TAMER OF HORRORS

Salorras Paragon: Tamer of Horrors · Base Path: Armsman (Fighter) · OSE build: reskinned Advanced Fantasy wilderness-warrior chassis A custom OSE class for the blessed beast-tamers of the Druids of Horrors in Laernoctus — warriors who bind magical beasts as faithful companions. Played from 1st level; the character’s beast-bond ritual is part of their background.

The tamers of horrors are renowned tamers of wild beasts, famed across all of Salorras. When humans first settled Laernoctus they found the surrounding lands full of new and dangerous beasts and monsters; where some sought to cleanse the place, a band of druids of Mother found another answer — by the grace of their goddess they could pass her blessings to chosen beast-tamers, strengthening them until they could tame even magical beasts. The sect of the Druids of Horrors took its name from the awe and terror those beasts inspire, and the elite of its blessed warriors were named tamers of horrors.

Drawn from a young age to wild nature, a tamer passes through the order’s training and the beast bond ritual, learning everything of animals and magical beasts and gaining the power to keep them at their side as faithful companions, sharing in their strength. Most are faithful to Mother, or simply believe in the power of mother nature; their moral bent often follows whichever of the three-faced goddess’s faces they most honour. They favour clothing and accessories made from the trophies of beasts they have bested — leather cloaks, necklaces of teeth, claw-tipped gloves — and the number and kind of companions at a tamer’s side marks their seniority in the order. Tamers are found most often in Laernoctus and the wider Free Cities of South, in the jungles of Uzgar and the swamps of Faeldar, and in the elven forests of Khalendianil.

Class Overview

Requirements: Minimum WIS 9; admission to the order of the Tamers of Horrors and the beast bond ritual Prime requisite: STR Hit Dice: 1d8 Maximum level: 14 Armour: Any, including shields Weapons: Any Languages: Alignment, Colloquial

Tamers of horrors are wilderness warriors bonded to a tamed magical beast, at once hunters, trackers, and the masters of creatures that would send other folk fleeing. A prime requisite of STR 13–15 grants +5% to experience earned; STR 16–18 grants +10%.

The Tamer of Horrors

Level	XP	Hit Dice (1d8)	THAC0	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
2	2,250	2d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
3	4,500	3d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
4	9,000	4d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
5	18,000	5d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
6	36,000	6d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
7	72,000	7d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
8	150,000	8d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
9	300,000	9d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
10	450,000	9d8+2*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
11	600,000	9d8+4*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
12	750,000	9d8+6*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
13	900,000	9d8+8*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8
14	1,050,000	9d8+10*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8

* Modifiers from CON no longer apply. — Saving throws: D Death/Poison · W Wands · P Paralysis/Petrify · B Breath Attacks · S Spells/Rods/Staves. The tamer fights and saves as a warrior; the XP column follows the Advanced Fantasy wilderness-warrior track (level 2 at 2,250) and is reconstructed pending confirmation against the printed Player’s Tome.

Class Abilities

Combat. Tamers can use all weapons and all armour, including shields.

Bonded Beast. The heart of the class: through the beast bond ritual, the tamer binds a magical beast as a faithful, utterly loyal companion. The bonded beast may be any magical beast whose Hit Dice do not exceed the tamer’s own level; it fights at the tamer’s side, obeys willingly, and grows more formidable as their bond deepens. Should a bonded beast die, the tamer may bind another after a period of mourning and a new ritual. From 6th level the tamer may keep a second bonded beast, of Hit Dice no greater than the tamer’s level minus 5.

Beast Empathy. A tamer can calm and win over the wild. They may attempt to improve the disposition of any animal or magical beast, soothing its hostility and, often, turning it aside or bending it to their aid — the gentler cousin of the ritual that binds a true companion.

Speak with Beasts. Drawing on the ancient energies of nature, the tamer can converse with animals and magical beasts. From 2nd level they may do so once per day, from 5th twice, and from 8th three times — and at 8th level the gift deepens into command, letting the tamer once per day bend a single animal or magical beast wholly to their will for a time, as their blessing wrests mastery from mother nature herself.

Beast Tracker. A tamer is a peerless hunter of the wild. They can follow the trail of any animal or magical beast across wilderness that would defeat an ordinary tracker, reading spoor, scent-sign, and passage with a skill that grows sharper as they advance.

Alertness of the Wild. Bonded to a beast’s instincts, a tamer and their companion are hard to catch unawares: they are surprised only on a roll of 1 on 1d6 rather than the usual 1–2.

Horror’s Anatomy. From 4th level the tamer’s intimate knowledge of monstrous physiology lets them strike the vital points of magical beasts, dealing +1d6 damage against creatures of that kind, rising to +2d6 at 7th level. By the same knowledge they teach their companions to slip such killing blows, granting each bonded beast damage reduction 1 at 4th level and 2 at 7th.

Bonded Senses. From 5th level the tamer can share their companion’s hearing and scent at will, perceiving whatever it perceives and gaining any keen sense it owns (such as scent or blindsight) while the bond is open; from 9th level they also share its sight and touch, gaining senses such as darkvision or tremorsense. The bond can be open with only one companion at a time.

Beast Lord. At 14th level the tamer can call up the raw primal fury of untamed nature. Once per day, the tamer and every bonded beast within 30 feet are seized by a wild rage for 3 + the tamer’s CON modifier rounds — gaining a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls and fighting with savage strength — after which, unlike ordinary rage, they are not left exhausted.

Wild Lodge — After Reaching 9th Level. A tamer of proven standing may establish a wild lodge or menagerie-hold at the forest’s edge, whereupon tamed beasts, aspiring beast-tamers, and the sanction of the Druids of Horrors gather to them, and the order entrusts them with the taming of ever greater horrors.

Leaving the Order

A tamer who turns against the Druids of Horrors, or abandons the reverence for wild nature at the order’s heart, falls from its grace. They keep every ability of the class and the loyalty of beasts already bonded — but the order withholds further sanction, new companion assignments, and the standing of the beast bond ritual until the tamer makes amends.