The Cruasder
The Crusader was a staunch defender and champion of the weak, sticking up for those who needed sticking up for. They made their life into a quest against injustice and devoted themselves to good. As time went on their quest stopped leading them to combat evil and instead brought them into conflict with innocents. Eventually their actions against innocents left them ostracized by the community they used to stand for, which led to their demise.
The Crusader's power is to declare Oaths to themselves which grant them tremendous abilities as long as they are upheld and to declare pledges to Hell which grand protections as long as they serve as a proper symbol.
Play the Crusader if you want to become the ultimate champion of a cause by holding yourself to a personal code and managing your public perception.
With the Crusader, you can craft yourself some of the most powerful abilities in the game. However, you will constantly have to tread personal and public lines to keep your access to those powers.
Examples: Arthas (if he died and went to Hell instead of becoming a death knight),
Str: 17
Int: 8
Wis: 13
Dex: 10
Con: 11
Chr: 16
HP: 21
+lvl : Combat, Evangelizing
+lvl/2 : Theology, Tactics
Traits:
Stubborn ● ● ○ ○ ○
The Crusader is someone who rarely compromises or changes their mind. This character is the sort of person who would stand up for whats they believe in against an army or refuse to admit that they were wrong even when presented with overwhelming evidence.
● – Can check to avoid having mind changed or to ignore new developments.
● ● – Can declare a "truth" and must make a save vs anything which would contradict said truth.
Protective ● ○ ○ ○ ○
The Crusader is a vigilant person, who strives to defend everything they care about. This character is the sort of person who would offer someone the shirt off their back with no expectation of anything in return or stand by a friend, even when they turned out to be truly horrible.
● – Can check to redirect opponents attention away from their friends to themselves.
Oaths and Pledges:
As the Crusader your power comes from your steadfast convictions. By believing in a cause with unquestioning certainty and holding themselves to a higher standard the Crusader is able to stand against the mightiest of Devils and perform feats which rival their powers. As the Crusader gets a better sense of themselves they can make personal oaths which provide them with access to new abilities and public pledges to all of Hell which make them impervious to attacks. While the Crusader gains great power from these Oaths, if they ever break them they will loose all of their benefits until they can regain their steadfast composure.
For each Rank of each Trait the Crusader may make an appropriate Oath to give themselves an appropriate ability. These Oaths may start relatively minor at lower ranks and must become more extreme as the ranks go up. It is important to note that these Oaths are not made to any outside entity, but only from the Crusader to themselves. In fact, no one else knows what the Crusader's Oaths are unless they tell them, and they can feel free to lie. As long as the Crusader is able to convince themselves they are upholding the Oath they will keep the power. (If a player wishes to play a delusional Crusader or one who otherwise takes advantage of this fact it is important that the Crusader acts as though they truly believe what they claim to. It is important that the arbiter and player communicate with each other to make sure no mechanical abuse is happening.)
Below is an example of Oaths and Powers relating to each rank of the Trait Savior:
| Savior Rank | Oath | Power |
|---|---|---|
| ● ○ ○ ○ ○ | I will do no harm | Non-Lethal Attacks |
| ● ● ○ ○ ○ | I will help those who ask for it | Lay on Hands |
| ● ● ● ○ ○ | I will leave every situation better | Cure Disease |
| ● ● ● ● ○ | I will save anyone in need | Holy Shield |
| ● ● ● ● ● | I will fix Everything | Raise Dead |
Non-Lethal Attacks would give the Crusader the ability to perform attacks with the intention of resolving conflicts leaving the opponents unharmed. The exact means can defy most reasonable logic (disarming a tiger by trimming its claws and/or teeth with a single slash, hitting enemies so hard you bury them up to their necks in the ground while leaving them unharmed, etc.) with the effect scaling with damage (<10: inconvenienced, 10-19: majorly inconvenienced, 20-29: temporarily incapacitated, 30+ incapacitated for foreseeable future).
Lay on Hands gives the Crusader the ability to heal incapacitated for an amount which scales with their level. (probably 2HP/lvl?)
Cure Disease would give them the power to fix the causes of problems instead of just acting on the symptoms of the problems. The exact definition of "cure" and "disease" here can be quite flexible, and it could be used on entities besides persons. The more major the problem the more the Crusader would have to put into getting the desired solution.
Holy Shield would allow the Crusader conjure a magical shield which could protect another target from damage and attacks. I imagine there could only be one barrier and it would remain for as long as the target remained within line of sight of the Crusader and the Crusader wished to uphold the power. During this time they would be immune to any hostility, though not the consequences of their own actions.
Raise Dead would allow the bringing back of an entity which would normally be considered past the point of no return. As with Cure Disease the exact definitions here are flexible, and the more they are flexed the more additional work is required by the Crusader.
With each of these Oaths and Powers I attempted to match the Oath with an ability which would allow it to be carried out, with all of them still falling under a reasonable definition of the Trait to which they are derived from. Though the lower level powers are only especially useful for a character who has made the respective Oath, the higher level ones are supposed to get quite powerful with Rank 5 having the power usually only seen by Wish magic in other campaigns.
Each of these abilities can only be used once before it can must be recharged, though the act which recharges the power can be the same which expends it. This means that as long as the Crusader is using their Non-Lethal Attacks to attempt to do no harm they can keep using them. Once they decide to use this power for any other reason they must perform an action in the cause of doing no harm before they are able to perform the Non-Lethal Attacks again. This is the general form for powers which I wish to emulate, but other powers may work differently with multiple charges or slightly different ways of getting them back.
For each Rank of each Trait the Crusader may make an appropriate Pledge to give themselves an appropriate Defense. Just like the Oaths, Pledges start relatively minor with minor benefits before becoming quite powerful at high Ranks. Unlike Oaths, Pledges are not made to oneself but instead are yelled from rooftops to all of Hell. While Oath's power comes from the Crusader's belief in themselves, Pledges come instead from Hell's belief in the Crusader. This means that the Crusader does not need to actually uphold whatever pledge they make, and instead must only appear to uphold any such pledges to any who are watching. While powers are things which are activated by the Crusader with limited uses, Defenses are limitless innate/passive bonuses.
Below is an example of Pledges and Defenses relating to each rank of the Adjective Just:
| Just Rank | Pledge | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| ● ○ ○ ○ ○ | I will not harbor the Unjust | Detect Injustice |
| ● ● ○ ○ ○ | I will not permit the performing of Injustice | Attacks Cause Arrest |
| ● ● ● ○ ○ | I will bring Justice to any I meet | Long Arm of the Law |
| ● ● ● ● ○ | I will bring Justice to the most Unjust | Incite Mob |
| ● ● ● ● ● | I will bring The Universe to Justice | Immune to Unjust Attacks |
Detect Injustice allows the Crusader to innately know what Injustices Hell considers whoever they are talking to to have committed.
For Attacks Cause Arrest, whenever the Crusader deals damage to an opponent they must make a save equal to the damage dealt or be considered "under arrest". If they are under arrest they must either give themselves up to the authorities (usually the Crusader) to decide their punishment or they can "run from the law," attempting to escape the Crusader.
Long Arm of the Law gives the Crusader the ability to get a free attack against anyone trying to escape them they could reach, regardless of the circumstances. They also move twice as fast when attempting to chase down the Unjust.
Incite Mob means, whether they want them to or not, the Crusaders actions attract the attention of those around who will circle and demand justice be served, whatever that means.
At the highest Rank Pledge, the Crusader becomes immune to anything which is considered "Unjust". This probably means that ambushes or similar strategies can no longer harm the Crusader, though honorable duels and just deserts could still bring them down.
Again the Defenses increase in power as the Rank of Pledge increases, and they are always related to the Pledge which is made. In addition the Defenses all operate under the understanding of Hell as opposed to the Crusader themselves, so what is and isn't Just is not up to the Crusader.
The Crusader does not start with any Pledges or Oaths even though they do start with Traits. Instead, they must make them at reasonable moments over the course of the game. At the end of each session a Crusader may gain one Pledge or Oath whose ranks are less than or equal to the Level of the Crusader. In addition each Rank must be taken in order, no skipping Ranks. Making an Oath requires a moment of personal reflection and thought, while Pledges instead require the new decision to be yelled to the world from the mountain tops. In order to provide everyone the time to figure out what Power or Defense is appropriate I suggest that this happens between sessions.
Just as Oaths and Pledges can be made, they can be likewise abandoned. This happens in the exact same way as gaining them, in a moment of quiet contemplation or a loud proclamation. They can also be lost if the Crusader fails to live up to them. In the event that the Crusader takes an action which clearly shows that they are not holding themselves to their own Oaths or shows Hell that they are not holding themselves to their Pledges they will loose that Oath/Pledge and the Power/Defense which goes along with it. In addition, since their faith in themselves or Hell's faith in them has been likewise shattered they temporarily loose all of their other Powers or Defenses respectively. These will remain unavailable and can't be used till the Crusader makes a change in their Traits/Adjectives (respectively). If the same action causes a loss of Oath/Pledge and Trait/Adjective it doesn't count for this.
