Thanagarian – a new DCC RPG class!

Thanagarians are a proud and militaristic race of winged humanoids from the planet Thanagar. They once worshiped the dread Great Old Ones, entities from the Void whose dreams (it’s believed) brought forth the powers of Law and Chaos that today battle over the Multiverse.

At the dawn of it’s history, Thanagar was a harsh world with a primitive and savage culture. The envoys of the Great Old Ones, specially the Starspawns of Great Cthulhu, gave the Thanagarians the learnings of agriculture, mathematics, and philosophy — the foundations of their entire culture. The Starspawns, however, also enslaved the Thanagarians, using them as pawns in battles across the Void and the nascent champions of Law and Chaos.

As they matured, however, the Thanagarians rebelled against the Starspawns. Their knowledge of the Great Old Ones was used in the creation of special weapons, effective against the ilk of Azathoth. For this reason, their Nth metal weapons have mystical properties and can work against otherwise invulnerable creatures, like supernatural and extradimensional entities.

Many lone Thanagarian warriors roam the stars and the Multiverse, hunting for signs of the Great Old Ones, particularly Cthulhu and his kind.

The Thanagarian Class

Hit points: d10.

Attacks: +1/level.

Action Dice: as a Warrior.

Crit Die/Table: as a Warrior.

Saves: as an Elf.

Weapon training: A Thanagarian is trained in the use of these weapons: battleaxe, club, crossbow, dagger, dart, flail handaxe, javelin, lance, longbow, longsword, mace, polearm, shortbow, short sword, sling, spear, staff, two-handed sword, and warhammer. Thanagarians also know how to operate futuristic weaponry, at the Judge’s discretion (ray guns for example). All Thanagarians know to use and repair their special Nth Metal weapons. Thanagarians only use armor specially adapted and that won’t affect their speed (heavier armors are usually made from Nth Metal).

Bow to no Higher Power: After their pacts with the Great Old Ones, the Thanagarians bow to no god, immortal, fiend or patron. When healed by a cleric’s Lay on Hand, Thanagarians are always treated as of the Opposed Alignment.

Hawkmen: Thanagarians can fly with at a speed of 40 feet if they’re not burdened by cumbersome armor or weight. The Judge should use common sense here, but generally most Thanagarians, if unencumbered and with standard strength, can carry another humanoid of similar size or smaller for shorts periods of time (or glide down with something heavier to avoid fall damage). Thanagarians need lots of space for flying, so only under open skis, (really) big complexes or the vast underworld vaults of the depths would their wings be of use. Flying isn’t the same as walking though. Thanagarians must spend one Action Dice to fly. However, once in the air, Thanagarians can execute a special diving attack. This works exactly as a charge (see the Core Book at page 96) and requires just one Action Die. So, Thanagarians with 2 or more Action Die, that are already flying, can execute a flying-by attack, by spend their first Action Dice to dive and the second Action Dice to fly away from their enemy. This maneuver is an exception to normal Withdrawal rules (see the Core Book at page 96) – in other words, a Thanagarian can execute a flying-by attack without suffering a free attack from the target.

Nth Metal Weaponry: Thanagarians start the game with one Nth Metal weapon of their choice. This special metal is manufactured with high-level technology. The Nth Metal has electrical and gravitational properties and can even disrupt magical energies. Nth metal weapon are also lighter than traditional metal weapons and practically unbreakable. They can wound any supernatural creature, extraplanar entity or spirit, corporeal or not. Finally, Nth metal weapon are anti-magic. Each time a Thanagarian hits a target, the Nth metal weapon simultaneously delivers a special dispel magic effect, like the 16-17 result of the same spell (see the Core Book at page 208). The Thanagarian must roll 1d20 + character level + Strength modifier to determine the target’s Will save to resist the dispel. If the Thanagarian rolls a natural 1, his weapon overcharges and can’t be used for 1d6 rounds. Thanagarians can burn Intelligence to increase the dispel check. Each point spent grants a +2 bonus. Points thus burned recover naturally. Thanagarians can also use their Nth metal weapon to counterspell any effect thrown at 20 feet of them. This follow the normal spell duel rules, but a Thanagarian is limited to use dispelling proprieties of his Nth metal weapon.

Favored Enemy: Cthulhu!

Magic Slayers: Thanagarians are taught to resist and fight magic. This has benefits and small drawback. The good part is that Thanagarians can burn Intelligence to gain a bonus on saves against magical effects. They also add their character level to damage rolls against spellcasters and supernatural creatures. Finally, because of their innate distrust of magic, Thanagarians must spend 1 Luck points each time they’re targeted by a beneficial magical effect, like healing. If the Thanagarian can’t or won’t spend Luck, he must save to resist the effect.

Advanced Race: Thanagarians know technology are usually able to understand the basic proprieties or functions of any technological device found, at the Judge’s discretion.

Luck: Thanagarians add their Luck modifiers to their initiative rolls and to any check dealing with fly.