WARLORD
Salorras Paragon: Warlord · Base Path: Armsman (Fighter) · OSE build: custom Fighter-variant class A custom OSE class for the ancestor-bonded warrior-leaders of the Warlords of Ancestry — the oldest faction of Asmeda, who draw power from the spirits of their fallen forebears. Played from 1st level; the character’s ancestral bond is part of their background.
The warlords, known also as Tabaat in the tongue of the Anserians, form the oldest surviving faction on Asmeda — the Warlords of Ancestry. Trained from childhood in the traditions of the desert and the aged nomads of the Siaba Danuma, they weave in time strong psychic bonds with the spirits of their fallen ancestors, drawing power and knowledge to crush the enemies of their motherland of Anseri. Over the years these devoted warriors gain supernatural traits much like the warriors of Eone — yet without obeying any deity, giving their faith instead to the land and the values of the desert folk. Some revere Mother, believing her eldest face — the Hag — gave them the gift of communing with their ancestors.
Warlords lead the nomadic bands of the desert, holding with fanatic zeal that the desert peoples must remain on their ancestral soil, that only cowards migrate “like birds of passage.” Superbly disciplined, a small band of warlords fights with the power of a small army. They bear golden war-paint upon their faces — but where ordinary tribesfolk change their designs with their mood, a warlord adopts a single unchanging motif of war and discipline, its size marking seniority in the band.
Most warlords draw their power against the ancient enemies — the orilyni or the Saragothan demons — though in recent years some have arisen who know much of Salorras’s new foe, the darkfallen. And scattered through the desert are the lost: warlords converted during the demon-wars to the faith of the archdemon of gates, Nasbael, who count the ancestral enemy — the noble faye — among their foes no longer. These form the corrupted splinter, the Warlords of the Abyss. Their power is the same as any warlord’s, for it flows from lineage and land, not from creed — but it is bent now to the sleeping archdemon they are certain will one day wake.
Class Overview
Requirements: Anserian human, raised in the desert traditions; minimum CHA 13 Prime requisite: STR Hit Dice: 1d8 Maximum level: 14 Armour: Any, including shields Weapons: Any Languages: Alignment, Anserian, Colloquial
Warlords are fanatical desert warriors bonded to the spirits of their forebears, at once fearsome shock-troops and the bane of their people’s ancient enemies. A prime requisite of STR 13–15 grants +5% to experience earned; STR 16–18 grants +10%. Warlords keep no alignment requirement: most are Lawful, but the corrupted (the Warlords of the Abyss) are not, and wield the same gifts regardless.
The Warlord
| Level | XP | Hit Dice (1d8) | THAC0 | D | W | P | B | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d8 | 19 [0] | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 2 | 3,000 | 2d8 | 19 [0] | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 3 | 6,000 | 3d8 | 19 [0] | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 4 | 12,000 | 4d8 | 17 [+2] | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 5 | 24,000 | 5d8 | 17 [+2] | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 6 | 48,000 | 6d8 | 17 [+2] | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 7 | 96,000 | 7d8 | 14 [+5] | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| 8 | 180,000 | 8d8 | 14 [+5] | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | 360,000 | 9d8 | 14 [+5] | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| 10 | 540,000 | 9d8+2* | 12 [+7] | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 11 | 720,000 | 9d8+4* | 12 [+7] | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 12 | 900,000 | 9d8+6* | 12 [+7] | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 13 | 1,080,000 | 9d8+8* | 10 [+9] | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| 14 | 1,260,000 | 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. Like the other elite martial orders, the warlord’s XP track runs half again above the plain fighter’s.
Class Abilities
Combat. Warlords can use all weapons and all armour, including shields — and, unlike most desert folk, they train in heavy armour despite the climate.
Ancestral Lore. At 1st level the warlord’s ancestors share ancient knowledge of one primordial enemy of Anseri, chosen now and forever: the orilyni, the darkfallen, the noble faye, or the Saragothan demons. The warlord knows this foe deeply — its ways, weaknesses, and works — and the same knowledge extends to the mixed kindreds descended from those enemies over the ages: the eidolai (of the orilyni), the eyafen (of the noble faye), and the eyalen ria (of the Saragothan demons). Every gift below that names “the chosen enemy” means this foe and its descendants.
Ancestral Smite. Once per day the warlord may call on their forebears to guide a killing blow against the chosen enemy. On a declared attack, they add their CHARISMA modifier to the attack roll and +1 damage per warlord level. Against any other target the strike is ordinary and the daily use is spent. The warlord smites one additional time per day at 5th, 9th, and 13th level (to a maximum of four).
Ancestral Weapon. From 3rd level the warlord can wreath their weapon in the ancestral power that pierces their enemy’s defences. Once per day (again at 7th and 11th, to three times), for a number of rounds equal to their level, the weapon transforms according to the chosen enemy:
- Orilyni — the weapon screams as it strikes, counting as magical and dealing +1d6 sonic damage on each hit, shredding the orilyni’s wards.
- Darkfallen — the weapon is sheathed in the meteorite metal Voidsteel, piercing the alien defences of the darkfallen and striking +1 to hit and damage, with a chance of a supersonic burst for extra harm.
- Noble faye — the weapon is clad in Sargothite, the ancient nemesis metal of the faye lineages, piercing their defences and striking +2 to hit and damage.
- Saragothan demons — the weapon’s Sargothite edge wakes to its holy wrath against the demons of Saragoth, piercing their defences and dealing +2d6 damage against them.
Ancestral Wrath. From 9th level the warlord’s bond against their foe is always burning: they gain a permanent +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against the chosen enemy and to Armour Class against its attacks.
Rally. From 4th level, while fighting alongside at least one other warlord within 30 feet, the warlord gains a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, Armour Class, damage rolls, and saves against fear and mind-affecting effects, rising to +2 at 8th and +3 at 12th. Bonuses from different warlords do not stack; all present use the bonus of the highest-level warlord among them.
Fanaticism. From 5th level the warlord’s terrible zeal lends every blow force: they deal +2 damage against any enemy.
Desert-Hardened. Warlords train in the cruellest climates. From 2nd level they ignore the ill effects of desert heat and thirst and move at full speed in light or medium armour; from 8th level their devotion lets them move at full speed even in heavy armour.
Warcry of the Ancestors. At 14th level the warlord comes into full communion with the ancestral spirits, and can share their strength with others. A number of times per day equal to CHARISMA modifier (minimum once), as a full action, the warlord looses a primordial cry in a 20-foot radius: for the next several rounds, allies within it may use the warlord’s ancestral smite, ancestral weapon, ancestral wrath, and rally against the chosen enemy as though they were warlords themselves. Uses of smite and ancestral weapon spent by allies are drawn from the warlord’s own daily total.
Leaving the Way
A warlord’s gifts are lineage- and land-born, not granted by any power that could withdraw them — so a warlord loses nothing by falling from the ancestral way. But one who abandons the traditions of the desert, and above all one who turns to the archdemon Nasbael, is named among the lost: cast out by the Warlords of Ancestry, hunted as a traitor to the forebears, and counted thereafter one of the Warlords of the Abyss, wielding the same ancestral power now bent to a sleeping demon-lord.