It is a fact known well among all those of learning that what is below is ruled by what is above, and that the vagaries of chance and the winding path of history, random as they seem, are in truth nothing more than the preordained cycles of the stars in their heavens.
It is a fact known equally well among all those of strength that all men of learning are fools, for the stars in the heavens are naught but the marks of great men, for the fire of will, once truly lit, can never go out, for great achievement burns itself into the sky above so that the rays it casts down may corral the many lesser men and inspire the few true greats.
Starting Skill: 1. Running, 2. Equestrianship, 3. Cheating
The Sign of the Starving takes sacrifice of food through holocaust (30 rations/FD), and is glorified through feats of mindless gluttony. While the Starving rules, you have +2 to all Saves. His Feat of Legend is Pandemonic Flashmob (Summon [sum] imps, all 1hp, with flight, 10AC, and a d4 bite attack. They will not attack you, or respond to your commands, and immediately scatter to cause chaos to their amusement)
Starting Items: Laurel wreathe, loincloth, good pair of sandals, a dagger, and two sport-trophies
+1 FD per Level
A: Feats of Will, Zodiac,
B: Horoscope, +1 to-hit
C: Vault of Stars,
D: Son of Heaven, +1 to-hit
Feats of Will -
You have and can hold a number of FD equal to [templates]. FD stands for Feat Die - any time you roll to attack, or to save vs poison, or to thread a brittle glass string through the eye of a needle while mounted on an epileptic camel, or any other roll you make where your personal capabilities are being tested, you may roll as many FD as you wish and add them to the result. They're sort of like MD, except they're d4's and they always expend and you don't get them back at dawn, which is to say they're not much like MD at all.
Zodiac -
There are 10 constellations swirling in the sky above, the Decapoly. Every sunset, roll a d10 to determine whose influence shall predominate til the coming of the next night. While it rules, you may regain expended FD by sacrificing to or performing feats that glorify the ruling constellation. In addition, choose one of the ten as your Birth Sign - you may always sacrifice to it and receive benefits from it as if it were the ruling constellation, and whenever you enter into a day ruled by your Birth Sign, you automatically regenerate one expended FD.
Horoscope -
The constellations wheeling above have begun to take notice of you now, and as they take their ruling seats, they grant a Blessing to you (the "While x rules, y" part of their description), a different boon effecting you for each of the ten kings in the heavens. You receive the Blessing of your Birth Sign at all times, in addition to that of whatever constellation currently rules.
Vault of Stars -
As you grow ever nearer the constellations through your devotions, your ability to emulate them increases also, and you gain the ability to perform their Feats of Legend of your Birth Sign and whatever constellation is currently ruling. The performance of the Feat is just a spell, except cast with FD instead of MD, [sum] and [dice] now being performed with d4's. .
Son of Heaven -
Your FD are now exactly like MD, d6's expending on a 4-6 and returning on a 1-3, except you can still use them to perform Feats of Will and Legend and they still don't regenerate without sacrifice to or glorification of the heavens. You can even use them to cast normal spells and vice versa, if you're playing a hack that allows you to pick up more than 4 templates through multi classing. Also, right before sunset, you can expend a FD to declare the next ruling sign without having to roll.
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| THE DECAPOLY From top, clockwise - the Sign of the Starving, the Sign of the Splintered, the Sign of the Corpse, the Sign of the Lonely, the Sign of the Sufferer, the Sign of the Voyeur, the Sign of the Slumberer, the Sign of the Recluse, and the Sign of the Yearner. Sign of the Creator in center. |
The Sign of the Splintered takes sacrifice of minds through execution at range (>65ft/20m kill), and is glorified through feats of miscommunication. While the Splintered rules, your INT is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Orbital Strike (Choose an area under open sky that you've seen before. A beam descends from heaven onto that spot, dealing [sum] damage to anything in a [sum]+[dice] area, save for half.)
The Sign of the Corpse takes sacrifice of intoxicants through use (to the brink of overdose or blackout), and is glorified through feats of self-mutilation. While the Corpse rules, you have +2 Max HP. His Feat of Legend is Blackthorn Ascent (Sprout fractal wings from your legs, and gain the power of reactionless flight. Every [x] of flight, take 1 damage. At 1 FD, [x] is rounds, at 2 FD minutes, at 3 FD exploration turns, at 4 FD hours).
The Sign of the Lonely takes sacrifice of relationships through abandonment (of at least weak friendship, not mere acquaintanceship), and is glorified through feats of rejection. While the Lonely rules, your STR is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Gesundheit (Take [dice] damage. Everything in a 5x[sum]' sphere around you takes [sum]+dice damage from an explosive pressure-wave, save for half.)
The Sign of the Sufferer takes sacrifice of pain through mortification (1/4 max hp damage taken/FD), and is glorified through feats of martyrdom. While the Sufferer rules, your CON is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Cheek-turning Body (For [sum]+[dice] minutes you transform into an amorphous mass of helpless, immobile flesh, with no appendage or organ save those of your sensory faculties. In this form, you are nearly immortal through bulk and regeneration, though you can still feel pain.)
The Sign of the Voyeur takes sacrifice of eyes through ingestion (2HD/FD, (4 from 1HD peasants, 1 from a 4HD bear), and is glorified through feats of investigation. While the Voyeur rules, your WIS is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Slavesight (For [sum] hours you can see through the eyes of any living being from which you've consumed a substantial and irreplaceable part of flesh.)
The Sign of the Slumberer takes sacrifice of breath through smothering (1 person drowned or asphyxiated/FD), and is glorified through feats of infiltration. While the Slumberer rules, your DEX is 2 higher. Her Feat of Legend is Font of Lethe (Draw a spring from the earth, from which [sum] gallons of soporific water flows for [dice] rounds.)
The Sign of the Recluse takes sacrifice of treasure through burying (100sp/gp worth/FD), and is glorified through feats of defense. While the Recluse rules, your AC is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Diamond Armor Mudra (For [sum] rounds, you have +[dice] to AC and Save and you don't need to breathe. Two hands are required to maintain this - if only one hand holds it, it is a +([dice]/2) bonus instead, and if none are dedicated the spell ends early).
The Sign of the Yearner takes sacrifice of potions (magical, 1/FD), and is glorified through feats of self-aggrandizement. While the Yearner rules, your XHA is 2 higher. His Feat of Legend is Summon Demon (Describe a demon with up to [dice] words. The nearest demon or otherwise supernaturally evil or chaotic being fitting that description is summoned immediately to your location.)
The Sign of the Creator takes sacrifice of tobacco (the good sort, 80sp/gp worth/FD), and is glorified through feats of cultivation and construction. While he rules, you have +1 max FD. His Feat of Legend is Great Construction (Immediately complete any task that [dice] laborers could do in [sum]/2 hours, given present tools and conditions).
Sport-trophies (d12):
1. Marble cherub
2. Sweaty fedora
3. Empty birdcage
4. Wooden spear, smelling of grapefruit and nicotine
5. Torch, long, pentagrams and serpent-designs carved into the side
6. Catholic prayerbook, cover stained with tears and wine
7. Spider-silk thangka
8. Really fancy sneakers
9. Mortar shell, neurotoxin-filled (absent mortar)
10. Strike-designation sunglasses - com link offline, coordinate system still working
11. Motorcycle, blue
12. A pistol, a single golden bullet in the chamber
