The trainer is a warrior type character who uses a trained animal(s) to do battle in his place. He spends most of his time with his animal(s), often being his pet, in addition to being his weapon. The animal may be any beast within 1/2 to 1 1/2 the trainer's size, and/or anything accepted by the DM (but it must be close to that size, since the beast will go wherever his master does, and should be a normal wild animal.) The beast could not be weak, since it's got do battle in the character�s place. In fact, the beast will be trained so much that it will have the character�s hit points. But this much training will take time to build, in fact, this his time taken all over the character�s activities, including fighting and adventuring, since the character will teach his beast how to do those as well as he does. For this reason, the character will raise at 1 1/2 the normal experience rate for a fighter. A trainer starts with one untrained animal (this makes the animal lv 0 and with its natural stats...) The trainer must then spend 1/2 a level worth of experience points to grow his animal into a trained, battle ready beast. From then on, the creature will rise to be as strong as its master. Its capacities will always be in proportion of those of his master. So if the warrior is of sixth level, with 40 hp, and the beast his level one, it will have 1/6 the trainer's hp rounded down : 6 hp. If the beast is level 3 and the trainer is lv 9, it will have 1/3 the trainer's hp and so on... The beast his now of the warrior class and will rise according to the fighter's progression table until it as reached it's master's level. It will then rise at the same rate its master does, always being of the same level from then on, and so having the same hp. A trained beast will not progress without its master, nor will it rest until it as found him, and if let uncared for, it will slowly return to its natural state, but remaining stronger then normal. The bound between the animal and the trainer is very strong, so strong that the trainer often considers his beasts as his brothers and sisters, or even his children. A trainer will stop at nothing to try and save one of his beasts, and if he fails, he will be as if affected by a feeble mind spell for the next 1d10 + 5 days. (If you don�t know what this means, go read the spell, and you will see just how important the beasts are to the trainer. A trainer could be ready to die to save one of his beasts...

Weapon Proficiencies

The trainer's normal hand weapon is a whip, which he uses as much for fighting, as to train his animal, or to signal it. He his required to be proficient with it. But the trainer's main weapon his the beast. He must then master the training art, and teach his beast to master his own fighting style. This will require that he spends 1/3 of all weapon proficiencies he ever gains in mastering those skills. But the greatest advantage of the trainer is that he may become a one-man army (because of his capacity to have more then one trained beast at the time.) If the trainer trains more then one beast at the time, he must spend an additional quarter of a level worth of experience points for every animal in addition to the first, and at least one weapon proficiency in each additional animal. He may have to choose to suspend one beast's training to allow another to grow, but he will always continue to train his "weapon of choice", his original choice. A trainer can train one beast for each 2 levels he possesses. So if a trainer was of 6th level, he could have as much as 3 trained animals with him, along with as many untrained animals as he wants. And if he wanted to keep training all 3 of them at the time, it would cost him his basic 1 1/2 of a fighter's experience points to level-up, plus 1/4 of a level worth for each additional animal (2 additional animals in this case), so it would cost him 2 levels worth of experience points to rise of one level.

Non-weapon Proficiencies

A trainer will train himself as much as he does his animals, and will in time become more and more like them. But for him to grow to this point, he will have to learn their ways and fully understand them. He his given the animal handling proficiency for each animal he trains, as well as the animal training proficiency. It may also be wise for him to learn how to hide properly, move without making noise, pass without trace or any other skills allowing him to live like a wild beast.

Equipment

The trainer, in his effort to fully understand his beasts, will try to act just like them. He must not wear any armor or equipment which would limit his motion. Because of this, he will not wear any armor bigger that a hide (which he his very likely to wear). It his also probable that, in addition to his whip, he would have a close range weapon allowing him to battle like a beast, and would be used to fight with his bear hands.

Other

As it rises in level, the beast will become stronger. This means not only that it will have more hp, but that it will also become a better fighter. The beast's THACO will go down just as would the one of a fighter of the same level, it will gain a -1 bonus to THACO and a +1 damage bonus for the first 3 weapon proficiencies the trainer puts in it, and an additional +1 damage bonus for each one after.

The energy weaver is a wizard from an ancient order who draw their strength from all life around them. They are called the order of the blue flame, and are very religious people. In fact, half of the order are priests, but we will first concentrate on the wizard half of them. They follow a mystic god called Jah' goth. He is a god of power and magic who follows a simple but crude rule: may the best win. He will give power to those who really desire it, but will ask something in return. The "empowered", as they like to call themselves, must devote their lives to him and make offerings in the form of energy points (which shall be explained later on). What Jah'goth grants is the capacity to draw strength from the very life force of the world. The wizard concentrates and form a ring of blue flame like energy around him, which drains the life force out of what it touches. He is then able to weave this energy into spells. As the wizard gets stronger, he can drain from more resistant life forms, faster, and can keep the energy in store longer. Jah' goth asks that each of his followers sacrifices at least one tenth of the energy gathered, or seven points per week (or one per day), and will not tolerate that one of is followers does not comply. Any who do shall suffer a permanent lost of his powers, and be banned from the order. The powers can be restored but only with the assistance of priests from the order, in a long and complicated ritual which must be performed at one of Jah'goth's temples. The powers shall then be restored but only if the god agrees to forgive the wizard. For this to happen, the wizard must have been totally unable to obtain or transfer the needed energy points. In special circumstances, a weaver could be allowed to regain his lost powers, could he prove that he is worthy through a complicated quest which would be given to him by the grand priest of the order; but due to the evil nature of their god, this would be a very rare case indeed!

His followers often battle each other to see which is the strongest. They will try not to kill each other, but will battle to the best of their abilities. This is their top priority, and it will be done, or they will be banned from the order. Any individual banned from the order of the blue flame shall be hunted, and probably killed by the other members, unless he can prove that he was not responsible for the offence. Those which aren't killed are kept as servants or slaves by those who manage to catch them. If one finds another member of the order, and could not explain why he would not battle at this time, he will do so. If, for a good reason, which must be explained to the opponent, he cannot fight at the moment, he will come back as soon as he can and engage the opponent. The only reasons why one can truly refuse a challenge, is a permanent incapacity, which will result in the permanent return of the wizard to a temple to serve there until he can no longer be of use, or the uncontestable greater power of the challenger. (This would normally be a difference of at least 3 or 4 levels, since the members of the order take great pride in defeating a publicly known stronger opponent...) A weaver will never challenge a weaker opponent, since he doesn't need to prove his strength against him, but should the weaker one challenge, question or provoke him in any way, a stronger weaver will gladly battle, so he can prove himself once again. However, never forget that he is a wizard, and so as not devoted much of his time to physical training. This makes him quite weak in hand to hand combat, and often forces him to keep a low profile, since the order is both hated and feared by most who know of its existence.

While draining energy, the weaver is quite vulnerable. He must concentrate for one turn in order to create the ring, or can spend one energy point to speed up the process by ten, taking him one round to form the ring. While doing this, he cannot perform any action. If he is disturbed in any way, the energy pattern is broken, and he cannot create the ring. If an energy point was spent in the making of a ring which was lost, the point is also lost, and if the wizard is disturbed while gathering energy, he also looses the ring, as well as the point he was gathering. To weave a spell, the weaver requires one point of energy per level of the spell. The weaver first creates a ball of blue flame on the ground beneath him. The ball then expends into a flaming ring. From the first 5 feet of life consumed by the flame, the weaver can create one energy point. He can then gather one more point per five feet. (1 point for the first 5, two from the next five, three from the next five and so on. So after 15 feet, he would have gathered 6 energy points.) The ring expends to five feet in the first five rounds, then, for each 10 feet of life consumed, it will take one more round for it to expend five feet. (after five rounds, the ring is 5 feet in diameter. After another five, it is 10 feet wide. After another 6 rounds, the ring will be 15 feet wide, 20 after another 6 rounds, 25 after another 7 and so on. So after 29 rounds, the ring is 25 feet wide, and the weaver as gathered 21 energy points.) In addition, for each level the wizard possesses, he can keep 4 more energy points in store each day, and for each 3 levels gained, he can keep the points for one more day. (So at 1rst level, he as 4 points, which can be kept for one day. At 2nd level, he could keep 8 points for one day, 12 points for 2 days at 3rd, 16 points for 2 days at 4th and so on...) A weaver cannot consume more life than the quantity of energy needed for his spells plus the quantity of energy points he can store. Once he is at maximum capacity, the ring will vanish on its own.

The stronger the weaver is, the more resistant creatures he can affect. At lower levels (1-5), the ring can only affect plant life. From 6th level, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to one quarter of his level or less, at 12th, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to half his level or less, and from 18th level, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to his own or less. Any creature being drained by the ring will suffer 1 points of damage each round he remains within the circle of flame. The kind of life forms providing the energy doesn't affect the quantity of energy points the weaver can take from it. The weaver must still consume the same amount of life force at the same rate in order to gain energy points. What creatures are in the drained radius doesn't affect the drain's power. The terrain is the only influent factor on the energy gathering rate. An overgrown plain will provide twice the quantity of energy points, and a desert would provide only 1/10 of the normal amount of energy points (dawned from the rare insects, animals and plants that inhabit these arid places). But in all situations it is up to the DM to decide if a modificator should apply. In the event that only a single organism can be drained, the weaver can attempt to drain it directly. In order to do so, the weaver must hold the organism with both hands. He must then spend one energy point in order to begin the process. As long as it is being held, the organism will be engulfed in blue flames and suffer 1d4 points of damage each round. The weaver is then able to gather energy at the rate of 1/4 of an energy point for each point of damage dealt to the organism until he lets go, the organism breaks free, or dies.

Once he as absorbed life force, the wizard will be able to convert energy points into spells. However, he must determine what spell will be made from the consumed energy at the moment he gathers it, or he will have to meditate, then sleep one night in order to weave them into spells. The meditation time is equal to one round per level of spell he is weaving. Unused energy points will remain in him for as long as the weaver can contain their energy, after what they must be expulsed from the weaver's body, or he will suffer 1 point of damage for each energy points he kept. To prevent this, the weaver must simply dispose of the energy points into any object. He can do so at a rate of four per round, plus one for each level beyond the first. The target will suffer a quarter of this damage (1 for each four points released) rounded down from the energy release, being consumed in a blue flame. Special disposal places exist and can be found in any place occupied by the order of the blue flame. They are giant silver cups, about 6 feet in diameter and standing five feet of the ground on a silver tripod, which's inside is covered by a sheet of a blue magic crystal. They are called shakari, or death keeper. They can contain the energy of the blue flame, which keeps burning in them for a year after disposal. There are also miniature versions of them, which look like 1/2 a foot in diameter silvery blue crystal balls. The core is an hollow sphere of the same silver metal that can contain the destructive energy, and is pierced by shards of the magic crystal which envelops the sphere and serves as chaneller for the energy. When activated, it allows the flow of energy to occur. The weaver must spend two energy points in order to activate it, and can then store or drain it of one energy point each round. The larger shakaris work in the same way, but only require one energy point to activate, and are left in the temple to be used by anyone who can. In both cases, the weaver must be in direct skin contact with the object.

Requirements and Limitations

Due to the nature of this magic, the weaver cannot be of good alignment. Also, he cannot be elf, since they forbid the unnecessary destruction of nature or living organism, but could be a drow, or of any other race which is allowed the study of magic, up to the same levels. Energy weavers must have a minimum intelligence score of 14, intelligence being their prime requisite.

Weapon Proficiencies

The energy weaver is a wizard, and so, as access to the same proficiencies as the other wizard classes, but due to is way of life, he tends to prefer a more damaging weapons to his staff... The energy weaver can learn to use any weapon but must spend an additional proficiency slot in each one he wishes to learn that isn't normally allowed to mages since most of his time is devoted to the study of his dark art.

Non-weapon Proficiencies

This training also allows him to become more endurent then most wizards, which is a big advantage when you tend to have many enemies. They have access to a special proficiency called priesthood, which gives them the hit dice of clerics (d8). But weavers with the priesthood proficiency must each week donate an additional energy point to Jah'goth in return. This proficiency also costs two slots. Other then this, the weaver will use the non-weapon proficiency of the general and mage classes.

Equipment

The weaver is most likely to try and acquire a shakari as soon as he can. But since the item can only be made by a very strong weaver, they are quite rare. Other then this, the weaver will try to gain as much power as possible, and so he will try to gather many powerful magical items. This can often result in murder if the weaver cannot get the item otherwise, or if he simply fell that it is the most profitable way to go. But a weaver would not intentionally murder another member of the order, be him wizard or priest, nor would he steal from them.

Other

The energy weaver is an aggressive power-hungry character which should be properly studied before accepted in a campaign world, and if accepted, closely watched.

The faith channellers are the priest half of the order of the blue flame, as described in the above description of the energy weaver. They are devoted followers of Jah'goth, god of power and magic, also often called god of the blue flame, due to the power he grants to all who follow him. This power is the ability to tap into the energy surrounding them and use it as fuel for their magic. These priests draw from the very life force of all living matter and channel it to their all mighty god, who will in return grant them spells to overcome foe and problems. Jah'goth is an evil god who follows a crude but simple rule: may the best win. He will give power to those who really desire it, but will ask something in return. The "empowered", as they like to call themselves, must devote their lives to him and make offerings in the form of energy points (which shall be explained later on). As priests, this devotion goes beyond that of a simple follower. They shall serve him throughout their life to the best of their ability. They shall do his biding and smite his enemies. They work in close collaboration with the wizard half of their order, as with the believers who live and die for their god.

Just like the weavers, the faith channellers have the ability to create a ring of blue flame, appearing under them in the form of a ball of blue flame and spreading outward, consuming life as it goes, converting life force into pure energy, energy which they can channel to the demon god. Jah'goth answers their prayers with the gift of priestly magic. He will not tolerate that his priests pray to any other, and any who do shall forever be banished, hunted and killed by members of the order. In the rare case that he is allowed to live, he shall spend the rest of his life serving the order or the one who caught him. In special circumstances, a priest could be allowed to regain his lost powers and status, could he prove that he is worthy and earn forgiveness through a complicated quest which would be given to him by the grand priest of the order; but due to the profound evil of their god, this would be a very rare case indeed!

His followers often battle each other to see which is the strongest. They will try not to kill each other, but will battle to the best of their abilities. This is their top priority, and it will be done, or they will be banned from the order. If one finds another member of the order, and could not explain why he would not battle at this time, he will do so. If, for a good reason, which must be explained to the opponent, he cannot fight at the moment, he will come back as soon as he can and engage the opponent. The only reasons why one can truly refuse a challenge, is a permanent incapacity, which will result in the permanent return of the priest to a temple to serve there until he can no longer be of use, or the uncontestable greater power of the challenger. (This would normally be a difference of at least 3 or 4 levels, since the members of the order take great pride in defeating a publicly known stronger opponent...) A faith channeller will never challenge a weaker opponent, since he doesn't need to prove his strength against him, but should the weaker one challenge, question or provoke him in any way, a stronger priest will gladly battle, so he can prove himself once again. Once a year, the high priests of Jah'goth shall do battle to determine who shall be the next grand priest. They use every skill they know and fight in every way possible so that they can prove to all that they are incontestably the most powerful among them. More inexperienced priests of Jah'goth advance in the same way. They most prove their worth to the other members of their church and prove that they are ready to advance. This includes a special ceremony in which the pretender most prove his worth as a priest, in every way possible. Again, the same ceremony is performed if and when a priest must be replaced.

The faith channeller first creates a ball of blue flame on the ground beneath him. The ball then expends into a flaming ring. From the first 5 feet of life consumed by the flame, the priest can create one energy point. He can then gather one more point per five feet. (1 point for the first 5, two from the next five, three from the next five and so on. So after 15 feet, he would have gathered 6 energy points.) The ring expends to five feet in the first five rounds, then, for each 10 feet of life consumed, it will take one more round for it to expend five feet. (after five rounds, the ring is 5 feet in diameter. After another five, it is 10 feet wide. After another 6 rounds, the ring will be 15 feet wide, 20 after another 6 rounds, 25 after another 7 and so on. So after 29 rounds, the ring is 25 feet wide, and the channeller as gathered 21 energy points.) In addition, for each level the priest possesses, he can keep 4 more energy points in store each day, and for each 3 levels gained, he can keep the points for one more day. (So at 1rst level, he as 4 points, which can be kept for one day. At 2nd level, he could keep 8 points for one day, 12 points for 2 days at 3rd, 16 points for 2 days at 4th and so on...) A faith channeller cannot consume more life than the quantity of energy needed for his spells plus the quantity of energy points he can store. The priest can still draw energy, but it must be transferred directly to the god. This is one form of sacrifice performed by priests of this order.

The stronger the priest is, the more resistant creatures he can affect. At lower levels (1-5), the ring can only affect plant life. From 6th level, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to one quarter of his level or less, at 12th, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to half his level or less, and from 18th level, he can affect creatures with hit dice equal to his own or less. Any creature being drained by the ring will suffer 1 points of damage each round he remains within the circle of flame. The kind of life forms providing the energy doesn't affect the quantity of energy points the priest can take from it. The faith channeller must still consume the same amount of life force at the same rate in order to gain energy points. What creatures are in the drained radius doesn't affect the drain's power. The terrain is the only influent factor on the energy gathering rate. An overgrown plain will provide twice the quantity of energy points, and a desert would provide only 1/10 of the normal amount of energy points (dawned from the rare insects, animals and plants that inhabit these arid places). But in all situations it is up to the DM to decide if a modification should apply. In the event that only a single organism can be drained, the priest can attempt to drain it directly. In order to do so, the weaver must hold the organism with both hands. He must then spend one energy point in order to begin the process. As long as it is being held, the organism will be engulfed in blue flames and suffer 1d4 points of damage each round. The channeller is then able to gather energy at the rate of 1/4 of an energy point for each point of damage dealt to the organism until he lets go, the organism breaks free, or dies.

The energy points kept in store can be used as further sacrifices to the god. They can also be channeled, joined to his prayers so to receive spells in the same way as when the energy points where first drained. The prayer time needed to sacrifice points and ask for the desired spells is equal to one round per level of spell the priest is praying for. The priest must then sleep for a period of eight hours, time during which he shall receive the spells. Unused energy points will remain in him for as long as he can contain their energy, after what they must be expulsed from the priest's body, or he will suffer 1 point of damage for each energy points he kept. To prevent this, he must simply dispose of the energy points into any object. He can do so at a rate of four per round, plus one for each level beyond the first. The target will suffer a quarter of this damage (1 for each four points released) rounded down from the energy release, being consumed in a blue flame. Special disposal places exist and can be found in any place occupied by the order of the blue flame. They are giant silver cups, about 6 feet in diameter and standing five feet of the ground on a silver tripod, which's inside is covered by a sheet of a blue magic crystal. They are called shakari, or death keeper. They can contain the energy of the blue flame, which keeps burning in them for a year after disposal. There are also miniature versions of them, which look like 1/2 a foot in diameter silvery blue crystal balls. The core is an hollow sphere of the same silver metal that can contain the destructive energy, and is pierced by shards of the magic crystal which envelops the sphere and serves as chaneller for the energy. When activated, it allows the flow of energy to occur. The weaver must spend two energy points in order to activate it, and can then store or drain it of one energy point each round. The larger shakaris work in the same way, but only require one energy point to activate, and are left in the temple to be used by anyone who can. In both cases, the priest must be in direct skin contact with the object in order to use it.

Requirements and Limitations

Due to the nature of this magic, the faith channeller cannot be of good alignment. Also, he cannot be elf, since they forbid the unnecessary destruction of nature or living organism, but could be a drow, or of any other race which is allows priesthood, up to the same levels. Faith channellers must have a minimum wisdom score of 14, wisdom being their prime requisite.

Spheres Granted

All, Charm, Combat, Elemental, Divination, Healing, Law, Necromantic, Protection, Travelers

Granted Powers

At first level, once per day, the faith channeller can create a ball of blue flame and throw it as a produce flame. At fifth level, once per day, he can create a blue fireball, as cast by a fifth level mage. At ninth level, once per day, he can create a circular wave of blue flames, expending rapidly from him to a distance of 60 feet, and dealing 8d4 points of damage to any living organism touched by the wave. Note that the blue flame isn't real fire. It cannot ignite flammable material and affects only living matter. Undeads, golems an the like are immune to its life draining effects.

Weapon Proficiencies and restrictions

These priests are allowed the use of any weapon

Armor Restriction

The faith channeller is allowed the use of any armor

Non-weapon Proficiencies

Faith channellers have access to the proficiencies of the general and priest classes. Due to their extensive combat training and constant combat within the order, they also have access to a special proficiency called battle training, which allows them to roll hit points as fighters (d10) instead of the normal d8 given to priests. Battle training costs one proficiency slot.

Equipment

The faith channeler is most likely to try and acquire a shakari as soon as he can. But since the item can only be made by a very strong energy weaver, they are quite rare. Other then this, the priest will try to gain as much power as possible, and so he will try to gather many powerful magical items. This can often result in murder if the priest cannot get the item otherwise, or if he simply fell that it is the most profitable way to go. But a faith channeller would not intentionally murder another member of the order, be him wizard or priest, nor would he steal from them.

Other

The faith channeller is an aggressive power-hungry character which should be properly studied before accepted in a campaign world, and if accepted, closely watched.