Council of Mages

What is the Arcane Covenant?

The Arcane Covenant is a group of wizards united together for their own mutual benefit, and also under the presumption on a government level that wizards must directly rule all other creatures for the good of all. Covenant wizards share no common alignment, and many in fact oppose one another with labyrinthine schemes and goals, but as an ostensible nation they have functioned quite well together for the better part of three thousand years, considering their differences.

However, rather than the propagation of their dogma, the Covenant as a whole is more concerned with survival, especially given events that have transpired recently in the world. While the Covenant counts many powerful wizards among its number and wields great military might, they are besieged on all sides by barbarians, warlocks, pseudonatural horrors, and rival wizard factions. A wizard has hardly any time to sit in silent contemplation these days.

Laws of the Covenant

The Covenant is governed by a multitude of laws, but there are eight particular ones that serve as something of a Wizard’s Constitution and in most circumstances are considered inviolable. If a wizard is discovered to be in violation of one or more of these laws (especially flagrant violation), a tribunal is formed and the wizard goes before eight peers, who sift through the evidence in short order, take witness accounts, and pass judgment. Wizards found guilty can be censured in a variety of ways, but common punishments for serious crimes include exile, forced guard duty along the Barrier Wall, or execution.

1) Thou shalt not strike against another wizard of the Covenant.

Strife from within the Covenant is strictly forbidden. The only time that a Covenant wizard is allowed to harm another is when he has been specially sanctioned to hunt down and destroy that wizard. A wizard is also allowed to defend himself in the event of an attack, as wizards violating this rule are not unheard of. This rule also applies to non-lethal but still harmful spells, such as charms and the like.

Despite this most important of laws, wizards of opposing alignments tend to plot against one another, and once in a while this leads to the destruction of one or more wizards, almost always by means of cloak & dagger. Only a wizard with nothing to fear politically dares to attack another wizard in the open, and even these powerful wizards do not abuse the law without good cause.

It is worth noting that permanently dispelling items is considered a serious act of vandalism and careless disrespect.

2) When thou art in a domain of regency, all respect shall be paid to thy Regent. His word is thy law.

Few regents are very imposing, for wizards know that their craft cannot be well practiced with constant interruptions by others, or their affairs. But when a regent speaks (and often on the behalf of the High Council), wizards within his domain are expected to listen and obey.

3) Thou shall not lay the deadly magic on thy lesser charges.

Only under the most extreme circumstances are Covenant wizards allowed to cast spells that destroy commoners outright, although they are usually allowed to ensorcel them in other ways to their hearts’ content. Using magical power to simply obliterate lesser beings is counter-productive to the idea of caring for them and cultivating civilization. Only the most politically influential wizards are allowed to abuse this law without prior consent. Using magic that terrorizes and/or mutates commoners is also not well received when higher authorities hear of it, though few wizards are actually punished on these last grounds.

If any particular region should come under threat of revolt or some other calamity stemming from the common folk, wizards are expected to let the regent take care of it, or to intercede only on the regent’s request. Most wizards are content with it that way, as commoners pose little threat to them and are merely a nuisance when they become upset.

4) Thou shalt not give magic to thy lesser charges.

It is forbidden to give magic items of any kind to commoners, even potions, unless they are part of the army. Furthermore, it is absolutely forbidden to teach them magic. Wizards are trained from birth, or from a very young age, and which commoners receive said training is pre-ordained by the Order of Divination. Wizards who teach magic to commoners are exiled along with the commoners.

5) Thou shalt not give rise to uncontrolled beings.

This is one of the most commonly broken rules, at least while a wizard is in privacy. In plain terms, it means that a wizard may not summon an outsider, or create an undead or construct that is not under his direct control. Planar Ally spells are strictly forbidden, while Planar Binding is allowed. In most cases, summoning evil outsiders is frowned upon even if they are under stringent magical controls, such as Summon Monster. Creating undead creatures is also seen as highly distasteful, and most necromancers are expected to keep such pets in private unless they are in Thyrmach, where rules of good taste do not apply. Under no circumstances are pseudonatural summonings tolerated.

6) Thou shalt not consort with the Far Realm.

Wizards are not allowed to summon pseudonatural beings in any fashion, attempt to make contact with the Far Realm (such as by portal or Plane Shift), or extend divination techniques into the Far Realm (in order to ask questions of its entities). This is just as much for the safety of the wizard in question as it is for the welfare of the Covenant. Contact with the Far Realm leads inevitably to insanity and uncontrolled physical warping. Wizards guilty of this high crime are infallibly executed in as timely a manner as possible.

7) Thou shalt not keep the counsel of the warlocks.

Warlocks are ancient enemies of all wizards, and when they go to war against one another, no love is lost. During the last war, which occurred fifteen years ago, the warlocks were barely turned back, and though their power was shattered, no one believes that the warlocks will not return one day to exact their vengeance. Wizards that consort with warlocks are not tolerated in the Covenant, even if the warlock in question is not affiliated with the Warlock Cult—not that the Warlock Cult would suffer any wizard that dared to offer peace.

8) Thou art responsible for the misdeeds of thy apprentice.

This law enforces the need for a wizard to maintain strict control over his apprentices, who are not yet firmly in command of their own magic, nor necessarily aware of all the rules themselves. When an apprentice commits a violation, his master usually suffers the consequences along with his student.

The Covenant Power Structure

At its heart, the Covenant is ruled by a body of eight wizards known as the High Council. These are generally the most powerful wizards from each of the eight orders, but sometimes that wizard elects instead to let someone else, almost always of his choosing, take a position on the High Council.

The High Council is responsible for all matters of state within the Arcane Covenant, and is the final word on all public disputes between Covenant wizards. The High Council declares wars, adjudicates the size and leadership of the various territories in their control, and decides general policy. The High Council alone is left to declare a wizard anathema, meaning that said wizard is excommunicated from the Covenant, is to be destroyed on sight and is not to be consorted with by any means. If it so chooses, the High Council can simply declare that the wizard in question is no longer governed by the laws of the Covenant or subject to its protection, but in most cases they usually elect to simply destroy a wizard that has earned their ire. There is an array of lesser punishments available to those who commit smaller transgressions, but even these tend to be harsh. The decision process behind this declaration is usually a tribunal, but in most cases the judgment is passed down quickly regardless.

Each individual member of the High Council has responsibilities according to his order, as handed down by tradition. The Council meets on a monthly basis, but can convene more often as needed.

Each member of the High Council, referred to in general terms as a chancellor, is free to elect regents as he sees fit to the territories that his order controls. Most orders control no more than one to three such territories, portioned as follows:

Abjuration: Ongatt, Samthering

Conjuration: Ibrahim, Ovdran, Torumach

Divination: Didril, Horne, Narnach

Enchantment: Arungil, Sothervand

Evocation: Rorholme, Tanthring, Ungor

Illusion: Cabrilach, Tensling

Necromancy: Thyrmach

Transmutation: Abromach, Byrthus, Nambril, Tir

Regents have the same power as a chancellor, but on a local level. They are singularly responsible for decisions on their management level, a noteworthy benefit over the oligarchy of the High Council, but they can be overruled at any time by the High Council and often by only the chancellor who appointed them. Some wizards loathe the idea of being a regent, while others revel in the power it affords them.

There are about three hundred wizards in the Arcane Covenant, with half as many apprentice wizards as that.

The Making of a Wizard

All wizards are trained from birth, or failing that, a very young age. A special sect of diviners has learned to read astrological signs and use specific, ancient spells to predict the birth of a wizard. A being born under these signs is considered by wizards to be a wizard first and foremost—the social background of its parentage is not taken into account. However, all children of wizards have “the Mark” as well, by virtue of their natural talent. It is considered a great embarrassment for a wizard to conceive a child with a commoner, but when it does occur, the child is always accepted as a wizard.

Once events are set in motion, the diviners then commission a wizard, often among their own number, to retrieve the special child. Some commoners consider it a blessing to give birth to a newborn wizard, but people hailing from a more tyrannically-run territory are more likely to throw themselves down a well (lest they live with the shame of spawning yet another hated despot). Either way, it matters not to the Covenant, as the needs of lesser creatures come in a distant second to the needs of the Covenant and of wizardry itself.

After being so retrieved, infants are put through a traditional sort of arcane baptism by the diviners, which is of no real effect. Rumors of some babies spontaneously combusting, transforming into demons, or disappearing altogether during this ceremony persist among young apprentices, but as far as anyone knows, this never occurs. On some occasions, however, a glowing sigil appears momentarily on the infant’s forehead, indicating the school of magic it is destined to learn. This is always considered a promising sign.

Children under the care of the Covenant are taught its doctrine first and foremost, often before learning any spells. Magical training begins as early as the age of eight, with full-time classes beginning at the age of ten at the latest. By the age of fifteen, most children have displayed the proper aptitudes and ideals to be grouped within one of the eight orders, where more specialized training begins.

By their early twenties, students are placed with a master to begin their apprenticeship. Wizards do not always get to decide whether or not they will be given an apprentice, but only trusted wizards are given the privilege. As a consequence, some apprenticeships can be a rude awakening for young would-be wizards who are paired off with a mage who isn’t an orthodox sort of teacher, but even in these instances the apprentice learns by example. A wizard is never given more than one apprentice at a time. Once a student becomes an apprentice, most of his strictly by-the-book learning is complete, and most beginning apprentices can cast spells of the 5^th level.

It is at the time of apprenticeship that appreciation for the hierarchy is truly enforced. The apprentice is considered a servant of his master, and is expected him to aid him in all endeavors and obey his word, often unquestioningly. The master can be as cruel or kind as he pleases, but all are careful to teach magic no matter how they treat their apprentice. Apprentices who prove difficult in this respect are often censured quite severely. Only a very tiny percentage of apprentices give up entirely, and only those that are truly hopeless are exiled.

By their late twenties, apprentices are usually ready to attempt the Test, in which a small council of teachers gauges the student’s magical abilities. During this test, the apprentice is expected to demonstrate 9^th level magic, or an ability of comparable power. The council casts a small amount of mysterious spells and asks a series of odd questions in addition, in order to test aptitudes that only they seem to be truly aware of. This council is generally made up of the Covenant’s three eldest wizards, and apprentices are expected to treat the Test with the utmost respect and seriousness, no matter what strange thing is asked of them. Occasionally, Xaszyk participates in the council (it remains a source of great amusement for him), in which case the apprentice in question almost always fails—but no one ever fails more than once.

After passing the Test, only then is the apprentice considered a true wizard. Even then he is considered something of a neophyte, until such time as it becomes common knowledge that he possesses unique magic, performed some great deed in service of the Covenant, or recovered some coveted artifact.

Schools of Magic in the Arcane Covenant/Various Sub-Organizations

Each school of magic is represented by a faction of wizards who train primarily in that school, and share allegiance to one another (allegiance especially to their superiors). Each faction is referred to as an “Order.” Just as there are eight schools of magic, there are eight orders. Each order contributes in its own way to the greater aims of the Covenant, and there are differences between each order other than what sort of spells they cast—the orders are separate political entities with their own goals and philosophies. No wizard is barred from learning spells outside his school, but wizards with a generalist attitude are rare.

Abjuration

In the aftermath of the realization that the Far Realm’s inhabitants were leaking onto the Prime Material Plane, both the demand and appreciation for abjurers among the Covenant skyrocketed. Indeed, the wizards on the Barrier Wall can’t seem to destroy the horrible abominations fast enough, so using protective magic and banishments to get rid of them seems to be the next best thing.

A much older, but still practiced function of the Order of Abjuration is that their members are those most often sent out to deal with fugitive mages and other troublesome spellcasters. The abjurers’ ability to simply cancel their opponents’ spells is an annoying one in the best circumstances and a deadly one in the worst. Furthermore, abjurers are those responsible for securing the area against magical interference from within or without the area when any sort of trial or other serious matter is underway.

Conjuration

Often, armies composed of mere mortals are insufficient for the tasks put before them by the High Council. This is where the Order of Conjuration comes in. Able to re-enforce the military with summoned monstrosities and rolling clouds of arcane power, only the evokers count more war-mages among their number.

The conjurers are also those primarily responsible for policing the populace. In areas where morale is low, an injection of monsters and poisonous gas quickly suppresses riots, and the same monsters can be useful as police in more stable areas.

Many conjurers are also powerful healers, making them an invaluable battlefield asset, and most are skilled with teleportation magic. Due to their extensive expertise in the area of warfare, some conjurers feel it unfair that evokers maintain the leadership positions in matters of combat.

Unfortunately, due to the natural potential of conjuration magic, conjurers find themselves expelled by the Covenant more often than any other sort of wizard. Most fell wizards were once members of the order—and some may still be, their horrid secrets yet to be discovered.

Divination

The diviners are the eyes and ears of the High Council, and for their abilities they have earned equal amounts respect, fear, and hatred from other wizards. Though most in truth do not make a business of other wizards’ doings, most wizards operating outside the bounds of the Covenant’s inviolable edicts are caught by diviners—though even the diviners often need clues to follow the trail to the source, as powerful divinations are exhaustive spells and can’t be cast wholesale.

Diviners are also capable of calling upon deific entities for advice and knowledge, making them an invaluable commodity in the Covenant hierarchy. The diviners are one of the most politically stable and unassailable factions, as it is nearly impossible to surprise them.

In recent years, a small number of diviners contacted the Far Realm and contracted enough insanity from it to become alienists, a class of wizard which was quickly outlawed after their existence and drives were discovered.

Enchantment

Skilled at both controlling minds and altering objects to better serve their needs, the enchanters work constantly to make themselves indispensable to the Covenant. It is their order that is primarily responsible for the Covenant’s vast fleet of airships, which serve as a powerful navy against the incursions of warlocks and dragons. The secrets of an airship’s creation remain in the hands of their order’s hierarchy alone.

As magicians of the mind, enchanters are also respected for their ability to control unstable elements in lower Covenant society, and they are generally left with the responsibility of picking and choosing the mortal leaders to run each community—as well as controlling them.

Evocation
By virtue of their particular skills, the members of the Order of Evocation are the most involved in the day-to-day military activities of the Covenant. In fact, unlike the vast majority of their fellows, many evokers seem to have an almost maniacal craving to unleash their craft in some form or another—and the form where they can exercise the least restraint is against their enemies. Evokers keep a careful eye on the Barrier Wall, the fortification that separates Covenant civilization from its countless enemies. Few other wizards are qualified for the duties that they keep up.

The leader of the evokers, who is elected once every decade by the evokers manning the Barrier Wall, is a wizard whose advice is highly valued by the other members of the High Council, the Covenant’s political brain.

War-Mages

Wizards specializing in combat utility, no one is more qualified to deal directly with the Covenant’s military enemies than the war-mages. They are the envy of few other wizards, but their services are greatly appreciated. Most are raised from birth, just as many other wizards, but some came into the position by fate, often as punishment for violating one of the Covenant’s laws. The vast majority are evokers, and the war-mages as an organization recognize the evokers’ leader as their own. War-mages concern themselves greatly with the art of military strategy, and always take the positions of leadership when true war comes.

Illusion

The illusionists have always maintained one of the most prosperous factions, though by their very nature it has been difficult for other wizards to discover how they came by their political success or just how much prosperity they enjoy in the scheme of things. Of all wizards they are the most often able to defy the ceaseless attempts by the Order of Divination to learn the doings of all other mages, and when a wizard fears the eye of any diviner, he is best advised to seek the counsel of a trusted illusionist.

In addition, illusionists are also very skilled at controlling the lands under Covenant control, as they can trick the senses of commoners and thereby avoid a great deal of turmoil and strife between the Covenant and its sometimes disobedient minions.

Necromancy

The Order of Necromancy is naturally one of the most feared in the Covenant, and their order can claim more evil members than any other, due to the foul nature of most necromantic magic. Only a scant few of its members are good.

Fortunately, the necromancers form one of the smallest of the eight orders and rarely wield any serious political influence. Most necromancers practice the Art in seclusion, and some live entirely outside the political sphere, requiring isolation to carry out their studies without interruption by more meddling wizards and fearful lesser creatures.

The official leader of the Order of Necromancy is the Carrick the Ashen, but the unofficial (and real) leader is the Archlich Xaszyk, one of the Covenant’s most feared and enigmatic (and by all outward appearances, least political) wizards. Xaszyk consorts only with a handful of his most trusted and subservient colleagues, and Carrick is not counted among them, leading to widespread speculation as to what sort of activity the most influential and powerful necromancer devotes his energy to, if he does not care to represent himself in the High Council. Most hope that Xaszyk craves only solitude, but scattered rumors and clues hint toward more diabolical ends.

Necromancers keep so many undead minions and various other constructs at their side that they scarcely have any need of other mortals, and as an order they are among the least loyal to the Covenant. Being that they control only Thyrmach, a fetid swampland of no agricultural or strategic value, even necromancers who desire political influence find it hard to come by.

The Pale Masters

The pale masters, as they are called, are a reviled sect of necromancers, widely regarded as necrophiliacs, liches in training, and despoilers of living matter. These are generally correct assumptions. However, due to their highly specialized training and affinity with the undead, the pale masters are probably the best undead-hunters in existence. When lands under Covenant control come under the attack of unliving monstrosities, it is most often a pale master that is sent in to deal with the problem. Few know the methods of their work in these instances (as no one with a reputation to spare wants to get involved with them), but those in the know are aware that the pale masters just as often collect unholy aberrations for further study and knowledge as they do destroy them. In fact, most pale masters consider it something of a tragedy when a particularly unique undead

The pale masters have little to fear from all but the most malevolent and powerful undead, and even these abominations they endeavor to understand more of, almost always for their own benefit, rather than the villagers that they are incidentally protecting.

Transmutation

One of the largest orders, the transmuters are masters of physical change, yet for all their skill at altering the world around them, they are ironically one of the Covenant’s greatest sources of unflinching loyalty. Whereas many mages view the Covenant merely as a convenience and a vehicle of mastery over their world, many transmuters are educated to believe that mages are part of the natural order and the Covenant is a dire necessity, an organization to be held above all others in importance. The transmuters are the nominal leaders of the Arcane Covenant.

This hardcore belief system generally stems from the fact that the most ardent founding member of the Covenant was the transmuter Aberlan, whose teachings are comparable to a religious text. It is upon Aberlan’s writings that most of the Covenant’s core philosophies and laws have been developed. Were it not the for the Order of Transmutation and its most fundamentalist members, the Covenant would have long ago splintered into warring factions.

Of course, not all the transmuters are dogmatic loyalists to the cause. The great majority, in fact, are just like most of their fellows—concerned with power. But the eldest and most powerful of the order are also its loudest voice.

Class Roles in the Arcane Covenant

Barbarians

Barbarians are killed on sight if they enter Covenant lands, or approach their perimeter defenses. Barbarians and wizards have been at war for time out of mind. Even if wizards could make peace with some sort of barbarian, they would be too difficult to control and of no use to the Covenant.

Bards

Bards are the laughing stock of the Arcane Covenant’s wizards. They get along well with commoners, but wizards regard them as impotent would-be magicians. Some were once wizards that dropped out of training. The Order of the White Hand has no enmity against bards, but they don’t give them any special attention, either. Some barbarian tribes make use of a primitive form of bard that use their talents in conjunction with war drums, with which they can supernaturally strengthen their comrades and issue commands from their superiors.

Clerics and Druids

A few shamans and scattered clerics exist, but they are not nearly as powerful as wizards, and are not generally found in Covenant lands, where the leadership does not welcome their preaching. Barbarians have a few of both shamans and druids among them, increasing their battlefield effectiveness considerably. One is likely to see no more than one druid or shaman per thousand barbarians, however.

Unlike most clerics, wizards recognize that druids have special powers that they do not, and any druid that is not affiliated with barbarians is treated with respect. Such druids are extremely rare.

Fighters

The Arcane Covenant always needs fighters, and lots of them. When not practicing magic, war-mages are busy training new soldiers to help the wizards fight their many wars. The Covenant has about 20,000 troops stationed throughout their outer territories, and another 10,000 waiting in reserve for special emergencies. Most are stationed along the Barrier Wall. Casualty rates are very high—the Covenant requires about 2,000 new recruits each year to break even. Some are merely commoners (often criminals and other undesirables) that have been permanently dominated, while the majority are recruits. Dominated troops are typically sent into battle first, as they are the least valuable and easily replaced, but even they receive some training.

The Covenant keeps a small contingent of elite soldiers as bodyguards for when they travel abroad, and as an honor guard for their most valuable fortresses.

Free-willed soldiers are always equipped with at least minor magical items, and honor guards receive epic-level armaments to suit their needs.

Monks

Wizards fear and respect monks for their abilities, but attempt to keep their influence in check by not allowing them to build monasteries inside Covenant territory—they instead occupy White Hand territories most of the time. Most monks refuse to act as soldiers, although evil and neutral monks are often used as illicit assassins against wizards when relationships inside the Covenant go sour. Some monks specialize in the art of killing wizards, though not often out of spite—merely because they know they will be called upon for such a task one day.

Paladins

The Emerald Shield is an elite order of paladins charged with the protection of wizards and the furthering of their goals. All are lawful, but they can be of any moral alignment. Along with the honor guard, they are afforded perhaps the greatest social status of any non-wizard living under Covenant protection. They protect wizards during battle and are skilled troop commanders. They are never taught magic, but they are given powerful items to help them in battle. The paladins of the Emerald Shield number no more than a hundred.

Rangers

Rangers act as scouts for Covenant armies, especially against barbarians—though it should be noted that the barbarians have their own rangers as well. Rangers are also used to help corner fugitive wizards when their general location has been discovered, but they are rarely sent into combat against them unless the situation is desperate, as they are not really equipped for fighting wizards.

Otherwise, rangers act as a special police force on the commoner level, helping army garrisons keep order and track down criminals.

Rogues

Rogues are an integral part of Covenant society on the commoner level, and they are of some use to wizards as well. They often find work as spies, wizard against wizards, their employers usually being wizards who are less concerned about breaking the rules as they are getting an advantage over their enemies in the magocracy. Every once in a while, they are also used as assassins, and several secret rogue organizations work in the service of wizards.

Sorcerers

All sorcerers were eradicated in a bloody and near-apocalyptic war with wizards over four thousand years ago. The only ones left ascended to godhood long ago and have a divine rank of at least 0. Their motivations are inscrutably inhuman, and some believe that a sorcerer may have been involved in the current disaster with the Far Realm.

Stories of encounters with sorcerers have passed into legend among wizards, and a growing number of magic-users believe that they are entirely extinct. The tales vary in nature, but any wizards involved in the stories usually come to a bad end.

Undead and Constructs

While not a character class per se, there are a lot of undead lurking about the Covenant, especially in Thyrmach, and they merit some discussion. It is considered to be in very poor taste, and generally a violation of the Third Law, to allow even servile undead to roam freely in view of the public. And it is only the necromancers that are well known for allowing them to do it. Thyrmach is crawling with undead minions, easily outnumbering the living. Crews of skeleton warriors meticulously keep the streets clean, repair buildings that have suffered any sort of damage, and perform other miscellaneous chores at the behest of their masters. Undead monsters also guard buildings of any importance in Thyrmach.

On the eastern side of Thyrmach is a vast, murky swamp teeming with latent necromantic energies. It is one of the few places inside the Covenant territories that even wizards fear to go, because sometimes terrible undead horrors, completely free-willed, take shape there. In the middle of the swamp is Xaszyk’s tower, where all the most important and powerful necromancers tend to congregate for their business. Wizards of any other sort appear there only in the most dire of circumstances.

Most wizards are of the belief that Xaszyk is routinely violating the Covenant’s laws from within his tower, but curiously, no one has bothered to tell the demilich to his face—or his skull, rather.

Free-willed undead creatures have been appearing in other Covenant territories with increasing frequency within the last decade, attacking commoners and keeping the pale masters quite busy tracking them all down. Some believe that the swamp has something to do with it.

As for constructs, they have always been a frequent sight in most Covenant territories. Less receptive to learning than undead, they are kept mainly as powerful guards to keep commoners out of places they should not go, and as special shock troops in times of war. Like undead, they can enter a null creature’s anti-magic field, so wizards in fear of such beings keep a construct close at hand. There are at least four hundred golems of various types in the Covenant territories.

Enemies of the Arcane Covenant

The Atropal

An undead monstrosity of unequaled might, the atropal’s exact origins are unknown, except that it is thought to be the horrific result of the last head of the Order of Necromancy’s attempt to become a deity. The exact fate of that necromancer is up for debate—some believe he instantaneously perished at the hands of what he created, while others insist that he is in fact that creation—but thankfully, not a god. At least, not yet. Rather, it is the repulsive parody of an infant, forever undead.

Wizards brave enough to adventure far to the north, beyond even the Far Realm fissure, and strong enough to survive, come back with bone-chilling reports of an overlarge, stillborn monstrosity floating over a constantly increasing mass of undead minions, which it blesses with obscene might even as it gathers them for some unknown task. Most suspect that sooner or later, the atropal will unleash its might against civilization, and some wizards are busy preparing what they can in response.

Barbarian Hordes

In the northwest reaches of the world, hundreds of thousands of humanoids flock about in a multitude of tribes, living off the land and leading lives of war and religion. Many enlist monsters in their struggles against one another, battles in which mighty warlords can rise and fall in the same month. They breed like rabbits and have honed their combat skills to a deadly perfection, and they are united in one thing particularly, if nothing else—they hate magic.

Once every couple of decades, the barbarians fall under the leadership of a warrior strong and charismatic enough to unite most of the tribes under one banner and forge alliances with many other disgruntled creatures, and then they come thundering down out of the mountains and plains to hammer on the walls of the Covenant with their combined might. Should they fail (always the case thus far), they retreat back to their cavernous lairs in the mountains, which are filled with ancient magical residues that cause spells cast within to go awry—protecting them from extermination. It was because of the barbarians that the Barrier Wall was originally constructed, indicating just how much wizards fear the barbarians.

Scholars say that the barbarians are united also in worship of some unknown, hungry deity. Under this religion, it is said, the barbarians are taught that when all wizards are cleansed from the world, it will become a utopia in which the barbarians live in peace and wealth for all eternity. But to achieve that, the religion directs them to focus all their effort on learning how to kill wizards, and to cull the weakest out of their numbers to create a perfect army of destruction.

The thing that wizards most fear about the barbarians, besides their legendarily colossal numbers, is the elite shock troops known as forsakers. Mighty warriors of axe and bow, the forsakers have some sort of special gift in addition to their specialized training that teaches them the best techniques to destroy wizards. They can shrug off massive damage and kill magic-users before they even get a spell off, it is said, and in the midst of a massive horde, it is difficult to see them coming. They are called forsakers because they refuse to use any magic whatsoever, in battle or otherwise.

It is small comfort to the Covenant that the barbarians’ numbers have been depleted as of late by the arrival of Far Realm creatures, which consumed many of the barbarians living directly to the north of the Covenant, as well as the rise of the Atropal, which prowls the northernmost lands in search of creatures to add to its undead throng. Neither of these occurrences has made things much easier for the Arcane Covenant, but barbarians refer to these events with great sorrow, and some believe them to be the punishment of their angry god. It may have a lasting impact on their culture.

Epic Forsaker

Ability Bonus (Ex): Forsakers continue to get bonus ability points at every level, but they can place no more than 10 of these points in a single ability score.

Spell Resistance (Ex): Forsakers continue to receive spell resistance equal to 10 + forsaker level. This stacks with any other spell resistance the forsaker has.

Damage Reduction (Ex): Epic forsakers no longer need to destroy magical items to gain their damage reduction.

Level	Special Powers
11^th	Fast Healing 4 (60)
12^th	DR 13/+6
13^th	Fast Healing 5 (70)
14^th	DR 15/+7
15^th	Fast Healing 6 (80)
16^th	DR 17/+8
17^th	Fast Healing 7 (90)
18^th	DR 19/+9
19^th	Fast Healing 8 (100)
20^th	DR 21/+10
21^st	Fast Healing 9 (110)
22^nd	DR 23/+11
23^rd	Fast Healing 10 (120)
24^th	DR 25/+12
25^th	Fast Healing 11 (130)
26^th	DR 27/+13
27^th	Fast Healing 12 (140)
28^th	DR 29/+14
29^th	Fast Healing 13 (150)
30^th	DR 31/+15

Dragons

One of the only creatures that can fight off a group of determined wizards is a dragon. Though they are relatively few and far between since the end of the Warlock War, the eldest dragons still remain, and have no love for intrusive wizards who are impudent enough to think that they own the world. Most wizards do not bother attempting to relieve dragons of their lives or treasure, but those that do either come very well prepared or die quickly.

Once in a great while, a dragon of unbelievable size and power simply rampages across the countryside, devouring or obliterating everything in its way, going back to rest only after about a week of continuous devastation. No wizard or group of wizards has yet managed to stop a dragon in such a mysterious rage.

Exalted Wizards

A rare few wizards break off from the Covenant, walking a higher path. These wizards are disgusted and saddened by the Covenant’s toleration of wizards who practice foul necromancy and vilest diabolism, and swear off the practices of exterminating enemies and ruling with an iron fist. Most such wizards join the White Hand. Others go independent—and some join cabals with the express purpose of putting an end to wizardly evil of all kinds. Exalted wizards strike from hiding against necromancers, diabolists, and those who would seek power from the lower planes. Thus, they can be a considerable nuisance to the Covenant’s interests. They lair just outside of Covenant territory, often in lands controlled by the White Hand (where Covenant wizards are forbidden to go), launching guerilla attacks against known evil-doers whenever they can. Since there is only a handful of them, and few are very powerful, they are not yet a major threat, and the Covenant has not acted decisively against them. But that day will come.

The Far Realm

A dread plane of unending, boundless insanity, recent events in the far north opened up some sort of fissure through which the plane’s horrifying and amazingly powerful denizens could leak. Any sort of mental contact with the creatures or their realm results in immediate, often incurable insanity, and prolonged contact eventually transforms the wizard into a ghastly pseudonatural version of his former self, robbed of all humanity. Wizards are forbidden to summon from or make contact with the Far Realm. A wizard that engages in such outlaw magic is referred to as an alienist, and such wizards are mercilessly executed upon discovery within the Covenant.

The minions of the Far Realm are the Covenant’s most dangerous and numerous enemies, as they have an insatiable desire to spread insanity and destruction wherever they go. The creatures continuously attack the Barrier Wall, relentlessly attempting to break through and infect Covenant society. So far, they have failed, but their numbers seem limitless.

The most terrible known species of creature from the Far Realm is an uvuudaum, which some wizards can become through the most prolonged and intense exposure to Far Realm magic—most such wizards, however, are transformed into kaortis, a vile alien that remembers nothing of its humanity, and works ceaselessly to transform others with its curse.

These creatures (and other minions, such as the rukanyrs and skybleeders) can be found in the Epic Level Handbook and Fiend Folio. A description of the Far Realm itself is in the Manual of the Planes.

The Fellowship of Vham

No other group of wizards annoys the Covenant as much as the Fellowship of Vham. When the Covenant sends out a group of mages to find a specific artifact, the Fellowship’s spies within the Covenant alert them as well—often allowing Fellowship wizards to get there first. Being much more mobile and quick to act (unfettered by rules, regulations, or any sort of recognizable power structure), the Fellowship’s only weakness is that they can generally send only one wizard out to the Covenant’s three—so their members must be cunning and careful in their actions.

Most disciples of Vham practice exotic, strange magics that are not necessarily allowed in the Covenant, and can be fearsome foes when cornered—but they are rarely cornered, and they have no solid hierarchy that can be struck. They meet most often in isolated taverns, masquerading as commoners right under the Covenant’s nose in twos and threes, planning their next missions. Larger gatherings stay out of Covenant territory altogether, but even these contain only a third of the Fellowship’s mass at best.

Null Creatures

The null creatures are creatures that all mages fear—beings completely immune to all magic and gifted with psionic might. They can be any sort of creature, but they carry their powers upon birth. Some have the extraordinary ability of detecting one another over long distances, allowing them to organize to a degree against wizards.

Out of fear if nothing else, wizards execute null creatures upon discovery, though a tiny minority of wizards insist that these purges must stop if the wizards are to have any hope of living unmolested by the “nulls” that have managed to escape extermination.

Wizards and null creatures are mortal enemies, though some null creatures may not realize it until it’s too late. Null creatures have begun to form tribes with the intent of opposing wizardry, especially the Arcane Covenant, wherever possible. There is even a rumor spreading that the power they wield can be passed onto other creatures through an exacting and tedious psionic process, but this has yet to be proven. The exact number of creatures in these “tribes” is uncertain, but null creatures are exceedingly rare, and those in the know don’t think there could be more than two dozen of the creatures working together.

Wizards’ methods of dealing with the creatures are very specific and time-tested. Golems and corporeal undead still function from within their anti-magic auras, even if the creatures’ supernatural abilities do not, and wizards count on physical force to win the day when they locate them, which is an extremely difficult process involving a lot of word-of-mouth spying. Wizards can’t rely on divinations to track the creatures, so they are ever vigilant for the possibility of such a creature being born near them. Organized null creatures tend to operate out of White Hand territory, where Covenant wizards are forbidden to go by White Hand decree, so it is difficult for the Covenant to stamp the problem out completely.

Organized “null tribes” don’t tend to conflict with White Hand wizards very often, as the White Hand has no special interest in destroying them. Marauding followers of Vham either flee from null creatures from first notice or viciously destroy them. Warlocks hate null creatures as well, though even they are better equipped than wizards for the task of fighting them.

All nulls have the following characteristics:

Size and Type: The creature’s type does not change, unless it is an animal (in which case it becomes a magical beast). It gains the psionic subtype.

Psi-Like Abilities (Sp): A null creature possesses the psi-like abilities indicated below, depending on its hit dice. The abilities are cumulative. Manifester level is equal to the creature’s HD. The save DCs for a null creature’s psi-like abilities are Charisma-based. The DM can choose to replace any given psi-like ability with another ability of equal level if he so chooses.

HD	Abilities
1-2	3/day—Defensive Precognition, 1/day—Force Screen
3-4	3/day—Empty Mind, Mind Thrust
5-6	1/day—Body Adjustment, Brain Lock
7-8	1/day—Aversion, Blast
9-10	3/day—Intellect Fortress, 1/day—Psychic Crush
11-12	1/day—Psionic Dominate
13-14	1/day—Energy Current, Tower of Iron Will
15-16	3/day—Psionic Teleport
17-18	1/day—Fission
19-20	1/day—Ultrablast

Special Qualities: A null creature has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities.

Anti-Magic Field (Ex): An Anti-Magic Field extends around a null creature in a five-foot radius at all times, which functions exactly like the spell. Only deities are unaffected by this power. Not even spells meant to shut down normal Anti-Magic Fields will function against this power. Because of this field, a null creature can never learn or cast spells of any kind, though many null creatures become psions.

Power Resistance (Ex): A null creature has power resistance equal to its hit dice +10.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4.

Challenge Rating: As base creature +5.

Level Adjustment: As base creature +5.

Warlocks

Warlocks are masters of eldritch magic, men and women whose hearts are too often blackened by chaos and evil. Though they have not appeared within Covenant territory in over a decade, any that would dare it would be attacked upon their detection with all available force. For now, the warlocks bide their time, holed up within a well-defended fortress far to the south of the Covenant territory, still licking their wounds from the aptly named Warlock War, in which they bent all their resources toward destroying the Covenant utterly. Only in the final days of the war were they turned back by the Covenant airship fleet, which repelled the warlocks and their dragon allies. A second war, with the added threat of the Far Realm, might break the back of the Arcane Covenant.

Not all warlocks are evil, but those that aren’t were nearly exterminated, and they have no organization of their own if they do not side with Fharzim, the warlocks’ current leader.

What Is The Barrier Wall?

The Barrier Wall is a massive stone wall that completely surrounds the edges of Covenant civilization. It is specially constructed and guarded to keep out creatures of nearly every imaginable type, and is nearly impenetrable.

The wall extends two hundred feet in the air, four hundred feet below ground, and is at least one hundred feet thick, making it virtually impossible for an army to climb it or dig under it. The stone used to build the wall is of the finest quality and is magically enchanted. The break DC is 70, the hardness is 16, and in order to break directly through one side to the other, 10,800 points of damage must be inflicted on it. Anyone attempting to magically alter the wall’s shape must roll against Spell Resistance 40, and the wall has been enchanted so that broken or altered portions of the wall regenerate at the rate of 15 hit points per round (the wall typically restores five cubic feet of mass per round). The outer wall is protected by a permanent Grease spell, although the Grease isn’t visible; the save DC against this effect is 24. Even without this effect, climbing the wall using tools is next to impossible, due to the wall’s impenetrability and regeneration.

Attempts to dispel the wall’s magic (against a caster level of 30) have some effect, but only for 1d4 rounds—the break DC lowers by 20, the hardness and hit points are cut in half, the wall doesn’t get spell resistance, and doesn’t regenerate. Furthermore, it is no longer greased. After 1d4 rounds have passed, however, the wall resumes all of its magical qualities, even against powerful magic such as Mordenkainen’s Disjunction.

The Barrier Wall has no doors going through it, although it is equipped internally in the event of a siege. A magical alarm system alerts other nearby (but out of hearing range) sections of the wall when a serious attack is taking place. As many as two hundred men might arrive to aid in defense within the first half hour of battle, not to mention one or more wizards. Most soldiers are of at least 5^th level.

In order to discourage both massed ground and even aerial attacks, the wall is stationed with special magical artillery pieces known as dweomer cannons. A dweomer cannon is equipped to fire bursts of acid, cold, fire, or lightning to a range of 1,600 feet, which explode in 20 ft.-radius spreads, inflicting 15d6 points of damage and acting as if cast by a 30^th level wizard. A Reflex save (DC 30) reduces damage by half. The cannons are manned by specially trained soldiers who are armed with Binoculars of True Seeing. The soldiers can mentally aim the cannon. Each cannon typically has 50 charges, and is fueled by a special wand that has no power by itself—the magical energy is fed through a special tube that connects it to several alchemical liquids that determine the nature of its firepower. Each cannon is about five feet wide and ten feet long, and is made of specially treated wood and iron parts so that two soldiers can move it with little difficulty. Spilling the liquids, however, can lead to hazardous situations. A dweomer cannon has 50 hit points and hardness 5.

Two massive dweomer cannons protect the Gray Citadel in Abromach, the Covenant’s capital. A sizeable army can be laid waste by the weapons within a few short volleys, though they have only been used in test exercises. There are rarer, variant cannons, such as a new rumored design that can fire Disintegration rays capable of hitting creatures on the Ethereal Plane.

The Covenant is also assisted in the defense of its borders by massive airships. Airships come in all shapes and sizes, but all are feared by enemies of the Covenant. Almost all are designed strictly for combat, especially with dragons. Most have at least the following features:

-Two dweomer cannons.

-A special magical battery buried in the hull that the captain can call upon to generate a visible, spherical shield that acts as a Wall of Force, but can absorb only 300 points of damage per day.

Larger ships have more cannons and more powerful shields.

Most airships are not very maneuverable, depending on their magical construction to shrug off damage, while the occupants fire back spells and dweomer cannon-shot. At present time, the Covenant commands about thirty such ships, the largest being almost 300 feet long (the flagship Doomstaff). All can maintain a speed of about 200, covering 60 miles per day, and at least three are capable of amphibious assault. Because their construction is expensive and time-consuming, the Covenant does not put them at significant risk unless there is no other option. For perimeter defense, they are often used to chase off retreating enemies, picking them off with dweomer cannons. Doomstaff has not moved from its position nearby the Gray Citadel, its official location of port, for several years, but it is powerful enough to level most of any territory within a day. During the Warlock War, about forty ships were lost.

Class I Airship

Type: Gargantuan Construct

Hit Dice: 20d10 (200 hp)

Initiative: -

Speed: Fly 200 (Clumsy)

Armor Class: 26 (+20 Natural, -4 Size)

Flat-Footed AC: 26

Touch AC: 6

Base Attack/Grapple: +15, Grapple +43*

Space/Reach: 35 Feet

Special Attacks: Dweomer Cannons, Ram, Teleportation Engine

Special Qualities: Fast Healing 3, Force Shield, Hardness 20, SR 30

Saves: Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +6

Abilities: Str 43, Dex -, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -<

Challenge Rating: 20

Alignment: -

*Grapple bonus included in the event that a creature attempts to physically move or devour the ship.

Airships are gigantic floating boats made out of equal parts darkwood, adamantine/mithral alloy, and magic. They are constructed for warfare, but most are luxurious enough to be used as pleasure-boats by the wizards that command them, during rare times of peace. They range in size, from 35 to 300 feet in length.

Airships are mentally commanded by an assigned captain using Concentration checks. Though the ships can achieve impressive speeds and can maneuver quite well, they can only be operated safely by experienced pilots. An inexperienced pilot risks accidentally flipping the ship, accelerating too quickly, or taking the altitude too high or low, too quickly. Characters can take the Profession (Airship Pilot) skill to reflect their experience with the ships, either adding their ranks in the skill to their Concentration checks or replacing Concentration entirely. A character cannot have more ranks in Profession (Airship Pilot) than he does in Concentration. Piloting an airship is far beyond the ken of most non-wizards.

It is tremendously difficult for the Covenant to gather the proper materials to build its airships, so they are considered its most valuable weapons. Some consideration has been given to the thought of building the ships out of cheaper, less reliable materials, but the Covenant hasn’t endorsed this idea yet, citing the need for durable and powerful weapons to oppose the warlocks and other deadly enemies.

Although the ships can teleport great distances and travel across planes, they are often stocked with emergency rations in the event that quick travel isn’t possible—usually no more than two weeks’ worth.

The class I airship is the smallest known airship, but also the least expensive and easiest to move with the Gate spell (see below). It is not a common ship, often given as a gift to the most loyal and useful Covenant wizards. It is designed to comfortably support three people for a voyage. The ship is about thirty-five feet long and roughly twenty feet wide and tall.

Combat

Dweomer Cannons (Sp): A class I airship is equipped with two dweomer cannons, each of which has 50 charges and can fire once every three rounds. A dweomer cannon is equipped to fire bursts of acid, cold, fire, or lightning to a range of 1,600 feet, which explode in 20 ft.-radius spreads, inflicting 15d6 points of damage and acting as if cast by a 30^th level wizard. A Reflex save (DC 30) reduces damage by half.

Ram (Ex): The captain of a class I airship can use it to smash into and through objects, creatures, and buildings. As a standard action during his turn, the captain can direct the ship to move directly into a target at maximum speed. Creatures being rammed may attempt an attack of opportunity with a –4 penalty on the attack roll. An opponent that chooses not to make an attack of opportunity may instead attempt a Reflex save for half damage (DC 36). The ram inflicts 20d6 points of damage, and creatures with less Strength than the airship are automatically ejected 2d6 squares in a random direction. Stronger creatures hold their ground. Rammed creatures must be directly in front of the airship. Creatures with a fly maneuverability of Poor or better may ready a move action to completely avoid a ram.

An airship skidding along even ground to strike Large or smaller creatures loses much of its speed and effectiveness, inflicting only 10d6 points of damage and allowing a DC 26 Reflex save. Each round an airship does this, it must make a Reflex save (DC 16) or suffer 5d6 points of damage, against which its hardness and force shield are not counted. Skidding along an incline, as well as rocky or otherwise difficult terrain, is impossible.

Ramming into buildings or other airships is more taxing on the airship’s structural integrity. Normal damage is inflicted, but the airship also suffers 10d6 points of damage, against which it cannot apply its hardness—nor can it absorb the impact with its force shield. Ramming Colossal-sized dragons also causes this damage. Note that rammed structures and airships apply their full hardness and applicable force shield points against this attack.

Force Shield (Sp): As a standard action, the captain of a class I airship can command a shimmering, spherical energy shield to surround the ship. This field absorbs 300 points of any type of damage per day, except effects that can pass through a Wall of Force, against which it does nothing. It is treated as if it were a 9^th level spell, cast by a 20^th level caster. The captain can dismiss the effect as a free action. Forcibly moving the field into another creature’s or solid object’s space has no effect, except to automatically let the creature or object inside the field; thus the force shield can’t be used to crush creatures, or absorb damage in the event that the airship makes a ramming attack. Floating lower than ten feet off the ground causes the shield to fail until the airship’s altitude is raised again. The field extends to a twenty-foot radius around the whole of the ship.

Once the force shield has absorbed as much damage as it can in a day, it cannot be raised again for 24 hours. The force shield doesn’t interfere with attacks and objects originating from inside of it.

Teleportation Engine (Sp): Twice per week, an airship captain can, as a full round action, initiate a Greater Teleport or Plane Shift effect. This effect transports the ship and all its crew to the intended destination, as well as anything else inside the range of the force shield. If in the midst of battle, the captain must succeed at a Concentration check (DC is DM’s choice) to initiate the effect. A wizard of at least 20^th level with the Gate spell can also designate the spell to be large enough to bring a class I airship through, but casting the spell as such requires 10 minutes of un-interrupted concentration. The force shield must be lowered in order for any such transportation effect to function; otherwise, it fails.

Class II Airship

Type: Colossal Construct

Hit Dice: 30d10 (300 hp)

Initiative: -

Speed: Fly 200 (Clumsy)

Armor Class: 32 (+30 Natural, -8 Size)

Flat-Footed AC: 32

Touch AC: 2

Base Attack/Grapple: +20, Grapple +57*

Space/Reach: 75 Feet

Special Attacks: Dweomer Cannons, Ram, Teleportation Engine

Special Qualities: Fast Healing 6, Force Shield, Hardness 30, SR 40

Saves: Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +11

Abilities: Str 53, Dex -, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -<

Challenge Rating: 30

Alignment: -

*Grapple bonus included in the event that a creature attempts to physically move or devour the ship.

The class II airship is the most common form of airship, perfectly suited for combat. At least one guards each Covenant territory at any given time. They can comfortably house eighteen passengers for a voyage, including the crew and captain. The ship is seventy-five feet long, and roughly thirty-five feet wide and twenty-five feet tall.

Combat

Dweomer Cannons (Sp): A class II airship is equipped with four dweomer cannons, each of which has 50 charges and can fire once every three rounds. A dweomer cannon is equipped to fire bursts of acid, cold, fire, or lightning to a range of 1,600 feet, which explode in 20 ft.-radius spreads, inflicting 15d6 points of damage and acting as if cast by a 30^th level wizard. A Reflex save (DC 30) reduces damage by half.

Ram (Ex): The captain of a class II airship can use it to smash into and through objects, creatures, and buildings. As a standard action during his turn, the captain can direct the ship to move directly into a target at maximum speed. Creatures being rammed may attempt an attack of opportunity with a –4 penalty on the attack roll. An opponent that chooses not to make an attack of opportunity may instead attempt a Reflex save for half damage (DC 46). The ram inflicts 30d6 points of damage, and creatures with less Strength than the airship are automatically ejected 2d8 squares in a random direction. Stronger creatures hold their ground. Rammed creatures must be directly in front of the airship. Creatures with a fly maneuverability o Clumsy or better may ready a move action to completely avoid a ram.

An airship skidding along even ground to strike Large or smaller creatures loses much of its speed and effectiveness, inflicting only 15d6 points of damage and allowing a DC 36 Reflex save. Each round an airship does this, it must make a Reflex save (DC 21) or suffer 5d6 points of damage, against which its hardness and force shield are not counted. Skidding along an incline, as well as rocky or otherwise difficult terrain, is impossible.

Ramming into buildings or other airships is more taxing on the airship’s structural integrity. Normal damage is inflicted, but the airship also suffers 10d6 points of damage, against which it cannot apply its hardness—nor can it absorb the impact with its force shield. Ramming Colossal-sized dragons also causes this damage. Note that rammed structures and airships apply their full hardness and applicable force shield points against this attack.

Force Shield (Sp): As a standard action, the captain of a class II airship can command a shimmering, spherical energy shield to surround the ship. This field absorbs 500 points of any type of damage per day, except effects that can pass through a Wall of Force, against which it does nothing. It is treated as if it were a 9^th level spell, cast by a 30^th level caster. The captain can dismiss the effect as a free action. Forcibly moving the field into another creature’s or solid object’s space has no effect, except to automatically let the creature or object inside the field; thus the force shield can’t be used to crush creatures, or absorb damage in the event that the airship makes a ramming attack. Floating lower than ten feet off the ground causes the shield to fail until the airship’s altitude is raised again. The field extends to a twenty-foot radius around the whole of the ship.

Once the force shield has absorbed as much damage as it can in a day, it cannot be raised again for 24 hours. The force shield doesn’t interfere with attacks and objects originating from inside of it.

Teleportation Engine (Sp): Twice per week, an airship captain can, as a full round action, initiate a Greater Teleport or Plane Shift effect. This effect transports the ship and all its crew to the intended destination, as well as anything else inside the range of the force shield. If in the midst of battle, the captain must succeed at a Concentration check (DC is DM’s choice) to initiate the effect. A wizard of at least 30^th level with the Gate spell can also designate the spell to be large enough to bring a class II airship through, but casting the spell as such requires 10 minutes of un-interrupted concentration. The force shield must be lowered in order for any such transportation effect to function; otherwise, it fails.

Class III Airship

Type: Colossal+ Construct

Hit Dice: 40d10 (400 hp)

Initiative: -

Speed: Fly 200 (Clumsy)

Armor Class: 42 (+40 Natural, -8 Size)

Flat-Footed AC: 42

Touch AC: 2

Base Attack/Grapple: +25, Grapple +73*

Space/Reach: 120 Feet

Special Attacks: Dweomer Cannons, Ram, Teleportation Engine

Special Qualities: Fast Healing 9, Force Shield, Hardness 40, SR 50

Saves: Fort +22, Ref +16, Will +16

Abilities: Str 64, Dex -, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -<

Challenge Rating: 40

Alignment: -

*Grapple bonus included in the event that a creature attempts to physically move or devour the ship.

The class III is regarded as the Covenant’s most powerful airship, discounting the 300-foot long Doomstaff, which is more a symbol of power than anything else. Class III airships are called in to deal with the most serious enemies, and are considered the Covenant’s most precious asset on the battlefield, aside from wizards themselves. They can comfortably accommodate forty-eight passengers for a voyage, including the crew. The ship is 120 feet long, roughly fifty feet wide, and thirty feet tall.

Combat

Dweomer Cannons (Sp): A class III airship is equipped with six dweomer cannons, each of which has 50 charges and can fire once every three rounds. A dweomer cannon is equipped to fire bursts of acid, cold, fire, or lightning to a range of 1,600 feet, which explode in 20 ft.-radius spreads, inflicting 15d6 points of damage and acting as if cast by a 30^th level wizard. A Reflex save (DC 30) reduces damage by half.

Ram (Ex): The captain of a class III airship can use it to smash into and through objects, creatures, and buildings. As a standard action during his turn, the captain can direct the ship to move directly into a target at maximum speed. Creatures being rammed may attempt an attack of opportunity with a –4 penalty on the attack roll. An opponent that chooses not to make an attack of opportunity may instead attempt a Reflex save for half damage (DC 57). The ram inflicts 40d6 points of damage, and creatures with less Strength than the airship are automatically ejected 2d10 squares in a random direction. Stronger creatures hold their ground. Rammed creatures must be directly in front of the airship. Creatures with a fly maneuverability of Clumsy or better may ready a move action to completely avoid a ram.

An airship skidding along even ground to strike Large or smaller creatures loses much of its speed and effectiveness, inflicting only 20d6 points of damage and allowing a DC 47 Reflex save. Each round an airship does this, it must make a Reflex save (DC 26) or suffer 5d6 points of damage, against which its hardness and force shield are not counted. Skidding along an incline, as well as rocky or otherwise difficult terrain, is impossible.

Ramming into buildings or other airships is more taxing on the airship’s structural integrity. Normal damage is inflicted, but the airship also suffers 10d6 points of damage, against which it cannot apply its hardness—nor can it absorb the impact with its force shield. Ramming Colossal-sized dragons also causes this damage. Note that rammed structures and airships apply their full hardness and applicable force shield points against this attack.

Force Shield (Sp): As a standard action, the captain of a class II airship can command a shimmering, spherical energy shield to surround the ship. This field absorbs 700 points of any type of damage per day, except effects that can pass through a Wall of Force, against which it does nothing. It is treated as if it were a 9^th level spell, cast by a 40^th level caster. The captain can dismiss the effect as a free action. Forcibly moving the field into another creature’s or solid object’s space has no effect, except to automatically let the creature or object inside the field; thus the force shield can’t be used to crush creatures, or absorb damage in the event that the airship makes a ramming attack. Floating lower than ten feet off the ground causes the shield to fail until the airship’s altitude is raised again. The field extends to a twenty-foot radius around the whole of the ship.

Once the force shield has absorbed as much damage as it can in a day, it cannot be raised again for 24 hours. The force shield doesn’t interfere with attacks and objects originating from inside of it.

Teleportation Engine (Sp): Twice per week, an airship captain can, as a full round action, initiate a Greater Teleport or Plane Shift effect. This effect transports the ship and all its crew to the intended destination, as well as anything else inside the range of the force shield. If in the midst of battle, the captain must succeed at a Concentration check (DC is DM’s choice) to initiate the effect. A wizard of at least 40^th level with the Gate spell can also designate the spell to be large enough to bring a class III airship through, but casting the spell as such requires 10 minutes of un-interrupted concentration. The force shield must be lowered in order for any such transportation effect to function; otherwise, it fails.

Building An Airship

Caster level 20^th (Class I), 30^th (Class II), 40^th (Class III). Spells: Animate Objects, Overland Flight, Permanency, Plane Shift, Regenerate, Greater Teleport, Spell Resistance, Wall of Force.

Class I Materials Needed: 1,000 pounds mithral steel; 6,000 pounds adamantine, 3,000 pounds ironwood, 20,000 gp additional expenses.

Class II: 2,000 lbs. mithral, 12,000 lbs. adamantine, 6,000 lbs. ironwood, 40,000 gp additional expenses.

Class III: 4,000 lbs. mithral, 24,000 lbs. adamantine, 12,000 lbs. ironwood, 80,000 gp additional expenses.

Assembling an airship requires a DC 25 Craft (Ship) check. It takes three months for ten properly skilled people to build a class I airship; six months for a class II; and nine months for a class III.

New Character Class

Savants

Some wizards concentrate heavily on the minutiae of certain, very specific magics. They re-learn the spell again and again, at once fascinated by the efficacy of a spell and frustrated by the knowledge that they still can’t cast it to its utmost potential—that is to say, the level at which a deity is familiar with the spell, or as the spell’s original creator, gone for millennia, cast it. Instead of moving on and learning different spells, they unlock the true inner meanings of the glyphs on the scroll, and learn to put the full weight of their arcane might into that single magic. These are the savants.

Adventures: Savants go adventuring just as wizards do, for they are in fact wizards. The only difference is the approach they take to magic, and their unerring tendency to obsess over a small repertoire of spells.

Characteristics: Outwardly, savants appear little different from normal wizards. Even wizards themselves cannot identify a savant by sight alone. However, if any trained arcanist were to spend a prolonged period fighting alongside the savant, it would not be long before they realized the extraordinary limitation in the savant’s magical arsenal—as well as perhaps their increased proficiency with what few spells they do know (a wizard capable of launching more than five Magic Missiles at once is highly unusual).

Some wizards look down upon or even openly ridicule colleagues that follow the path of the savant, unable to understand their preoccupation with spells that are often of seemingly low power, but wiser and more experienced mages know that the savant is no less a spellcaster than any other wizard.

Alignment: The path of the savant requires natural discipline and single-minded determination to an even greater extent than most wizards, so chaotically-aligned savants are almost unheard of, though they can exist. Good and evil savants are equally represented.

Religion: Savants revere all the same gods as wizards do, as they are much the same.

Background: All savants tend to begin their studies as any other wizard does, but most tend to display the fixated quality of their truest calling very quickly. Savants are not officially organized as a subgroup of wizards, and do not necessarily realize that there is any real distinction between themselves and other wizards. Teachers that find themselves schooling an up-and-coming savant are often frustrated by their pupil’s refusal to follow the standard course of training, but they may in the end be impressed by what their student has learned to do in the mean-time.

Races: Most savants are humans. Elves tend to find the ways of the savant far too tedious and shortsighted, and dwarves as well, though both races can appreciate the savant’s discipline. Gnomes and halflings are also put off by the savant’s area of expertise, finding their single-mindedness comic at best.

Other Classes: Savants find themselves in common most with sorcerers and warlocks, though they still have the passion for books and arcane lore that wizards possess. Non-spellcasting classes rarely differentiate between savants and normal wizards.

Role: The savant’s intense specialization allows him to cast spells of far greater potency than arcanists of equal level. Savants excel at both dealing damage and making sure that spells are successful, meaning that they are invaluable in situations where failure is not an option.

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9^th
1^st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Familiar, Unlimited Potential, Path of the Savant, Savant Secret	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2^nd	+1	+0	+0	+3		4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3^rd	+1	+1	+1	+3		4	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4^th	+2	+1	+1	+4		4	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5^th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Savant Secret	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6^th	+3	+2	+2	+5		4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
7^th	+3	+2	+2	+5		4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
8^th	+4	+2	+2	+6		4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
9^th	+4	+3	+3	+6		4	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
10^th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Savant Secret	4	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-
11^th	+5	+3	+3	+7		4	4	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-
12^th	+6	+4	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-
13^th	+6	+4	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	-	-
14^th	+7	+4	+4	+9		4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	-	-
15^th	+7	+5	+5	+9	Savant Secret	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	-
16^th	+8	+5	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	-
17^th	+8	+5	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1
18^th	+9	+6	+6	+11		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2
19^th	+9	+6	+6	+11		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3
20^th	+10	+6	+6	+12	Savant Secret	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Game Rule Information

Abilities: Intelligence determines how powerful a spell a savant can cast, how many spells he can cast per day, and how hard those spells are to resist. Savants also have great use for Dexterity and Constitution, providing them with much-needed AC, bonuses to ranged touch attacks, and hit points.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d4.

Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Knowledge, Profession, and Spellcraft.

Skill Points at 1^st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Savant Spells Known

Level	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1^st	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2^nd	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3^rd	2	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4^th	2	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5^th	2	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6^th	2	3	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
7^th	2	3	2	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
8^th	2	3	2	2	2	-	-	-	-	-
9^th	2	3	2	2	2	1	-	-	-	-
10^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	-	-	-	-
11^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	1	-	-	-
12^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	-	-	-
13^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	-	-
14^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	-	-
15^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	-
16^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	-
17^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1
18^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
19^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
20^th	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Savants are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a savant’s movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.

Spells: A savant casts arcane spells from the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list. A savant must choose and prepare his spells ahead of time. To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, a savant must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level.

Familiar: A savant can have a familiar just as a wizard or sorcerer can.

Unlimited Potential (Ex): Though savants are familiar with very few spells, they are extraordinarily skilled with those they do know. Firstly, savants never suffer level caps on the effects of their spells. For instance, a savant’s Fireball continues to increase in damage dice after 10^th level, so that for instance a 14^th level savant could deal 14d6 points of damage with the spell. Likewise, a savant casting Dispel Magic could a modifier higher than +10. In essence, the savant maximizes and often exceeds the normal potential of the magic he uses.

Secondly, a savant always calculates the saving throw for a spell as if he were casting the highest level of spell that he is capable of. So a 5^th level savant casting Charm Person would calculate the save DC as 13 + Intelligence modifier, as he can cast 3^rd level spells.

If a character has levels in both Savant and another class, only spells he learned as a savant benefit from the Unlimited Potential ability.

Path of the Savant: The complete focus on the savant on very specific areas of magic brings along with it some practical drawbacks.

First, savants cannot specialize in schools the way other wizards do, as they already are specialized in their own way.

Secondly, savants cannot learn spells from scrolls. Savants are too busy studying and re-studying the spells they already know to even consider bothering with a completely new spell out of the curriculum they have set for themselves. Savants learn new spells only when they are ready to do so, and no sooner. This does not affect the savant’s ability to cast a spell off the scroll (or any other magic item), but the savant doesn’t get to apply his Unlimited Potential ability to spells cast off of items unless he knows the spell.

Note that a savant can learn new spells through feats, such as Extra Spell.

Savant Secret (Ex): At 1^st, 5^th, 10^th, 15^th, and 20^th level, the savant makes the breakthrough necessary to cast a certain spell at a level of efficiency and power that exceeds all other mages. The savant chooses one spell that he knows, and gains a +2 bonus to his caster level, the save DC, spell resistance checks, and a +2 bonus to the DC to determine whether or not the spell can be dispelled. These bonuses stack with all other feats and abilities that the savant may possess.

If the savant so chooses, he may apply his savant secret to a spell more than once, stacking the benefits each time he does so.

The Epic Savant

Savant Level	Special
21^st	-
22^nd	-
23^rd	Bonus Feat
24^th	-
25^th	-
26^th	Bonus Feat
27^th	-
28^th	-
29^th	Bonus Feat
30^th	-
31^st	-
32^nd	Bonus Feat
33^rd	-
34^th	-
35^th	Bonus Feat
36^th	-
37^th	-
38^th	Bonus Feat
39^th	-
40^th	-

Epic Savant Bonus Feat List: Augmented Alchemy, Automatic Quicken Spell, Automatic Silent Spell, Automatic Still Spell, Combat Casting, Craft Epic Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Epic Rod, Craft Epic Staff, Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Efficient Item Creation, Epic Savant Secret, Epic Spell Focus, Epic Spell Penetration, Epic Spellcasting, Familiar Spell, Forge Epic Ring, Ignore Material Components, Improved Combat Casting, Improved Heighten Spell, Improved Metamagic, Improved Spell Capacity, Intensify Spell, Multispell, Permanent Emanation, Scribe Epic Scroll, Spell Focus, Spell Knowledge, Spell Mastery, Spell Penetration, Spell Stowaway, Spell Opportunity, Spontaneous Spell, Tenacious Magic.

Epic Savant Secret

The character achieves god-like proficiency in a spell.

Prerequisites: Five Savant Secrets.

Benefit: The savant gains a new savant secret.

Special: A character can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.

Building A Character: The Specifics

All characters begin as members of the Arcane Covenant, either by virtue of being wizards or their citizenry.

I. Ability Score Generation

Characters start with 72 ability points, to divide as they see fit among their six ability scores—with some exceptions.

1) A character can have no more than two scores that are below 8 (before racial modifiers).

2) A character cannot have a score beyond a natural 18. The only way to circumvent this is through racial ability modifiers and through the use of bonus ability points based on level.

Because of the character’s starting level (see below), he gets five bonus ability points to place wherever the player wishes. This brings the total ability points that you can spend to 77.

II. Races

All of the standard races are available for play. Furthermore, all of the races in the Forgotten Realms campaign guide and the Expanded Psionics Handbook are also available, subject to my approval (no non-humanoids allowed).

This campaign does not use Savage Species. If you want to play a monster or use a template, follow the rules for doing so in the 3.5E Monster Manual after seeking out my approval.

III. Character Class and Levels

Barbarian, Cleric, Sorcerer, and Warlock as character classes are disallowed in Council of Mages. Druids are not recommended. Most paladins are lawful neutral or lawful evil. All wizards are specialist wizards, except in the case of war mages, wu jen, and savants.

Prestige classes are available, assuming that your character meets the requirements. You may select prestige classes from all the books listed in Part V.

You may not pick prestige classes that rely heavily on material from other campaign worlds without adjusting them to suit this one. Red wizards, for instance, are allowed in this campaign world, but they are obviously not from Thay—nor do they necessarily have to be ruthless and evil.

IV. Character Hit Points

All characters get maximum hit points per hit die.

V. Feats, Skills, and Spells

There are obviously far more feats in the d20 universe than are presented in the 3.5E Player’s Handbook. You may be wondering which books I have, and whether are not you can use a skill, feat, or spell that I do not have. As of this writing, I have the following books that include new skills, spells, or feats:

Arms & Equipment Guide

Book of Exalted Deeds

Book of Vile Darkness

Deities & Demigods

Epic Level Handbook

Expanded Psionics Handbook

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting

Ghostwalk

Libris Mortis

Manual of the Planes

Oriental Adventures

Races of Faerun

Masters of the Wild

Sword & Fist

Tome & Blood

Characters can take Leadership as a feat, but they cannot take Landlord until at least 21^st level.

A Mage’s Spells

Each wizard selects one Path (a school of magic) that he specializes in. The wizard may learn any spell that is in his Path, even ones that do not appear on the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list (in the case of a spell that appears on multiple lists at different spell levels, you may use the lowest level).

A wizard may never learn or cast spells with an alignment descriptor opposite to his own. For instance, a good evoker can never use Blasphemy.

Any spell selected must be from the WotC books. Third party spells (and feats, for that matter) are not acceptable.

This campaign uses the Recharge Magic variant appearing in Unearthed Arcana.

Finally, all spells are considered arcane.

Players can also choose to play druids. In addition to his normal spell list, a druid also chooses one energy descriptor that he can cast (Acid, Cold, Fire, etc). The druid can then cast any spell with that descriptor as if it appeared on his spell list.

VI. Alignment and Description

Your character can be of any alignment. Note that Covenant society is predominantly oriented towards lawful evil.

Set whatever height, weight, and age for your character that you feel like.

VII. Starting Equipment

Characters begin with 760,000 gold pieces worth of equipment. Whatever isn’t spent on buying initial equipment is kept in the character’s possession.

You can use your spending money to buy magical items. Note that you cannot begin with any single item that is worth more than 500,000 gold.

Any scroll that you buy at character creation is automatically considered to be a spell that your character knows.

A character cannot begin with any sort of golem or other minion unless he has a class feature or feat that allows it. All such creatures must be built or recruited during the actual game.

You may begin play with the “Cheap Keep” (70,000 gp) as described in the Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook. Funds cannot be combined at character creation to build larger strongholds.

Note: Do not bother buying food or other rations. Worry about encumbrance only if your character’s Strength is lower than most others, or if you have an enormous amount of equipment.

VIII. Unearthed Arcana Variant Rules

This section is important only for those of you who have the Unearthed Arcana supplement and are interested in using it. The rest of you can safely ignore it.

Listed below are the rules variants that I allow in the campaigns, along with any comments as to how these rules can be used in the campaign, as necessary.

You may use:

-Environmental Racial Variants. Exceptions: No aquatic or elemental-based race variants.

-Bloodlines. Exception: No vampire bloodlines. Undead creatures that drain energy through their merest touch simply cannot bear offspring with living creatures, or other undead, period. Dead things can’t have babies.

-Traits. Your character may have two traits, and no more. A trait will go on the feat section of your character sheet, with the indication that it is a trait. For instance, if I took the Polite trait, I would list it as Polite (Trait).

-Character Flaws. You may have a maximum of only one flaw in this campaign. A flaw will go on the feat section of your character sheet, with the indication that it is a flaw. For instance, if I took the Meager Fortitude flaw, I would list it as Meager Fortitude (Flaw).

-Craft Points.

-Metamagic Components.

IX. How Much Do I Have To Know About D&D Before I Can Participate in the Campaign?

This campaign requires players who are familiar and confident in their ability with the 3.5 system. Experience in playing a wizard will be important for players who want to do it here. Because the campaign will go into the epic levels at some point, players should have at the very least the 3.5E Dungeon Master’s Guide, but it is also strongly recommended that they have the Epic Level Handbook.

X. House Rules

Not everything is as the game designers intended it to be. Most of the rules that I have changed, if not all of them, are ones that annoy me to no end.

1) Concerning Miracle and Wish—you may only use these spells once per day each.

2) True Resurrection, and similarly powerful magic, will only work under the following conditions:

A) You are within 100 feet of the place in which the person died.

OR

B) You have at least a small part of the body, even if it is disintegrated.

Furthermore, if you do not have the material components, you must pay 2,000 XP to raise someone with True Resurrection.

For each successive time that you attempt to resurrect the same creature, you add another 25,000 gp to the material cost (or 2,000 XP). For instance, raising a person for the second time would cost 50,000 gp or 4,000 XP.

There is a 5% chance of spell failure on the second resurrection attempt, which increases cumulatively by 1% for each successive casting of the spell on the same person. Should the spell fail, the gold and experience is still lost. Even if the spell fails, it can be attempted again on the same person, but the chance of spell failure increases by 1%.

Deceased creatures whose souls descend into the Lower Planes may have their souls captured by the denizens of those planes, as they value souls as sources of power. Such creatures cannot be resurrected unless their souls are somehow released from their eternal bondage.

3) All arcane and divine spell-casters gain use of the Heighten Spell feat for free. I have thought about this heavily and decided that it would not give any intrinsic advantage to spell-casters. After all, a 6th-level Lightning Bolt is still not as good as a 6th-level Chain Lightning; in fact, it’s not even close. Note that this free feat does not count when you are determining whether or not you have the prerequisites for other feats. For instance, if you wanted another metamagic feat that required you to have two other metamagic feats before you bought it, then you’d have to have two metamagic feats besides Heighten Spell.

4) A tower shield grants a +4 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to Reflex saves due to the cover it gives, just to be specific.

5) Regarding negative hit point counts; before reaching Level 11, you are considered dying, but still alive, when you are between -1 and -9 hit points. However, starting at Level 11, the amount of negative hit points you can sustain before dying increases. The negative number at which the character dies is equal to his level—for instance, a 19th level character dies at -19 hit points. This is an optional rule found in the Epic Level Handbook, and it’s used here.

6) Spells never require material components. However, if you use the listed material components when casting the spell, you may get a +1 caster level bonus, depending on how rare the components are. Note that you will still need a focus if the spell calls for one, which in most cases is obvious. For instance, Magic Weapon isn’t of much use without a weapon.

7) Contrary to what the new 3.5E versions of the feats say, Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus still add 2 to the saving throw DCs of spells.

8) Don’t bother with buying travel rations. The characters are assumed to be capable of feeding themselves, and these expenses are so negligible that I don’t even factor them in. However, if the characters are isolated from a food source for an extended period (such as if a monster held them in a cage for three weeks), they would obviously risk starvation if it doesn’t want to feed them.

9) You can easily create your own spells as you progress in level. However, your character needs to have access to a “base spell” in order to create one similar to it. For instance, if your character already knew Fireball, then he could eventually develop an Iceball spell that has the same effect, except for the damage source.

Then again, the Iceball might have variant effects that a Fireball would not have. While a Fireball burns clothing and the like, an Iceball might Slow afflicted targets for 1 round on a failed saving throw, or cause brief damage to their Dexterity scores; all as a result of the overwhelming, freezing pain of being blasted with pure cold. The point is, be inventive if you can.

10) All familiars can speak Common, as well as the racial tongue of their master, where applicable. Also, you don’t have to have a familiar.

11) Stat-boosting wondrous items (Gloves of Dexterity, Headbands of Intellect) do not all have to be identical in both garment type and function. For instance, you may have a Periapt of Intellect instead of a Periapt of Wisdom. There are, however, limitations to this rule. The following items can have the following stat boosts:

-Headband, Hat, Helmet, or Head Phylactery: Int, Wis, or Cha

-Goggles: Int or Wis

-Amulet, Brooch, Medallion, Necklace, Periapt, or Scarab: Any Ability Score

-Belt: Str or Con

-Robe or Cape: Dex or Cha

-Bracers or Bracelets: Str or Con

-Gloves or Gauntlets: Str or Dex

-Ring: Any Ability Score (Counts as a Ring, not a Wondrous Item)

-Boots or Shoes: Dex

As usual, these items provide enhancement bonuses to their respective ability scores, and these enhancement bonuses do not stack.

The price of any stat-boosting item, as you may have noticed from extensive reading, is the ability bonus squared, times 1,000. For instance, an item that gives a +4 bonus to Strength is worth 16,000 gp. Use this pricing system when determining the cash value of your starting items.

12) Magical robes can provide enhancement bonuses to AC just as armor can. However, the price of such an item is 1,000 gp greater than the amount given on Table 7-2 in the 3.5E Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 216). For instance, a +5 Robe would cost 26,000 gp, not 25,000 gp. Furthermore, a robe may not have any special qualities; only an enhancement bonus to AC. Making a magical robe of this type requires the Craft Magical Arms and Armor feat.

13) The Dodge feat works differently. With it you gain a permanent +1 Dodge bonus to your armor class, which applies against every foe, not just one that you specify. This change has been made in light of the fact that I hardly ever remember to apply the Dodge bonus to AC otherwise, and to make the feats that have Dodge as a prerequisite a little more rewarding. As usual, Dodge bonuses stack.

14) Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, and Improved Critical now work differently in terms of what weapons benefit from those feats when you get them. Instead of applying to one weapon, the feats apply to an entire group of weapons—for instance, a character with Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades) gets a +1 bonus to hit with longswords, greatswords, falchions, scimitars, and bastard swords.

In the case of exotic weapons, you get the bonus, but you must also still get Exotic Weapon Proficiency with that weapon to use it to its full extent. For instance, having Weapon Focus (Axes) does not automatically make you able to use a dwarven war-axe in one hand. In the case of an exotic weapon that can’t be used at all without incurring a –4 penalty, this penalty is reduced to –3 if it appears in your group and you don’t have proficiency in it.

The weapon groups are:

Axes. Handaxe, battleaxe, greataxe, dwarven waraxe, throwing axe.

Basic. Club, dagger, quarterstaff.

Bows. Shortbow, longbow, composite shortbow, composite longbow.

Claw Weapons. Punching dagger, spiked gauntlet.

Crossbows. Hand crossbow, Heavy crossbow, light crossbow, repeating heavy crossbow, repeating light crossbow.

Druid. Club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, scimitar, sickle, short-spear, sling, spear.

Double-Weapons. Orc double axe, dwarven urgrosh, dire flail, two-bladed sword, gnome hooked hammer.

Flails and Chains. Heavy flail, light flail.

Heavy Blades. Longsword, greatsword, falchion, scimitar, bastard sword.

Light Blades. Dagger, punching dagger, rapier, short sword.

Maces and Clubs. Club, light mace, heavy mace, greatclub, quarterstaff, sap.

Monk. Kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, siangham.

Picks and Hammers. Light pick, heavy pick, light hammer, warhammer, scythe, maul.

Polearms. Glaive, guisarme, halberd, ranseur.

Slings/Thrown. Dagger, dart, sling, throwing axe.

Spears/Lances. Javelin, lance, longspear, short-spear, trident.

15) Special psionic rules:

-Dispel Magic has a diminished effect on psionic powers, while Dispel Psionics has a diminished effect on magic. When making a dispel check against the opposing energy, the check is assessed a –4 penalty.

-Spell resistance works against psionic powers, and power resistance works against spells, though against the opposing energy, the resistance is considered to be 10 lower than its actual value. Thus, a dragon with SR 25 has PR 15.

16) Ancestor feats from Oriental Adventures are available to anyone who wants them, but you are limited to either taking them at 1^st level, or taking only one, and no more. Also note that Oriental adventures spells are available.

17) Absolutely no ascetic characters. That means no Vow of Poverty. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I don’t want to hear it.