d20 S.T. Cooley Publishing The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse.pdf

(3640 KB) Pobierz
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Interior B&W Artwork Credits:
Arcane Publishers Edition, Vol. 1 by V Shane: p. 6, 8, 17, 23, 28, 33, 42, 44
Image Portfolio 1.1 Fantasy Clipart by Jason Walton: p. 11
Image Portfolio 1.2 Fantasy Clipart by Jason Walton: p. 25, 26, 40
Image Portfolio 1.4 Fantasy Clipart by Jason Walton: p. 3, 19
Image Portfolio 1.5 Superhero by Tony Perna: p. 30, 36
Artwork on pages 14 and 16 provided by the fifth work listed in Section 15 of the Open Game License
Border Art:
Frederic Simons
Published in PDF Form by S.T. Cooley Publishing, http://www.cooleys.org/publishing/
This material is protected under international copyright laws. Any reproduction or unauthorized use is prohibited
without the express written consent of Spencer T. Cooley, with the exception of use of Open Game Content
according to the terms of the Open Gaming License or short quotation for review or scholarly purposes. Designation
of Open Gaming Content may be found in the Introduction section of this work.
DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY:
The following terms are designated as Product Identity of Spencer T. Cooley and/or S.T. Cooley Publishing: The
Enchiridion of Mystic Music, The Enchiridion of Treasures and Objects d’Art, The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements
of the Expanse, Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley, S.T. Cooley Publishing, The Burning Sage’s Demense,
DESIGNATION OF OPEN GAME CONTENT:
Subject to the Product Identity Designation above, the entire text of this work is designated as Open Game Content.
Graphics and other visual items are NOT Open Game Content.
S
.
T
.
C
o
o
l
e
y
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
i
n
g
1
905030096.030.png 905030096.031.png 905030096.032.png 905030096.033.png 905030096.001.png 905030096.002.png
 
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley
Foreword
This book has been a long time coming. I had been dissatisfied with the treatment of the ranger in 3.0
rules, and had worked up about a quarter of this work when it was announced that the core fantasy rules
for d20 games would be changing. I pressed forward, confident that most of the changes would not really
affect what I was writing. Then, when the changes to be made began to “leak” out, I realized I was going
to have to table this project in its entirety until I could see the new rules and make the necessary
adjustments.
Well, as I write this, the 3.5 rules have been available (in SRD form) for right around a week. I have gone
over them and have tried to get a handle on how they affect the main “engine” of the game. Because
many of them have been rumored for months now, I already had some idea of how things might change,
but some of the changes have admittedly caught me off guard.
But, I feel it’s time for something fresh. It’s time for something new. It’s time to let rangers shine. This is,
to my knowledge, the first sourcebook that is entirely dedicated to rangers. Rangers are a tough class to
write for – obviously, it’s easy to fill books for classes that rely heavily on magic – simply introduce new
spells, new casting techniques, and so on. The Enchiridion of Mystic Music, my first commercial
endeavor and still my favorite book for bards, could focus on the musical aspect of bards. Books on
paladins can focus on the “holy warrior” aspect of paladinhood (and have). Books on Monks can
concentrate on martial arts, and books on fighters can deal in, well, combat. Rogue books can focus on
thievery or traps or social situations, but generally can be thought of as focusing on “skill use.” Only the
ranger and barbarian are not quite so easy to fill a book on… I have seen but one work I would call a
“barbarian book” (an excellent treatise that is nominally about Half-Orcs, but focuses on their favored
class: barbarian), and not one that focuses on the ranger. Perhaps it’s because rangers don’t have a
single special ability that “singles them out” and that can act as their focus – or, at least, they didn’t have
that in 3.0 – in 3.5, they have quite a few new “tricks.”
The other difficult part of writing a book on rangers is that nobody seems to be able to agree on exactly
what a ranger is. In writing this book, I drew on the experiences I had in the wilderness as a teenager
when I was a scout. Yes, there was hiking and camping, but there were a lot of different ways in which
you could focus your interest. Some focused on the “martial” aspects – archery, rifle-shooting, shotgun-
shooting, and so forth. Others focused on the “survival” aspects – learning how to make shelter with just
a pocketknife, learning how to navigate overland, learning what plants are healthy and which ones are
poisonous, and in some cases, learning to hunt and track animals. Some focused on traveling aspects –
canoeing, boating, bicycling, and so on. I tend to view my experience in scouting as a seminal
experience from which I can extrapolate a ranger book. I’m not even a first-level ranger – but maybe in
those experiences, I gained the skills appropriate to a step or two down the road to being a ranger. By
extrapolating a bit, and putting those experiences into a fantasy milieu, just maybe I can come up with a
more exciting ranger class – one that has all members sharing a common bond – a respect for nature and
what she can do – but where the way each harnesses or attempts to subdue self or nature is a very
personal and individual choice. I guess it’s like gamers in a way – each of us is bound by gaming, but
some of us prefer high-powered gaming, while others prefer in-depth storytelling and others are
miniatures aficionados pleased with the complex set of rules RPGs provide.
One final note – some will wonder what the heck my title means. “Elided” is an old term for “hidden” and
an “enduement” is an endowment – a gift of power or strength. So this book refers to the hidden gifts that
those who enjoy the expanse – the wilderness – enjoy… though I guess now that I’m presenting them, I
suppose they are no longer hidden (from you, at least). Hopefully these new twists will provide you with a
more interesting ranger character – after all, whether or not I succeeded in presenting you with a ranger
you want to play (or ideas to add to your existing ranger) will ultimately be the test of whether I have
succeeded with this book. Without further ado, step inside and enjoy!
Spencer Cooley
July 27, 2003
S
.
T
.
C
o
o
l
e
y
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
i
n
g
2
905030096.003.png
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley
Chapter One: The Ranger
Ranger
While druids may be said to be the children of nature, or even the
guardians of nature, the ranger makes no such pretension. Rangers
are, at their heart, those who are simply “at home” in the wild and
are able and willing to make it serve their ends. To this end, a
ranger does not truly seek to bend his will to the wild; rather
he tends to bend the wild a bit to serve his will. To a ranger,
the wilderness is simply “home” – neither unfamiliar nor
foreboding, but a place he is both familiar and comfortable
with. Hence, he only disturbs it in the smallest of ways –
because he only needs to disturb it in such ways.
This outdoorsy approach makes a formidable woodsman,
trapper, or mountaineer. The ranger is hardened by his
lifestyle, relying upon none of the creature comforts that serve
to make men weak, but rather the ranger is hardened and
strengthened through his spartan lifestyle. Rangers tend to live by
the strength of their arms and the strength of their wits (unlike druids,
who gain divine power from their worship of the land). The ranger combines
the tracking instincts of a wolf, the combat ferocity of a bear, and the wiles of a fox to be a formidable foe
anywhere men normally fear to tread. To the ranger, the wilderness and the elements are not enemies to
be subdued, but friends to be welcomed.
Table 1-1: Ranger Advancement Table
Class
Level
Base
Attack
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save
Spells Per Day
Special
1 st
nd
rd
th
1 st
+1
+2
+2
+0
Favored Enemy, Track, Wild Empathy
-
-
-
-
2 nd
+2
+3
+3
+0
Combat Style
-
-
-
-
3 rd
+3
+3
+3
+1
Endurance
-
-
-
4 th
+4
+4
+4
+1
Animal Companion
0
-
-
-
5 th
+5
+4
+4
+1
Favored Enemy
0
-
-
-
6 th
+6
+5
+5
+2
Improved Combat Style
1
-
-
-
7 th
+7
+5
+5
+2
Woodland Stride
1
-
-
-
8 th
+8
+6
+6
+2
Swift Tracker
1
0
-
-
9 th
+9
+6
+6
+3
Evasion
1
0
-
-
10 th
+10
+7
+7
+3
Favored Enemy
1
1
-
-
11 th
+11
+7
+7
+3
Combat Style Mastery
1
1
0
-
12 th
+12
+8
+8
+4
1
1
1
-
13 th
+13
+8
+8
+4
Camouflage
1
1
1
-
14 th
+14
+9
+9
+4
2
1
1
0
15 th
+15
+9
+9
+5
Favored Enemy
2
1
1
1
16 th
+16
+10
+10
+5
2
2
1
1
17 th
+17
+10
+10
+5
Hide In Plain Sight
2
2
2
1
18 th
+18
+11
+11
+6
3
2
2
1
19 th
+19
+11
+11
+6
3
3
3
2
20 th
+20
+12
+12
+6
Favored Enemy
3
3
3
3
S
.
T
.
C
o
o
l
e
y
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
i
n
g
3
905030096.004.png 905030096.005.png 905030096.006.png 905030096.007.png 905030096.008.png 905030096.009.png 905030096.010.png 905030096.011.png 905030096.012.png 905030096.013.png 905030096.014.png 905030096.015.png 905030096.016.png 905030096.017.png
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley
Alignment: Any
Type (Subtype) Knowledge Skill
Aberration Dungeoneering
Animal Nature
Construct Arcana
Dragon Arcana
Elemental The planes
Fey Nature
Giant Nature
Humanoid (Aquatic) Local
Humanoid (Elf) Local
Humanoid (Dwarf) Local
Humanoid (Goblinoid) Local
Humanoid (Gnoll) Local
Humanoid (Gnome) Local
Humanoid (Halfling) Local
Humanoid (Human) Local
Humanoid (Orc) Local
Humanoid (Reptilian) Local
Magical Beast Arcana
Monstrous Humanoid Nature
Ooze Dungeoneering
Outsider (Air) The planes
Outsider (Chaotic) The planes
Outsider (Earth) The planes
Outsider (Evil) The planes
Outsider (Fire) The planes
Outsider (Good) The planes
Outsider (Lawful) The planes
Outsider (Native) The planes
Outsider (Water) The planes
Plant Nature
Undead Religion
Vermin Nature
Table 1-2: Ranger Favored Enemies
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft
(Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex),
Jump (Str), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (Int),
Knowledge (Geography) (Int), Knowledge (Nature)
(Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession
(Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival
(Wis), Swim (Str) and Use Rope (Dex)
Skil Points per Level: 6 + Int modifier
Ranger Class Features
Ranger Class Features
All of the following are class features of the ranger.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A ranger is proficient with all simple and martial
weapons, and with light armor and shields (except
tower shields).
Favored Enemy (Ex)
At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature
from among those given on the table below (Ranger
Favored Enemies). The ranger gains a +2 bonus on
Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival
checks when using these skills against creatures of
this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon
damage rolls against such creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th,
15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an
additional favored enemy from those given on the
table. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus
against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by 2.
If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated
subtype, as indicated on the table. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored
enemy, the ranger's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Track
Track
A ranger gains Track as a bonus feat.
Wild
Wild Empathy (Ex)
A ranger can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to
improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Charisma bonus
to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of
indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
Empathy (Ex)
To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they
must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal
in this way takes 1 minute, but as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
S
.
T
.
C
o
o
l
e
y
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
i
n
g
4
905030096.018.png 905030096.019.png 905030096.020.png 905030096.021.png
The Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse
Spencer “The Sigil” Cooley
Optional Rule: Expanded
Optional Rule: Expanded
Ranger Fighting Styles
The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical
beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he suffers a -4
penalty on the check.
Ranger Fighting Styles
You may not feel that the ranger fighting
styles of archery or two-weapon fighting
reflect your view of the role of the ranger.
With the consent of your GM, you may
select one of the following combinations
of gained feats instead. Your ranger only
gains the benefits of these Feats while in
light armor.
Combat Style (Ex)
At 2nd level, a ranger must select one of two combat styles
to pursue: archery or two-weapon combat. This choice
affects the character's class features but does not restrict his
selection of feats or special abilities in any way.
If the ranger selects archery, he is treated as having the
Rapid Shot feat, even if he does not have the normal
prerequisites for that feat.
Weapon of Choice Style
Weapon of Choice Style
The character selects one weapon that
he is already proficient at second level.
The character is treated as having the
Weapon Focus feat with the selected
weapon at 2 nd level. He is treated as
though he had the Weapon
Specialization feat with the selected
weapon at 6 th level even if he does not
meet the prerequisites. At 11 th level, he
is treated as though he had the Improved
Critical feat with the selected weapon,
even if he does not meet the
prerequisites. As with all combat styles,
the character must be in light or no armor
to gain these benefits.
If the ranger selects two-weapon combat, he is treated as
having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not
have the normal prerequisites for that feat.
The benefits of the ranger's chosen style apply only when he
wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat
style when wearing medium or heavy armor.
Endurance
Endurance
A ranger gains Endurance as a bonus feat at 3rd level.
Animal Companion (Ex)
At 4th level, a ranger gains an animal companion selected
from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding
dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake
(Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place
wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following
creatures may be added to the ranger's list of options:
crocodile, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is
a loyal companion that accompanies the ranger on his
adventures as appropriate for its kind.
Hurling Style
The character that selects this style gains
is treated as though he had the Distance
Throw feat at 2 nd level, even if he does
not meet the prerequisites. At 6 th level,
the character is treated as though he had
the Improved Double Throw feat even if
he does not meet the prerequisites, and
at 11 th level, he is treated as though he
had the Hail of Blades feat, even if he
does not meet the prerequisites. The
character must be in light or no armor to
gain these benefits.
This ability functions like the druid ability of the same name,
except that the ranger's effective druid level is one-half his
ranger level. A ranger may select from the alternative lists of
animal companions just as a druid can, though again his
effective druid level is half his ranger level. Like a druid, a
ranger cannot select an alternative animal if the choice
would reduce his effective druid level below 1st. See
Chapter Six: Animal Companions for more on animal
companions.
Spells
Spells
Beginning at 4th level, a ranger gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn
from the ranger spell list. A ranger must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below). To
prepare or cast a spell, a ranger must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The
Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a ranger's spell is 10 + the spell level + the ranger's Wisdom
modifier.
S
.
T
.
C
o
o
l
e
y
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
i
n
g
5
905030096.022.png 905030096.023.png 905030096.024.png 905030096.025.png 905030096.026.png 905030096.027.png 905030096.028.png 905030096.029.png

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin