Watcher on the wall (Class: Warden)
Monstrous hordes roam the desert wastes beyond the river’s reach, thirsty. Lugal once drove them out when He first established His kingdom; colossal Mankesh still rots on the gold spike upon which he was impaled after his death, his corpse studded with a thousand thousand cerulean arrows: a reminder of Lugal’s might.
But Lugal has not left His palace in generations. The responsibility of defense now falls to you.
The Warden1
You are either a man or a woman.2
Extra starting items: a bronze long-spear draped with your banner around the guard; an antique, oversized composite bow (1d6+1); an ornate war-chariot pulled by two kungas, loyal and fearless in battle
+1 to-hit and +1 Loyal Companion per template
A: King’s Art, An Arrow Bundled
B: Even-Handed
C: Banner, Challenge
D: Command, Volley, +1 Attack
Loyal Companions
A loyal companion has 1 HD. One of their attributes is 2, and the other two are 1.
They serve you loyally, and, while they don’t have class levels, share your to-hit bonus and have their own ken. They don't steal shares of your XP and therefore don't advance, although you can choose for them to take XP shares if you wish. A companion needs 50 XP to reach template A, and thereafter advances as normal.
Loyal companions cannot take levels in Warden and still remain in your service. They must find their own walls from which to look out at the world.
A slain loyal companion is replaced at the end of the next season by a new one. New companions start at 0 XP.
A: King’s Art
Anything you can see, you can see as though inspecting it from arm's distance. They say Lugal can see the whole of His kingdom from atop His palace.
Specify a coin-sized spot in space. Aim for one turn, then release on the next turn. Your projectile goes unerringly towards that spot.
If you would miss with an arrow while there is another enemy within ten cubits of your target, you can choose to hit them instead.
A: An Arrow Bundled
When you raise levies, you can raise an additional [templates] percent of your nome’s population (e.g., a C-template Warden could raise a number of peasant levies equal to four percent of their nome). Any warband of levies fighting for you has +[templates] MOR.
No matter the law level of your nome, you can muster archers.
B: Even-Handed
Your hands count as bronze when it would be convenient to you. No one can draw your bow except other Wardens or Lugal Himself.
So long as you can see something, you can target it, and by firing at extreme arcs, you can fire off attacks delayed by up to three rounds. With good planning, you can fire off three shots that all strike the same spot in the same round.
C: Banner
You can raise your banner to inspire supernatural awe or fear in onlookers: your choice. This has no effect on nomarchs, kings, or divinities.
An oath sworn underneath your banner is as good as sacred. You attack any who break it as a warband-sized creature.
C: Challenge
If, in front of your loyal companions, you challenge an intelligent enemy to a contest to prevent greater harm to befall those you have sworn to protect, they cannot deny you without abandoning all their honor. If, still, they do, you attack them as a warband-sized creature.
D: Command
When you bellow an order of four words or less at the top of your lungs, ordinary soldiers and ordinary folk are compelled to obey you. Unless you address them by name, other creatures may roll breath to resist. You can’t command people to undertake actions that would harm themselves or their allies, but screaming HALT! loud enough might well make them do so.
D: Volley
Spend thrice the amount of arrows to turn your normal shots into areas of effect: lines, cones, or circles that target whole warbands.
This is basically an otherwise-unchanged combination of Loch’s shepherd and Phlox’s archer. If it ain’t broke!↩
See the river kingdom sex and gender post, coming soon.↩