Paths of the Mind and Body

These two paths do not require the 10 points listed in the general rules. They are bonuses that can be bought whenever you have enough points for them.

The Path of Body is a way to enhance your physicality. This makes you stronger, more agile, tougher, and better able to take damage. It deals with Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity. You do not take this path, and can simply add points when you desire or are able to.

Toughness: You are slightly tougher than other people. You can take more damage and are harder to damage in general, allowing you to “soak” a certain amount of damage before you actually get hurt. You can take this up to 5 times, as though it was a Mastery, each rank essentially adding to your AC and HP. 20 points.

Supernatural Grace: You are exceedingly agile, allowing you flip, jump, tumble, and roll with ease. It also makes you slightly faster and adds to your balance. 20 points.

Iron Stomach: You become very resistant to poisons and venoms. You can buy this twice, once for 15 points, and once again for 50 points. The 50 point version makes you immune to nearly all types of poisons and venoms.

Stone Skin: Not just a spell anymore, you have trained yourself so well that your body is actually physically tougher than normal, and it is a form of armor in and of itself. 30 points.

Enhanced Strength: You are just plain stronger than other people. Your muscles seem to work better than other people, more efficiently, allowing you gain strength without necessarily gaining mass. Whenever you gain an increase in Strength, you gain an additional +1. 45 points.

Tireless: You can go seemingly forever. You just never seem to get tired from physical exertion. You can run longer than other people, fight on well past the point of exhaustion, and recover from wounds more quickly as well. Whenever you gain an increase in Constitution, you gain an additional +1. 45 points

Grace of the Gods: You are supernaturally agile. It is a grace and balance beyond what any mortal should be able to do. You almost seem to glide, you almost are never off balance or fall, and you can flip and jump with the same ease that some people wield blades. Whenever you gain an increase in Dexterity, you gain an additional +1. 45 points.  

Serpent Regeneration: You heal exceedingly quickly, recovering from most minor wounds nearly instantly. 45 points. 

The Path of Mind is a way to enhance your mind, allowing you channel arcane power more efficiently, offering greater wisdom, better control, and faster learning. This branch simply allows you to enhance the things you can do with your mind, and the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma stats. You do not take this path, and can simply add points when you desire or are able to.

Arcane Inspiration: You have learned to channel the arcane in a slightly different way, making it a great deal easier and requiring less energy. This will grow with you as you gain power in your branch of magic. This counts for all magic branches. 30 points.

Skeptic’s Eyes: Your mind is strong enough to see through most illusions. 25 points.

Strong Will: You become very resistant to charm and fear effects. 30 points.

Enhanced Knowledge: You learn things more quickly than other people, even those who learn things quickly. You have an eidetic memory and you just always seem to have the answers when they’re needed. 45 points.

Mental Might: Your psionic and ki abilities are greatly enhanced, allowing you to channel these energies with ease and great control. It also takes a great deal less energy to use these abilities. This will grow with you as you gain power in your respective branch. 35 points.

Influx of Brilliance: It’s a clever trick that allows you to raise the Intelligence of you and a small group of people for a short time, allowing for greater control of anything that uses that particular stat. 50 points.

Wisdom of the Ancients: You grant a clearer way of thinking to you and your allies, giving them a burst to their Wisdom for a short time. 50 points.

Devil’s Charm: A dangerous smile and a clever tongue grant a boost to Charisma to you and your allies for a short time. 50 points.

Learning Boost: Choose one: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. Whenever you get an increase to that stat, you gain an additional +1. So, for example, when you gain the +3 bonus to Intelligence from Destruction Magic Mastery Rank 5, you would actually gain a +4. You may buy this ability more than once, but only once for each stat. 50 points. 

 

Thievery

Who doesn't like sneaking up on an unsuspecting foe, stabbing them in the back, and leaving them dead, naked, and penniless?

Paladins, probably, but they're uptight anyway.

Mmm. Can't you just taste that Skyrim flavor?

Battle is overrated, and so is direct confrontation. You’re a more direct sort of person; you know what you need and you know how to get it. A quick bit of sneaking, a cut purse or throat, and you’ve got what you need. Thievery is a talent branch designed for stealth, cunning, lock picking, pick pocketing, and more. If you want stealth and cunning, this is the branch for you.

Primary Stats: Dexterity

Bonus to Skill Checks: Appraise, Bluff, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery

Basic Abilities

Opening this talent tree grants you the following powers and abilities.

Lock Pick: You have the ability to pick locks. This is one of the abilities that will almost always have a DC. You will get a bonus to all lock pick checks and as you progress in Mastery you will get a better bonus and some locks might become automatic successes. Purchasing thieves’ tools will also increase your bonus to lock pick.

Pickpocket: It’s not always easy, but you can, with a bit of patience, skill, and luck, take small objects from people. It’s always better if the person can’t see you, but as you grow in your skill you’ll be able to do more and more. This is one of the abilities that will almost always have a DC. You will get a bonus to all pickpocket checks and as you progress in Mastery you will get a better bonus and some locks might become automatic successes.

Stealth: You’ve very, very sneaky. You gain bonuses to Stealth, and you will even eventually gain the ability to turn invisible, or to make others invisible. This won’t always have a DC, but there are times that it will.

Mastery: Mastery is a measure of your overall power and ability in a given talent branch. Each rank raises your ability a bit higher, and grants you greater power and access to more abilities further down the line. You must purchase each rank in order. Each rank is explained in detail below.

Rank 1: You’re slightly more difficult to find while you are stealthed. You are slightly more difficult to notice when you’re pickpocketing and you can lift slightly larger objects from people. You’re better at lock picking and, while you might not always be able to disable traps, you will likely see a trap before you try to pick a lock. 10 points.

Rank 2: You’re slightly more difficult to find while you are stealthed. You are slightly more difficult to notice when you’re pickpocketing and you can lift slightly larger objects from people. You’re better at lock picking and, while you might not always be able to disable traps, you will likely see a trap before you try to pick a lock. In addition, you gain a bonus to damage done with back stab and deadly aim. 20 points.

Rank 3: You’re more difficult to find while you are stealthed. You’re more difficult to notice when you’re pickpocketing and you can lift larger objects from people. You’re better at lock picking and can easily pick most basic locks. In addition, you have a chance to vanish from in front of people for a short time. If you’re successful, you can remain stealthed and invisible for a while. You gain a +2 to Dexterity. 30 points.

Rank 4: You’re much more difficult to find while you are stealthed. You’re much more difficult to notice when you’re pickpocketing and you can lift much larger objects from people. You’re much better at lock picking and can easily pick most basic locks and you will almost always notice a trap before you attempt to pick a lock. Most times you will be able to disarm the trap. In addition, you can now back stab using two-handed weapons. 40 points.

Rank 5: You’re much more difficult to find while you are stealthed. You’re much more difficult to notice when you’re pickpocketing and you can lift much larger objects from people. You’re much better at lock picking and can easily pick most basic locks and you will almost always notice a trap before you attempt to pick a lock. In addition, you can make a small group of people more difficult to detect while they are sneaking and your damage from back stab and deadly aim are greatly increased. You gain a +3 bonus to Dexterity. 50 points.

Thievery Branch Abilities

Muffled Movement: You can move and do things without making a sound. You can also make other people and things silent, though this is limited to a small number and for a short time. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Light Fingers: Your ability to pickpocket is greatly increased. You can almost always snag very small objects off most people without them noticing, even if you’re talking to them directly. This is the equivalent of those things you see in movies and on TV where someone “bumps” into someone else and then has their wallet, or where a magician is talking to someone and then has their watch. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Cutpurse: What does it matter who earned the coin? So long as it’s in your hand, it’s yours to spend, right? You are incredibly skilled at taking coins and cutting coin purses. You are almost undetectable when you do it. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Trap Sense: You always know when a lock is trapped, and you can sense where there are other sorts of traps almost anywhere. You will almost always be able to disarm a trap that is tied to a lock, and you’ll have a very good chance of disarming a trap that isn’t. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 20 points.

Disarm: You’re so skilled at pickpocketing and misdirection that you can actually knock a weapon from an enemy’s hand, or, if you’re very lucky, take it directly from them. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 10 points.

Wax Key: You can now make a wax replica key of locks that you pick, so that you can open similar locks later automatically. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points.

Light Foot: You walk very carefully, and you won’t trigger things such as pit traps, or pressure plates that would trigger a trap. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 15 points.

Quick Hands: You’re exceedingly good at being stealthy, pickpocketing and picking locks, so you don’t lose your stealth or invisibility while doing them. This doesn’t mean that you will be successful at picking the lock, but failing won’t break your stealth. Failing a pick pocket will break stealth. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Rice Paper Step: You can run at full speed and it won’t break your stealth or affect being detected. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Vanish: You can simply disappear and turn invisible. You can’t do this terribly often, and there will sometimes be things that can see you, but it is highly effective. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 35 points.  

Shadow Share: You can use all your stealth abilities on other people and groups of people. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Summoning

This has been something I've loved ever since Final Fantasy II on the SNES. You can all blame Rydia for this particular path.

You can kind of blame Hunters from World of Warcraft as well, but Rydia honestly is where the desire to make this came from.

There are many varied and wondrous creatures that fill the world you live in, and creatures from other planes that travel to ours. Some are vicious and powerful, others are wise and mystic, but all of them have unique abilities and powers that have made them highly adept at surviving harsh and extreme danger and environments. The School of Summoning allows you to bond with these creatures, making their unique gifts yours.

Primary Stats: Charisma, Constitution

Bonus to Skill Checks: Intimidation, Knowledge (Dungeoneering, Nature, The Planes), Survival

Basic Abilities

Opening this talent tree grants you the following powers and abilities.

Summoner’s Companion: You have a bond with a unique and special creature that is a representation of some inner part of you. You choose whatever sort of animal, elemental, demon, or undead companion you would like and create it with the GM. You can choose a handful of powers, or the GM can suggest things that the creature could do, and it gains power with you. The companion will be played by the GM. The companion is as intelligent as you, speaks your language, and can be enhanced later with talent branches.

Pact and Soul Stones: You can bond with creatures that are willing or that you defeat. When you create this bond it is called a pact, and you gain a copy of this creature known as a soul stone. Soul stones can summon a copy of the creature to aid you and fight alongside you for a time or will come, perform an action or attack and then vanish once more. While a summoned pact creature will do its best to fight for you, you can only have a certain number you can use in a day and still have control over them. This number is your Charisma modifier. There are limits on what sort of creature you can pact with and how difficult it might be to pact with. At the start, you can only pact with natural creatures. As you gain ranks in Mastery, you will be able to pact with more powerful creatures and eventually people and other things. You direct a soul stone companion in whatever way you determine is best, and can command them with a general order (“protect the mage”) or more specific orders (“run around to the back, wait for my signal, then spring your firepillar on them”) and you can do this verbally or psychically, but it is always a free action to direct them. Soul Stones have a small recharge which differs from stone to stone and is based on the power of the creature and the length of time you have the creature out.

Mastery: Mastery is a measure of your overall power and ability in a given talent branch. Each rank raises your ability a bit higher, and grants you greater power and access to more abilities further down the line. You must purchase each rank in order. Each rank is explained in detail below.

Rank 1: Your powers are slightly enhanced, and you can tame and pact with more powerful creatures. 10 points.  

Rank 2: Your powers are slightly enhanced, and you can tame and pact with more powerful creatures. You and your companion fight more effectively together, and their power is enhanced as well. You gain an additional soul stone use per day. 20 points.

Rank 3: Your powers are enhanced, and you can tame and pact with more powerful creatures. You gain a +2 to Charisma. 30 points.

Rank 4: Your powers are greatly enhanced, and you can tame and pact with much more powerful creatures. You and your companion fight more effectively together and their power is greatly enhanced as well. You gain an additional soul stone use per day. 40 points.

Rank 5: Your powers are greatly enhanced, and you can tame and pact with much more powerful creatures. Once per day you can summon all of your pacts at once. You have the option of taking the second companion talent branch or the enhanced companion branch. You can take one or the other, but not both. You gain an additional soul stone use per day. You gain a +3 to Charisma. 50 points.

Tame: You overwhelm an enemy and gain control over them for a short time. You can control them as you would your companion or a soul stone. When you’re done controlling them, you can send them away instead of having to fight them. Any sort of damage or attack against the controlled target will release them from the control. You can only control one creature at a time in this fashion. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

The Call: Regardless of where you are there are natural creatures. You can send out a call for aid, and a small group of natural creatures from nearby will come to your aid. The amount of animals that heed your call, and their power and ability depend on your level and ability. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Bond of Nature: You can take on the physical aspects of the natural world, growing sharpened natural claws, making your flesh tougher, creating natural poisons, toxins, and venoms, and more. You are also better at pacting with natural creatures. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Pincer Attack: You draw the attention of your enemy while your companion sneaks behind them, then you attack as one. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Control Creature: You dominate a single, natural creature that is attacking you and have it fight or work for you for a short time before you release it back to the wild. If the creature is under a spell to attack you, you break the spell and free it. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Spirit Bond: So long as you and your companion are within 20 yards of each other, both of you gain a small regeneration. You both also gain a boost to magical abilities. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Undead Golem: You can easily piece together bits of corpses, be they flesh covered or not, to make various golems. It takes a bit of time and energy to do so, and nothing you create is intelligent or particularly strong, but they can still be effective and used for any number of purposes. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Elemental Fury: You and your companion are charged with elemental energies, allowing you to use small bits of elemental magic, such as launching a small fireball, wind armor, etc. Nothing you can do is terribly powerful, but it can be very effective when used creatively. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Call of the Grave: You send out a chilling message to spirits, wraiths, ghosts, and anything undead nearby. They crawl from their eternal rest to aid you in battle. The amount of creatures that heed your call, and their power and ability depend on your level and ability. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Dire Beast: You can either summon a dire version of a natural beast from where you are, or turn your companion into a dire beast for a short time, making them stronger, faster, tougher, and bigger for a short time. This stacks with other similar abilities and talents. Requires Master Rank 2 and 15 points.

Bestial Ferocity: So long as you and your companion are within 20 yards of each other you both gain a boost to your physique, making both of you tougher, stronger, and better able to fight physically. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 15 points.

Feast of Souls: The damage your companion inflicts can be used to heal you or your companion. It will never be equal, say point for point if it was hit points, but it can be very effective and useful. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 15 points.

Frenzy: You send your companion into a rage, empowering them for a short time, granting them the ability to hit harder and more accurately against one single target. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 20 points.

Wild Imps: As you attack, either physically or with magic, there is a chance that a wild imp will suddenly pop into existence and start casting fel firebolts at your target. They last a short time, and you can have up to 3 + Charisma modifier fighting with you at once. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points.

Kill Command: You can now empower your soul stones with dire beast or frenzy. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 30 points.

Blink Strikes: Your companion and summons now have the ability to teleport short distances to attack targets physically. They can only teleport every minute or so, and their physical attacks are more damaging for a few seconds immediately after they teleport. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 15 points. 

Clever Tactics: You have a group of soul stones that work well with you and your companion. You can summon them all at once and, with a single command, thought, or word, all those summoned as well as you and your companion fall in line to work as a well-trained team. You can have more than one ready to go that do different things. For example, you can have a small group that work well as tanks, allowing you and your companion to attack while they take damage, or a team that heals you and your allies, etc. You can only summon one group at a time, and it does take from your daily soul stone use. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Spirit of Connection: The connection between you and your companion is incredible, and you now share power and energy. Each of you is more difficult to attack and you each take damage better. You may also trade places instantly so long as you are close enough to each other. You are also able to see through each other’s eyes. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Aura of the Hunter’s Pack: Your eyes become golden orbs of power, and you gleam with a slight haze that only you and your allies can see. You are all slightly empowered, your senses are enhanced, and all of you work with one mind, each knowing what the other will do. You move as a pack, more accurate, stronger, and better able to take down your enemies. This lasts for as long as you keep it up, but it is draining. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Infernal Pact: You can control demons. The amount of control you have over them depends on the type of demon. You also can make pacts with demons and gain a bonus to pacting with them. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Bestial Wrath: With a quick command, you empower your companion, making it stronger, faster, tougher and slightly larger for a few moments. This stacks with other similar abilities and talents. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Bond of the Elements: You can control elementals. The amount of control you have over them depends on the type of elemental. You also can make pacts with elementals and gain a bonus to pacting with them. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Elemental Swarm: You can summon a small amount of varied elementals of a small size that swarm around your foes, damaging them and disorienting them. The amount you pull, their power, and how long they last depends on your power and ability. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 35 points.

Powers of the Pact: You can now take on the powers and abilities of the creatures you have summoned from your soul stones. You can only take one at a time and they only work while you have the pacted creature active. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 35 points.

Stampede: You summon up to 3 + Charisma modifier copies of your companion, a soul stone, or a combination of both. They last for a short time, attacking targets as you command with improved damage to all abilities. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 35 points.

Titanic Infusion: You can enhance your companion with the energy of elemental titans, granting it greater physical and magical power, making it larger, and granting in limited immunity for a short time. This cannot be done often. This ability stacks with other talents and abilities. Requires Mastery Rank 4 and 30 points.

Master Summoner: You stand alone, the best of the best. And when you need, you call out and the whole of the world responds, sending you an army to aid you when you need. This takes a lot of energy and can only be done about once a day, safely. Creatures that will aid you the most in battle appear ready to follow your commands. Depending on your ability, more creatures and more effective creatures will appear. All of your powers are again, greatly enhanced. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Unleash the Beast: Once per day, you can summon ALL of your soul stones at once, and you, your companion, and your summons have your powers and abilities enhanced for a short time. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Second Companion

Second Soul Aspect: You gain another permanent companion. All of your abilities are enhanced as well as both companions. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Enhanced Companion

All abilities, unless otherwise noted, require Mastery Rank 5 and are permanent additions to your companion.

Blood Feast: Your companion gains strength with each successful attack, becoming stronger, to a point for a short time. They also gain a small regeneration as they attack. 15 points.

Dire Upgrade: Your companion becomes much larger, more physically powerful, more resistant to damage, faster, and much tougher in general. 25 points.

Natural Brilliance: Your companion becomes much more intelligent, able to think faster, more clearly and more efficiently, allowing it greater arcane ability as well as tactical ability. 25 points.

Greater Celerity: Your companion gains a great boost in speed, allowing it to move much more swiftly both in and out of combat. 30 points.

Hidden Potential: You have helped your companion grow in power to the point that you have discovered a special ability that neither of you knew it had. The companion gains a special new ability that you and the GM create. This can be taken more than once. 50 points.