Pious Mystic (variant to Forlorn mystic)

© Andrè Michael Pietroschek under included OGL

Alignment: Any. This version focuses pious, most certainly jolly good types.
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills
Alchemy (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str),
Knowledge_Arcana (Int), Knowledge_vile darkness (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Scry (Int),
Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4. Starting Gold: 6d4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 3 + Int modifier.
Table: The Mystic (strictly based on the D&D Sorcerer)
Level BaseAttack Bonus Defence FortSave RefSave WillSave Special Spells per Day by spell-levels
Cantrips 1st 2nd 3rd
1st +0 +2 +0 +0 +2 Summon familiar, Eschew Materials, Light 5 3 * *
Taint, T1
2nd +1 +2 +0 +0 +3 Combat Instinct I 6 4 * *
3rd +1 +3 +1 +1 +3 Combat Casting 6 5 * *
4th +2 +3 +1 +1 +4 Aura of Piety 6 6 3 *
5th +2 +3 +1 +1 +4 Combat Instinct II, T2 6 6 4 *
6th +3 +4 +2 +2 +5 Meta Magic feat 6 6 5 3
7th +3 +4 +2 +2 +5 Taint Immunity 6 6 6 4
8th +4 +4 +2 +2 +6 Combat Instinct III 6 6 6 5
9th +4 +5 +3 +3 +6 Meta Magic feat 6 6 6 6
10th +5 +5 +3 +3 +7 Pacifier Weapon, T3 6 6 6 6
11th +5 +5 +3 +3 +7 Combat Instinct IV 6 6 6 6
12th +6/+1 +6 +4 +4 +8 Spell Mastery 6 6 6 6
13th +6/+1 +6 +4 +4 +8 6 6 6 6
14th +7/+2 +6 +4 +4 +9 Meta Magic feat 6 6 6 6
15th +7/+2 +7 +5 +5 +9 T4 6 6 6 6
16th +8/+3 +7 +5 +5 +10 6 6 6 6
17th +8/+3 +7 +5 +5 +10 Meta Magic feat 6 6 6 6
18th +9/+4 +8 +6 +6 +11 6 6 6 6
19th +9/+4 +8 +6 +6 +11 6 6 6 6
20th +10/+5 +8 +6 +6 +12 Arcane Soul Lock 6 6 6 6

Table: Mystic Spells Known

Level 0 1st 2nd 3rd
1st 4 2 * *
2nd 4 2 * *
3rd 5 3/1 * * On levels 3, 6 & 9 they learn regular spells and behind
4th 5 3 1 * the / they learn 1 realm spell of equal level. Means at
5th 6 4 2 * level 3 they learn a level 1 realm spell in addition, a
6th 6 4 2/1 1 level 2 realm spell at 6th level...
7th 7 5 3 2
8th 7 5 3 2
9th 8 5 4 3/1
10th 8 5 4 3
11th 9 5 5 4
12th 9 5 5 4
13th 9 5 5 4
14th 9 5 5 4
15th 9 5 5 4
16th 9 5 5 4
17th 9 5 5 4
18th 9 5 5 4
19th 9 5 5 4
20th 9 5 5 4

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the mystic.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Mystics are proficient with all simple weapons. They start with a
weapon focus on dagger or quarterstaff depending on tradition (that is T1 on table). They are not proficient
with any type of armour or shield. Armour of any type interferes with a mystic's gestures, which can cause
his or her spells with somatic components to fail.

Feats:

Light Taint: Just as a scion of Azrai can follow an evil path more easily than others can. For purposes
of the good-aligned prestige class, a pious mystic always counts as having made “peaceful contact with an
good outsider.” The same applies to other, similar prerequisites for entry to prestige classes or some
feats, involving good or holy pacts, contact with good, or committing good acts. Henceforth replacing
the feat due in example “Aasimar heritage”, “Elysium born” or similar is legitimate. In planar campaigns
replace it by a proper planar subjugation or heritage feat on demand. Vile, lawful or chaotic variants would
simply replace those feats on demand.

Aura of Piety: Starting with 4th level, any creature intending to harm the mystic must first succeed a Will
Save versus 10 + the mystic level. The aura radiates all around the mystic with a range of 3 yards per 5 levels
in this class and can be turned off as a free action. The aura automatically is off when the mystic is asleep or
unconscious, dead or seriously drugged. Distraction may demand a concentration check to keep it on.

Combat Instinct: The blood-lust and basic training of the 2nd level mystic grant +1 on attack rolls and
initiative each. This increases to +2 to each on level 5, +3 to each at level 8 and +4 to each at level 11.

Defence: If your are not using the rules by which all classes get such, then reduce it to +1 to AC for every 5
levels in this class. They know they are vulnerable and train for such occasionally.

Meta Magic Feat: Whenever this is noted on the table, select a proper one. I didn't write wizard bonus feat
as by now several books and other sources have suiting variants and alternatives.

Taint Immunity: If they make it to 7th level, both the mystic and his or her familiar become immune to taint.
If they are evil they may still taint and defile others though. Taint immunity allows redemption themes and
freedom from certain hellish bonds. Humbly it means vile bonus feats due taint become inaccessible as well.
Pacifier Weapon: The extraordinary ability allows to turn any traditional weapon (dagger OR staff) of
master-work quality or special material like silver into a magical +1 weapon which always scores a critical
hit but of non-lethal damage on 1st hit. To create one make a craft check DC 20 while undisturbed and
supplied with a proper weapon to enchant. The weapon functions normally the rest of the time.

Arcane Soul Lock: If the mystic acquired, created or conquered an arcane sanctum (the classic wizard
tower, a cave with cold iron ore or similar) and this is still intact and functional, the mystic will be reborn
there after his or her death within 6d6 days, once! After that the mystic must pay 5000 experience,
ingredients worth 5000 gold and succeed a spellcraft check DC 35 to prepare his or her sanctum again.
Cheating death this way may trigger depravity or make minions of death hunt you down as well.

Spells: A mystic casts arcane spells which are drawn equally (50% each) from the official Book of Vile
Darkness and the generic sorcerer/wizard spell list. He or she can cast any spell he or she knows without
preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below).

Traditional Weapon feats (T1 to T4):

Level Dagger Staff

1st Weapon Focus Weapon Focus
th
5 Quick Draw Flurry of Blows feat like monk
th st
10 1 Defensive Stance or Skirmish Staff Defence +1 AC
15th Weapon Specialisation* Weapon Specialisation*

*The weapon specialisation does bypass the prerequisite of being a fighter for this class.

To learn or cast a spell, a mystic must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The
Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a mystic's spell is 10 + the spell level + the mystic's Charisma
modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a mystic can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His or
her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Mystic. In addition, he or she receives bonus spells per
day if he or she has a high Charisma score.

A mystic's selection of spells is extremely limited. A mystic begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two
1st-level spells of your choice. At each new mystic level, he or she gains one or more new spells, as indicated
on Table: Mystic Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a mystic knows is not affected
by his or her Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Mystic Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can
be common spells chosen from the mystic/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the mystic has
gained some understanding of by study. The mystic can't use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells
at a faster rate, however.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered mystic level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a mystic
can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he or she already knows. In effect, the mystic discards the old
spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being
exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level mystic spell the mystic can cast. A
mystic may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at
the same time that he or she gains new spells known for the level.
Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a mystic need not prepare his or her spells in advance. He or she can cast any
spell he or she knows at any time, assuming he or she has not yet used up his or her spells per day for that
spell level. He or she does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he or she'll cast.

Familiar: A mystic can obtain a familiar. Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost
100 gp. A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent.
The creature serves as a companion and servant. The mystic chooses the kind of familiar he or she gets. As
the mystic advances in level, his or her or her familiar also increases in power.

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the mystic, the mystic must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw.
Failure means he or she or she loses 200 experience points per mystic level; success reduces the loss to one-
half that amount. However, a mystic's experience point total can never go below 0 as the result of a familiar's
demise or dismissal. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. A slain familiar can
be raised from the dead just as a character can be, and it does not lose a level or a Constitution point when
this happy event occurs.

A character with more than one class that grants a familiar may have only one familiar at a time.

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Added to Copyright Notice on demand of this license: In early February 2008 I, Andrè Michael Pietroschek, 
wrote & game­crafted with intent of publishing, the included description of  Forlorn Mystics  as playable­
class   for  D&D  (Dungeons   &   Dragons   pen   &   paper   Role­playing   Game)   based   on  “The  Revised   (v3.5) 
System   Reference   Documents   arcane   spell   list   &   compiled   feats,   as   Tiefling   stats”   by   D20   Systems, 
Birthright  sanctioned  chapter  2   &  Birthright  PDF  3rd  revision  by  Richard  Baker (?).  I  hereby  further 
mention  in  quite   obvious   text   and   colour   that  neither   Wizards  of   the   Coast  nor   D20   are  in  any  form 
responsible for my publishings and I clearly verify, that I am not a member of their team or staff.  Andrè 
M. Pietroschek, Germany, February 2008

END OF LICENSE

Linux Note

The author, namely Andrè Michael Pietroschek, wrote this file with Mandriva 2008. If the writing
looks weird or ugly, then your PC does not have the same fonts installed. Several PDF-Viewers
have options or settings, where one can disable the use of included fonts to replace them by those
your system knows.

Otherwise this PDF should be completely readable by all, who have a PC with a functional PDF
viewer like Adobe Reader or www.foxitsoftware.com FOXIT READER. This file has nothing to do
with my PDF “Against the darkness” which is Magnamund Roleplaying, based on the works of Joe
Dever & Ian Page not D&D or D20.
 About the author

I write it in D&D allegorical mood, understand the symbolical aspect: Born in July 1972 and 
always succeeding the evasion roll to avoid being accidentally or otherwise touched by any success 
or financial gain... 

I am still alive. A pauper for the 2nd time in my life made me contemplate GESTALT characters or 
dual­classing   and   multi­classing.   It   resulted   in   my   class­blending   attempts,  which   were   not   all 
failures. If one imagines me as a lower­class (poverty not low­level) rogue­sorcerer mix than my 1st 
idea was, to sacrifice my familiar because it could turn traitor on me or be a disguised planar spy 
after all. The Druidic avenger (Druid­Monk mix) was my favourite before I started contemplating 
the vile darkness. See: www.esnips.com/web/pietroscheksotherstuff/ on demand? 

I invest effort to distinguish context clearly between my role­playing & my other files. As I wrote in 
“Supreme Hogwash – PseudoSatanism”, I prefer fantasy­role­playing. As certain is my dislike of 
autobiographical files. I published some as sign of respect to women who asked me, but it was 
frustrating & repulsing to me.

Things   I   really like:  Eating  good pizza,  meditating,  some  martial  arts,  occult stuff,   more role­
playing matters, lots of money for it's absence spoils so much, plenty of free animals in healthy 
enough surroundings, integer & competent politicians as they are so rare. Certain things I can't 
mention here due respecting the law. Grudgingly at times. The best part of my gratis publishing was 
to me: Inspiring as being helpful.

Heraldic insignia of the city I

was born in and where I did
spend some of the best and worst
years of my life.
 Revelation: The price to stay on the path

My forlorn mystic definition is not evil as such. As I publish the vile dark oriented version 1 st, some
people might not have realized this.

The forlorn mystics are comparably powerful a mix-class from some perspectives. They pay a price.

After some days of reaching the 5th, again at the 10th , 15th and 20th level they must accept a
challenge. They can not bypass this without forever losing the chance to advance in this class or any
prestige-class it opened for them ever again!

Basically what happens is this: A creature, physical, ethereal or non-corporeal; manifests as a

forlorn mystic of equal level and challenges the forlorn mystic in some form of duel. This duel will
only be brutally violent, if the forlorn mystic ever applied violence outside of self-defence
situations. Otherwise it may be a magic duel, extended skill challenge or mini adventure or intrigue
created by the creature. The forlorn mystic must survive this challenge in whatever form it comes to
continue his or her career. Imagine that an ethereal creature attacking from the distance or staying
outside of perception range may not be easily identified until the challenge is over, too.
● Forlorn mystics are under a ban. The first challenge will always come as a surprise to them.
Even if other mystics or mentors told them, the memories were so wiped away, that the
forlorn mystic must face alienating challenges for real once in his or her lifetime. To make
such transparent use rules not just artful descriptions of horror, dread and alienation.
● I trust any dungeon master or mistress will know the own group well enough, to prepare
challenging ways of this, literally or very abstract.
● Let's say an elven forlorn mystic decided to end a challenge by killing the creature which
manifested as orcish forlorn mystic and was not attacking. Now that is cruel in a way and
henceforth, the next challenge will mean this sneaky elven mystic will be deservingly
confronted with violence, treachery and villainy. Oh, the law may still call it murder, too.
● The creature may as well decide to wait, in example until it can steal the arcane soul locks
sanctum to be reborn if the player tends to cheat his or her way through life.
● Nasty game masters or mistress may decide, that the creature manifests by taking the body
of a family member or even the mystics real familiar, if they consider this proper.

There is a nice story by Edgar Allen Poe which writes about this kind of topic. Sadly I forgot the
title. In the stories end love banished all evil. In adult gaming...yeah sure, fairy tales stop blades and
bullets as did those spirits at Wounded Knee?

Realm-Magic
At www.birthright.net there is the cost-free 3rd revision Birthright PDF. It explains several topics
and lists spells. Realm-Magic targets an entire province and can even when limited to 3rd level realm
spells become a powerful way of arcane versatility!
 Simple adventure idea

D ea r med d lers ,

we h a v e f ina lly d ecid ed  t o s h ow our gra t it ud e f or your cons t a nt

 a nd  comp let ely unjus t if ied  s a b ot a ge of  our p la ns .

W e h a v e a b d uct ed /t a k en h os t a ge your f a milia rs

 b y our s ignif ica nt  a rca ne mea ns .

As  you a re f ina ncia lly ins ignif ica nt  we will... 

GO O D ­M ys t ics  p la yed :  R a p e a nd  t ort ure t h em b ef ore 
we us e t hem a s  s pell component s . 
... D AR K ­M ys t ics  p la yed :   P rep a re t o p urif y a nd  ch a s t is e t h em
int o good  a ligned  s erv a nt s  of  ligh t .

As  you ca n nev er f ind  out  h ow t o us e t h a t  p ort a l,

you ma y jus t  wa it  unt il we come f or you a s  well!

Signed
your unk nown op p onent s

Concept: The entire group plays forlorn mystics of 5 th level at game start. A scout for wilderness or
a rogue for urban adventures may be treated as companion or family member or agent.

Task: The “villains” appeared through some planar gate and kidnapped the familiars by magic,
potions and stealth. The players may be shocked, but their intuition tells them that they can re-
activate the gate and try to track down the villains as time runs short. As opponents who hold the
familiar can do fierce curses through the arcane bond it shares with the players, they might be
motivated? Others may see their familiar as friend and act on loyalty alone!

Scale: You could design a small adventure where they just hide in whatever environment you
prefer, or do this as campaign, maybe implementing adventures you prepared or downloaded in the
past. If you use the leadership feat you may as well include agents and armies with some climatic
battles, infiltration or pacts with nobles. Sequel to official adventure “The Standing Stone”?

Traditions: D&D offers plenty, especially in books for Faerun or Eberron. Certain official books
define, how your players can define their own mystic tradition from the start! I held back my own
taste somewhat for compatibility purposes.