12
Dec
Brother of Gorm
Prime Requisite: STR
Requirements: CON 9
Hit Dice: 1D8
In the darkness of Hyborea Nova there is a bright beacon. The light of Gorm the lawgiver shines upon those who choose to hear his call. The Brotherhood of Gorm once had great prestige. They were the arbiters of the law, emmisaries of the Great Spirit Gorm, who rides the sky in the shape of the sun disk. Now, however, Gorm has been mostly forgotten. Zargon rules, and the people of Hyborea Nova have fallen into lawlessness and drug fueled apathy. The Brothers of Gorm cling to the old ways with grim determination. New recruits are trained in the both the Laws of Gorm and the Laws of Battle. This creates powerfully devoted warriors, who are mystically protected by the Great Spirit himself. The Gormites are rightly feared in battle, but their unwillingness to embrace change may be their greatest weakness…
Brothers of Gorm excel at combat. At first level, Gormites hit an unarmored foe (AC 0) with an attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every three levels of experience (i.e. the same progression as fighters). They increase their base damage roll from all attacks by +1 at 1st level and by an additional +1 at 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th level.
Brothers of Gorm fight with a narrow selection of traditional weapons, including any axes, daggers and their curved temple swords. They are trained to fight wielding a weapon and shield, wielding a weapon two-handed, and wielding a weapon in each hand.
Brothers of Gorm forgo the use of armor entirely, however, relying on their aggression and flesh-runes to protect them. Intricate glyphs tattooed and painted onto the naked flesh of the Gormite, these fiery flesh-runes give the warrior’s skin the suppleness of leather and the toughness of iron. At 1st level, a Gormite’s flesh-runes give him a +2 bonus to AC and decrease the damage from any non-magical attacks by 1 point per die. At 7th level (Scourge of Gorm), this protection increases to +4 AC and 2 points per die. At 13th level (Avenger of Gorm), the flesh-runes provide a bonus of +6 AC (equivalent to plate armor!) and decrease damage from non-magical attacks by 3 points per die.
EXAMPLE: Thesseus is a 7th level Brother of Gorm with 13 DEX. His AC is 5 (+4 from his flesh-runes and +1 from his DEX). He is struck by an ogre, dealing 2d6 damage. The damage roll is a 3 and a 5, but Thesseus reduces the damage from non-magical attacks by 2 points per die, so he takes 1 and 3. Thesseus therefore only takes 4 damage from the ogre.
The damage reduction is applied per die. Damage can be reduced to 0, but not less than 0, on each die. The AC bonus from flesh-runes stacks with potions of invulnerability, rings of protection, and similar effects, but does not stack with armor. Attacks from monsters of 5 HD or more are considered magical attacks due to the monster’s ferocity.
Like all men from Hyborea Nova, Brothers of Gorm have learnt to see in the everpresent gloom of that city. They posess infravision up to 45′. However, having lived underground for generations, they have become light sensitive. Direct sunlight dazzles their senses, giving them a -1 on all attack rolls.
Continual exposure to tinctures, vision inducing potions and alchemical stimulants has given the people of Hyborea Nova a destinct resistance to poisons. As a result, Brothers of Gorm receive a +4 on saves vs poison.
Upon reaching 5th level (Retaliator of Gorm), the Gormite receives the favour of Gorm. By concentrating and uttering a short prayer, he can cause the purefying Flames of Gorm to shoot from his hands. This minor miracle can be performed only once per 8 hours, but otherwise functions as the spell burning hands, cast by a wizard of one half the Brother’s level.
Upon attaining 9th level (Avenger of Gorm), the spirit Gorm endows the Brother with an Aura of protection, which gives them a +1 bonus to AC and a +1 bonus on saving throws against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures. The aura of protection appears as a halo of flame when viewed with detect magic, or true seeing.
Uponinitiation, the Brothers of Gorm swear an oath to uphold the Laws of Gorm. Should the Brother of Gorm knowlingly break these laws (especially the Law of Gorm, which means the Brother must alwas keep his word, once freely given), both the Aura of Protection and the Flames of Gorm will cease to work for a number of hours equal to 1d4 + the level of the Gormite.
When a Brother of Gorm reaches 9th level (Avenger of Gorm), his grim determination and relentless nature can attract warriors from far and wide. To do so, he must construct a stronghold, like the Fighter.
Brother of Gorm Level progression
Level 1, 0 xp, Acolyte of Gorm, Damage +1, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1, Flesh Runes, Infravision 45′, Light sensitive, resistance to poisons.
Level 2, 2900 xp, Brother of Gorm, Damage +1, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1
Level 3, 5800 xp, Hand of Gorm, Damage +2, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1
Level 4, 11600 xp, Vindicator of Gorm, Damage +2, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1
Level 5, 23200 xp, Retaliator of Gorm, Damage +2, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1, Flames of Gorm
Level 6, 46400 xp, Castigator of Gorm, Damage +3, AC + 2, Damage reduction 1
Level 7, 90000 xp, Scourge of Gorm, Damage +3, AC + 4, Damage reduction 2
Level 8, 140000 xp, Fury of Gorm, Damage +3, AC + 4, Damage reduction 2
Level 9, 290000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +4, AC + 5, Damage reduction 2, Aura of Protection
Level 10, 440000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +4, AC + 5, Damage reduction 2
Level 11, 590000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +4, AC + 5, Damage reduction 2
Level 12, 740000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +5, AC + 5, Damage reduction 2
Level 13, 890000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +5, AC + 7, Damage reduction 3
Level 14, 1040000 xp, Avenger of Gorm, Damage +5, AC + 7, Damage reduction 3
Brother of Gorm Proficiency List: Alertness, Blind Fighting, Caving, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (force back, knock down, overrun, sunder, wrestle), Command, Craft, Dungeon Bashing, Endurance, Engineering, Fighting Style, Gambling, Illusion Resistance, Intimidation, Land Surveying, Leadership, Manual of Arms, Mapping, Military Strategy, Mountaineering, Siege Engineering, Vermin-Slaying, Weapon Focus
Tempest Template: This pre-generated template represents a dual-wielding Gormite who mows down foes in a storm of steel. The template is ready for adventure. However, if your character’s INT is 13 or greater, you may pick one or more additional general proficiencies before play if you’d like (see Starting Proficiencies in Chapter 4 of ACKS).
Tempest
Proficiencies: Fighting Style (two weapons), Endurance
Starting Equipment: Pair of battle axes notched with many kills,
2 hand axes, military cloak, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, 2 flasks of military oil, 2 weeks’ iron rations, 43gp
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