[Mechanics] Characters

[Aeternis]

Characters

An Agarthan mortal is not necessarily comparable to his counterpart in another setting. When building characters for "City of Eternity" games, please refer to the following changes to the usual options.

[Aeternis]

A player may select one of the following alignments when building a character. Note the alignment restrictions imposed on certain character classes.

Alignment	Allies With	Neutral To	Opposes	Description
Arbitration	All	None	None	Arbitration sees fault in none and plays no favorites. This path seeks to balance the interests of all other paths in reaching a decision that satisfies the most parties.
Asceticism	None	Arbitration	All	Asceticism finds fault in all, and opposes the extreme philosophies of all. Asceticism where possible avoids falling into any of the other alignment paths' "traps", and actively works so that the end result of its actions does not disrupt the careful balance between all paths. Most ascetics believe that if one path is to gain prevalence, the world will be destabilized and come to ruin.
Freedom	Glory, Individuality	Power, Trickery	Machination, Structure	Freedom exists to oppose restrictions on thinking beings imposed by forces outside themselves. It is a philosophy of (at the extreme) anarchy, but for most who have this alignment it is the philosophy of rebellion against what's seen as unjust authority.
Glory	Freedom, Power	Structure, Individuality	Machination, Trickery	Glory is the path of fame and fortune, the path of making a name for oneself by the most direct means possible. Glory devotees are straightforward - they seek to write their names in stone by the openly performed acts that they do. Many Glory devotees seek to make their names by martial prowess, but this is not the only form the Glory alignment takes.
Individuality	Freedom, Trickery	Glory, Machination	Power, Structure	Individuality is a creed that emphasizes the value of an individual acting alone, on his own instincts, or pursuing his own goals. Individualists believe that the path to true meaning lies not in serving a greater cause, but in serving one's own interests or whims.
Machination	Structure, Trickery	Individuality, Power	Freedom, Glory	Machination is the path of the chess player, using manipulations of others and he environment to pursue a long-term goal that might seem far off to others. This creed finds most value in pursuing long-term plans and achieving them, especially when opposed.
Power	Glory, Structure	Freedom, Machination	Individuality, Trickery	The only thing that matters to a Power devotee is, well, power. Power over others, over oneself, and over the environment. Power, for them, provides meaning.
Structure	Machination, Power	Glory, Trickery	Freedom, Individuality	Structure devotees prefer society and their lives to be well-ordered. The preferred structure is one self-imposed, but outwardly imposed structure (to the extent that tyranny is far preferable to unstructured life) is often used by those that follow this path as a means of training people to impose their own structures.
Trickery	Individuality, Machination	Freedom, Structure	Glory, Power	The philosophy of con-artists and other ne'er-do-wells, the path of Trickery finds the most meaning in outsmarting or out-maneuvering an opponent, especially a more powerful one, and getting away with it.
Unaligned	None	All	None	This is not so much an alignment as a catch-all for entities that fall under no alignment category. Animals, simpletons, and other creatures not associated with any mindset fall into this category.

[Aeternis]

Except where here specified, class features of all Pathfinder RPG classes function exactly as seen in the Pathfinder source books and the Pathfinder SRD. If a feat or variant grants class features that are altered by this ruleset, the granted features are the mofdified ones and not the original.

Most of the changes relate to weapon groupings and alignment changes, though some classes (most notably Paladins) are more appreciably altered.

Class	Feature	Change Description
Barbarian	Alignment Restriction	A Barbarian cannot choose from the following alignments: Structure, Machination, Asceticism, or Arbitration.
Druid	Alignment Restriction	A Druid cannot choose from the following alignments: Structure, Machination, Trickery, or Arbitration.
Druid	Weapon/Armor Restrictions	Just as druids cannot wear metal armor or shields, they cannot use gunpowder based weapons. If a druid fires a gun, he or she loses all druid spells and spell-like abilities for 24 hours. Urban Druids are exempt from this specific restriction.
Fighter	Weapon Training	Remove "Firearms" as a weapon group that Fighters can select Weapon Training in and add the following categories: "One-handed Modern Firearms", "Two-handed Modern firearms", "Antique Firearms", and "Special Firearms" to the list of fighter weapon groups. An attack with a bayonet or pistol knife rigged to a firearm qualifies for the Weapon Training bonuses that firearm qualifies for. Alternately, a fighter may select "Bayonets" as a weapon group, but bonuses from two weapon groups on the same attack do not stack (use the higher one).
Gunslinger	Gunsmith	The Gunslinger's battered starting gun is a three-point firearm, constructed normally. The battered condition still applies, as does the sell value limit.
Gunslinger	Gun Training	When selecting a type of gun for Gun Training, the Gunslinger selects a form factor, a caliber, and either "normal" or "bolt action". All guns that match the chosen criteria qualify for the bonus granted by that Gun Training.
Inquisitor	Detect Alignment	An Inquisitor's detection ability highlights activity associated with the alignments opposed by his or her own, and reveals no additional information (though strong auras have the normal effect).
Inquisitor	Weapon Proficiencies	Just as Inquisitors are proficient with certain weapons such as the hand crossbow, they are similarly proficient with holdout pistols.
Monk	Alignment Restriction	A monk must choose from Arbitration, Asceticism, or Structure for his or her alignment.
Paladin	Alignment Restriction	A paladin must choose either Arbitration or Structure for his or her alignment. Each choice alters the effects of the Paladin's detect and smite abilities, as below.
Paladin	Detect [Arbitration]	Rather than casting Detect Evil at will as a move action, a Paladin of Arbitration may cast Detect Undead at will as a swift action and Know Alignment once per day per Paladin level as a move action.
Paladin	Detect [Structure]	Rather than casting Detect Evil at will as a move action, a Paladin of Arbitration may cast Detect Undead at will as a swift action and Detect Rebellion [Functions as "Detect Evil", but detects Individuality and Trickery alignments] at will as a move action.
Paladin	Smite [Arbitration]	Paladins of Arbitration replace "Smite Evil" with "Smite Combatant", and may use it on any living, Immortal, or Undead creature that does not have Arbitration as its alignment. A Paladin of Arbitration's smite ability, when focused on a living creature, converts all physical damage the Paladin deals to its designated target to nonlethal damage. Otherwise it functions as a normal "Smite Evil".
Paladin	Smite [Structure]	A Paladin of Structure replaces "Smite Evil" with "Smite Defiler", and may use this smite ability on Outsiders, Undead, and creatures aligned with Individuality or Trickery. Otherwise it functions as a normal "Smite Evil".
Ranger	Combat Style	In addition to the standard combat styles, the ranger may select the "sniper" combat style. This style allows the following feats: [2nd Level] Lie in Wait, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload (Guns), Far Shot, Greater Prone Shot, Sniper's Cunning, [6th Level] Point Blank Critical, Headshot, Line 'em Up, Bolt Action Mastery, Sniper's Perch, [10th Level] Potion Hunter, Bullet Disarm. Otherwise, this style works just as other combat styles do.
Ranger	Favored Enemy	Rather than selecting "Human" as a favored enemy (that is too broad in this setting), a ranger may select Darklings or Tekna as favored enemies. No Ranger can select standard humanity as a favored enemy.
Ranger	Favored Terrain	The favored terrains available in this setting can be chosen from the non-Agartha planes (each plane would be its own favored terrain) and the different Agarthan terrain categories presented here.
Rogue	Weapon Proficiencies	Holdouts are a martial weapon, but Rogues are also proficient with them in the same way they're proficient with short swords and certain other martial weapons.
Summoner	Eidolon	In addition to selecting a basic form of their Eidolon, a Summoner selects Celestial or Fiend as the base Immortal type for their Eidolon. The Eidolon is a greater Immortal who appears to the summoner in lesser form due to a pact between the two. For more information on how Eidolons work, see here.

[Aeternis]

The link at the end of this post will take you to the hosted sheet which lists all of the setting-specific feats, skills (including new uses of existing skills), and traits. These lists are not a replacement for the existing Pathfinder skills, feats, and traits, but a supplement, and especially in the case of the feats the "City of Eternity" feats often have prerequisites in the original feats.

It should be noted that none of this is designed to be balanced in the same way as the standard Pathfinder rule set - the setting rule set for "City of Eternity" games is designed to change the nature of combat in a rather big way.

In the case of the traits list, the setting-specific traits should provide more bonus per trait than the standard ones, and that's intended. This puts the "Extra traits" feat in play, both as a flavor option and as a power option, though it is hoped that you'll pick traits that make sense rather than traits that stack plusses the way you like. Your DM can and will nix traits that are perceived as not matching the character as portrayed.

Character Creation Options

[Aeternis]

Truly spectacular magical talents among Agarthan mortals are rare, and cultivated carefully, locked away within the Institute of the Arcane and trained to maximize their potential. After all, the growing world-city will need powerful magi and priests to maintain its infrastructure, which is based on powerful magic of the sort that only the greatest casters can perform. This sort of mortal doesn't have many adventures - it would be considered an insult to the rest of the world-city for them to be allowed to do so. Because of this, player characters in this setting may not use all of their advancement to gain magical talents - if they were so capable, they'd be safe in a lab somewhere in the world-city, working for the Institute of the Arcane (even clerics work for the Institute) or for one of the major religions.

Before you go all out building a Wizard/Cleric character for a game in "The City of Eternity", you should be warned that full-caster classes cannot make up more than half of a character progression (with the exception of first-level, non-gestalt characters). Furthermore, for each level of full-caster class a character has, a level of a non-magic-using class must be taken before the next level of the full-caster class can be attained.

Class variants and optimizations are taken into effect when determining whether or not a character class is a non-magic class, a partial-magic class, or a full-caster class, so a Skirmisher (ranger archetype without spells) counts as a non-magic class where a standard Ranger is considered partial-magic.

When a character is created at level 1 with no magical abilities, that character's player chooses one of three options concerning future magical talent: Latent Talent, Minor Talent, Unique Talent, or Magically Bereft, as below. Unless the character is determined to possess latent talent, they may never level up in any partial-magic or full-caster class.

Latent Talent: The character's magical talent has not been trained or realized. There is no immediate advantage to this option, but it leaves open the option to level up in a magical class at a later level.
Minor Talent: The character has a small but handy magical talent, and learns the use of two cantrips and one first-level spell, which must be drawn from the same type of magic (arcane or divine). They may cast their cantrips at will as a standard action, and may cast their first level spell as a standard action once per day per hit die.
Unique Talent: The character gains the use of a minor, unique special magical power defined by their player. The DM has veto and balancing power over these abilities, and should necessary to make them approximately as powerful or useful as a Minor Talent.
Magically Bereft: The character has no control over the flow of magic, and for this reason magic flows around them and it is slightly more difficult to harm them with magical effects. The character and adjacent characters (friend and foe) gain a +1 bonus to saves versus magic, but the bereft character must automatically attempt to resist all spells, including harmless ones. In addition, characters adjacent to a bereft character (again, friend and foe) suffer a -2 penalty on concentration checks made to successfully cast spells. When a bereft character reaches 8 hit dice, he or she qualifies for the Disruptive feat, even if he or she is not a fighter, and at 12 HD, the character qualifies for the Spellbreaker feat in the same way (though Spellbreaker still requires Disruptive).

 

X below notes a case where the base class that corresponds falls into the given category.
V below notes a case where the base class is not considered to be in this category but variants or class features may move the class to the marked category.

	Non-Magic	Partial Magic	Full-Caster
Alchemist		X
Barbarian	X
Bard		X
Cavalier	X
Cleric		V	X
Druid			X
Fighter	X
Gunslinger	X
Inquisitor		X
Magus		X
Monk	V	X
Oracle			X
Paladin		X
Ranger	V	X
Rogue	X	V
Sorcerer			X
Summoner			X
Witch			X
Wizard			X
NPC CLASSES	-- --	-- --	-- --
Adept		X
Aristocrat	X
Commoner	X
Expert	X
Warrior	X

 

If a character created at level 1 has taken a level in a full-caster class, then they may not take another level of a partial magic or full-caster class until they take a level in an entirely non-magical class to balance it out. Similarly, if a character created at level 1 starts their career in a class considered partial magic, they may not progress into a full-caster class until they first take a level in a non-magic class to balance it out.

Changing classes from "non-magic" to "partial magic" or vice versa is unrestricted, and obviously a character can at any level stop progressing in full-caster classes and choose a class with another designation.

Example 1: Starting as a Full Caster Let's say Bob has a character concept for a criminal who got his start as a researcher at Prime Institute and was kicked out for unsavory experiments. He wants to be a Wizard in a standard single-class game, and can do that. When his character levels up to level 2, though, he can only choose from among the non-magic class options. Bob, noting this, picks Rogue at level 2. When selecting Rogue talents, it should be noted, Bob cannot choose to gain a Ki Pool or to learn spells, because the Rogue side of his character's progression cannot gain a magical talent of any kind so long as the other side is composed of Wizard class levels. If Bob decides at a later even level (where, prior to level-up, his character has one more level of Wizard than Rogue) that his character does not need to take any more levels of Wizard, he must still take a level in a non-magical class (though it need not be the same one) before he can select any other partial-magic or full-magic class. If he were to choose to change plans at an odd level (where, prior to level-up, his character's Rogue and Wizard levels matched), he could choose any other class of any designation as his next class, including another full-caster class.

Example 2: Starting as a Partial Caster If Bob decides that Magus better fits his concept, he can start as a Magus, and advance in non-magical classes and partial-magic classes without penalty. To take a level of a full-caster class later on, though, Bob's character will have to have at least one level in a non-magical class before he can take a level in a full-caster class, even though the two levels need not be consecutive.

 

A gestalt progression may not have full-casting classes on both sides. Furthermore, if a full-casting class exists at any level on one side of the progression, the other side must be composed of an entirely non-magic-using class.

Example 1: Full-caster and non-magic Let's say Bob has a character concept for a criminal who got his start as a researcher at Prime Institute and was kicked out for unsavory experiments. He wants to pick Wizard for one of his classes in a gestalt game, and he can - but when he does that restricts his list of choices for his second classes to character classes (and, technically, NPC classes) that have no magical abilities or spellcasting. Bob, noting this, selects Rogue as his second class. When selecting Rogue talents, it should be noted, Bob cannot choose to gain a Ki Pool or to learn spells, because the Rogue side of his character's progression cannot gain a magical talent of any kind so long as the other side is composed of Wizard class levels. If Bob decides at a later level that his character has enough levels of Wizard and selects to level up in Magus and Rogue instead, he may start selecting Rogue talents that grant a Ki Pool or allow the character to learn spells at that level.

Example 2: Partial Caster and Partial Caster If instead, Bob decides that Alchemist is a better choice than Wizard for his concept, he can pick Alchemist and any other class that is not considered a full caster class. For instance, Bob can select Magus as his second class - thus granting "partial" casting progressions on either side of his progression but no full casting classes. If at a later level Bob wants his character to take a level in Wizard, he may not simply replace one of his character's existing classes with Wizard for the next level - he must take a level in an entirely nonmagical class to compliment his full-caster Wizard level at that level.