Sunday, February 15, 2026

Sic Semper Tyrannis (GLoG Class: Ranger)


Caravaggio

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Psalms [23:4]

SHEPHERD

Skill: 1. Oration, 2. Medicine, 3. Viticulture, 4. Warfare.

Starting Items: Hard bread and sharp cheese, a skein of water, a terracotta lamp filled with sesame oil, a thick woolen cloak (light) and your choice of: a crook-staff (medium) and braided sling (medium) with a dozen lead bullets; a ringsword (medium) and longbow (medium) with two dozen arrows; or a trio of iron javelins (medium) and a goatskin shield. You also carry two Keepsakes.

Urth is a world infested with overpowered monsters capable of obliterating entire communities - depraved demigods, inhuman chimeras, maneating megafauna. You are the sole reason the common folk stand a fighting chance. You are the humble herdsman, the veteran roadwarden, the flinty-eyed hunter of hunters. They who protect the weak, guide the lost and slay the monster, the tyrant and the false god.

+1 to hit and damage per template.

A: Guide My HandStrider, +2 MOVE
B: Patient Man's Fury, +2 HRTS
C: In My Footsteps, +2 INIT
D: Giantslayer, +2 SAVE

As a Shepherd, you have proficiency with medium armour and medium weapons. You also have the ability to sunder shields to negate all damage from an incoming attack. Magical shields can also be sundered, reducing their bonus by -1 each time, to absorb spell effects or magical attacks.

Johnny Shumate

GUIDE MY HAND
Providence guides your strikes - the smallest stone can fell the mightiest foe in your practiced hands. When attacking with a ranged or thrown weapon, increase your critical hit range by [templates]:
A: 19-20
B: 18-20
C: 17-20
D: 16-20

STRIDER
An unparalleled outdoorsman, you lead others to safety through the most dangerous climes imaginable. Your movement is unaffected by difficult terrain and you can add your [templates] to any rolls involving mountaineering, resisting the elements, becoming lost, fording rivers etc.

PATIENT MAN'S FURY
The wicked shall be rebuked. Once per round, if an enemy strikes an ally you can see, make an attack against them. If your attack lands and the enemy was grappling your ally, they immediately escape.

IN MY FOOTSTEPS
Wherever you go, safe passage follows. If you successfully navigate a trap or hazard, your allies can automatically bypass it. If this stretches credulity, they instead add [templates] to their roll. This extends to overland travel, with allies able to follow whatever pace you're setting, even if they should be slower.

GIANTSLAYER
You know this story. When you strike a monster twice your size, inflict double damage (or quadruple damage if you critically hit). Note this isn't "twice your height", so the square-cube law is your friend.

KEEPSAKES (1d12)

  1. Jawbone. An huge piece of scrimshawed bone that acts as a +1 medium club in your hands.
  2. Broken Blade. The fragments of an ancient sword, yours by birthright. The hilt can be wielded as a +0 light dagger. The shards, if reforged, become CROWN UPON POETS, a +3 medium sword that can be sundered like a shield to destroy magical or cursed items with its strikes. 1 slot.
  3. Scourge. A light whip of hempen cords. Whenever you strike thieves or moneylenders, they must immediately SAVE or drop whatever they were holding and flee in terror.
  4. Lasso. A 50' length of sturdy rope looped into a noose. Can ensnare someone or something with a SKLL roll. Doubles as a grappling hook in a pinch. 1 slot.
  5. Bullets of Mockery. A dozen lead bullets moulded with lewd messages, curses and expletives. Functions as +1 ammunition, but only if your target shares a language with you. 1 slot.
  6. Wormwood Star. A shard of meteorite forged into a slingstone or arrow. Sputters with purple fire. Those struck by must roll HRTS or die painfully, lungs filling with bitter fluid. It breaks after impact, scattering fragments that poison the groundwater of a 6-mile area.
  7. Shofar. Ornate ram horn. Incredibly loud when blown, the noise is audible miles away. 1 slot.
  8. Brass Serpent. A hypodermic needle shaped like a fanged snake. Can be used to suck out venom or a bloodstream poison from a patient, storing it inside the serpent for later use. 1 slot.
  9. Manna. A large clay vessel that, if meditated upon, manifests a meal of dark bread and dried fish. The miracle only works once for each supplicant. It could feed a village, for a day. 2 slots.
  10. Auroch. A bovine with horns like swords and a shitty attitude. An excellent beast of burden, but only a fool would try to ride it (4 HD, AC as leather, 9 morale, +3 to hit, gore 1d10+1).
  11. Baku. A trunked ungulate with a long neck and thick wool. A ponderous but reliable mount, surefooted over rough terrain (3 HD, AC as leather, 7 morale, +2 to hit, bite or kick 1d6).
  12. Sheepdog. A short-faced wolf with thick fur, huge teeth and a sunny disposition. Man's oldest friend, an erstwhile companion (2 HD, AC as leather, 10 morale, +2 to hit, bite 1d8+1).

William J. Webb

2 comments:

  1. Me and my chudbeasts against the world

    ReplyDelete
  2. People should draw more from Shoftim when making RPG classes, really. The Nazarite Vows would be solid delta templates.

    ReplyDelete

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