Beastmaster Discipline

From DivNull RPG
Jump to: navigation, search

The Beastmaster is a discipline for Fourth World, a "drift" of Dungeon World for playing in the setting of Earthdawn. This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

Several PDF versions of this playbook can be downloaded from the Fourth World 1.5 page.

Stats

Damage Die: d8
Favored Stats: cha, wis
Load: 7
HP: 8+Constitution

Look

Gaze: wise, wild, haunting
Appearance: hairy, messy, braided
Accoutrement: ceremonial, practical, weathered
Body: powerful, limber, furtive

Species

Dwarf: Your presence allows your companion s to become fearless when underground.

Elf: Your presence allows your companion s to become stealthy when in forests or other lush places.

Human: Your presence allows your companion s to become fearless when in a steading.

Obsidimen (+1 armor; only wear living armor): Spend succor to give one of your companion s the cautious tag for a few minutes.

Ork: Your presence allows your companion s to become fearless when in battle.

Troll: When you suffer the scarred debility, it does not affect your companion s’ quality.

T’Skrang: Spend succor to give one of your companion s the aquatic tag for a few minutes.

Windling (astral sight): When you discern realities using a companion ’s senses, you may use astral sight.

Flags

Select 2 flags.

Starting Moves

Through the First Veil

When you have befriended a beast , named and cared for it for a little while, you may bond with the animal easily. The GM will tell you what, if anything, is needed for the ritual. You may start play with an existing bond to an appropriate beast , with GM approval.

Animal Companion

When you link your true pattern to the true pattern of a beast , you consider the beast to have a special tag: companion . You enjoy the standard benefits of a pattern bond to a creature:

  • spend few minutes in physical contact to take any amount of damage in order to heal a companion by that amount
  • meditate with closed eyes to discern realities using a companion ’s senses, no matter the distance between you
  • meditate to whisper a short message to a companion , which they will hear no matter the distance between you

In addition, you treat the companion as a follower with a starting loyalty of +2, and a cost of being an important part of your life. Their quality is always equal to your effective CHA (including the impact of debilities). You may spend karma when such a beast does their thing.

The Alpha

You possess a pool of magic which allows you to help your companion s. When you make camp, hold succor equal to your full Wisdom score (losing any prior succor). Spend succor to:

  • Improve the result of ordering a companion by one step.
  • Reduce the damage the companion takes from an attack by WIS .
  • Add +hold spent when the companion does their thing.

Hello To My Little Friend

Add the following to the hack and slash list:

  • One of your companion s commands the target’s full attention.

Expressions of the Beast

When you create art with body painting or wood carving , take +1. If you give the result in a successful greeting ritual, any attempt to track the recipient succeeds as if you rolled at 10+, if they have the art in their possession.

Talents

You may weave threads into talents, if you meet their requirements:

☐ Empathy

When you study someone , you can ask their player “What is your character feeling?” in addition to anything else that happens. Also, add these to the list of discern realities questions:

  • How could I make your character feel?
  • What is making your character feel this way?

☐☐ Nature of the Beast

When you spout lore about an animal or monster , you use CHA instead of INT .

Second thread (requires circle 6): In addition, on a 12+, you get to ask the GM any one question about the subject.

☐ Thick Hide

So long as your feet touch the ground you have +1 armor.

☐☐ Wild Tongue

You can speak with and understand animals.

Second thread (requires circle 4): You can speak with and understand any creature lacking the spirit and horror tags.

☐ Hunt and Track

When you follow a trail of clues left behind by passing creatures, roll+ WIS . On a hit , you follow the creature’s trail until there’s a significant change in its direction or mode of travel. On a 10+ , you also choose one:

  • Gain a useful bit of information about your quarry, the GM will tell you what.
  • Determine what caused the trail to end.

☐☐ Control

When you reach out to influence the mind of a beast , roll+ CHA . On a 10+ choose three. On a 7–9 choose one. You may spend karma to make one additional choice, even on a miss.

  • The target treats you as a friend.
  • The target may be ordered to perform simple tasks.
  • The target will not remember being controlled.

The effect lasts an hour or so. If you release control, the target takes damage, faces more danger than you, or otherwise has its trust seriously betrayed, the domination ends.

Second thread (requires circle 6): You may influence any creature lacking the spirit or horror tags.

☐ Frighten Animals

When you make disturbing, unnatural noises , you frighten all beasts in earshot. Handlers may order followers to prevent their charges from panicking, but other beasts flee.

☐ Man’s Best Friend

When you allow a companion to take a blow that was meant for you , the damage is negated and your companion’s quality becomes +0. If its quality is already +0 you can’t use this ability. When you have a few hours of rest with the beast, its quality returns to normal.

☐ Well Trained

You may spend succor to:

  • Allow a companion to navigate or scout ahead, as if they had the guide tag for the duration.
  • Give a companion the cunning tag for a few minutes.
  • Give a companion the devious tag for a few minutes.
  • Give a companion the stealthy tag for a few minutes.

☐ Foster Life

You may spend succor to:

  • Stabilize a companion very recently reduced to 0 HP , bringing them to a single HP .
  • Touch a companion and instantly heal them 1d6 HP .
  • Touch any other creature or person and heal them 1d4 HP .
  • Calm any excited beasts in the immediate vicinity

☐ Primal Urges

When you reach out to manipulate a creature who lacks the spirit and horror tags, roll+ WIS . On a hit , you plant a strong emotional urge into the target (fear, fury, hunger, thirst, desire, drowsiness, etc.). On a 7–9 also (you may spend karma to avoid one of them):

  • You feel this urge yourself.
  • When the effect ends, the target knows it was manipulated.

☐ The Pride

When your companion does their thing on a 12+, or rolls the maximum amount on a damage roll, gain 1 succor.

☐ Animal Possession

When you lock eyes with a beast , you may project your mind into it to control its body. You retain your own intellect, but actions are limited by the animal’s form. Any damage inflicted on the animal is also applied to you. Your real body collapses, unconscious.

☐ Coordinated Assault

When one of your companion s helps you hack and slash, spend a point of succor to add their damage roll to yours (instead of using the highest).

☐ Crowd Control

When you catch the attention of a crowd and fix your will upon their emotions, roll+ WIS . On a hit , instill an emotion of your choice into every member of that crowd. On a 10+ , you may also influence the majority of crowd to take one concrete action.

☐ Unnatural Selection

You may perform a ritual to summon and bind a tasked spirit into a companion to enhance its abilities. The GM will give you one to four of the following conditions:

  • It’s going to take days.
  • First you must.
  • You’ll need help from.
  • It will require certain amounts of true elements.
  • It will require one or more rare ingredients.
  • You must perform the ritual in a certain place.

So long as the spirit remains, the companion gains your choice of two of the following:

  • Working with the GM , add an additional move.
  • It’s attack gains +3 damage.
  • It gains +2 armor.
  • It gains +3 HP .
  • It gains an additional follower or monster tag.

The physical form of the companion changes in supernatural ways, commensurate with these new abilities. You may banish the tasked spirit whenever you like, reverting the companion to normal. Only one spirit may occupy a companion at a time.

Gear

appropriate artisan tools (1 weight)

Choose your defenses:

☐ hide armor (1 armor, worn, 1 weight)
☐ bare skin (0 armor, living)
☐ shield (+1 armor, 2 weight)

Choose your armament:

☐ shillelagh (close, 2 weight)
☐ staff (close, two-handed, 1 weight)
☐ spear (reach, thrown, near, 1 weight)
☐ whip (reach, dangerous, entangling, 1 weight)

Choose two:

☐ adventuring gear (uses: 5, 2 weight)
☐ poultices and herbs (uses: 2, slow, 1 weight)
☐ simple mount of appropriate size (beast, mount)
☐ any common pet (beast)
☐ any common pet (beast)
☐ halfling pipeleaf (uses: 6)
☐ 3 antitoxins