Aryx's Almanac of Unusual Magic

Magic gives mortals the power to change the laws of the world, even if only temporarily. A force like that can be expressed in hundreds of different ways; some more unusual than others. In this almanac, we explore the unusual. Mages, clerics, sorcerers, and warlocks, can all be tossed aside; they are far too common for us to be concerned with. Interested? Then let us continue.

The Almanac is a 56-page treatise on new and unusual magic. Within the pages of the Almanac, you will find four new kinds of magic, each of which uses magic in new and exciting ways:

• Dwarven earthforgers inherit an ancient tradition allowing them to draw on the spark of the divine found in all creation to power their magic.
• Gnomish alchemists are experimenters whose concoctions range from ‘helpful and safe’ to ‘incredibly poisonous’.
• Terran engineers are scientists and builders from another time, whose inventions and tinkering certainly appear magical to most non-technological societies.
• Warlords draw on the chaotic energy of battle, taming it with their practiced tactics and leadership to ensure that their side wins.

All of these classes use variants on ceremonial magic, introduced in the Heroic Fantasy Handbook. Three of them use eldritch magic, and many of the spells on their spell lists are described in that book. The fourth (the dwarven earth-forger) uses a new kind of magic, gnostic magic, which relies on using the power in existing materials and can have terrible effects should a practitioner try to avoid that requirement.

Every campaign is a law unto itself, and you as Judge can include as many or as few of the elements of the Almanac in your campaign as you desire. Each class is entirely self-contained, and none of them rely on the addition of any of the others. Because they use eldritch magic, the new spells (and tactics) described for the gnomish alchemist, the Terran engineer, and the warlord constitute more than one hundred new eldritch spells usable in any campaign that includes eldritch magic, even one that doesn’t include any of these new classes.

Of course, full builds for all of the classes and spells, and the source factors for gnostic magic, are included as well, allowing you to build your own content to expand what’s in the Almanac. Build your own gnostic spellcasters, or use the additional spell design factors to create your own new spells. Even in a book that’s largely new player options with these new and exciting classes and spells, we include something for the Judges out there. Magic is all around you. Are you a forger of creation, an engineer of wonder, an alchemist of the unknown, or a lord of war? Discover what kind of unusual magic speaks to you, with the help of this Almanac!

So what do you actually get in the Almanac? Let's take a closer look!

The first class in the Almanac is the dwarven earth-forger. The earth-forger uses gnostic magic, which channels the power inherent in existing materials to create effects. Their spells known are represented uniquely as invocations. Each invocation is a single coherent theme that can be performed at multiple levels, gaining in power as it goes higher level. To see what they look like, here's the Invocation of the Mountain's Bones, as performed at first or second level.

Invocation of the Mountain’s Bones Range: Touch (120’)
Gnostic 1 Duration: Indefinite

You summon forth a rushing wall of stone. You must touch an area of material of cubic footage at least equal to the cubic footage of the shape you wish to create, of either worked or unworked stone or earth. The stone you touch reshapes itself into the wall you create, covering a maximum of 500 square feet with a thickness of one foot. When drawing material from an area of greater than 500 cubic feet, the material drawn will be drawn in as close to a shallow square or circle on its surface as possible. The caster may not choose how to draw the material away, and may not shape it into pits and the like. (For example, a caster touches the stone wall of a cave. The Judge knows that this wall is part of a major cave system and has effectively infinite cubic footage for this purpose. The caster chooses to create an effect of 500 cubic feet; the material drawn creates a cylindrical depression in the wall 30’ in radius and 2 inches deep, centered on the point where the effect extends from the cave wall.)

The created wall may not reach more than 120’ away from you. You may send the wall to strike a single creature at the end of the wall as it forms. The chosen creature suffers 1d6 points of damage unless they successfully save versus Blast; they suffer no damage on a successful saving throw. The wall may be evoked where creatures already are. Creatures who are within the area of the wall as it forms must save versus Blast; on a failed saving throw, they are forced out of the wall’s area, to one side or the other of their choice. On a successful save, they may choose to stand atop the wall or to move to one side or the other of their choice. The created wall will last indefinitely, until dispelled or destroyed. The wall may be crudely shaped, to create blunt spikes, a fist, or similar features if the caster desires. The area must be reduced by half, but if this is done, the remaining 250 square feet of wall may take on whatever crudely shaped form the caster desires. If not shaped, the wall will always be a rectangular form.

Level 2: The maximum area of the wall increases to 1,000 square feet. The maximum distance from you it can reach increases to 240’.

The Invocation of the Mountain's Bones can also be performed at higher levels, continuing to gain in power as it grows in level. For example, if cast at 4^th level, the wall created will be 1,000 square feet, with a thickness of 5’, able to reach 240’ from the caster and dealing 5d6 damage (on a failed saving throw) to up to 1 creature + 1 creature per 5 levels of the caster. An earth-forger may not know a lot of invocations, but each invocation is extremely flexible and can be tailored to what the situation needs! The Invocation of the Mountain's Bones is one of three invocations available in the Almanac, along the Invocation of the Eternal Forge and the Invocation of the Maker's Fire, each Invocation taught to earth-forgers as part of their Sigil of Creation. Of course, invocations aren’t the only kind of gnostic magic available to the dwarven earth-forger; but we’ll talk more about that in future updates.

The second class in the Almanac is the gnomish alchemist, a ceremonialist who performs gnomish alchemy ceremonies in the alchemical tradition. Ceremonial magic was introduced in the Heroic Fantasy Handbook. What does it mean to perform gnomish alchemy ceremonies? Let’s take a look at the core elements of gnomish alchemy.

Gnomish Alchemy is a kind of eldritch magic. It has all of the same source factors as eldritch magic, and can cast all of the same spells that any eldritch spellcaster can. They may, however, fall into different categories. Gnomish alchemists work with magic at a state further removed than even an ordinary eldritch spellcaster does, which protects them from some of the corrupting aspects that such magic can hold. However, their reagents are not always safe, and the repeated exposure required to generate certain effects can build up toxicity over time, even if they appear to be benign in smaller doses.

Note that the name Gnomish Alchemy does not imply that this type of magic is restricted to gnomes only. Indeed, some of its foremost practitioners in history have been humans who threw themselves into it wholeheartedly. It was simply invented by gnomes. Gnomish Alchemy may be used as a class category value, with XP costs and abilities identical to Eldritch or Ceremonial Value (as appropriate), except as described here.

Instead of spells being Black, Grey, or White, gnomish alchemy spells are Toxic, Tolerable, or Safe. Whenever a Toxic spell is learned, the gnomish alchemist gains a number of points of Toxicity equal to the spell’s level. Whenever a gnomish alchemist casts a Toxic spell, they gain 1 Toxicity. This includes creating or recharging a trinket, or creating a talisman that would aid casting Toxic spells; in other words, exactly the same circumstances that Black magic spells would cause an eldritch caster to gain Corruption.

Whenever a gnomish alchemist casts a Tolerable spell, they may gain Toxicity. A gnomish alchemist may safely cast a number of Tolerable spells equal to their Constitution bonus. After that, they must save vs Poison each time they cast a Tolerable spell, gaining 1 Toxicity on a failure. Whenever gnomish alchemists recover Stigma, they also reset this count, and may safely cast a few Tolerable spells again. Again, recharging trinkets counts as casting spells for this purpose.

Casting Safe spells never causes a gnomish alchemist to gain Toxicity.

When a gnomish alchemist has gained points of Toxicity equal to their Constitution score, their alignment shifts one step towards Chaotic as they become more and more lax about the required safety and ethics of their craft. When they accumulate twice their Constitution score in Toxicity, their alignment shifts a second step towards Chaotic. For each multiple of their Constitution score after this (three times, four times, etc.), they gain a corrupting weakness (HFH page 96). If desired, they may choose to gain a corrupting weakness instead of their alignment shifting, to represent a one-time spill rather than a general laxitude of ethics. Except as described here, Toxicity functions identically to Corruption for other eldritch casters.

As you can see, gnomish alchemy is familiar in many ways; but it’s also very different! The rules that gnomish alchemy uses to determine if a spell is Toxic, Tolerable, or Safe do not line up with the rules that eldritch magic uses to determine if a spell is Black, Grey, or White. As a result, gnomish alchemists might sometimes act similarly to eldritch spellcasters; but other times might not. Some things that are perfectly safe for eldritch spellcasters are horrifyingly dangerous for gnomish alchemists, and vice versa. Additionally, a gnomish alchemist doesn’t always have the same kind of confidence with Tolerable spells that an eldritch spellcaster can have with Grey magic. It doesn’t matter who your target is or what your intent is; using toxic chemicals can be dangerous!

All of the spell builds have been carefully calculated and made available for you to design new spells along these themes for your own campaign, making it easy to add gnomish alchemy spells into your campaign even if you don't use this class.

Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. That's the premise behind the third class in the Almanac, the Terran engineer. Terrans are a new playable race introduced in Barbarian Conqueror King. The Terran engineer's distinct mode of "spellcasting" is called jury-rigging, and through it they can achieve nearly-magical effects in real time. Like gnomish alchemy, Terran engineering is a kind of ceremonial eldritch magic, and follows many of the same rules; although also like gnomish alchemy, Terran engineering has its own rules that replace Corruption, and its own way for determining whether a spell is Hypothetical, Experimental, or Tested. Here's some example of the Terran engineer's "spells":

Flashbang Range: 90’
Terran Engineering 4 (Experimental), Eldritch 4 (Grey) Duration: 1 round

With a controlled explosion, the caster calls forth an enormous blast of light and sound. The flashbang detonates at a point the caster chooses within 90’. The detonation affects a sphere of 5’ radius; creatures within the area of effect must save versus Blast. On a failed saving throw, they suffer 4d8 damage, and they are blinded, deafened, and knocked prone. They remain blind and deaf for one round. On a successful saving throw, they suffer only half damage, and are not blind, deaf, or knocked down.

Jump Jet Range: Self
Terran Engineering 1 (Tested), Eldritch 1 (Grey) Duration: Instantaneous

With a jet of force, the caster is able to propel themselves in a direction of their choice, up to 20’. This spell does not guarantee a soft or safe landing; a caster who jets 20’ straight up had best have a plan for landing.

In addition, this spell is not efficient in its movement, and much of the force spills over. All creatures within a 5’ radius of the engineer’s starting point must save versus Blast or suffer 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per level of the caster, to a maximum of 3d4 nonlethal damage. Those who successfully save suffer only half damage.

Stun Bolt Range: 120’
Terran Engineering 1 (Tested), Eldritch 1 (Grey) Duration: Instantaneous

The caster, with assistance from their focusing devices, is able to fire one or more bolts of stunning power. The caster may fire one such bolt, plus one bolt for each five levels they have attained beyond first – two at 6^th level and three at 11^th level. Each bolt may target the same creature, or different creatures, as the caster desires.

Each bolt deals 1d10 nonlethal damage to the creature targeted, unerringly seeking them out so long as the caster can see them. A creature hit by one or more bolts may save versus Blast, halving the total damage taken on a success. (It is not necessary to make a saving throw versus each individual bolt.)

As you can see, these spells simulate effects that you might be familiar with from sources that are more science-based than fantasy-based. But like the spells of alchemy we talked about before, they are eldritch spells that can be learned by any eldritch spellcaster that you want in your campaign. It’s up to you. And just like the spells of alchemy, these are only a few of the new spells added for the Terran engineer! Just like the spells of alchemy, all of the spell builds have been carefully calculated and made available for you to design new spells along these themes for your own campaign. Here, for example, is the build for jump jet.

Jump Jet – Blast + Protection + Movement. 1d4 damage per level (20), max 3d (x0.33), 10’ diameter sphere (x1.25), range 0’ (x0.4), save for half (x0.75), instantaneous (x1), deals nonlethal damage (x1), eldritch (x1.5) subtotal 3.7125 plus Invulnerability to specific spell (Jet’s damage) (5), self (x0.75), instantaneous (x0.5) subtotal 1.875 plus Move target any direction 20’/round (40), instantaneous (x0.1), self (x0.75), subtotal 3, total 8.59

Many more scientific spells await you in the Almanac!

The final class in the Almanac is the warlord. A martial leader who takes to the battlefield, giving orders to their allies and controlling the tactics of the fight, their fundamental power in this regard is their ability to learn and perform battlefield tactics. This excerpt talks a little bit about how they do that.

To successfully perform a battlefield tactic, a warlord must declare their intent to do so before rolling initiative, as if casting a spell. If the warlord suffers any damage before their initiative occurs, they automatically fail in their attempt. The warlord must possess implements of command in order to perform a tactic. These implements of command must have a value equal to the value of traditional implements of a level equal to the warlord’s tactic level. (For example, a 6^th-level warlord has a tactic level of 2. They must possess implements of command worth at least 100 gp.) Implements of command may be items such as a scepter, a sword, a crown, a uniform, a badge, or any other type of item traditionally associated with authority and command. If the warlord does not possess these implements, the tactic automatically fails. If the tactic does not automatically fail, the warlord must make a tactic throw, as listed on their progression table below. A roll of 1-3 on a tactic throw automatically fails, regardless of the target number or any modifiers.

On a success, the tactic is successfully performed and its effects are applied as described in the tactic description. On a failure (whether automatic or as a result of rolling below the target number), the warlord’s allies lose confidence in the warlord’s commands. A warlord has a maximum confidence threshold equal to their tactic level. The warlord’s confidence threshold is reduced by 1 each time they fail to perform a tactic. If their confidence threshold reaches zero, they may no longer perform tactics until they can renew their allies’ confidence in them. A warlord can recover their confidence threshold by spending 8 hours resting and then 1 hour engaged in writing, preparing, practicing, or giving rousing speeches for their comrades, polishing and restoring their command implements, and so on. When a warlord recovers their confidence threshold, it is restored to its maximum value.

Using their battlefield tactics, the warlord can order their allies to charge, to form a shield wall, to keep their morale up, to focus arrow fire, or many other things. The warlord’s tactics will grow in power as the warlord gains levels, ranging from their Apprentice effect to their Grand Master effect. These effects can be very useful and swing the tide of a battle; but warlords must be careful not to let their allies lose their confidence in the warlord. Once their allies lose confidence, the warlord’s tactics will not be reflexively obeyed, and it will no longer be possible to take advantage of them in the same way. Like a spellcaster, a warlord must be careful not to be disrupted while they give orders; a tactical command interrupted by the warlord grunting and coughing out blood will miss vital information!

The Almanac is already written, edited, and laid out in art-free format. The cover, by Michael Syrigos, is ready to go. As soon as the book funds, you'll immediately get a PDF with the complete text. By crowdfunding the book, you will help us fill its pages with beautiful artwork that will make it a beautiful addition to your collection.

Here's the details on the Almanac:

• Approximately 56 pages
• 8.5" x 11" softcover and hardcover
• 4 new character classes
• 60 never-before-seen spells
• 15 pieces of original artwork
• Compatible with ACKS, LOTFP, LL, S&W, and other D20 OSR RPGs

All rewards will be delivered through DriveThruRPG. If your pledge includes a PDF, you'll receive the PDF straight to your DTRPG account. If your pledge includes a print-on-demand coupon, you'll receive a coupon to print the rule book at cost. You'll be required to pay for any shipping, taxes, and import duties separately. Your POD rewards will be shipped directly to you from the printer.

What if we meet our goal? Then we level up and make the Almanac even more awesome!

• Heroes of the Almanac unlocks at $ 10,000

  If we reach $10,000 we will add four pregenerated 9th level NPCs to the book. There'll be one Dwarven Earth-Forger, one Gnomish Alchemist, one Terran Engineer, and one Warlord, with name, backstory, and equipment, ready for use as an antagonist in your campaign. The NPCs will be designed in collaboration with our Demigod backers.

  
• Polychromatic Pages unlocks at $ 15,000

  If we reach $15,000 we will upgrade all art in the book from black-and-white to full color. Emperor and Demigod backers will enjoy commissioning full-color artwork, and everyone will enjoy lush, beautiful images to accompany the marvelous magic of the Almanac.

  

• Adventurer For $ 10

  At Adventurer you receive the 56-page PDF of the Almanac. Your name will be listed in the credits as an "Adventurer" with our thanks.

• Conqueror For $ 15

  At Conqueror you receive both the 56-page PDF and an at-cost coupon for a softcover POD version from DriveThruRPG. (You will have to pay the cost for printing and shipping your softcover book when you redeem the coupon.) Your name will be listed as a "Conqueror" in the credits with our gratitude.

• King For $ 20

  At King you receive both the PDF book and the softcover POD coupon, as well as an at-cost coupon for a hardcover POD version as well. This hardcover version will only be available to crowdfunding backers. (You will have to pay the cost of printing and shipping your books on DriveThruRPG when you redeem the coupons.) And of course your name will be listed as "King" in the credits. Majestic!

• Emperor For $ 125

  At Emperor, you get all the perks of the King. In addition, you also get to commission a quarter-page illustration in the book. And of course your name will be listed as "Emperor" in the credits. Imperiously awesome!

• Demigod For $ 250

  At Demigod you get all the perks of the King. In addition, you also get to commission a half-page illustration in the book. And of course your name will be worshipfully listed as "Demigod" in the credits. You're the answer to our prayers!

• Arbitrarily Powerful Deity For $ 500

This project has little risk. The Almanac is already written and laid out; DriveThruRPG is handling fulfillment, we anticipate that delivery of this project will be very smooth; and Autarch LLC has now successfully delivered over a dozen crowdfunded projects to backers - and never failed to deliver a reward! Our last project on GameOn Tabletop we turned around faster than any project we've done before and we anticipate that this project will enjoy equally smooth delivery.