Topic: A Hunter Class and short Gothic setting for a sandbox

I'm writing a new LotFP campaign for my players.  The setting is a fictional gothic setting crudely based off of medieval Wallachia named Nerovia.  There are only human PCs.  None the less there are dark unknown things and what many describe as evil.  Romani travel the land as muscians and fortune tellers.  There will be vampires in this setting as well as disease and witches.  In short I need a hunter class. 

I saw this topic was mentioned in a new rules post by Jim earlier, but thought I'd post something in the meantime to use with my current gaming group.  I'll list my initial ideas below and any feedback would be appreciated.

My first consideration is to use the Elf class statistics with a few changes.  The spell list could be generated from the clerical magic.  The alignment restriction, instead of choatic  the PC would have to be lawful.  I see the vampire, witch, or bounty hunter as someone that internally works toward order.  Another change to consider would be the Elf's search could be changed to bushcraft with the same level progression.  So this option, with a few fluff-driven changes, would keep the class structure within the existing play-tested/published rules.

My second idea was to base the LotFP Hunter off of the ranger in the first edition PHB.  I think the things to change should be hit dice d6.  Experience chart would be second level 2,250, 3rd 4,501, 4th 10,001, and so on.  Perhaps stealth and bushcraft skills could be raised like a specialist.  Spell casting using this archtype would be pulling from the cleric spell list starting with 1 1st level spell at 9th level, another at 11th level, then 1 2nd level spell at 12th level.

What are some of the previous ideas?  I agree with what I read somewhere else, in that this game needs an inquisitioner/witch hunter class.  It just seems to fit in with the themes and published material so well.  Anyway, I'm new around here and wanted to get some wiser feedback.  Thanks again for any feedback.

Last edited by Sphere830 (2015-02-27 18:36:12)

Re: A Hunter Class and short Gothic setting for a sandbox

Hunter
Utilizing the Elf Class as a base

Hunter:
Inquisitor/lawful/cleric spells
Witch Hunter/chaotic/arcane spells (does not acquire above 7th level spells)

For things unknown there must be someone that pursues and hunts them.  Every threat brings about the righteous fury of those left in its wake.  Hunters investigate the thing in the woods, the witch in the moor, and the restless souls in the crypt. 

Hunters come from all walks of life, yet are generally scarred in some fashion.  The church commissions some hunters.  Some pursue darkness because they have lost loved ones to the mist.  Few hunters have a long career, as the consequence of lackluster vigilance is often death. Hunters train in the combined arts of both combat and magic.
   
Two types of hunter exist.  The Inquisitor supplements their journey with miracles and faith.  The Witch hunter walks a more chaotic path and utilizes arcane magic, fighting fire with fire. It is worth noting that arcane hunters will only be able to cast up to 7th level spells.

Hunters must choose between chaotic and lawful alignment depending on whether they fight the darkness through arcane arts or the divine.  Spells are used to supplement their fight against their prey.  Hunters excel at cunning, are good at tracking prey, and surviving time in the wilderness stalking targets.

I kept the Elf progression chart (XP and Saving Throws) except replaced the search skill with bushcraft and cut the spell level down to max out at 7th level spells acquired at 17th level.

Last edited by Sphere830 (2015-02-26 10:22:57)

Re: A Hunter Class and short Gothic setting for a sandbox

In addition to pretty much every LotFP book, you should also check out: http://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/

There are a number of free PDFs with ideas, charts, random tables, etc., that fit perfectly with a gothic setting.

Re: A Hunter Class and short Gothic setting for a sandbox

Below is the player pamphlet, currently, for my upcoming setting:

Nerovia is a medieval gothic fantasy setting for role-playing games such as Lamentations of the Flame Princess. This land is in turmoil between the state and the church and the people who suffer betwixt the material and the cosmic.

Nerovia exists in a world of nightmare.  This ancient land struggles against spirits, disease, and the unbelievable.  The people are busy surviving through lunar cycles to harvest season.  The winters are long. The mountains are steep.  Whether its lunatics or starvation, darkness seems everlasting here. 

     Scholars whisper anarchy. Prayers are relegated to salutation. Struggle between the guilds, the church, and the monarchs leave little room in the crier’s speeches for common rabble.  Cities float in filth and the countryside cries vexes of sorcery.  Civilization is moving beyond the old world. Surrounding nations have been gambled as collateral for great expeditions beyond the horizon—many regions are in gothic decline—leaving hamlets and villages to fend for themselves against warring barons and bankrupt aristocracies.

     Bloodthirsty royalty are the least of the commoner’s concern. Unspeakable horrors roam the land at night leaving the daytime the only refuge. Nerovian people are a superstitious lot.  Ancestor worship is a long held custom.  Séance and spirit mediums are commonly employed to understand the unexplained.  Some believe demons, disease, and witchery is retribution for the evils of man.  Others hunt the whispers. Most die forgotten. Everyone dies alone.  Here the land conjures darkness.

     More than a century has passed since art was new.  People have grown weary. Inquisition has broken the church.  War is the alternative to blight and disease.  As civilization falls into ruin the people turn to more sinister sources of power.  Covens and secret societies have formed against the unknown.  Towns the regions over offer reward for those foolish enough to investigate the forests beyond the village or the catacombs below the church, a few have tyrants to usurp. Nerovia offers ample chance for misadventure…

     This land is scattered between evidence and faith—between the light and the dark—between life and death.

General History

Nerovia has always been a fairly hardy country surrounded by mountains.  Villages and hamlets alike are generally self-sufficient. The city of Ner is the governing seat of the kingdom.  This land has a rich and troubled history due to mineral and ore in the mountains.  But material resources are a mixed blessing, as everyone needs them.  The people of Nerovia are no strangers to war and defending their territory.

     Two hundred years ago—a champion was forged in the crucible of war—a neighboring Empire invaded Nerovia.  The Prince of the Solstice Knights, as they were revered, had won a hard fought battle completely out-numbered by foes.  The victorious response earned Prince Talos both notoriety and immortality. 

     Legend still speaks of the black clouds that rolled through the mountain hamlets of Nerovia on that fateful day. The prince staked every soldier, alive and dead.  Each effigy was erected creating a forest of bodies strewn across the hills.  Displayed as trophies over the coming weeks the invading forces retreated fearing the work of evil and unsettled spirits.  Nerovia was largely abandoned by the outside world as a harsh mountainous and cursed region.

To many Prince Talos was a champion.  To many he was a monster.  Talos’ line had a tumultuous reign.  While little is known about the Nerovian aristocracy by the common folk their infamy has spread far beyond the borders of this shadowed land.

     For a brief period Nerovia experienced a golden era wherein art and culture flourished.  Peace echoed throughout the kingdom.  The city of Ner grew as people flocked to the center of commerce.  The Romani still sing of this time as the gilded age.  Many folk tales of hope reside in this distant past.

     The dark era began with increasing blights, failed crops, and empty theatres.  Over the past few decades disease has ran rampant across the land.  As people reached for reason, faith was employed as ballast.  Some find hope in ritual and magick. Everyone divines truth in cruel and precarious ways.

Campaign Notes

This game uses the core rules of Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP).  Although few mechanics are offered so this campaign can be run with a number of Old School roleplaying systems.  Below are some house rules and character building specifics.

     This is an old school campaign.  That means that this game will largely reside within the theatre of the mind.  It is important to remember two things about old school games.  First this campaign is about a setting and a world more than any specific group or character.  The second thing to remember up front is that adventuring is dangerous.

     Characters have a high likely-hood of death. Thoughtful planning, however, will be rewarded.  All this means is that the player characters and the dice will tell the story.

     There are some early Gygaxian principles in addition to newer mechanics that will be present in this campaign.  Time, resources, and encumbrance play a major roll during adventure decisions. 

✪ Player movement and encumbrance rules can be found in the LotFP Rules and Magic Core Book (p. 38).

✪ Time out of game will exist on a 1:1 ratio for purposes of healing, building, researching, creating scrolls, etc.  This means that characters will benefit from a base of operations and that some projects may last through several adventures.

✪ A session may not end with the party in a dungeon.  Dungeons are generally dark and hostile places that the character cannot loiter within until the next game session.

Character Building

There are only human PCs in Nerovia.  Elves, Dwarves, and hobbits don’t exist in this 17th century analogy of Eastern European mountainous countryside.

     Players should initially conceive of five first names on a list.  These names can be connected in any fashion, facilitated by a relationship that makes sense—or at least a great story.  For example, these characters can be from the same family, guild, church, secret society, or trade/work.  While life was just as precious in the 17th century, living was fragile.

     There are several ethnic groups in Nerovia, although most identify with their village, religion, or principality.  The Romany is the exception as they are largely nomadic and are treated with a certain superstition.

A new class exists in this campaign in addition to the core classes (Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, and Specialist) in the LotFP Rules and Magic core book.

Hunter

For things unknown there must be someone that pursues and hunts them.  Every threat brings about the righteous fury of those left in its wake.  Hunters investigate the thing in the woods, the witch in the moor, and the restless souls in the crypt. 

     Hunters come from all walks of life, yet are generally scarred in some fashion.  The church commissions some hunters.  Some pursue darkness because they have lost loved ones to the mist.  Few hunters have a long career, as the consequence of lackluster vigilance is often death. Hunters train in the combined arts of both combat and magic.

     Nerovia is crawling with darkness.  This land is cursed.  It takes a certain kind of stoicism and austerity to face the horrors of the night.  Hunters walk the line between the driven and the insane. Common folk generally look on hunters as a necessary evil.  There is something unsettling about a person that will pursue the unknown and that which goes bump in the night.

     Two types of hunter exist.  The Inquisitor supplements their journey with miracles and faith.  The Witch hunter walks a more chaotic path and utilizes arcane magic, fighting fire with fire. It is worth noting that arcane hunters will only be able to cast up to 7th level spells.

     Hunters must choose between chaotic and lawful alignment depending on whether they fight the darkness through arcane arts or the divine.  Spells are used to supplement their fight against their prey.  Hunters excel at cunning, are good at tracking prey, and surviving time in the wilderness stalking targets.