ADEPT – Alternative Rules for Cimorra (1st draft)
ADEPT STAT POOLSStat Pool Starting Value
- Might 7
- Speed 9
- Intellect 12
FIRST-TIER ADEPT
First-tier adepts have the following abilities:
- Effort: Your Effort is 1.
- Genius: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.
- Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time.
- Starting Equipment: Appropriate clothing, plus two expensive items, two moderately priced items, and up to four inexpensive items of your choice.
- Spells and Rituals: You are the only character type, who can perform spells from a grimoire and rituals (spell artefacts). Warriors and Explorer can cast spells from scrolls (spell ciphers), but cannot use a grimoire or perform a ritual.
Special Abilities: Choose four of the abilities described below. You can’t choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise.
- Magic Training: You are trained in the basics of magic and can attempt to understand and identify its properties (including the operation of magic artifacts and cyphers). Enabler.
- Knowledge Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two areas of knowledge such as history, geography, paleontology, archeology, and so on. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler.
- Occult Knowledge: You are trained in occultism knowledge including the lore of the gods. Enabler.
- Ancient Language Skills: You are trained in the language of the Snake People and the Greys.
- Interaction Skills: You are trained in two skills in which you are not already trained. Choose two of the following: deceiving, persuading, public speaking, seeing through deception, or intimidating. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time you select it, you must choose two different skills. Enabler.
- Practiced With Light Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. If you wield a medium weapon, increase the difficulty of the attack by one step. If you wield a heavy weapon, increase it by two steps. You also start with one light weapon of your choice. Enabler.
- Servant of…: Choose one of the deity of Cimorra. As a servant of the gods, you can call up blessings in their name. This blessing depends on the god’s general demeanor and area of influence. Choose one of the abilities described below:
- Authority/Law/Peace (3 Intellect points): You prevent a foe that can hear and understand you from attacking anyone or anything for one round. Action.
- Benevolence/Righteousness/Spirit (2+Intellect points): One level 1 demon, spirit, or similar creature within short range is destroyed or banished. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to destroy or banish a level 5 target (four levels above the normal limit), you must apply four levels of Effort. Action.
- Death/Darkness (2 Intellect points): A target you choose within short range withers, suffering 3 points of damage. Action.
- Desire/Love/Health (3 Intellect points): With a touch, you restore 1d6 points to one stat Pool of any creature, including yourself. This ability is a difficulty 2 Intellect task. Each time you attempt to heal the same creature, the task difficulty increases by one step. The difficulty returns to 2 after that creature rests for ten hours. Action.
- Earth/Stone. You are trained in climbing, stonecraft, and spelunking. Enabler.
- Knowledge/Wisdom (3 Intellect points): Choose up to three creatures (potentially including yourself). For one minute, the difficulty of a particular type of task (but not an attack roll or defense roll) is reduced by one step for those creatures, but only while they remain within immediate range of you. Action.
- Nature/Animals/Plants: You are trained in botany and handling natural animals. Enabler.
- Protection/Silence (3 Intellect points): You create a quiet bubble of protection around you to an immediate radius for one minute. The bubble moves with you. The difficulty of all defense rolls for you and all creatures you designate within the bubble is decreased by one step, and no noise, regardless of its origin, sounds louder than a normal speaking voice. Action to initiate.
- Sky/Air (2 Intellect points): A creature you touch is immune to airborne toxins or contaminants for ten minutes. Action.
- Sun/Light/Fire (2 Intellect points): You cause one creature or object within short range to catch fire, inflicting 1 point of ambient damage each round until the fire is extinguished (requiring an action). Action.
- Trickery/Greed/Commerce: You are trained in detecting the deceptions of other creatures. Enabler.
- War (1 Intellect point): A target you choose within short range (potentially yourself) deals 2 additional points of damage with its next successful weapon attack. Action.
- Water/The Sea (2 Intellect points): A target you touch can breathe water for ten minutes. Action.
If your god didn’t fit to this examples, you can create a new feature in agreement with the GM. - Spellbook: Instead of using a spell cypher you can copy it into you spellbook. The spell cypher is destroyed after the coping. Copying takes 10 minutes per spell level. You can change the entries, if you want to save a new one, but remember that the old spell will be lost. If you cast a cypher spell, you have to make an Intellect roll against the cypher level. Enabler.
The maximum of spells depends on the tier of the adept:
Tier - - Max. Spells in book 1 2
2 3
3 5
4 7
5 10
6 15
SECOND-TIER ADEPT
Choose one of the abilities described below. You can’t choose the same ability more than once unless its description says otherwise.
- Snake Charmer: Because of your knowledge about the Snakemen, you get a level of asset in dealing with snakes. Enabler.
- Mind Reading (2 Intellect points): You can read the surface thoughts of your opponent like emotions such as fear or hate and you can detect whether someone is lying or not. You can use this on intelligent creatures within short range, even if the target doesn’t want you to. You must be able to see your target. Once you have established contact, you can read the target’s thoughts for up to one minute. If you also have the Mind Reading ability from your type or another source, you can use this ability at long range, and you don’t need to be able to see the target (but you do have to know that the target is within range). Action to initiate.
- Hypnotic eyes (1 Intellect points): Your eyes have something strange in itself, something snakelike and uncanny. If you have eye contact to a target, you can make an Intellect roll, to give a simple order to the target. This order cannot work against the self-preservation of the target (no jumping over the edge, no suicide, etc.), but you can say, that he has to fight an enemy or something else. The GM has always the final settlement. The hypnosis takes 1 minute. Action.
- Hypnotic Speech (3 Intellect point): You're making a speech before a large crowd. While talking, you grab and keep the attention of the listeners. For as long as you do nothing but speak (you can’t even move), the target takes no actions other than to defend itself, even over multiple rounds. If the targets are attacked, the effect ends. Action.
THIRD-TIER ADEPT
Tainted by the Darkness: If you reach the third tier, you have to roll a d100. If the result is less than or equal 20%, then the character suffers one mutation (see “Numenera”).
Choose two of the abilities described below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.
- Adroit Cypher Use: You can bear four cyphers at a time. Enabler.
- Oratory (4 Intellect points): When speaking with a group of intelligent creatures that can understand you and aren’t hostile, you convince them to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creatures or their allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action.
- Create lesser cypher (4 Intellect points): You can create a cypher by adding a spell to an object. The maximum level of the spell should be 3. You can use this cypher like any other. The enchantment of the cypher takes 1 hour. Action.
- Create lesser alchemistic potion (4 Intellect points): Per action you can create one of the following potions:
- Lesser healing potion: Heals d6 pool points immediately.
- Antidote: Stops the effect of poison or illness immediately.
- Holy water: Causes 6 points of damage against undead immediately.
- Dragonfire potion: If thrown, it will causes 6 points of fire damage within an area of 3m(2”) radius.
- Kraken ink: If you break the flask, the ink produces a black cloud of pure darkness, giving you two level assets for hiding inside. The cloud has a size of 3x3x3m.
For the creation you need a alchemistic laboratory (very expensive item), 2 expensive ingredients and 2 hours. Action.
- Practiced With Medium Weapons: You can use medium weapons without penalty. If you wield a heavy weapon, increase the difficulty of the attack by one step. You also start with one medium weapon of your choice. Enabler.
- Pentagram Tattoo (3 Intellect points plus 1 Might point): You gain a tattoo of a pentagram at your skin. This gives you a level of asset for Intellect defense against enemy spells. The whole action take 2 hours of tattooing. This feature can be selected and performed only once. Enabler.
- Priest of…: You must be a Servant of… As a priest of your god, you get an asset of a level in every task related to the domain of the god. Additionally you get a mutation by your choice which reflects the god’s domain. For example, a priest of Cthulhu can get a tentacle or gills, a Cthugha priest an arm like burned wood and a priest of Shub-Niggurath hooves, horns or breasts. Enabler.
- Create familiar (5 Intellect points): You create a little magic beast as familiar. The beast (level 1, sneaking and observing on level 3, 4 HP, 1 point of damage, long flying movement) follows you like a dog. You can have only one familiar at time. The creation takes 1 day and 2 expensive ingrediants. Action.
FOURTH-TIER ADEPT
Tainted by the Darkness: If you reach the fourth tier, you have to roll a d100. If the result is less than or equal 30%, then the character suffers d3 mutation (see “Numenera”).
Choose one of the abilities described below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.
- Alienist: You are trained in all tasks that deals with aliens and the Outer Gods.
- Imperious Voice (4+ Intellect points): When interacting with a sentient creature of level 3 or below, you can activate this ability to give this creature a single command (e.g. ‘reveal all you know about the location of the bandit camp’ or ‘do not attempt to attack me or my companions’), which it will attempt to obey to the best of its ability for the next ten minutes. Creatures cannot be made to harm themselves using this power, and only one creature at a time can be made subject to your Imperious Voice. By applying a level of effort, you can increase the maximum level of creature that your ability can target (i.e. using three levels of effort would allow you to target a level 6 creature). Automatons and ultra-terrestrials are not affected by this ability. Action to initiate.
- Living Grimoire (6 Intellect points plus 3 Might points): You can copy one spell cypher to your own or another skin. The spell does work without any rolls and can’t replaced by another on. The whole action take 6 hours of tattooing. This feature can be selected and performed only once. Enabler.
- Create cypher (6 Intellect points): You can create a cypher by adding a spell to an object. The maximum level of the spell should be 6. You can use this cypher like any other. The enchantment of the cypher takes 3 hours.
- Create alchemistic potion (6 Intellect points): See third tier. Per action you create one of the following potions:
- Healing potion: Heals d6+4 pool points immediately.
- Blazing oil: Once put on a weapon, the oil causes +2 points of damage. One flask is enough for 12 attacks or 12 arrows or other ammunition.
- Stone oil: Gives the user +2 armor for 1 minute.
- Basilisk poison: The enemy looses d6 health points and one level immediately.
For the creation you need a alchemistic laboratory (very expensive item), 3 expensive ingredients and 3 hours. Action. - Telekinesis (2 Intellect points): You can exert force on objects within short range. Once activated, your power has an effective Might Pool of 10, a Might Edge of 1, and an Effort of 2 (approximately equal to the strength of a fit, capable adult human), and you can use it to move objects, push against objects, and so on. For example, you could lift and pull a light object anywhere within range to yourself or move a heavy object (like a piece of furniture) about 10 feet (3 m). This power lacks the fine control to wield a weapon or move objects with much speed, so in most situations, it’s not a means of attack. You can’t use this ability on your own body. The power lasts for one hour or until its Might Pool is depleted— whichever comes first. Action.
- Hexagramm Tattoo (4 Intellect points plus 2 Might point): You gain a tattoo of a hexagram at your skin. This gives you a level of asset for Intellect defense against the attacks of demons and evil spirits. The hexagram does not work against the Elder Gods and other alien creatures. The whole action take 3 hours of tattooing. This feature can be selected and performed only once. Enabler.
- Presence (4 Intellect points): You can alter your aura, so you have a majestic, a inconspicuous or a dark and monsterous presence. You can use it so get a level of asset for special tasks or to frighten and drive out of opponents (max. Level 2). Action.
FIFTH-TIER ADEPT
Tainted by the Darkness: If you reach the fifth tier, you have to roll a d100. If the result is less than or equal 50%, then the character suffers d3+1 mutation (see “Numenera”).
Choose one of the abilities described below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.
- Ritualist: You are trained in using rituals (artifact spells). Enabler.
- Knowledge is power: You have access to some ancient tomes, so you are trained in ancient lore, dark secrets and alien knowledge. If you are an Alienist (see Fourth-Tier), you as specialized. Enabler.
- Elder Sign Tattoo (6 Intellect points plus 3 Might point): You gain a tattoo of an Elder Sign at your skin. This gives you a level of asset for Intellect defense against the attacks of the Outer Gods and other alien creatures. The whole action take 6 hours of tattooing. This feature can be selected and performed only once. Enabler.
- Servants: Because of your influence and power you get 3 servants. Use the rules for guards (Cypher System, p. 337). Enabler.
- Demonbound (5 Might points): A demon (Cypher System, p. 284) is bound to you. You can release it, which costs 5 Might points. The demon will do, whatever you want, but you have to call him back after his dark work. For this you have to make a intellect roll against the level of the demon. If you fail, the demon is free and he starts to search a new victim to take over. Do you fail with a natural 1, the demon will kill you. Enabler.
SIXTH-TIER ADEPT
Tainted by the Darkness: If you reach the sixth tier, you have to roll a d100. If the result is less than or equal 70%, then the character suffers d3+2 mutation (see “Numenera”).
Choose one of the abilities described below (or from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier abilities with a different one from a lower tier.
- Avatar of…: You must be a Priest of… You are a true believer of your god. You get d3 mutations by your choice which reflects the god’s domain and a magic sphere, which acts like a heavy armor without the speed modification.
When you die, your body will be transformed into an avatar of your deity (Level 7, 21 HP, 7 points damage, 3 points armor). - Spirit follower (7 Intellect points): You get a Level 6 (18 HP, 6 points of damage, flying movement) spirit as servitor. The spirit can do simple tasks for you like opening doors and chests, lurking into another room, disarming traps or attacking an enemy. Action.
- Create greater alchemistic potion (8 Intellect points): See third tier. Per action you can create one of the following potions:
- Great Healing potion: Heals 2d6+2 pool points immediately.
- Black Death: If thrown, it will causes a loss of two levels and d6+4 HP within an area of 3m(2”) radius immediately.
- Gorgon blood: The victim turns into a statue immediately.
For the creation you need a alchemistic laboratory (very expensive item), 4 expensive ingredients and 6 hours. Action. - Create Artefact (8 Intellect points): You can create an artefact by adding a spell to an object. The maximum level of the spell should be 10. You can use this artefact like any other. The enchantment of the cypher takes 24 hours.
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