Demigods, the First Adventurers [New Class]

It would be hard to tell who the first adventurer in literature ever was, but I suppose Gilgamesh might fit the bill. Gilgamesh is the son a human king and the goddess Ninsun, making him a demi-god. In the annals of adventuring, he has good company – Heracles, Achilles, Cuchulainn, Hanuman, Māui, Perseus, Theseus, and many more.

So if demigods can be adventurers in myth and literature, why not in Blood & Treasure?

First things first – we need to define our demigods. If one has some experience in fantasy role playing games, they’ll know that demi-gods are usually depicted as extraordinarily powerful entities. Obviously, characters that powerful would not work well as adventurers, unless one was doing some pretty epic adventuring.

Our demigods are going to be a bit more human (or demi-human), and like other adventurers, are going to become more powerful as they advance in levels. In other words, they’re going to be on par with the other characters – don’t expect them to eclipse the magic-users, thieves and fighters in the party.

REQUIREMENTS
No ability score lower than 10, one ability score higher than 15

ARMOR ALLOWED
Padded, leather, studded leather; bucklers and shields

WEAPONS ALLOWED
Any weapon

SKILLS
Bend Bars, Break Down Doors, Find Secret Doors, Ignore Pain, Jump, Monster Lore

CLASS ABILITIES
At 1st level, a demigod’s player must choose their character’s divine ancestry. Whether a god or goddess, they must choose one of the following domains for their character’s divine parent based on their character’s highest ability score.

• STR Destruction, Strength, War, Water
• INT Knowledge, Magic
• WIS Death, Healing, Sun
• DEX Air, Fire, Travel
• CON Animal, Earth, Plant, Protection
• CHA Love, Luck, Trickery

The demigod gains one power based on his or her parentage, as follows:

• AIR: Resistance to electricity damage, feather fall at will
• ANIMAL: Speak with animals at will, charm animal three times per day
• DEATH: Command undead three times per day
• DESTRUCTION: Smite opponent once per day (+2 to hit and double damage if you hit)
• EARTH: Resistance to acid damage, +1 bonus to saving throws while standing on bare earth
• FIRE: Immune to fire damage
• HEALING: Laying on of hands ability, per the paladin
• KNOWLEDGE: Legend lore ability, per the bard
• LOVE: Charm person once per day, three times per day at 4th level
• LUCK: Re-roll one saving throw once per day
• MAGIC: Save vs. magic at +2
• PLANT: Speak with plants at will, command plants once per day
• PROTECTION: Barkskin three times per day
• STRENGTH: Can wield two-handed weapons with one hand
• SUN: Use light at will, daylight once per day
• TRAVEL: Haste once per day for one round per level
• TRICKERY: Trickery as class skill, spell abilities of a gnome
• WAR: Deals double damage on a charge (if birthed by a war god like Ares) or command double the normal numbers of henchmen (if birthed by a war goddess like Athena)
• WATER: Resistance to cold damage; cannot sink in water (though can be held under and drowned)

Demigods are supernaturally tough, and gain the Armor Class bonuses as a monk.

Demigods are born to greatness, and are expected to do great things. A 1st level demigod is given an ordained labor by his divine parent. This works as a geas, and requires the demigod to do one of the following by the time he or she reaches 4th level.

1. Capture a monster* with twice as many Hit Dice (minimum 2 Hit Dice more) as the demigod
2. Complete a heroic task that would be considered very difficult for the character (the Treasure Keeper has to use his or her best judgment on this one)
3. Slay a monster* with twice as many Hit Dice (minimum 3 Hit Dice more) as the demigod
4. Steal a relic (must be worth as many gp as the demigod as XP or be magical)

* Monster in this connotation refers to magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, dragons, prehistoric animals, giants and outsiders

Until the labor is completed, the demigod cannot advance beyond 4th level. A new labor is ordained when the hero reaches 5th level, and must be completed by the time the demigod reaches 8th level. Additional labors must be completed by 12th and 16th level.

• The first labor completed earns the demigod a one-time use of the restoration spell on him or herself.
• The second labor completed earns the demigod a one-time use of the raise dead spell on him or herself.
• The third labor completed earns the demigod a one-time use of the resurrection spell on him or herself.
• The fourth labor completed earns the demigod the right to ascend into Heaven (or wherever mom or dad are from) when they die.

Demigods are renowned for one of their physical or mental abilities, and this ability grows as their fame grows. A demigod increases his or her highest ability score by one point at 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th level.

A 3rd level demigod can make pleas for assistance to his divine parent. Demigods can appeal for 0 to 2nd level spells by passing a Charisma task check with a penalty equal to the level of the spell. At 7th level, the demigod can begin appealing for 3rd to 4th level spells. At 11th level, the demigod can begin appealing for 5th to 6th level spells. Each time an appeal is answered, the demigod must pledge 10% of their earned treasure to the cult of their divine parent (a minimum of 50 gp per spell level).

A 5th level demigod gains magic resistance equal to 1% per level, to a maximum of 10%.

A 9th level demigod may establish a hero cult for themselves. The demigod must construct a temple in his own honor and in the honor of his divine parent. The demigod then attracts 1d6 men-at-arms per level, 1d6 first level clerics or druids and a 4th level cleric or druid to serve as his high priest.

DEMIGOD ADVANCEMENT

LVL	XP	HD	ATK	F	R	W	TITLE
1	0	1d12	+0	13	13	13	Scion
2	2,500	2d12	+1	12	12	12	Exemplar
3	5,000	3d12	+2	12	12	12	Champion
4	10,000	4d12	+3	11	11	11	Hero
5	20,000	5d12	+3	11	11	11	Cynosure
6	40,000	6d12	+4	10	10	10	Archon
7	80,000	7d12	+5	10	10	10	Paragon
8	160,000	8d12	+6	9	9	9	Superhero
9	300,000	9d12	+6	9	9	9	Demigod
10	600,000	10d12	+7	8	8	8	Demigod
11	900,000	+3 hp	+8	8	8	8	Demigod
12	1,100,000	+3 hp	+9	7	7	7	Demigod
13	1,400,000	+3 hp	+9	7	7	7	Demigod
14	1,700,000	+3 hp	+10	6	6	6	Demigod
15	2,000,000	+3 hp	+11	6	6	6	Demigod
16	2,300,000	+3 hp	+12	5	5	5	Demigod
17	2,600,000	+3 hp	+12	5	5	5	Demigod
18	2,900,000	+3 hp	+13	4	4	4	Demigod
19	3,200,000	+3 hp	+14	4	4	4	Demigod
20	3,500,000	+3 hp	+15	3	3	3	Demigod