GLoG: Nahualli (Mesoamerican Sorcerer Class)

(For use in the Lizard Lords of Zapotec Setting)

“Someone so in tune with the spiritual power of the Universe as to read its workings and cast spells, possibly even the ability to temporarily take another shape” (The Aztec Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Stories and Legends by Camila Townsend). Sorcery is the domain of the wise, doctors, soothsayers, and priests. Prudent chiefs and even humble farmers can become Nahualli if they are rich in practicality and devotion.

THE NAHUALLI

Each Template: +1 save, +10 Sacred Days revealed

Starting Equipment: obsidian dagger, incense, agave leaves, calendar codex with 20 Sacred Days revealed 

(You may take the A templates in any order. If your Will is +2 or higher, you may bypass the normal multiclass costs to enter into Nahualli)

A: +1 MD, Astrologer

A: +1 MD, Practitioner

A: +1 MD, Auto-Sacrifice

When you take your third template of Nahualli, you gain the ability to transform back and forth into a spiritually appropriate animal with a turn of effort.

D: +1 MD, Knowledgeable One

Sacred Days:

Generally, folk only have knowledge of the significance of their own birth day. In your preparations to become Nahualli you have learned the meanings of more days of the sacred calendar. Roll randomly to see which you learn when leveling up, if you already know that day you may pick any day to learn or roll randomly. One Rabbit is so infamous that all know its significance, which is where we get the expression “To be One Rabbited”, meaning to face total calamity. If you learn all the days of a particular sign, you gain an additional bonus:

Day Sign	Completion Bonus
Crocodile Wind House Lizard	Immune to Unwilling Mutation  Immune to Death by Falling  Cannot be punished simply for breaking the law +2 Reflex if injured
Snake Death Deer Rabbit	+2 Will if you have not been inside today  +2 hp  +2 to Fort if you are wearing horns on your head  Automatically succeed in running away from opponents
Water Dog Monkey Stave	Immune to Suffocation  Oaths made to you are binding  Animals will not attack you unless you attack them Immune to charms and compulsions
Goblin Jaguar Eagle Lost Sign	Barbarians will not attack you unless you attack them.  +2 to hit  Immune to fear.  ???
Movement Flint Rain Flower	Immune to being grappled  Cannot be killed by fire  If struck by lightning, you may redirect it as you wish. Immune to unwanted possession

Astrologer:

The hurricane sky blocks sight of the fate-revealing stars to the Anahuacans (those of the wider world), but even the Cemanahuacans (those of this land) can generally only see how the stars are placed currently. Your deep connection to the cosmos lets you see further. You can predict what days will come for the next 7 days. 

Practitioner: 

You are a fully trained doctor. You automatically succeed rolls to stabilize dying allies. Allies you attend to heal +[templates] injuries/day of rest. 

Auto-Sacrifice:

You may ritually cut yourself with the sharp edge of an agave plant. This deals 1 damage and…

-heals an ally your blood touches by 1d4, minimum [Templates], whichever is higher.

-gives an ally another saving throw to resist an ongoing affliction.

-bars a location from evil spirits until the sun has both risen and set. Evil spirits already present must save vs turning.

Knowledgeable One:

Roll a day on the sacred calendar. You hold this destiny inert, stored in your hair. You may swap it for the destiny of another person, including yourself, save negates.

Nahualli Spell List:

1. Forewarn : Add [sum] to a roll you observe

2. Meddle : Subtract [sum] from a roll you observe 

3. Summon Warrior Spirits : Summon a [dice] HD spirit of a great champion who died in battle (warfare) to serve you These spirits are unavailable from dawn until noon, as they are busy raising the sun in the sky. They serve for 10 x [sum] minutes. It used to be that each warrior spirit would spend 4 solar years raising the son before going to the Fading Place. Now, roll a d6 for every great champion every year. On a 6, they pass on and can no longer be called. Any PCs or important NPCs who die in battle are added to the roster of Warrior Spirits. At campaign start, there are:

-Paints the Days, 1 HD Black Blade

-Ignacio Iglesia, 2 HD Ziggurat Wizard

-Turquoise Flower, 3 HD Warlord

-Feathered Goblin, 4 HD Deity

4. Summon Cihuateteo : summon the ravening spirits of those who have died in battle (childbirth) to haunt a location. These spirits are unavailable from noon until dusk, as they are busy lowering the sun in the sky. Their manifestation lasts for [sum] minutes or [dice] months if cast on a crossroad. Each round, the spirits get 3 attacks, +[dice] to hit, 1d4+[dice] damage.

5. Evil Eye : target suffers -[dice] to rolls as long as you keep one eye closed.

6. Weal and Woe : Expend [dice] to gain [highest] questions on an action you plan to undertake. Receive answers of Weal, Woe, Weal and Woe, or Unclear.

7. Sinister Transformation : target becomes Left-Handed for [dice] hours, gaining +2 to hit against righties and +1 to saves

8. Consecrate : perform a 7-[lowest] hour ritual to consecrate a space. Ask [highest] questions to the divine forces. These are usually answered by totemic animals with a reaction of 1d6+[dice], but if performed near Sacred Bundles then gods may come.

9. Dance Like Hummingbird : a weapon leaps from its owner’s hands to serve the Nahualli (wielder may save). It attacks at +[highest] to hit for [dice] rounds.

10. Anointment : mundane clothing gains +[dice] to AC or saves for [sum] turns

11. Sleep : summon a ghastly spider that flits about like the fingers of a whiz hacking the mainframe. Every turn it squirts blood from its knees at up to [dice] opponents, save vs falling asleep. Once it has afflicted up to [sum] HD of enemies, the spider disappears.

12. Feathered Lizard’s Sudden Reversal : cast as a reaction, catch a…

- 1 MD - Projectile attack 

- 2 MD - Melee attack

- 3 MD - Ray, beam, or sonic attack

- 4 MD - Deception, Charm, Compulsion, or other magical effect 

..targeted at you, and make an attack roll to redirect it to anyone else in range.

Acknowledgements

This class is mostly inspired by what I read in Camila Townsend’s book on Aztec stories. If you know more about mythology, religion, or history from mesoamerica, let me know! It’s a fascinating topic I am just starting to learn about.

The Forwarn and Meddle spells come from Loch’s Oracle class. Many of the others come from the Ashes to Ashes spell list.

The Dependable Grizard

 In the Lizard Lords of Zapotec setting, there are no horses. Instead, folk ride around on feathered reptiles called Grizards. Possessing the intellect and temperament of dogs, they fill a horse-shaped niche without the inconveniences of simulating reality.

Grizards have greater endurance than horses when it comes to carrying riders. While historical cavaliers may have had to maintain a warhorse, and a horse for traveling on the road, and another horse or two for their luggage, and a spare for when their warhorse is on lunch, a lizardier can ride the same grizard to the battle that they intend to fight on. If you’re bringing multiple grizards, it’s because you want to carry MORE weight, rather than to continue carrying the same weight consistently.

Grizards are hardier. Horses can be fragile creatures. Driving them at speed over uneven terrain like we often see in the movies is a good way to wreck a horse. Not so for grizards. They can gallop over any terrain that a layperson would expect a horse to be able to gallop over, so long as they’ve never actually ridden a horse, nor read about them.

That being said, grizards have their disadvantages. They aren’t as fast as horses on flat ground. They are terrible swimmers and have a lower center of gravity than horses, so they can’t ford rivers any deeper than the height of a man. Perhaps more importantly, they are cold-blooded. Don’t expect to take them over the mountains or through the desert without them freezing or burning up, respectively. 

People have a special connection to grizards. In a world where replacements are hard to find, they rarely break. We have adapted to live in diverse regions, so it should be no surprise that we have adapted our grizards as well.

THESE GRIZARDS ARE DIFFERENT

1. Tongue. Here, the flies are as fat as your hand. Our grizards can shoot their tongues quick as a dart up to 15 ft.

2. Heat Adapted. Here, it’s hotter ‘an Hell anywhere the sun touches. Our grizards can burrow through sand and loose earth. They may travel through the desert by occasionally cooling off within the folds of the earth. The desert folk so prize their grizards they will sell them for no less than triple the typical price.

3. Jumpers. Here, you can’t guarantee the path will still be here on your way back. Our grizards can jump 20’ standing, or 40’ if they have a good runup.

4. Swimmers. Here, the rain will make temporary rivers between every hill. Our grizards can move across the top of the water as long as they are going full speed

5. Skin Pouches. Here, it’s cold enough we all need some extra layers. Our grizards have layers of skin to seal in body heat. When leaping from high places, they can unfurl these skin pouches to glide for tremendous distances. This is so rad the mountain folk will not sell them to anyone other than proven friends who have helped in times of need.

6. Intelligent. Here, we know better than to treat them as animals. These grizards are highly social, rapacious, and clever. Said to be a more primordial form of our domesticated beasts, they run on two legs and devour anyone who comes close.

7. Spitters. Here the pits of many fruits are poisonous to the wrong kinds of critters. Our grizards have learned to spit great distances. Items they can fit in their mouths can be loosed like slingstones.

8. Sniffers. Here, the prey is of a canny breed. Our grizards can track by scent.

9. Sliders. Here, the wind makes a man smooth. Our grizards slide down hills and valleys at great speed. Double speed and +2 to hit and damage when sliding your grizard downwards.

10. Obedient. Here, we realized it made more sense to learn their language than to teach them ours. Come up with 10 one-word commands. Your grizard understand these commands.

GLoG: Mail Carrier Class

 Like most of those under the employ of the cult of the messenger god, you are not a priest. Nor, truth be told, must you be very pious. Rather, you uphold the practical, difficult work that the cult is known for: delivering messages. A courier, a mail carrier, a navigator of social landscapes, you are at once out of place nowhere and part of nowhere. You are bound by byzantine canon law, but are rarely under any kind of supervision. Your work is occasionally essential, and you have the love of the common folk, even if what you deliver is usually beneath the notice of the recipient.

(Class written as catharsis for my new macro-professional anxieties :P)

THE HAND OF HERMES

+1 inventory slot and +5’ of movement per Template. 

Starting Equipment: Trusty satchel, navy blue toga, shaker of pepper, badge, short spear, shield

A - Sure-Footed, Ancient Enmity, Professionalism

B - Equitable Remedy, Walk on walls at half speed 

C - Busy Hands, Complete His Rounds 

D - The Grumman

Sure footed:

So long as you go no faster than half speed, your movement does not trigger traps. No matter your speed, you are not slowed by difficult terrain.

Ancient Enmity:

You have a reciprocated loathing with canines. You both have +2 to hit and damage against each other. Because the clergy of the Hermetic Cult has mostly consisted of werewolves from the start, this includes your direct superiors on up to the top of the organization.

Professionalism:

You may read a page at a glance and know the mailing address of all civilized folk. You are never lost in a city.

Equitable Remedy:

After losing a body part, the Fellowship of Hermetic Hands will lobby the cult for a replacement. After 2d10 months of procedure, you receive your new piece. Typically this comes with glue to attach to the stump.

Busy Hands:

You are accustomed to sorting mail while completing the necessities of life. You may carry three hands worth of equipment in your two hands.

Complete His Rounds:

When on a delivery, you are immune to damage from fire, cold, and acid. You cannot drown. If you would die, you rise as a wraith to complete the delivery before your spirit finally rests.

The Grumman:

You are sufficiently trusted to be given control of a special mount, a Long-Limbed Vole called a “Grumman”. The Grumman is 7 ft tall, 8 ft wide, and 12 ft long. It can carry 50 slots of goods and travel 75 miles daily. It can move up to 70 mph, but it shakes violently if going 45 or faster. They are not very bright, but loyal.

Another take on the same concept. Includes a table for significant mail to deliver and interesting recipients. I'm amused to see I repeated the "+1 inventory slot and +5' movement per template" despite not having read this post since it came out in 2021.

GLoG: Professional Revolutionary

 

In this age of yearning and contempt, when the yoke is heavy and the cudgel falls hard, someone has to do something. The salvation of society lurks in the coffeehouses and salons, dreaming, arguing, and smoking. No, you aren’t simply unemployed, you’re a… 

PROFESSIONAL REVOLUTIONARY

Each template, +1 HP, -10 years to your natural lifespan 

Starting Equipment: Pocket Manifesto, revolver, flask of liquor, 2 packs of cigarettes, 20 silver coins

A: Irrepressible, Rebel’s Baptism, Polar Personality

B: Polemics, Anti-Reactionary

C: Agitate, Professional Talent

D: Coup

Irrepressible : There’s only two ways this ends for you: in a martyr’s grave or with the reins of power in your hands. +2 to saves against mental and physical restraints.

Rebel’s Baptism: All true revolutionaries have spent time in prison and run from the cops more times than they can count. But there was one thing you did that really proved your credentials (d6).

1	You underwent enhanced interrogation at the hand of the secret police, but you demonstrated an incredible pain tolerance and never gave up your comrades. You are immune to the harmful effects of pain
2	You were deported to a wretched land and left to fend for yourself amongst the exiled. It turned out to be a pretty good networking opportunity! With 1d4 days effort you can find a familiar face from your fellow deportees, and gain +1 to reaction rolls with them.
3	You got lucky and killed someone important. Twice more, you’ll get lucky again, after seeing the result you may declare a roll actually succeeded or failed.
4	You brazenly vandalized an icon of the regime right under their noses. You may move totally silently and gain the skill Climbing.
5	You robbed a bank and gave the proceeds to the cause. Mostly. Start with 300 extra gold.
6	You discovered a police informant and caught them before they could rat. You may detect lies and half-truths for one minute every day.

Polar Personality: Your charisma is like a magnet: attractive and repulsive in equal measure. For reaction rolls with civilized folks, roll 1d12 instead of 2d6.

A typical year for the Professional Revolutionary

Polemics: You have a new stat, Purity, which starts at 1. Your comrades will use your Purity to determine how much they should respect you. If you ever make a strategic alliance with the forces of reaction or ask the people to pay the price for the greater good, reduce your Purity. If you win a debate with another Professional Revolutionary, either in front of an audience or in print, gain 1 purity and they lose 1. You may choose to be caustic and arrogant in victory. If so, triple the purity gain and loss and gain 15 xp.

Anti-reactionary : At the moment of decision, you are ready. +2 initiative.

Agitate : With 10 minutes of gesticulating, shouting, pandering, and denouncing, you can whip a crowd into a fury. All who listen must save or adopt the judgment, risk aversion, and impulse control they would have if they were drunk. This lasts for six hours, but they may reroll their save when bullets start flying. After using this ability, you cannot use it again until you do three of the following: get three nights sleep, stay awake for 24 hours straight, chain smoke a pack of cigarettes, drink as much alcohol as is in a flask of vodka, rant and rave about the inevitability of the revolution for an hour, shout your fury at a friend (spending 1 Purity in the process), get physically hurt by someone you see as reactionary, witness an unarmed comrade die, or breathlessly achieve a long awaited goal of the revolution. In the heady days of past revolutions, revolutionaries have kept each other going in this state for days, repealing ancient injustices and getting wasted.

Professional Talent: You’ve picked up a useful skill (d6).

1	Bomb-making. With 10 gold and a day of effort, make an anti-personnel petard. With 50 gold and a week of effort, make a building-shattering Big Bomba.
2	Marxmanship. +2 to hit with ranged weapons.
3	To be in the right place at the right time. After being damaged by an attack, once per day you may choose to take no damage instead. Turns out it just barely missed!
4	Smuggling. Short of being strip searched, you can conceal one slot items on your personal perfectly. Containers you spend an hour preparing contain half their volume in secret compartments.
5	Etiquette. You walk among the powerful and know how to speak their language. Other Revolutionaries would be expelled from high society, but you have a way of seeming like you belong. You have an innate understanding of how far you can go before crossing this line.
6	Organizing. You’ve actually gone out amongst the people the revolution will ostensibly be for, learned their concerns and actually made a few friends. Common folk treat you like an old friend instead of an outsider intellectual trying to rule their lives. With a month of effort you can reliably whip up a supportive interest group.

Coup: Your infectious enthusiasm gives +1 to hit and damage to allies within 30 feet. If you seize the reins of power, gain +4 charisma for as long as you hold them. If you are brazenly seizing power, you may spend 5 Purity to delay the response of a rival revolutionary faction by 1 day due to their incredulity. 

Pictured: Kronos protecting the Titanic Revolution from would-be counter-revolutionaries