Class and Race Week Day 2: The Mummifier and the Residual Spectre

Here is a class that slowly mummifies its body and grants itself strange esoteric powers, and a race of undead ectoplasms left over from a ghost's untime in this unworld.

The Mummifier
Parent Class: Priest
Hit Dice: d6 (+3/level after 9)
Attack Bonus: 1/2 level, rounded up
Saving Throws: as Priest (see below)
XP to Level 2: 2,750

Prerequisites to playing this class:

• Must have a physical body that can be preserved. If the race you are playing is normally incorporeal or semi-incorporeal, you must somehow acquire a physical form. If you are playing a race that cannot be easily preserved, such as slug-people or certain elves, then you cannot play this class much, since they would be harmed by the preservation process.

Mummifiers have the following class features:

• All experience from treasure must be spent on acquiring special materials (such as incense, wrappings, holy texts and relics, etc.) to begin or continue the mummifying process and to gain religious knowledge.
• At level 2, your unarmed attacks are considered magical and deal 1d4 damage on a hit. This damage goes up one die type every second level (d4 to d6 at level 4, d6 to d8 at level 6, etc.). At level 4, additional damage equal to half the unarmed damage is added to weapon attacks (1d3 at level 4, 1d4 at level 6, etc.)
• Every level (beginning at second level), you choose an esoteric power. Most esoteric powers are once a day, with a handful of at-will abilities and the possibility that a mummifier will choose the same power twice or more. The esoteric powers available vary, but some possible ones might include:
• Speak to Stones
• Night-vision
• Turn Food to Dust
• Control Flames
• Sticks to Snakes
• Mind Control
• Immunity to Disease and Poisons
• At level 9, the mummifier chooses to either unlock the ability to inflict the terrible disease known as Mummy's Rot (in addition to other possible diseases), or to be able to cure any disease.

The Residual Spectre

Ability Scores: +WIS, -CON

Racial Traits: Is incorporeal (can pass through inanimate objects and living creatures (causing a strange feeling)). Cannot use non-magical physical equipment at all. Is able to see where any living thing is at all times, but cannot see inanimate objects in darkness. Can possess living things and inanimate objects to gain a physical form, at least for a time. Can speak with the dead once per day (plus wisdom modifier if positive). When inhabiting a physical form, use the average of the host's and spectre's physical ability scores.

Class Restrictions: Residual spectres can play any class, but the majority are magic-users and priests, simply due to the immaterial nature of these small spirits. However, when inhabiting a body, they are able to utilize the physical equipment required of other classes.

Residual spectres are the remnants of immaterial undead (and some material ones as well!) when they pass through an area. They are cast off, with no memory of their parent ghost's past life, and with not much in the way of paranormal power. All they can do is take another being's physical form and contact other, much more powerful spirits in the area.

Class and Race Week Day 1: The Slime Catcher and the Dust Bunny

Here is the first pair of playable things for class/race week: a class that starts out as just a person with a lil pudding buddy but can become either a slime hunter or the arcane servant of the demon king of slimes, and a race of small constructs grown from the dust and grime lying around your house.

The Slime Catcher
Parent Class: Professional
Hit Dice: d6 (+1/level after 9)
Attack Bonus: 1/2 level, rounded up
Saving Throws: as Professional (Specialist/Thief) (see below)
XP to Level 2: 2,250

Slime catchers have the following class features:

• +2 to saves v. slimes (any effects caused by oozes of some sort), +1 to saves v. poison
• Can speak OOZOID, the alien language of slimes and puddings
• Begins play with an oozing companion that can follow very simple commands. Statistics-wise, it functions as whatever the weakest slime in your game is. It can go into small spaces and do very simple actions. Can speak oozoid.
• Is able to catch and train slimes into monstrous companions. These can be any slime, and it will usually take more time/have more risk the more deadly the pudding is.
• Optional system to determine risk/time: it takes 1 week/hit die, and to succeed they must make a skill check as if they were trained in the skill (following the 5MORE skill system). On a failure, it either takes 1 additional week (cumulative), or you are injured by the slime.
• At level 2, chooses one of the following features:
• Gain a special bonus to hit and damage slimes, equal to 1/3 level, rounded up. This is in addition to your normal to-hit and damage bonuses from leveling and ability scores.
• Gain the ability to cast spells, in a similar manner to a magic-user. All infernal enchantments come from the demon lord of slimes and oozes JUIBLEX, or from similar fiends. Gain spells as the cleric once did (with the first spell being at level 2, etc.). Special spell lists and tables will be forthcoming.
• At level 4, gains one of the following features based on their choice at level 2:
• Is able to track slimes and oozes and puddings with incredible accuracy (functions as if an EXPERT in the skill), and has decreased penalties when attacking recklessly or defensively against slimes (rather than penalty being double bonus, penalty is equal to bonus)
• Can shapeshift into a slime at-will, by making a check of 1d20+level+WIS modifier, against 10+hit dice of goal slime+any other bonuses from special features. Every successful check imposes a -1 penalty, and an unsuccessful check means you cannot shapeshift for the rest of the day.
• At level 6, gains one of the following features based on their choice at level 2:
• All damage dealt by the slime catcher is treated as magical for purposes of killing oozes, which are normally effectively immune to physical damage.
• Can imbue their slime servants with intellect and cunning, allowing them to follow more complex commands.
• At level 9, gains one of the following features based on their choice at level 2:
• Is effectively immune to the caustic effects of oozes, as well as to the powers required to destroy them. They take minimum damage from acid, fire, lightning, etc.
• Can invoke Juiblex itself, or the fungal demon queen Zuggtmoy (as well as certain other powerful demons). They will usually require a favor or sacrifice for whatever they will do. Lesser demons can be invoked from a spell acquired at a lower level.

Dust Bunnies

Dust bunnies grow from dust and sand and hair and all other sorts of particles you might have lying around. The vast majority of them are very small, even shorter than a halfling, but there are records of almost human-sized ones from incredibly dirty ruins and abandoned structures. Dust bunnies generate naturally over time, but they can be created on purpose by wizards or even by a simple commoner with the right charms.

Ability Scores: +DEX, -STR

Racial Traits: Is able to learn very basic information from the dirt in a location. Can fuse together with other dust bunnies to create larger and stronger creatures. Is able to see in low-light conditions just as well as normal light. When fighting against larger creatures, they are adept at crawling all over them to attack (make a DEX check to crawl on a larger creature and attack them). Cannot use large weapons, and must use medium weapons two-handed (even if human-sized, unless fused together).

Class Restrictions: Dust bunnies can play any class, but the majority are fighters or professionals, followed by magic-users, followed by clerics (dust bunnies are very secular). Sub-classes typically fall into the realm of their parent class for these purposes.

A Handful of Announcements

I have many things planned in the upcoming days/weeks/whatever on this here blog.

The first is that next week is what will be called Race and Class Week, where everyday I create and post a playable race and a playable class, and occasionally one or the other will be replaced with a race-as-class style class. This will go from Monday (Labor Day) to the following Sunday.

The second is that I am working on a large(ish) adventure that I will post a pdf of after I play it with my group. It still needs a name, but I have the basic concepts down. It is a dungeon filled with undead halflings, strange mutants made by a morally ambiguous wizard, ancient fungal monstrosities, and demons from space.

I am also going to make more Colorpocalypse posts in the upcoming days, as well as conversions to make it into a more normal OSR game.

Have a great day!