Battle Sage

Fighter Mage Kit

Ability Requirement: Str 9,Con 9, Int 11, Chr 11

Prime Requisite: Str, Int

Races Allowed: Human

Role: The Sorcerer-kings of Athas have been waging wars against each other for countless centuries. In the distant past one of the monarchs found out that a general commanding his army with the powers of magic is much better then a general without. The problem with this is that templar magic decreases in power as the templar travels farther and farther from the Sorcerer-king. Because most wars are fought far from the Sorcerer-king’s city a templar just doesn’t work. This means that the only other option is to teach the general defiler magic.

However this in itself is almost as dangerous as the opposing army. Who want an army of hundreds of men under the rule of a charismatic leader with the power of magic? There is an important lesson behind the legend of Stiginess the King's Bane. This ancient legend is about a warrior who, unknown to all but a few Sorcerer-kings, was the first Battle Sage ever. Stiginess was a mighty commander who out-smarted all who opposed him on the battle field by using his magic to its fullest. It is unknown what Sorcerer-king he originally severed under, but what is known is that he lead a fierce campaign which destroyed twelve of the largest standing armies belonging to three different Sorcerer-kings. It took ten years and the combined powers of the three Sorcerer-kings to finally put an end to Stiginess, but this act alone cost them thousands of their own soldiers and (more importantly) tons of their own money. This is the reason why Battle Sages disappeared from Athas. . No one wanted to create one, as the destruction it cost all parties involved was just too great. But a little under two-hundred years ago, one of the mentally ill monarchs revived the use of the Battle Sage (none of them admit to doing it, though) This forced all the other Sorcerer-kings to get their own to counter the Battle Sages of the other Sorcerer-kings. Battle Sages are what nuclear weapons are to modern countries, they would all love to get rid of these big risks, but if one Sorcerer-king has one then all the others will have one.

A Battle Sage is hand picked by the Sorcerer-king from the best of his commanders. They are retaught the ways of combat and military tactics by the best of the best and are then taught the ways of defiling magic by the Sorcerer-king's personal aids. Once their ten years of training is over they are given command of a group of skill soldiers (even though they have the skill to lead entire armies) and given many tasks to complete. After a few years of this and the a good word from the assassins that have been following them from day one to test his loyalty (or his skill) they are given the command of a true army and from there they begin their true roll as a general.

Weapon Proficiencies: Any, but a Battle Sage will most of the time use the same kind of weapons (just better quality) as the rest of the army does.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Reading & Writing, Spellcarft, Riding Land-based Recommended: Endurance or anything that will help the Battle Sage on the battlefield.

Armor/Equipment: Standard, but the Battle Sages live the high life (see cost of living below) and they always wear something that will separate them from the common solider. Because they are mages, they wear nothing that will inhibit spell casting. Due to years of research, however, and the secrets passed down from Battle Sage to Battle Sage, they have learned how to make all armor capable of being utilized while being flexible enough for spell-casting. This includes adding extra joints and removing pieces that are too restraining. The process worsens the armor class of a particular piece of armor by three points (chain mail confers AC 7 instead of AC 4).

Special Benefits:

Oath Of Loyalty-All Battle Sages have to take an oath of loyalty to the Sorcerer-king himself. If the Battle Sage ever breaks this oath they are put to death on the spot. The PC should sit down and write this out -- if their loyalty is ever questioned they are going to need it to prove that they are following their oath.

Regular Training-Because of all the skill that Battle Sages have they must constantly train to stay the best. They have to train in both their spell casting and their combat abilities for about an hour a day. If they miss their training for a couple of days they start to lose that skill -- maybe a minus to hit or they lose a spell, it’s up to the DM as to what the penalty is. The penalty will go away if the Battle Sage goes back to his training.

Regular Reports-Battle Sages are a big risk and so every month or so they are required to send a report back to their Sorcerer-king to tell them what they have been doing and what they plan to do in the near future. The farther apart the Battle Sage sends these reports, the more assassins and spies the Battle Sage will find following him.

Cost Of Living-Battle Sages love to live the good life and they should they have earned it -- how many people have what they have? So everything that they buy is always bought at 10% more then it’s original cost, no matter if it’s food, clothes, or love, they always want the best.

Teach Weapon Proficiencies-Battle Sages can teach weapon proficiencies just like a normal fighter.

Command Troops-At 3rd level the Battle Sages has learned how to command troops. They learn this skill so early because it’s their reason for being a Battle Sage. This ability works just like the fighter ability to command troops.

Operate War Machines-At 4th level the Battle Sage can learn how to operate war machines just like a fighter.

Construct Defenses-At 5th level the Battle Sage can construct defenses just like a fighter.

Construct War Machines-At 8th level the Battle Sage can construct war machines just like a fighter.

Followers-At 9th level the Battle Sage starts to gain followers just like a normal fighter, however this is the one thing that Sorcerer-kings fears the most (it means that the Battle Sage has become very popular with the people) so instead of coming straight out and challenging the Battle Sage and running the risk of another Stiginess they deploy a number of troops equal to the Battle Sage’s troops. Now you may be thinking 'this is great, I get double the troops' but it's a bit of a curse, as the troops that are sent to you by the Sorcerer king are more loyal to him then they are to you. They are just there to make sure that if you try to do anything to harm the Sorcerer-king and his city-state that they will stop you or at least impede your advance.

Honors-A Battle Sage receives honors granted by the Sorcerer-king for major military victories. This is to mainly keep the Battle Sage happy. They receive these honors in an order.

# of victories Honor Given

2 The Battle Sage will receive a ceremonial banquet in his honor. If the victory was a big one then he may be thanked by the Sorcerer-king himself.

3 The Battle Sage is given a special crest to show his importance to the city-state.

5 The Battle Sage is given a ceremonial blade to bring into battle with him.

7 The Battle Sage may receive interest free loans of up to 150-200 gold. The Sorcerer-king himself must know exactly what the gold is going to be used for.

9 The Battle Sage is given a land grant that he could build a strong hold on. DM note, the Battle Sage is required to pay a tax equal to the construction cost of the stronghold to the city-state. This is to make sure that it’s harder for the Battle Sage to gain a stronghold (which is a powerful weapon in there hands) also the Battle Sage can not use any money given to him by the city-state to help payoff the cost of a stronghold.

Every 6 here after the DM can make something up. Mental note, at this point the Battle Sage has started to prove his loyalty to the Sorcerer-king and because of this the honors can get more interesting.

Special Hindrances:

No School and Weapon Specialization-Because of all the stuff that the Battle Sage must know and do, he can never learn how to specialize in a school of magic or a weapon.

Spell Changing-Because all the spells the Battle Sage are given to him by the Sorcerer-king he doesn’t always have the same spells. The Battle Sage is usually given a new set of spells for each new mission he is given. He is not allowed to copy the spells down that the Sorcerer-king sends him, and the penalty for which is torture and then death.

Spies and Assassins-To keep an eye on the Battle Sage the Sorcerer-king has many of his spies and assassins following him. At any given time the Battle Sage can expect to be followed by at least two spies and one assassin. The spies are never told to reveal who they are but every now and then the assassin is told try to kill the Battle Sage just to make sure that the Battle Sage his on his guard.

NPC Ex.

Sirach 8th level fighter/7th level defiler human Battle Sage: Sirach is a Battle Sage of Tyr, he has been serving King Kalak for about nine years now and has lead an army against four different city-states in battle. Sirach has a good track record when it comes to war, about 14 wins to 5 losses. He is known as one of the best, next to Umaro, a Battle Sage of the city-state of Nibenay (he has out smarted Sirach on three separate times two of which lead to his defeat). Umaro never had a larger army then Sirach, Umaro is just a better thinker then Sirach. Sirach has gained the Sorcerer-king's favor recently with his 6th biggest victory against a Urik patrol that was getting a little too close to the city-states boarders. Sirach crushed them by having a large tract of sand dug out and filled with oils and other materials that he had Fu-So-Ya (a powerful Silt Cleric that works for him) make a bridge of silt, that looked like sand, over the large pit. When the main force of the enemy patrol was over the pit Fu-So-Ya undid the magic and then had the oil lit by fire arrows, while this happened his main forces (which were divided into two units) pushed the remaining enemy forces into the flaming pit.

Sirach’s army size is constantly changing but is made up of about 80% Humans, 12% Muls, and 8% Half-Gaints. Sirach has a force of 15 light chariots and 3 heavy chariots which he uses to break enemy lines in half by striking at the weakest spot in the line. If needed Sirach can get his hands on two big Mekillot Rams. Also at the head of his forces he has two commanders under him, a twin brother and sister team, Porom and Palom. Porom is about a 7th level fighter and his sister Palom is a 5th level fighter 4th level thief. These two are Sirachs most trusted advisers and he listens to them more then anyone else in his army. Fu-So-Ya is a powerful silt cleric, about 8th or 9th level, who he has used to gain some of some of his biggest victories with. No one but Porom, Palom, Cecailing, a few high templars, and Kalak know about Fu-So-Ya and his help with the army and that’s just the way Fu-So-Ya likes it. Cecaling is a 4th level earth cleric that is basically on for the ride. He has no interest in Sirachs goals just the rewards he gets for a job well done. Cecaling’s main job is to pretend he is the one using his magic powers whenever Fu-So-Ya uses his magic (because Silt Clerics are so reviled). Since these two work so close they have become very close friends even though their elements are not. Caith Sifth is last of Sirachs special troops. Caith is a 9th level ranger and is the only person that Sirach will follow across the endless desert. Caith has worked with Sirach the longest, about all nine years of Sirach’s military career. Caith has also saved Sirachs army from defeat about three times by finding shortcuts through the desert or a place to hide the army when they were being followed.

Sirach stands about 5’9’’ and weighs around 250. He dresses in a yellow suit of leather with a metal chest plate given to him for his victory at the battle of Chest Dune, he also has a red silk cape that is about six feet long. He wears it so that his troops can see him watching over them. At his side Sirach has an Agrafari wood shield with the words "Praise be to Kalak" on it. The shield once belonged to an enemy commander but after defeating him he took it and made it his own. Sirach also has a metal sword that was given to him by Kalak himself. The sword is a long sword but it has many blood groves running down the front of the blade. Sirach himself is 100% loyal to Kalak and his cause and will do anything to protect his city-state; and if that means burning down an entire village or killing an entire cityand its, men, women, and children, he will do it.