GLOG Class: Sun Cultist
"Daedalus, our old master, adjures: 'bide on venerated earth.'
We all xclaim, 'Mankind ever loved the Sun!'"
Initially, his apprentices vainly exalted harpy icons, dismaying Daedalus exceedingly. Now, advanced cultists research ornithology, sending their infatuation catapulting sunward. Through harrowing rites, oblates undergo ghastly habilitation, ousting unseemly traits that hinder illumination so catastrophically. Loyal acolytes still seek the halcyon ideal - supernal Icarus, soaring towards Heaven. Every mundanity overcome subsequently transforms into magnificent pinions, reforming each successful soul into volant entities, flight evermore a tautology.
Starting Equipment: tome of ornithology, secure backpack, curved dagger
Starting Skill
Ornithology plus one of the below.
- Weaving
- Incubation
- Navigation
- Gossip
- Expectorating
- Dance
A: Feathers, Lift
B: Icarus
C: Grasping
D: Heavenward, Tragedy
Feathers
Stab the bronze feathers of the stymphalides into your skin, quill first. Wash yourself in hydra blood and a furyās tears. The pinions shed their metallic shell and grow true across your body. The wind feels good on your feathers. Gain +4 movement.
Lift
Drink a brew of pegasus milk and harpy blood while a warm south wind blows. When you finish the last drop, jump as high as you can. When you land, vomit up elemental earth. You weigh only 3 encumbrance (a typical PC weighs 8), add [1+Sun Cultist templates] to your unarmored defense, and can jump [1+Sun Cultist templates] times as far and high as before.
Icarus
Go too far. Sacrifice your arms for wings. Wrap your arms in horseflesh and let a griffin maul them. Let your mangled limbs heal without intervention and your feathers will grow in with a vengeance. Ignore your screaming joints and aching shoulders to fly for 10 minutes. Take 1d6 damage whenever you do so, but deal 1d6 extra damage on attacks against flightless enemies for the duration. You can kick for 1d4+Strength damage, and your fly speed is [Sun Cultist templates]x your movement.
You cannot fly while wearing armor.
Grasping
Leave your legs unwashed and nails unclipped until your skin turns scaly and your nails grow clawlike. Soak them in the waters of the Styx until they forget their old shape, then dry them in the sight of eagles. Your taloned feet can grasp like hands but you canāt wield weapons or shields with your legs - dropping stuff is fair game though. Your wicked kicking deals 1d10+strength damage and you can attempt a free maneuver when you hit.
Heavenward
Fly towards the Sun until you pass out from the pain. Survive the fall. When you recover, understand the secret of flight.
You no longer take damage from using Icarus.
Tragedy
Realize what youāve become. You are a monster. Either Mourn Forever or Feel the Sunās Comfort.
Mourn Forever. Weep for your lost humanity. Get +2 to reaction rolls and the Singing skill. When you sing, hearers must save or be compelled to draw near, sit (or circle nearby if flying or swimming), and listen until you stop singing. The effect is broken by leaving clear earshot, noticed signs of obvious danger (just seeing weapons isn't enough, the hostility must be obvious), and startling things (a loud shout in the ear, a slap on the face). Even if they pass their save, they must save again after one minute if they remain within earshot. Singing for more than an hour at a time will make you lose your voice.
Feel the Sunās Comfort. The joys of flight overwhelm your sorrow. Pass any test of flying agility. While unarmored and able to fly, you may parry once per round, reducing the damage of an attack that hit you by 1d12. Get +4 to attack with dropped projectiles and your talons.
Design Notes
Several acrostics for my GLOGtober challenge 2: āGLOG class formatted as an acrostic using the English alphabet.ā I'm aiming to do one from each challenge, in order. At-will flight is taboo for some, but I think this is a pretty fair implementation. You canāt carry the whole party and you canāt straightforwardly do any kind of ranged combat, except dropping stuff on people.
Other than that, I like classes where you transform into a monster. Unlike the others Iāve written so far, this one is decidedly intentional and self-inflicted on the part of the PC. Itās also vague on what monster you become.
As a bonus: Iāve formatted it so you could turn the abilities into a sequence of delta templates too if you wanted. Maybe itās better that way, but historically my table hasnāt played with deltas.