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Clio
(Muse of History, Muse of the Bar Brawl) Demipower of Arborea, LN PORTFOLIO: History, monks
Clio (Cli-O) is the muse of history. As a muse, she is an immortal who has the ability to inspire greatness in mortals. She cannot create an avatar like other deities of other campaign settings; however, nor can she be destroyed. If Clio is brought low, she simply disappears, only to reform the next night of a new moon at full strength. Clio's Avatar (Monk 25, Chronomancer 18, Fighter 13)
AC �5; MV 18; HP 162; THAC0 4; #AT 7/2*
* Includes an extra unarmed attack. ** Using the PHB or Complete Fighter's Handbook or Complete Priest's Handbook unarmed combat rules. Using PLAYER'S OPTION�: Combat & Tactics, she is considered a grand master. Using the Complete Ninja's Handbook she knows all of the normal martial arts styles and those allowed in the REDEMPTION campaign setting by the DM, plus all of their special maneuvers. *** Numbers assume one extra chronomancy spell per level. Special Att/Def: Clio rather enjoys physical combat, as she is a master of all known forms of marital arts, and although not specialized in any weapons, she knows the use of all documented types and is a grand master in all forms of martial arts styles. She typically speeds herself up, or slows her enemies within the time stream and beats them to unconsciousness. She is immune to all magic that impedes her movement or martial skills. Furthermore, all direct damage spells only cause her half damage, and if a save is allowed, she can save to avoid the damage in its entirety. The Church
All clerics and specialty priests of Clio receive religion (Redemption) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. Clio can be found watching great warriors of the unarmed ways wherever they dwell. To these beings she sometimes (5% chance) stay with them and teaches them some of her ways (allowing them to come up with a new form of martial art, or weapon proficiency, which they learn for free); although this is never more than 3 months in duration. She is laughingly known as the Muse of the brawl or bar fight. The Horsemen War despises all of her followers, as they are on par with his knowledge of martial arts and are better trained in them than his roughneck armies. Clio's clergy is comprised of about 5% clerics, 80% monks, and 15% chronomancers. Her followers do not maintain shrines, although they have very large and heavily defended monasteries throughout Nergalis, far from the prying eyes of the unenlightened. Dogma: Body, Mind and Spirit must become one. Therefore the followers of Clio actively train and enter themselves into endurance trials of horrendous nature. They recognize the power of the body, and tend to shun weapons, unless they are able to blend them into their chosen martial arts. Race or creed is irrelevant; only the skill and abilities are counted, and the power to see past such things is the greatest gift. They always seek to perfect their movement and tend to favor actions over words in any circumstances. Day-to-Day Activities: Clioites typically travel through the world just to hone their skills and learn of life outside the monasteries. They teach their arts to those select warriors who seem honorable and worthy of the gifts. Otherwise, they practice in the morning activities and then do as they see fit throughout the rest of the day. Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: Worship of Clio is done through meditation and practicing ones arts. Once per 9 year period Clio's clergy and all those invited come together and hold the 'Soulforge', a festival of three nights of fighting. This gathering is a celebration of the mind, body and spirit, where all involved seek to gain fame or infamy in dedication to their god. It is a tournament of great magnitude, having every individual showing up having their chance to enter, thus making the matches very quick and merciless when a huge number of fighters enter. As a winner must be declared at midnight of the third night. Some tell of one year where a free-for-all started the first night, and it took until the third night for those left standing to fight again�needless to say that victor is known all across the lands as the greatest warrior to have ever fought in the world. Major Centers of Worship: All of the monasteries are secreted across Nergalis, with one being three months travel from each other all across the world. They are few but very powerful places. It is rumored that there is one near Thearwif, the greatest warriors choosing to guard the keepers of nature, even if they are not admitted to their blessed homeland. Affiliated Orders: A group of snot-nosed paladins calling themselves the Breakers of Evil actively challenge the rule of the War, hunting his war chiefs into extinction and having occasional full-scale wars with his armies. They have no base of operations and are know to shun most weapons, unless they are blessed by their god. The clergy also carry white bandages, which they wear to protect their hands and represent the honor of their god. Clio�s holy symbol is an open book, often engraved with a fist. Priestly Garments: Priests of Calliope wear anything that typical bards wear, and some even try to appear as common as possible, as they are often hunted for fighting for the rights of free speech, and thus defying the will of the Horsemen. Most clergy also carry an engraved ivory scroll case, in honor of their goddess�s holy symbol and to carry their precious writings. Adventuring Garb: Priests of Clio wear light armors where they can, otherwise they are fully prepared for combat wherever they travel. Weapons are carried when traveling through areas held directly by War, as sometimes fist and feet are no match for a well-armed warrior. Specialty Priests (Monks) REQUIREMENTS: Constitution 13, Wisdom 15, Intelligence 14
The monk is a priest who belongs to a cloistered or monastic order, where he withdraws from the everyday affairs of the world around him to contemplate his faith. Powers of philosophy, thought, and scholarship are commonly represented by monks, as well as any deity that is not normally worshipped by the common people of an area. Monks must be lawful in alignment, although they can be lawful good, lawful neutral, or lawful evil. While monks are most often associated with oriental campaigns and settings, this specialty priest is not necessarily an oriental class�monastic orders can exist in almost any fantasy setting. Monks believe that rigorous training of body, mind, and spirit leads to enlightenment. Consequently, a character must have high Intelligence and Constitution scores to qualify for this class. Wisdom and Intelligence are the prime requisites of the monk, and a monk with scores of 16 or better in these two abilities gains a 10% bonus to the experience points he earns. Monks also advance in level as clerics do. While monks do not attempt to minister to the masses or gather followers for their patron deity, they believe in demonstrating the qualities of their faith by example. A monastery or abbey is a place of learning and strength that is open to any person who requires shelter, advice, or assistance. Other monks choose to leave the abbey and travel widely, setting an example among the people they meet and help. Monasteries devoted to evil powers are sinister places where knowledge and wealth are hoarded for the use of the order, regardless of whom may need it. The monk brings a variety of skills to the adventuring party. He is somewhat like the bard in that he is a jack of all trades and master of none. A monk is not a front-rank warrior, but he can be a very capable infiltrator and skirmisher. The monk�s selection of spells allows access to some of the most unusual and versatile priest spells, even if his spells tend to be short on sheer combat power. Like other priest characters, the monk�s principle role is to support and guide the party. Monks do not wear armor, since the training of the body requires quickness, agility, and discipline; monks see armor and other ironmongery as crutches for a person of weak spirit. To compensate, monks are trained to avoid blows through misdirection and positioning, and their base Armor Class improves by one point at every even level to a maximum base Armor Class of 2 at 16th level. Note that a monk must see the attack coming in order to use this benefit�backstabs, ambushes, or missile attacks from behind the monk will strike him as if he were unarmored. Monks can use any weapons associated with their chosen style(s) of martial arts, or any wholly type B weapons in combat; they also have exceptional skill in unarmed combat arts. When a monk makes an unarmed attack against an armed opponent, he disregards the Weapons in Defense rule, since he is trained in dealing with armed enemies. (Normally, this rule allows the armed character to attack first with a +4 on attack and damage rolls when another character makes an unarmed attack against him.) Martial arts and other forms of unarmed combat are described in detail in PLAYER�S OPTION: COMBAT & TACTICS; if you don�t have access to this book, another system appears in the Complete Fighter's Handbook. Clioite Spells There are no distinct spells associated with just this branch of faith in Nergalis, as they spend most of their time in meditation or fighting, so they use only the normal spells granted to them. They do not rely on magics, but use them to help and repair in addition to their extreme martial skills. Spells of other deities that include monks as followers may be deemed usable as Clioite magics, but this is at the discretion of the DM. | ||
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