Classy World Building (pt. 3)

 So this time, I am going to dive into the classes I am working on with only two prefaces:

Milieu

First, this is a world where a group of mystics slew the God of Law, and the world was subsequently flooded by the tears of the Goddess of Wisdom, leading to a howling emptiness and a land full of lost hold in sunken ruins.

Greed for a Reason 

One of the first things I wanted to set up in The Drowned World was a race with a really good reason for being greedy and miserly. A replacement for the dwarves that are less encumbered by the mythic symbolism of dwarves from Norse mythology.

(If you're interested, the dwarves in the Prose Edda tend to represent small-mindedness, uninterest in the divine, materialism, and obsession with work, three things that come together. We are in a dwarf age in many respects.)

One of my favorite adventures in the original Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim was one in which you had to raise $40,000 gold pieces in 40 days in order to pay off a demonic debt interred by your character's late mother.

You don't have to really know what the demon wants with the gold. Theoretically, it shouldn't need gold at all. It is likely that it simply wants the gold to promote greed, or to stir up conflicts and generates sin. After all, The quickest way to win  mission is to build a strong thieves guild,  and invite debauched elves to build casinos and "lounges", then gamble like crazy while taxing the life out of the local vice peddlers.

This inspired my idea for the Oblik: A race struggling under a generational debt to a powerful demon. They celebrate Ambition, greed, miserliness on the one hand, but also see each member of their society as needing to help foot a massive burden on the other. They accept no slackers.

Oblik

A race of slouched, wooly humanoids whose ancestors were indebted to the demon Obirium, and now plumb the ruins of the ancient world with their mighty shovels. They have the ability to smell gold, jewels, and magic, to dig up.

They strive to live lives of comfort while tithing a painful amount of their finds to pay off their generational debt. Those who can bring fortunes to their people are considered great heroes. This has led to the Oblik having a reputation for being greedy chislers - and is the reason they control the minting of currency.

HD: D8 ● Requirements: STR 9 ● Attack as: Dwarf ● Save As: Dwarf ● 

Special: Goldsniffer, Mighty Deeds ● Armor: leather, scale mail, shields ● 

Weapons: any conventional 

Level	Experience	Hit Dice	Title	Notes
1	0	1d8	Oblik Grubber	Goldsniffer, Mighty Deeds d4
2	2,100	2d8	Oblik Digger
3	4,200	3d8	Oblik Seeker	Mighty Deeds d6
4	8,400	4d8	Oblik Treasure Hunter
5	16,800	5d8	Oblik Delver	Mighty Deeds d8
6	33,600	6d8	Oblik Finder
7	67,200	7d8	Oblik Skinflint	Mighty Deeds d10
8	126,000	8d8	Oblik Miser
9	246,000	9d8	Oblik Coinmaster	Mighty Deeds d12
10	366,000	9d8+2
11	486,000	9d8+4
12	606,000	9d8+6
13	726,000	9d8+8
14	846,000	9d8+10
15	966,000	9d8+12
16	1,086,000	9d8+14
17	1,206,000	9d8+16
18	1,326,000	9d8+18
19	1,346,000	9d8+20
20	1,466,000	9d8+22

Goldsniffer: An Oblik can detect concentration of gold, coins, and gemstones within 100’ knowing their general distance and direction.

Mighty Deeds: An Oblik can attempt to trip, blind, stun, disarm, push, reposition, etc. an enemy each time they attack. The Player describes the result they hope to gain and rolls the Mighty Deed die indicated by their level. On a 4+ they achieve their aim. Alternatively, they can add the Mighty Deed die to an attack roll, or declare they are aiming for a Crushing Blow, at which point they take the higher of their damage roll or Mighty Deed Die before applying bonuses.

Refusing to Pay 

Of course, not every Oblik is willing to spend their lives toiling and digging... and there is more to that gold-sniffing than mere greed. A faction of rebels who refuse to pay, the Stonespeakers make far more of their gifts than the rest of the Oblik:

Stonespeakers

A heretic branch of the Oblik people who have rejected the debt and eternal treasure hunt of their people. Stonespeakers have turned their awareness of stone and metal into the core of a magical art that lets them shape and mold the Earth. They often hunt demons and diabolic magicians, hoping they might one day free the Oblik.

In the meantime, they are seen as thieves and delinquents by the Oblik, and the two cultures live apart.

HD: D6 ● Requirements: STR 9 INT 9 WIS 9 ● Attack as: Cleric ● Save As: Cleric ● 

Magic Thresholds: As Cleric ● Armor: leather or scale mail ● 

Weapons: any conventional

Level	Experience	Hit Dice	Title	Spell Bonus	Notes
1	0	1d6	Digger	+0
2	1,300	2d6	Soil-Charmer	+1	Magic Threshold 1st Level
3	2,600	3d6	Clay-Caller	+1
4	5,200	4d6	Earth-Mover	+2	Magic Threshold 2nd Level
5	10,400	5d6	Rockbreaker	+2
6	21,800	6d6	Mountain Whisperer	+3	Magic Threshold 3rd Level
7	43,600	7d6	Stonesinger	+3
8	87,200	8d6	Stonespeaker	+4	Magic Threshold 4th Level
9	187,200	9d6	Stonemaster	+4
10	287,200	9d6+2		+5	Magic Threshold 5th Level
11	387,200	9d6+4		+5
12	487,200	9d6+6		+6	Magic Threshold 6th Level
13	587,200	9d6+8		+6
14	687,200	9d6+10		+7
15	787,200	9d6+12		+7
16	887,200	9d6+15		+8
17	987,200	9d6+16		+8
18	1,087,200	9d6+18		+9
19	1,187,200	9d6+20		+9
20	1,287,200	9d6+22		+10

Stonespeakers know the following spells 

Stonespeaker Spells Catapult Dig Magic Stone Move Earth Push Stone Shape Stone Tell Stone to Flesh Transmute Mud to Rock Transmute Rock to Mud Wall of Stone Vulgar Arcana Detect Magic Floating Disc Light Locate Object Protection Evil Read Languages Read Magic Sanctuary

1 1 1 6 1 2 3 6 6 6 5 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

Cultural Notes

Aftercoming up with these ideas, I have made some choices about the world: The Oblik tend to run things like toll roads, ferries, and cable cars. They also have a good relationship with the Windlass, a race of inventors, to allow them to dive foe treasure in steampunky submersibles. The modern coin of the realms are gold minted by Oblik Goldmsiths with names like "Free" (gp) "Light" (sp), and "Evens" (cp). They are ruled by a race of debt-collector  priests, and adults who do not pay their share of the annual interest are seen as freeloaders, while those who give enough to put a dent in the capital are hailed as heroes. Many dream of paying their total share (several hundred thousand) so they can live without the minimum 30% tithe.

Stonespeakers hate dealing with coin, and often barter.  While most Oblik value a strong shovel, the Stonespeakers ornament there's with fetishes and use them as magical foci. Wands and staves made by Stonespeakers are often  shovel-headed.