Swanmay for Pits & Perils

Class: Swanmay

Armor: None

Weapons: 1-H edged

Special Abilities: feather cloak, gifts, trusted

SWAN-MAIDENS are bridges between Faerie and the world of men. They inspire virtue in adventurers, molding and aiding heroes and champions of good. These rare Muses have no guile and command trust in all but the more wicked of villains. Their feather cloaks are almost part of them, and represent the bond they have with Elfland. However, they are often lawful, and even when neutral tend to throw themselves into lawful causes.

While frequently part of great quests they are not warriors. Though they are human (or mostly so), they cannot have strength as an attribute. They do however, for game purposes, get charisma as an attribute in addition to whatever else the player rolled. Should they player roll charisma a second time, they get +1 to all dice to persuade others. The swan-may gets spell points (FP) to cast Calm or Heal, but always as a first level caster.

The swanmay's feather cloak is like the feather beast cloak, but closely tied to her. Others will not be able to use it. Also it acts as magic leather armor while she is in human form (+2 to HP). In swan form she may fly 40’, see long range in daylight, and fish. She gets +1 per 3 levels to fishing or fishing related saves (such as harrying opponents).

CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT:

EXP LVL HP     SP     TITLE

0          1         7     2         Wing Lass

150          2         +1     —— ——

300 3         +2     3         Swan Sister

600 4         +3     —— ——

1,200 5         +4     —— Feather Wise

2,500 6         +5     4         ——

5,000 7         +6     —— Wing Lady

10,000         8         +7     —— ——

20,000         9         +8     5         Swan Sybil

40,000         10         +9     —— ——

LANGUAGES: Common, Birds, and Elf.

NOTE: This is for the excellent and lite Pits & Perils. Also note, this is worked up in the style used by Olde House Rules for the main rulebook. It is a gem.

Religious History

The Old Imperial Pantheon

Any and All

Before the coming of the great churches the Lords and Ladies were not opposed as Law to Chaos, but rather above in the ethereal world to below in the earthly dark. The Powers were invoked rather haphazardly and superstitiously. There was a lack of serious theology but a great deal of myth. Ritual and divine hope were largely the pass time of the elite. The real power was the Empire itself. The churches changed that. The Lords and Ladies became Powers indeed, and mobilized their servants for the sake of those peoples the empire cared little for.

When the Old Imperial Pantheon was in vogue it was the brunt of much criticism from philosophers of all sorts. Her priests were often little more than hedge wizards or shamans. There were divine spells, but none of great power, and the powers of undeath could not be turned. Now that religion has resumed its ancient power in the Churches, the Old Pantheon is resigned to academic interest and a source for poetic treatment fo the Powers. Philosophers and wizards analyze the ways of the Lords and Ladies through the lens of the Imperial Pantheon to avoid running afoul of either 

Church. It is for this reason it is included here.

The Empyrean Pantheon:

• Lord Wisdom (Lord Dreams)
• Lord Truth
• Lady Justice
• Lord Fire (Lord Might)
• Lord Illusion (Lord Shadow)
• Lady Time

The Chthonic Pantheon:

• Lady Life
• Lord Death
• Lady Wealth (Lady Fortune)
• Lord Fecund
• Lord Struggle (Lord Battle)
• Lady Night

Of the Faith of Barbarians (and Orcs)

The Barbarian Religion:

Neutrality/Chaos

• King Battle
• Mother Hearth (Lady Night)
• Maid Honor (Lady Virtue)
• Sir Courage (Lady Might)
• Grandfather Oracle (Lord Dreams)

The Barbarian Religion flourishes where the tempering fruits of civilization have not yet reached. The clan chief generally is high priest and the hierarchy that exists is an extension of family ties. Shamans do pop up now and then, and they received great respect. The tenets of the faith revolve around the struggle to survive and the necessity the community maintain coherence.

Buble, Buble, Toil, & Trouble

Witchcraft

Neutrality

• Lord Murder (Lord Shadows)
• Lord Undeath (Lord Death)
• Lord Vengeance (Lord Might)
• Dame Covenant (Lady Night)

This dark faith is universally reviled, and yet, found universally. What is denominated witchcraft here is not just the quaint superstitions of the Neutral Faith, even in its darker practices (though the Church of Law has no trouble lumping the two together when it fits her agenda). This is not a fertility cult. This is the resort to those who have nowhere to resort for vengeance or justice.

The Old Faith

The Neutral Faith:

Neutrality

• Mother Harvest (Lady Life)
• Father Want (Lord Death)
• Lord Gift (Lord Fecund)
• Grandfather Mystery (Lord Dreams)
• Grandmother Change (Lady Time)

The Neutral Faith is associated with rustics and peasants from regions that were not civilized before the advent of the Church of Law. While not the religion of Fairy, it is associated with those who live in around regions strongly touched by the Fairy Realms. It is associated with wise elders, mystics, and Druids.

The Heretic Church

The Church of Chaos:

Chaos

• Lord Might
• Lady Fortune
• Master Void (Lord Death)

The Church of Chaos is not as institutionalized as the Church of Law. While it generally acknowledges a divinity above the Lords and Ladies, the church generally views that divinity as the backdrop upon which destiny must be carved. The divine is entropy. It is the vacuum that must be filled, but directs the end result by its very nature, as the vessel gives shape to the liquid within. The Church of Chaos is almost a confederation (an uneasy, competitive confederation) of three different faiths.

The Great Church

The Church of Law:

Law

The Principle Powers

• Lord Truth
• Lady Virtue (Lady Justice)
• Sister Mercy (Lady Life)

The Church of Law is a monotheistic church. The tenets and theology of Law tend to vary slightly from region to region, but generally agree that these powers reveal the true nature and way of one true Being: Law. Some teach that these powers are emanations from Law; others see them as supernatural champions of Law. Some even teach that the three great powers are merely saints of Law, albeit in a higher sense than the myriad of saints and heroes that make up the complex pantheon of the church.