each additional round spent in concentration allows the shugenja to add 5 feet to the radius of her sense ability, to a maximum of 5 additional feet per shugenja level. Alternatively, the shugenja can focus on one source of the sensed element per round, attempting a Spellcraft check to determine more about that single item. The amount of information she learns depends on her Spellcraft check result.

    Check
    Information Learned
    20+
    Item's general location (square containing it, or its nearest boundary if it is larger than a 5-foot square).
    25+
    Whether the item is natural or a spell effect (A normal Spellcraft check against DC 20 + the spell level can then determine the nature of the spell effect).
    30+
    Whether the item is a creature or an object.
    35+
    The exact nature of the item for example, whether a creature is an efreeti or a fire elemental, whether an object is gold or stone, whether air is breathable or not).

    In subsequent rounds, a shugenja can either retry her Spellcraft check, on the same item, shift her attention to a different item, or extend the range of her senses. A 1st level shugenja can use this ability three times per day. Every five levels she advances as a shugenja allows her to use the ability an additional time per day. Like many divination spells, a shugenja's sense elements ability is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Shugenja                              Spells per Day
Level
Special
0th
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
1st
Element focus, sense elements
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
-
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3rd
-
6
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4th
-
6
6
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5th
-
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6th
-
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
7th
-
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
8th
-
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
9th
-
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
10th
-
6
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-
11th
-
6
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
12th
-
6
6
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
13th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
14th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
3
3
-
15th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
4
4
-
16th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
3
17th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
18th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
19th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
20th
-
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

Spells Known
Level0th1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
1st
o+2+2
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
o+3+2
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3rd
o+3+2
o+2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4th
o+3+3
o+2+1
o+1+0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5th
o+4+3
o+2+2
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6th
o+4+3
o+2+2
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
-
-
-
-
-
7th
o+4+4
o+3+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
8th
o+4+4
o+3+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
-
-
-
-
9th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
-
10th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
-
-
-
11th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
-
-
-
12th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
-
-
13th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
-
-
14th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
-
15th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
-
16th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
-
17th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+1+1
-
18th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+1+1
o+1+0
19th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+1+1
20th
o+5+4
o+3+2
o+3+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+2
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+2+1
o+2+1

At each level, a shugenja gets an order spell for each spell level, starting at 1st. The “o” on this list represents that. The number in the middle is the number of spells of the shugenja's favored element, and the final number is the additional number of spells known of any element.

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