They have no gods. They work magic, and think they are gods themselves. - Secrets of the Schools (GLOG Sorcerer extrapost)

Writing sorcerer stuff is just too fun, so here's a grab-bag of half formed ideas.

Alternatives to Iron-Doom

Thanks to Sylvanas_iii for making me think about this topic.

Iron-Doom is pretty weird as a mechanic and ties the class heavily to the implied late bronze/early iron age setting I intended it for. The logic behind it though is pretty transferable; give the otherwise near-omnipotent magic man something mundane that he simply cannot overcome through direct means. Said something should be common, but not ubiquitous. In the intended setting I had in mind, bronze is still the metal of choice in most places but iron is beginning to proliferate.

The idea is to give the DM a mundane way of restraining a character with transmundane capabilities, without having to resort to completely hamstringing them with antimagic fields or other such bullshit. It also serves to provide some niche protection: why does the mage need a thief, when he can command a lock to open and eyes to see him not? Because the treasure is in an iron box. Why does he need a fighting man when he can rain down glorious annihilating incandescences upon his foes? To protect him from iron-wielders.

Keeping this philosophy some transferable ideas are;

Silver, the other anti-supernatural metal, as easy to come by without being absolutely everywhere in most settings as iron is in a bronze age setting. Has the slight twist of making sorcerers incapable of handling the OSR-standard coin, which can be fun or annoying depending on how you handle it.

Rowan Wood, is a possible candidate, in British folklore it's basically a universal anti-magic. So is the Colour Red, which is both easy to use as a DM and an amusing thought. Red-clad inquisitors whacking suspected sorcerers with their rowan staves is pretty fun. Do sorcerers have red blood? Perhaps their blood changing colour would replace the 5 Hubris step as a clear marker of their true nature.

Consecrated Items is another good choice, especially if you want to play up the "treading on the toes of G_d" aspect in a more explicit way. You do have to answer the question of why priests wouldn't just consecrate everything they could, but maybe there's some kind of conservation of holiness in effect, or only certain things can be consecrated, or not just any old oil will do for the anointing and it costs a few hundred silvers of myrrh, cinnamon, casia and galangal to make the good stuff.

Alternatively, I would recommend just using your favourite Doom track and ditching the Hubris count if you want to disentangle the class entirely from having an elemental weakness. I think that would be less fun though.

NEW SCHOOLS

Thanks to Spwack for the idea of including [hubris] as a variable in spell mechanics.

The Ammunat

Yea it is said that the Black Pyramid are the most reviled of all Schools, and it is spoken rightly, but only because so few know the existence of the Ammunat and their plans for the world. If they did, they would hammer day and night on the Black Pyramid's door for deliverance from such evil. An ancient conspiracy and mystery cult, the Ammunat - a Cthondine word meaning "circle", "orb" or "complete" - are followers of the philosophy of Horkalas the Red, one of the greatest - and the most hated - of the Cthondine Autarchs, the central precept of which was the embrace of Hubris (what Horkalas called "Evanescence") as a path to divinity, not something to be feared and shunned like a leprosy. To be apart from the world, so it followed, was to enter a state not unlike that of the divine, where only will and knowledge defined the borders of one's personal reality. The core of the Ammunat are a tiny cabal of sorcerers whose Hubris has long exceeded the point where creation itself rejects them, yet who have amassed control over enough Names that they are able to maintain a fingerhold on the world regardless. These horrifically potent liches are each on a perilous personal quest for divinity and several of them are terrifyingly close, only the fact that their Hubris is so high that a single iron arrow could wink them out of existence keeps them from acting in the open. Needless to say, much of the School's activities involves tracing any possible lead that might bring them to apprehending the truename of iron.

Robes: Maroon, gold trim. Worn only at secret meetings.

Skill: Disguise

Bonus Equipment: A set of common travel clothes with d3+1 hidden pockets, an iron-headed dart sheathed in cork, a secret handshake.

Perk: You know the secret of Sinworking. The Ammunat can fabricate you a false identity in any major city in d3 weeks, providing you make the arrangements ahead of your arrival.

Drawback: You add your number of sorcerer templates to any damage you take from iron, even if your current Hubris is 0.

Names: 1. Air 2. Water 3. Fire 4. Earth 5. Light 6. Image 7. Flesh 8. Wine 9. Tree 10. Silk 11. Darkness 12. Silver

New Secret: Sinworking

There is power in audacity, for those with the will to damn the consequences and grasp it. Whenever you roll a double or triple on your SD, you may either replace [sum] in your Evocation with [hubris] or add the hubris gained as a bonus to the [dice].

Sorcerous Items

Just like wizards - which technically don't exist in my default setting - sorcerers can benefit from a number of magical artifacts to enhance their art. Such items are coveted treasures often wrested from the tombs of sorcerer-kings of old;

Rings store the resonance of a sorcerer's enlightened voice. Any sorcerer can transfer a SD from their pool to a ring, and regenerate it later through rest as normal. The ring stores the SD until it is added to an Evocation. SD from rings have a chance of being returned to their receptacle on a 1-3 just like normal SD but they do not regenerate on their own once expended.

Lyres modulate the sorcerer's song, tempering it with the mathematical precision of the note. This permits the sorcerer who casts an Evocation in conjunction with a lyre to change the [sum] of one of their rolled SD up or down one point.

Koans are riddles, poems and thought experiments on the subject of a particular Name, that help the reader to shake their thought patterns free of the muddied meanings of the mundane world and achieve the clarity of thought and intent that is prized by sorcerers. By providing a meditative focus that deepens and clarifies the sorcerer's connection with its subject, koans provide the sorcerer with +1SD to an Evocation that involves its Name. Once read, the koan sublimes in a flash of coloured light.

Ironman (Human Race-As-Class)

Companion piece to the sorcerer for a slowly gestating setting.

Thissen brande sowithe yitt we shalle reyn yron dartes thereon the heddes of otheren kinde

 Behold the Ironman, wielder of the Last Form and the First Truth, breaker of thrones and trampler of banners. Nameless daemon of the uttermost north, who chokes the songs of sorcerers with blood. He who has dipped his iron in many hearts, to whom the stench of bloodied fields is sweetest perfume.

You can wear any armour and wield shields, and are proficient with all weapons that have metal striking surfaces.

You gain +1 to Hit or Defence per Template and +1 to Critical Hit Range at 2nd and 4th Templates.

Skill: Blacksmithing and one other; 1. Pillaging 2. Riding 3. Tactics

Starting Equipment: Steely iron laminar armour, shield & helmet, 2 steely iron weapons of your choice, a small but tough riding pony and tack, 4d6 gp worth of trade iron and easily traded plunder (cheap jewelry, spices, salt, ivory, furs and silks) & a red-dyed coif.

A: Trothed-To-Iron, The First Truth
B: Ironward, +1 Attack per Turn
C: Breaker-of-elves-and-beasts 
D: The Riddle of Steel, +1 Attack per Turn

A: Trothed-To-Iron
Iron is your god, all gods are jealous and miserly with their love. You suffer a penalty equal to your number of Templates on attack rolls with weapons that do not have iron striking surfaces, and reduce the benefit to Defence from any non-iron armour by the same amount.

A: The First Truth
'That which does not exist is less valuable than that which does, to end the existence of others thus proves your existence is more worthy than theirs.'

Make a tally mark on your character sheet for every kill you make of a foe that was either putting up a meaningful fight - defined here as one that has the capacity to deal you more than 1HP of damage - or had offered you insult. You have a separate track of HP, equal to 1 times the number of full tallies (5 marks) you have. These do not count for purposes of determining your maximum possible HP (usually 20), and only heal through rest - i.e. if you drink a healing potion or receive sorcerous healing (you unutterable milkblooded cur) it only applies to your base HP.

B: Ironward
When wielding an iron shield, you may choose to allow it to become mangled to negate the damage of one hit completely or automatically pass a save against a damaging effect. A mangled shield is useless until it is hammered back into shape, requiring an hour's work by a blacksmith with access to a forge and metalworking tools. At Template D you can also mangle a shield to automatically save against non-damaging magical effects.

C: Breaker-of-elves-and-beasts
Subdue a foe in honourable battle, employing no poison or sorcery, bind them in fetters of iron you have crafted with your own hands and extract an oath of fealty from them. As long as they remain fettered in your iron and their HD do not exceed your Templates they must Save to disobey your commands. Elves and other beings vulnerable to iron don't get a save. This works on beasts too, but you don't need to get them to give fealty if they can't speak.

This might seem like sorcery, your eyes are deceiving you due to your weak constitution and lack of moral character.

D: The Riddle of Steel
You know the true name of iron. As a result, you can replace any part of your body with iron armour that would cover the lost region; an iron gauntlet moves its fingers as you will, even if you have no hand to fill it. This even applies to lost or damaged organs; a blind ironman sees as clear as ever when his visor is down, an ironman whose lungs were ruined by pneumonia breathes freely when his breastplate is on, even a brain-damaged ironman suddenly finds his thoughts sharp and memory long when an iron war-cap is placed atop his head. Ignore penalties resulting from injuries in locations that you wear iron armour on. If clad wholly in iron you cannot die of natural causes, even if your mortal body dies and withers to dust your armour keeps on walking and talking, albeit devoid of human passion for anything but war, spending the rest of its time silently waiting for the next opportunity for bloodshed. Some ironmen have been known to practice self-mummification within their armour, drinking a slow poison of oak galls, rowan berries and hemlock that preserves their flesh.

Okay, this is technically sorcery, shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

Man is an invention of recent date - Archaeologist (GLOG Class)

Quick and dirty, in truest gretchling style, written entirely on my phone in a lunch break;

You're not much of a fighter, you can't wear armour unless another class allows you but can wield shields. A combination of boarding school life, the university boxing championships and a smattering of bartitsu means you cannot fumble with fisticuffs, light clubs and pistols.

Skill: Ancient History and 1 other

Equipment: Leatherbound notebook and pencil, sheaf of paper, piece of rubbing wax, stick of chalk, thumbstick (light weapon, in a pinch).

For each Template you gain +1 to Saves

A: Cunning Linguist, Sally Forth.

B: What a Relief

C: Bibliophile 

D: Power Word

A: Cunning Linguist 

You are fluent in all dead and antique languages, as long as even a scrap of their written or spoken form survives to the present day, and can have Templates+1 out of 6 chance to be able to hazard a rough guess at the meaning of even ones that don't, as well as formulate simple phrases in them on the fly.

In addition, you can read and cast Incantations if you find any (see below).

A: Sally Forth

A combination of stiff upper lip, head-in-the-clouds academic obliviousness and love of the Empire inures you against fear and danger. You have advantage on saves versus traps and fear, on a successful save you take no damage or negative effects, even if you would normally suffer half.

B: What a Relief

You have a 2:6 chance to find a random Incantation in any inscription, statue, mosaic or relief you spend at least 10 minutes examining, creating a rubbing, sketch or similar containing it in the process. Roll a d4 to determine its MD.

C: Bibliophile

You love books, books love you. You are never subject to curses as a result of reading forbidden texts, and cannot be harmed or inconvenienced by exploding runes, symbols-of-unpleasantness, and other such written cognitohazards. Others nearby you may take the brunt instead though.

D: Power Word 

You can choose to cast an Incantation with more MD than it has, at a cost of 1d6 HP per MD added.

Incantations

The ancients were absolutely mad for spells, invocation, sacred architecture and all that rot. 'Course nowadays we have safe, reliable, state-approved magicians rather than mad, doomed, godlike wizards. But a lot of that old magic is still about, hidden beneath the sands - or ice, vines, funko pop figurines,  what-have-you - carved into steles, tablets and temple walls.

Incantations can be memorised by anyone who can fluently read the language they are written in. They take up as much space in your memory slots (which you have a number of equal to your Intelligence score) as they have MD, and take 10 minutes per MD to memorize.

Incantations have their own MD, which are always expended on use, you cannot choose to use fewer MD to cast them, though you might carry several copies that each have different MD values. These are referred to in the following form;

1MD: The Lesser Spell of...

2MD: The Journeyman's Spell of...

3MD: The Greater Spell of...

4MD: The Master Spell of...

In all other respects, Incantations are GLOG spells from any source. Doubles and Triples incur mishaps and Dooms as normal, drawn from the class that the spell came from. You may have multiple Dooms.

Sorcery Thrives on Success - Sorcerer (GLOG Class)

The core of this class is Skerples' Paladin of the Word, with some major caveats. It's less omnipotent - the pally is like a Sorcerer who knows every Name and no Hubris or backlash, as is fitting for one who speaks with the voice of the Authority rather than mimicking their tone and timbre to trick the world - but has some additional tricks up its voluminous silken sleeves. Besides, I think the collectability of Names is a feature rather than a bug, what mage doesn't enjoy collecting new magic? They're also a bit of a glass cannon, having a very powerful and flexible tool but also a severe weakness that a DM can easily use to stop them from just spellcasting their way past a challenge. An iron gate is as big an impediment to a sorcerer as it is to a fighter or thief, maybe moreso as they can't lift or climb over it without taking damage. A foe in full plate is a serious threat for a sorcerer, even a peasant wearing a horseshoe amulet is a problem, though if they're clever - as a magician should be - still not an insurmountable one. Turn the ground beneath his feet into quicksand, blow poison powder in his eyes, bewitch peasants to mob him, lure him into a building and collapse the ceiling, fight like a sorcerer - unfairly.

Credit also goes to the Second Apocalypse series for a lot of the flavour, even though the magic system is almost completely different.

GLOG Class: Sorcerer

Sorcery can be thought of as the antonym of philosophy; one shapes language to conform with reality, the other forces reality to conform to language. By their arts sorcerers speak to the world that is otherwise deaf to the concerns of men, and convince it to change. Sorcery is thus a supreme hubris, to engage in its use even lightly is to make the implicit statement that you know how the world should be ordered better than its creator.

You gain +2 Names per template, the second and fourth Templates also give you +1 to Saves, you cannot wear any armour unless another class allows you but you can wield shields. You cannot fumble with daggers, darts, powders, phials or poison.

Skill: One determined by your School and one other: 1. Alchemy 2. Astronomy 3. Poetry

Starting Equipment: Hooded silk robes of your School's colours, bronze dagger, soft slippers (+1 to sneaking), paper twist of blinding powder (save or be blinded for 1d6 rounds), an assumed name, one item from the table at the bottom.

A: Evocation, Iron-Doom, School, +1SD, 

B: Secret, +1SD

C: Secret, Mutter-Song +1SD

D: Secret, Truename +1SD

A: Evocation: Sorcerers are not limited by static spells, they are poets and meister singers who shout down the omnipresent voice of G_d and replace it with their own. They do this with Song Dice which are a bit like Magic Dice, but called something different and cannot be used interchangeably. As usual they are d6's and return to your pool on a 1-3, and are regenerated when you get a good rest. Evocation requires the sorcerer to sing loudly, so is impossible to perform stealthily.

If you roll doubles on any SD, you gain a point of Hubris. If you roll triples, you gain five.

The main limit on what a sorcerer can achieve is their knowledge of Names. You start knowing the name Man, which allows you to Evoke all humanoid sapient beings, and one other rolled from your School's list. When you gain a new template of Sorcerer you gain 2 Names, one of which must be rolled from your School's list, the other you may choose freely from your studies. You can learn new Names if you find them on your journeys, either learned from other Sorcerers (usually at great cost) or hidden in the warp and weft of the world.

With one template of Sorcerer you know the techniques Command and Sense.

At two templates you learn the technique Destroy and Empower.

At four templates you learn the technique Manifest.

A: Iron-Doom: Iron is the Last Form, that all matter descends into, and so lacks Tonós, the mystical tension - the desire for change - that sorcery acts upon. Note that steel is just iron with a different carbon concentration, it still counts. Your magic is thus bound by the following rules;

1. Sorcery cannot affect iron directly in any way. You cannot transform it, destroy it, move it, if there's any ambiguity the answer is no. The only sorcerous technique that works on iron is Sense.
2. An iron weapon cuts through anything created by sorcery like it was mist and shadows, even the most powerful manifestations take maximum damage from iron weapons, and sorcerous bonuses to Defence are useless against iron weapons.
3. Every inventory space of predominantly iron objects a person carries forces you to roll 1 Iron Die when trying to perform an Evocation that targets them, Iron Dice only count for determining doubles and triples.
4. Iron deals you 1 point of damage per point of Hubris (highly hubristic sorcerers have been known to instantly sublime into pillars of salt on contact with iron), per round of contact or per attack.
5. Iron armour subtracts the wearer's Defence score from any sorcerous damage, even if it doesn't normally allow a save. Indirect damage resulting from sorcery, such as a natural fire ignited with sorcery or falling rocks loosened by sorcery, deal their full damage but usually allow a save.

A: School: Choose a School where you learned sorcery from, this determines which Names you choose from, as well as starting equipment and what Perks and Drawbacks you get.

B, C, D: Secret: At each of these templates, you may choose from one of the following secret arts;

• Daimos: You may sing down daemons from the outer dark. You may summon any extraplanar entity whose name you know and whose HD does not exceed your SD*2 to perform [dice] tasks for you. When its final task is complete roll its HD and your SD and compare [sum] - if you get the higher it departs without any further fanfare, if it gets the higher it may remain in the world for a number of rounds equal to the difference. When you choose this Secret you gain knowledge of a daemon's name of HD equal or below your current number of templates in this class, additional names must be acquired through hunting down secret tomes, interrogating cultists and the like.
• Calling: You may roll your SD send messages to anyone whose true name you know across any distance, the message may be up to [sum]+[dice] words long. It may also contain images taken from your memory or imagination at a cost of 3 words each. If the target is asleep when the message is sent they receive it in their dreams.
• Chorus: You can harmonise your voice with others, allowing you to add half your number of templates rounded up in SD to another sorcerer's Evocations. Multiple sorcerers with this secret may all contribute, any Hubris incurred from the Evocation is divided between all in the chorus.,
• Skin Wards: You may roll SD and gain a personal magical shield of [sum] HP in strength, any effect that would damage you subtracts its damage from these HP first. It manifests when you are attacked as your Names leaping to defend you - wind blows away arrows, spars of stone block blows, your skin turns to bronze, etc. Iron deals maximum damage against Skin Wards.
• Witchfingers: You are proficient in a system of pressure point based martial arts that let you rend flesh and disrupt vital processes with seemingly impossibly light touches. It looks really weird, like you just poke someone in the neck and their carotid artery explodes, what the hell. Your fingers and toes count as light weapons that can deal piercing, slashing or poison damage, and if you hit someone with a critical hit or catch them unawares you can paralyze them for as long as you remain touching them with at least two digits. You can also do neat but useless martial arts tricks like balancing upside-down on one finger or breaking bricks with your nuts.
• Vox Dei: You can speak in a sorcerous language that every conscious being understands, even animals. This does not allow you to understand them if you don't know their language.
• Namesight: You can choose whether or not to see things whose Name you know. If you know the name of Stone you can choose for stone walls to not obscure your sight (though you might bump into walls if you're not careful) or clearly survey the sea and its life by choosing not to see Water.
• Commune: You can perform a ritual divination, rolling as many SD as you choose. You may ask [highest] questions, and receive answers of ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Unclear. If asking questions about something that you know the Name of, you may instead receive the answers: ‘Certainly’, ‘Possibly’, ‘Unclear’, ‘Consider Further’, ‘Unlikely’, or ‘Impossible’.
• Reconstruction: Requires Empower. You can restore creatures and objects to their intact state by repairing their Name. Roll as many SD as you wish, you restore [sum] HP of damage to the target. If you roll at least 2SD you can restore the target the use of a damaged sensory organ or mangled limb, and undo the effects of corrosion and decay on natural items (you can't reverse rusting for obvious reasons). If you spend at least 4SD, you can restore missing limbs and organs, even those that are missing as a result of a birth defect, and turn even an object burned to ashes back to its former state.
• Fidelity: Requires Manifest. At your choosing your manifestations no longer appear unreal and ghostly but are as solid-seeming and indistinguishable from the real thing as if they were created by G_d himself.

C: Mutter-Song: You voice is now so powerful you may perform your Evocations with a low, rumbling, throat-song that attracts less attention than normal. Your Evocations don't require you to make more noise than quiet conversation.

D: Truename: Pick one of your known Names, you gain a deeper understanding of it than other Sorcerers, so much so it sinks into your soul and becomes part of it. Create a unique passive special ability between you and your DM that is embodied in the chosen Name, you gain this ability permanently. Some examples are;

• Man: Immunity to involuntary transformation. Heal back to your perfect form unless killed.
• Animal: Assume the Named animal's form at will. Gain Named animal's physical capability relative to human size.
• Fire: See heat as well as light. Read piles of ash as easily as the text it once was.
• Iron: In every generation there's someone who tries to apprehend the truename of iron, the last guy had everything above the mandible instantly turn to salt, but maybe you'll get lucky.

Techniques

Command
R: [dice]*50' T: 1 [name] creature or object D: [dice] hours
You shout a single-word command to your target. If the target is sentient or under a force that is acting against your command (e.g. if you command a boulder rolling down a hill to STOP) it gets a Save to resist. If the command lasts more than a single round, the target gets a new save at the beginning of each of its rounds. You can spend additional [dice] to increase the effects.
+1 SD: Affect +2 targets.
+1 SD: You may increase then length of your command by +2 words.
+1 SD: You may increase the duration between checks by +2 rounds.

Sense

R: [dice]*50' T: [name] D: [dice] hours

You become aware of the presence of the [name] within the range of the Evocation. You can sense the distance and direction of all examples of [name], and if you know the true name of a specific individual or item you can also tell them apart from others that share a [name].

Destroy
R: [dice]*50' T: 1 [name] creature or object D: 0
Target take [sum]+[dice] damage. Save for half damage. This represents any command that deals direct damage (explode, die, split, tear yourself to shreds, etc.)

Instead of adding a SD to the [sum] of this spell, you can instead assign an SD to increase the number of targets by +2.

If you have 4 Sorcerer templates you can use this technique on targets who you do not know the Name of - rather than commanding them to be destroyed, you instead manifest your Names to attack them, in which case the damage type changes depending on the Name employed. E.g. using an "Eagle" missile to summon a ghostly eagle to rend your target with its talons would deal slashing damage.

Depending on the number of SD employed, you can choose one of the following forms (Somewhat stolen from here);

1SD: Missile, deals [sum]+[dice] damage to one target, no save.

2SD: Ball, deals [sum] damage to everyone within a [dice]*10' radius of the landing point, or half damage on a save.

3SD: Either;

1. Blast,  deals [sum]+[dice] damage to everyone within a 50' cone, save for half. or;
2. Barrage, deals 1d10 damage to [dice] targets, no save.

4SD: Either;

1. Lance, deals [sum]+[dice]*2 damage to one target, save for half. or;
2. Cloud, deals [dice]*d6 damage each turn in a [dice]*10' radius for as long as you maintain singing your Evocation. While preoccupied with your song you suffer disadvantage on all other actions and cannot perform any other Evocations, you may however move the cloud at a rate of your own walking pace as long as the endpoint of its movement is in range.

Empower

R: Touch T: 1 [name] creature or object D: [sum] minutes

You can reinforce an aspect of the target, rewriting their Name to make it stronger than it was before. Choose one of the target's numerical statistics, it gains a +[dice] bonus for the duration.

Manifest

R: [dice]*50' T: 1 [name] creature or object D: [sum] rounds or until dismissed

You can Evoke a Name strong enough to create an echo of it in reality, imperfectly mimicking G_d's own act of creation. A ghostly version of the [name] appears in the place targeted, it appears semi-transparent and obviously unreal but in every way behaves exactly like what it is - fire burns, water drowns, stone bears weight, etc. You may manifest up to a person-sized object or creature of up to 2HD, inanimate matter appears in whatever shape you desire when you Evoke it - ghostly walls and statues are fair game - creatures are obedient to your wishes. More powerful creatures may require more SD to manifest at all. Additional SD may be spent to increase the scale of the manifestation;

+1 SD - Increase the max HD of the manifested creature by 1.

+1 SD - Create a wagon-sized amount of matter.

+2 SD - Create a house-sized amount of matter.

+3 SD - Create a castle-sized amount of matter.

Bonuses

If you know the true name (the one given by their parent or creator) of the person or object you target with your Evocations, they suffer disadvantage on their save. Not everything has a true name, but works of art, unique artifacts and THREE WORD NAME swords do.

HUBRIS

At 5 or more Hubris, your voice takes on a scratchy, unpleasant roughness, and echoes slightly when you speak above a whisper. Disguising your status as a sorcerer becomes difficult at this point.

At 10 or more Hubris, whenever you perform Evocations sigilic haloes - intricate rings of arcane notation - appear around your head and hands. Those with the power to see souls have their reactions to you immediately drop a step.

At 15 or more Hubris, when you try to manipulate something that you don't know the Name of, you have a 2:6 chance to fail. Either your hand passes right through it or it is as immovable to your touch as if it was pinched between the fingers of G_d.

At 20 Hubris, G_d's own creation itself ignores you save for the commands you give it. If you do not know the Name of something, it is as if it doesn't exist for you. If you do not know the Name of Air, you begin to suffocate, if you do not know the Name of Fire, you freeze, if you do not know the Name of the Sun, you cannot see by day, nor can you see by night unless you know the Name of the Moon, if you do not know the name of Earth then you fall through it like it was an illusion. Chances are you don't know enough Names to survive for long.

You can lose Hubris (generally no more than 1-3 points at a time) by spending time (at least a week) abstaining from all sorcery, receiving absolution from powerful divine beings, or telling someone your true name.

SCHOOLS

The Khagan Munsu

The Munsu are one of the only Schools that enjoy governmental recognition, rather than being a loose collection of power-hungry occult scholars banding together for mutual protection. They are the descendants of the Wind Screamers, hereditary shamans of the Tong steppe, who once practiced sorcery on a master-apprentice system until the great uniter Achujam Bachural Khan ordered the Mandate of Stars & Flames, an official call for all sorcerers within his domain to present themselves before his court, with rich rewards promised for those who attended. Those who answered the Mandate were formed into the Munsu (Tongen for "Ministry"), the sorcerous left hand of the Khaganate throne, who would accompany their armies, run the Yam - the khaganates' postal service - and perform their tutelage in a structured form designed to serve the needs of the Khaganate and its relentless expansion. Their first duty was exterminating all who refused the call.

Robes: Sky blue, fur-lined.

Skill: Riding

Bonus Equipment: Riding horse and tack, a bronze paiza giving you freedom of travel throughout the khaganate and obliging citizens to give you lodging and provisions.

Perk: You start with knowledge of the Secret of Calling. Also, it's technically illegal for peasants to be cheeky to you.

Drawback: When you sleep you have a 1:3 chance to receive a vision from the capital giving you orders. Failure to complete assignments may result in being called to the capital to give an accounting.

Names: 1. Fire 2. Wind 3. Tower 4. Sun 5. Cloth 6. Gold 7. Horse 8. Cloud 9. Eagle 10. Eye 11. Earth 12. Sword

The Ešhugal

The Ešhugal are a clan of mercenary sorcerers, formed from the dregs of the ruling caste of the Sassál Imperium and their neighbouring long-time enemies from the Autarchs of Cthond. Both empires had long since passed their golden age by the time the ironmen came to bring an end to the reign of the sorcerer-kings across the continent, and had lapsed into a period of extreme decadence characterised by wanton licentiousness, extremes of vulgar excess and disregard for the laws of man and G_d. Unwilling to perform the hard work of their ancestors in rebuilding their shattered fortunes or to give up the life to which they had become accustomed, they formed the Ešhugal - from a Sassálid term meaning "congress of princes" - charging exorbitant fees to anyone willing to pay them for their forebearer's hard-won lore.

Robes: Magenta and gold

Skill: Apothecary

Bonus Equipment: Box of drug-taking paraphernalia and 3 doses of black lotus.

Perk: You start with knowledge of the Secret of Daimos. In any large settlement you can find underworld connections like fences, drug dealers and assassins with ease.

Drawback: You are cripplingly addicted to black lotus, if you don't get a dose at least every other day you are at disadvantage on all actions.

Names: 1. Poison 2. Wheel 3. Daemon 4. Sand 5. Smoke 6. Silk 7. Water 8. Plant 9. Crystal 10. Serpent 11. Hair 12. Fire.

The Viparti

Alone among sorcerers, the Viparti are seen as holy rather than damned by the majority of people - even if theologians dispute the matter with some vigor. They are descended from the mage clans of the Kikala Plateau, who had long warred with eachother over the land, causing much chaos and strife among the people who inhabited it. They saw the coming of the ironmen as a punishment for their crimes and their remnants formed a covenant to study sorcery for the sake of enlightenment rather than personal power. The site of the convenant was a burned-out village of no name on the banks of the Vipar river. Today there now stands a monastery in this very place, which takes in any child whose parents cannot afford to keep it on the proviso that they never speak the child's true name again.

Robes: Yellow, red trim

Skill: Acrobatics

Bonus Equipment: Bronze singing bowl w/ wooden striker, sutra scroll.

Perk: You start with knowledge of the Secret of Witchfingers. You can remain dimly conscious of your surroundings while "sleeping" in a meditation pose.

Drawback: You have taken a vow of poverty. You cannot own more than you can carry on your person or you take 1 Hubris per day until you get rid of the excess. Books, scrolls and items containing Names don't count if you choose to store them in a Viparti monastery for the use and edification of your brothers.

Names: 1. Lighting 2. Rain 3. Mountain 4. Wood 5. Water 6. Dagger 7. Rope 8. House 9. Falcon 10. Wind 11. Sickness 12. Dragon

The Black Pyramid

The most ancient, storied and reviled of all Schools is the Black Pyramid, both sorcerers and autocratic oligarchs of the Magocracy of Hanok. They were once reckoned as among the weakest of the sorcerous empires, their independence maintained through webs of fealty, trade and bribery more than their sorcery. But when the ironmen came down from the uttermost north, it was Hanok alone that was prepared to wage the conventional war that their iron battle gear demanded.  With its swolen armies of slave-soldiers purchased to reinforce their otherwise paltry numbers of sorcerers-of-the-line, Hanok and the Black Pyramid emerged the only remaining magocracy on the continent and the only fully intact School. It is a position they have clung onto with ever increasing paranoia since. The slave army of Hanok have since gone from being spell-fodder expected only to soak up damage to a highly trained and equipped elite fighting force, the Dalesin, and what of Hanok's wealth that doesn't go to furnishing them with glittering immaculum wargear is spent mining and importing iron - to be loaded onto bulk freighters and dumped into the deepest recesses of the sea.

Robes: Black with geometric silver embroidery

Skill: Politics 

Bonus Equipment: d3+1 body slaves (stats as level 0 commoners)

Perk: Start with the Chorus secret. You are basically above the law within the boundaries of Hanok.

Drawback: You gain +1 to all Hubris gains, most sorcerers have a bit of a G_d complex but the Black Pyramid's arrogance puts them all to shame.

Names: 1. Wolf 2. Stone 3. Bone 4. Spear 5. Glass 6. Crow 7. Darkness 8. Silver 9. Orb 10. Hand 11.  Mist 12. Iron

1d20 Places to find a Name

Names can turn up anywhere, the Schools watch for them falling from the sky as meteors and conduct expeditions to places no man has ever been in hope of finding rich sources of them. There are even ways of "farming" them, after a fashion, rituals that can prompt them to reveal themselves in a semi-reliable fashion. Here are some places you might find a new Name;

1. Inside a geode, humming in resonance with sorcery, crack it and hold the hollow to your ear.
2. Woven into the strands of a spider's web, visible only in the new morning's dew.
3. Carved into a cliff face by repeated lightning strikes.
4. In the freckles on the back of a harvest fayer's prize pig.
5. Scored on the inside of the skull of the last sorcerer to know it, at the bottom of a mineshaft.
6. Hidden in the background of a mad painter's last work.
7. In a group of unusually lucky street children's nonsense-rhyme.
8. Written on a parchment in the mouth of a desiccated corpse that walked out of the desert.
9. In a set of chalk geoglyphs that can only be observed from above.
10. In the cracks left in the side of a temple by an earthquake.
11. In the blood splatter left on a wall by an infamous serial killer.
12. In the heartwood of a tree split open by a wildfire.
13. Read from the entrails of a two headed calf.
14. In a birthmark on the inner thigh of the most expensive prostitute in the land.
15. In a flaw at the heart of a gemstone.
16. In the pattern of barnacles on the hull of the most feared pirate ship on the sea.
17. Entwined in the mycelium beds of a fairy ring.
18. Trapped, echoing around the bottom of a lightless chasm.
19. Whispered once a century by a comatose giant.
20. Inscribed upon the eye of a sun-blind stylite.

Sorcerous Appurtenances

1. Pair of thick leather gloves. Let's you handle iron without your skin turning to salt.

2. A black silk pavilion tent, preternaturally cool and quiet inside, takes more than one person to set up.

3. A palanquin or lecticia, complete with 4 burly slave bearers of initially grudging loyalty.

4. A sealed glass sphere of daemon fire, deals 4d6 damage in a 10' radius when broken against a hard surface.

5. An ear horn, let's you hear conversations on the other side of doors and pinpoint the origin of faint noises.

6. Filigreed bronze bracers, counts as a small shield.

7. A heavy brocade cloak, warm and stylish, heavy enough to make someone stumble if you swung it at them.

8. Set of vicious looking torturers' tools, (+1 to Interrogation).

9. Dose of black lotus, the gold-standard for sorcerous narcotics, lets you reroll 1SD per Evocation for 1d6*10 minutes, disadvantage on all non-sorcerous tasks while under its effects from vivid audiovisual hallucinations.

10. A disk of obsidian polished to a mirror-shine. You can view cognitohazards like medusas and angels in it without danger.

11. A jar of rust monster saliva. If struck with it, save or have 1d3 randomly determined iron items crumble to dust.

12. Bundle of scrolls containing 3 of the following subjects; 1. Ancient Classics 2. Erudite Theology 3. Political Theory 4. Advanced Mathematics 5. Astronomy & Astrology 6. Erotic Poetry.

13. Box of rosewater and pistachio candies.

14. A x5 telescope in a leather case.

15. Devotional amulet to a prominent local cult.

16. Ostentatious cameo ring containing a small hidden chamber.

17. Pouch of incense that allows the breather to perceive invisible entities while rendering them incapable of comprehensible speech for d6 x 10 minutes.

18. A dog-eared copy of the heretical philosophical work "A Modest Defence of the Arcane".

19. Pomander with a highly distinctive perfume, used to form mnemonic connections. Allows a second save against sensory or memory-altering effects when smelled. Needs to be periodically refreshed with expensive ingredients.

20. A bizarre curiosity;

1. A collar that prevents the wearer from performing magical feats.
2. A stone that glows in the presence of the Holy, and also on really hot days.
3. Scarf treated with poison-neutralising alchemy.
4. The tongue of a dead Sorcerer, scored with Names, allows an Evocation to be cast with +1SD 3 times, but attracts the presence of all undead within a 10 mile radius for 24 hrs when used.
5. Sealed beaker of liquid crystals, can foretell the weather with 50% accuracy, denatures after 2D6 months unless refreshed.
6. SUNK COST FALLACY, a medium (+1) khopesh of immaculum, hilt bound in gazelle hide. Has a 2:6 chance to know a factoid about any ruins its blade is tapped against.

And they brought their god with them - Priest (GLOG Class)

Religion - especially the fun bits with lots of big hats, incense, angels and charging about declaring people who piss you off heretics - is a pretty big part of GLOGing, despite being nowhere in the original source documents. Few GLOGhacks feel complete without cryptic faithposting and colour coded theologies, heresies and iconoclasts. Despite this there's little agreement on the definitive form of a GLOG cleric the way there is with wizards. Deus ex parabola's masked cleric is the closest, for good reason, but is deeply tied to a specific setting. Iron & Ink's Mystic is pretty good, but hard to write for and interpret, which I suspect is why it didn't catch on. This is not an attempt to codify the definitive GLOG cleric, just throwing my hat in the ring. This take isn't fully my own, the structure is adapted from one of my favourite depictions of priestly characters in an RPG; New Fire: the Temikamatl Book of Dreams, a mesoamerican fantasy game. The mechanics are pure GLOG though. There's also a lot of Locheil's Magos in here, I've already been effusive about my love of it.

All art taken from New Fire

Wizards scoff at you behind their spell books, so sure that their power is earned while yours is merely begged for. Arrogant fools! Do they think just anyone can bare the judging eye of the g_ds without their soul being flensed, folded, spindled and burned? Mortals are but kindling before the raging soul-fire of the divine. But not you.

You endured the ekstasis that comes with direct contact with the g_ds, though at times your spine near cracked with the convulsions and you had to piece together your blasted identity bit by bit over and over again, but it was worth it. Now you are spiritually fireproof, able to bare the terrible weight of a g_d without breaking, feel the heat of its touch without being consumed, look into the sun without going blind.

Learn that from a book.

Class: Priest

Every template you have in this class gives you +1 Save and +1 Miracle Die. You can wear light armour and cannot fumble with daggers, whips, flails, stones, and your Order's holy weapon.

Starting skill: determined by Order (see below).

Starting Equipment: The robes and jewelry of your Order, sacrificial knife, your Order's holy weapon, pouch of entheogenic herbs, small wooden rod covered in bite-marks, a relic (see below), one item from the list below.

A: Order, Invocation, Ordained

B: Exhort, Vox Dei

C: Applied Theology

D: Archpriest

A: Order

Choose an Order to belong to, your Order has five g_ds it specialises in venerating, and keeps relics of those g_ds in its temples. You start with a relic of one of your Order's g_ds of your choice. When you visit a temple belonging to your Order you can exchange any relics you are carrying for others belonging to g_ds that your Order venerates. Relics don't grow on trees though, so if you break or lose one expect to have to perform some onerous service before they'll let you lend out another one.

Each order also has a preferred means of sacrifice, a way of appeasing the g_ds to remove Hubris. You can sacrifice in other ways too, but those will always only remove 1 Hubris per attempt, and are usually more onerous than what you have to do to get the equivalent through your Order's preferred method.

A: Invocation 

You can summon the attention of the g_ds, and invoke the miracles associated with their mythos. You do this using Miracle Dice,  which are very much like Magic Dice, except they are d4's by default (more on this later), they return to you on a 1-3 regardless of what size die they are.

Seeing as priests spend more time in contact with the g_ds than most, they also tend to piss them off a lot more and don't think a life of service to the divine immunises you from damnation, hell is full of priests. If you roll any doubles you incur 1 point of Hubris. If you roll any triples you take 5. Hubris is a measure of how far you've annoyed the g_ds, acquire too much and they'll squash you in some karmically appropriate way.

You can invoke the miracles of a g_d as long as you are in the presence of one of their idols, in a place holy to them, or carrying one of their relics. Relics take up 1 inventory space each. You can also use the Blessing of any relic you carry for free.

Each Order is associated with five g_ds; one for each direction and one for the Center direction. You can carry up to your number of Templates of relics at once. You can always carry the Central g_ds relic without danger, and you can invoke g_ds outside of your Order's as long as you are carrying their relics, but if you carry relics belonging to g_ds of opposite directions then they will fight with each other when invoked. 

If you invoke a miracle of a g_d while carrying a relic belonging to a g_d of their opposing direction, a second miracle of the opposing g_ds domain will also manifest in an inconvenient way, wherever possible to thwart whatever you attempted to do with the initial invocation. A blast of fire might strike someone you just healed, or an enemy you slew with a divine arrow might be reanimated as an undead, depending on the domains of the opposing g_ds. Each time this occurs earns you d6 Hubris.

Relics are usually quite fragile and must be treated with care and reverence, they in a very real sense are a g_d. When a priest makes camp they must build and consecrate a temporary shrine to place their relics in, which takes at least an hour. Enemies might be inclined to try destroying them, this might be successful but is still a terrible idea, as it is a direct attack on the g_ds' person.

If you are invoking a miracle in a place holy to the g_d or in sight of one of their idols (a large, non-portable representation) then your MD are rolled as one size larger.

A: Ordained

You are Holy, and thus can endure the touch of the Divine. Spiritual beings that are less Holy than you, such as most spirits, elves and ghosts - but not demigods, giants and monsters directly created by a g_d - will avoid annoying or offending you, though they probably don't like you.

You can touch idols, relics and sacred objects without harm or risk of being cursed, even if they belong to a g_d who is not your own. People who are not Holy tend to go mad, or become lepers if they spend too much time around an idol. You must still treat these objects with proper respect and reverence to enjoy this protection.

B: Exhort

Each day you may choose one of the g_ds whose relic you have access to lavish with praise. When Invoking that g_ds miracles your MD are considered one step larger (d4 to d6, d6 to d8, etc). This stacks with the usual bonus from casting in a holy site or in the presence of an idol.

B: Vox Dei

You can speak the universal language of the supernal. G_ds, spirits, giants and other divine and semidivine beings can converse with you naturally. Vox Dei is so pure in its expression of meaning that even beings who don't speak it can get the gist of what you mean when you talk to them in it, though details like proper nouns and numbers don't really translate.

C: Applied Theology

Choose one of your Order's g_ds. Your MD are permanently considered Exhorted for this g_d and one die of your choice can be set to its maximum value if it would save you from gaining Hubris.

You may now research new miracles for any relic you carry. Each relic can hold 1 additional miracle associated with its g_ds' domains. When you research a new miracle, name your relic and write a line or two in how its origin fits the miracle you've created for it. That relic now becomes a unique item with that miracle bound to it, if it is destroyed that miracle is lost forever.

D: Archpriest

You can now Exhort twice per day, you can even Exhort the same g_d twice if you wish.

You are assigned the services of a curate or underpriest, who is quite skilled in organising things, remembering dates and schedules and is Holy enough to carry one of your relics for you, so you can bring along a g_d who conflicts with another without risk of them fighting.

You are distressingly likely to be kidnapped, possibly because your body parts can now be made into relics of your Order's g_ds.

ORDERS

The Shining Ones

Skill: 1. Oratory 2. Painting 3. Choreography

Robes: White, embroidered.

Jewels: Peacock Feather Cloak.

Holy Weapon: Staff

Preferred Sacrifice: Gauntlet - the priest proclaims their transgressions before their congregation and encourages those gathered to chastise them. If the crowd is encouraged to use scorn and insults, lose 1 hubris. If they use canes and rotten fruit, d3. If rocks and fists, d6. Can also be performed on corrupt public officials and cruel nobles rather than the priest themselves. You can perform this sacrifice no more often than once per year in any given community where your Order has a presence.

Doctrine:

Mystics and philosophers may claim that true piety requires nothing but silence and one's own thoughts but they don't have to till the fields all day. Nobody has time to learn the ways of the g_ds and master their trade, the common people need more to believe; we give it to them. Our Order puts on the biggest, flashiest ceremonies, with the finest musicians and the most splendidly crafted ritual tools. We own the most glorious temples, filled with light, art and drifting incense. We hold the grandest festivals, raucous and intoxicating. When our sacrifices go under the knife they do so beaming with pride, arrayed like princes of the earth, and die in glory. It may seem gaudy and excessive, and other Orders certainly aren't shy about decrying us as base and materialist, but all of it serves to make the world of the g_ds easier to understand and care about, bringing a little sliver of heaven down to the dirt where the farmer and the miner can touch it.

G_ds:

Great Starry Queen (Centre)

Domains: Light, Words, Healing

Holy Ground: Hilltops at night, towers.

Blessing: See as far and clearly at night as you can by day, as long as stars are visible in the sky.

Starlight

R: sight T: none D: [dice]x2 hours

You produce a glittering orb of blue-white light, looking for all the world like a star the size of a grapefruit, that sheds bright light in a 20’+[dice]x10’ radius. You can move the star to any point you can see by asking it to go there, it will hear you no matter what language you speak or how quietly. You can also ask the star to follow you or another being you can see, and at what elevation. If you spend 4 MD you can instead summon the Bar of Heaven, a pillar of starlight that stretches from the ground to an arbitrarily high point in the sky, illuminating the entire area from horizon to horizon as brightly as a summer's evening. The Bar of Heaven is typically reserved for conducting surprise night battles and the most auspicious festivals.

Soothing Hand

R: Touch T: 1 creature D: Instant

Your touch restores [sum] hp of damage, stops bleeding and heals minor breaks and sprains. It will also alleviate the symptoms and halt the progression of poisons and diseases for [dice] days, hopefully keeping the patient alive long enough to seek a cure.

Sacred Light (East)

Domains: Fire, Leadership, Blood

Holy Ground: Courts, Battlefields

Blessing: You can ask the DM if what you are about to do is illegal or dishonourable in the land you are in, they will tell you the truth.

Ignite

(stolen from Deux Ex Parabola)

R: reach T: a creature or object struck by your weapon D: instant

Make an attack against the target with +[dice] to-hit. If the attack hits, target takes an additional [sum] points of fire damage without a save. Inanimate objects are hit automatically. If you target your Holy Weapon with this Miracle, the Duration becomes [best] rounds.

Demagogy

(also stolen from Deux Ex Parabola)

R: n/a T: self D: [best] minutes

Your voice is supernaturally amplified. You speak like a crowd of [best]*[dice] men, women and children. Intelligent beings with fewer HD than [dice] must save to disbelieve anything you tell them. If you spend 4 or more MD, people who hear you speak encouragingly become fearless.

Grieving Matron (West)

Domains: Desire, Destruction, Pain

Holy Ground: Sites of Murder, Starless Nights

Blessing: Touch a corpse no more than a day and a night old, if they have been murdered you know exactly where the weapon is at that moment.

Sense Desire

R: 30' T: 1 creature D: Instant

You sense [dice] of the target's most immediate desires. If you spend 2MD or more, you can ask the question "What would I need to offer them to make them do what I want?" and receive a correct answer. If you spend 4MD you know their deepest desire, it's usually something weird.

Wave of Mutilation
(stolen from Skerples)

R: 30' T: objects D: 0
Everything in a 30' cone takes [sum] slashing damage. This spell leaves dozens of deep cuts. It shreds clothing, paper, and other fragile items. At 2MD it also shreds dry wood, bone and other brittle materials, at 4MD it will bore a [best]*2 foot deep hole through a brick wall and skeletonise anything slain by it.

Burning Seed (North)

Domains: Fire, Healing, Destruction 

Holy Ground: Hospitals, Forest Fires

Blessing: If you cauterise a wound it will not leave a scar and the wound it guaranteed not to go sceptic.

Purge Sickness

R: Touch T: 1 creature D: Instant

This miracle can be invoked on a living creature to allow them to make a new save against a natural disease or toxin with a bonus equal to the miracle's [dice]. If cast with 4MD it also allows a save against magical diseases, toxins and curses.

Wall of Fire

R: 50' T: [dice]*10' long area D: [sum] rounds

You conjure a 10' high, 5' thick inferno along the targeted area. Anyone trying to pass through it must make a Morale check with the miracle's [dice] as a penalty to try to pass through, and take [sum] damage and are set on fire even if they do.

August Flower (South)

Domains: Beauty, Creation, Death

Holy Ground: Monuments, Flower Fields

Blessing: You can accurately interpret the meaning intended by the artist behind any work of art.

Wind Painting

R: 30' T: [dice]*10' area D: [dice] hours

For the duration you are able to create images both realistic and surreal within the area of the miracle by painting them into existence with your fingertips. You can only use colours that are within your field of view when you invoke the miracle, but may copy textures and with 4MD even make images that move realistically. If you are skilled in painting then anyone you are trying to fool with your image is at disadvantage to see is as illusionary.

Beautify
(also stolen from Skerples)

R: touch T: creature or object D: [sum] hours >6 permanent
Target made more beautiful. Dirt falls away, pimples disappears, teeth whiten, lice vanish, gouges fill in, and varnish looks new again. This automatically makes anything it is bestowed on saleable for its maximum possible sale price. It will also restore 1d4 points of Charisma if damaged, to former max. If cast with 4MD this Miracle instead can invoke the Pavilion Divine, its target changes to an area of [best]*10 foot radius and can create decorations, flowers, brightly coloured tents and sweet scents throughout the area (incidentally banishing anything foul or noxious).

Hubris:

At 5 or more Hubris your hair takes on the appearance of bird-of-paradise feathers that glow softly in the dark. Stealth becomes difficult without a thick head covering.

At 10 or more Hubris light begins to unnaturally refract around you, making you appear haloed in rainbow hues when in any light brighter than a candle. Enemies attacking you with ranged weapons have advantage when you are in clear light, but you do become immune to blindness and hypnotic lights.

At 15 or more Hubris your skin takes on a beautiful but unnatural hue, like sapphire blue, ruby red or lustrous pearl. Your beauty is such that you gain +1 to all reaction rolls. If you see your own reflection you must Save or become fascinated for 1d6 minutes, unable to take any action other than stare rapt and preen unless dragged away or injured.

At 20 Hubris you are transformed into a hollow, inanimate statue of jade, gold or something similar, worth about 10gp*[your level]. Your spirit is trapped in the hollow within until it is released by your body being broken up. If you were an Archpriest before this happened, your remains are no longer any use as relics.

1d20 Clerical Supplies

1. Hair shirt or cilice, makes most physical actions more difficult and a lot more uncomfortable. Wear it continuously for a week of travel or physical labour (priestly life involves a surprising amount of sweeping and gardening when you first get into it) to remove 1 Hubris. 1/2 a slot, 0 when worn.

2. Consecrated vessel, usually a chalice of some sort. Pour water, wine, oil or milk into it and pray over it for 10 minutes to make the contents holy. 1 slot.

3. Bucket, wood, rope handle, quite sturdy. You could probably throw it at a leper quite hard. Can hold 2 slots of stuff.

4. Bundle of Holy Herbs, when burned gives off a smoke that repels demons, ghosts and elves for as long as the smell lasts. 1/3 of a slot.

5. D6+1 striped ribbons, given as souvenirs at pilgrimage sites, each one has different colours.

6. Clerical Ring, vermeil and amethyst, +1 to reaction rolls. Anyone who swears an oath to you after kissing it will feel pangs of guilt if they contemplate breaking their word.

7. Portable shrine case, reduces the time it takes for you to stow your relics to a 10 minute consecration rite. Takes up 3 inventory slots, can also hold 3 slots worth of relics but has to be reconsecrated if used to hold anything else.

8. An aged mule, strong and obedient but slow, answers to Creeping Gromwell.

9. Book of Comparative Theology, allows you to spend 10 minutes examining an idol or relic of an unfamiliar g_d to determine their direction and domain of influence, with a 3:6 success rate. On a failure this book is of no use. 1/3 slot.

10. FROZEN SUMMER EPOCH, a medium macahuitl who is quite adamant about being a sword, thank you very much. Practices bird calls as a hobby.

11. Big floral arrangement, in a nice jar, very pretty. An ideal gift for anyone, even a g_d appreciates a bouquet. 1 slot.

12. Necklace of teeth, of varying sizes spaced like mala beads, intimidating.

13. Hollow tin idol of one of your Order's g_ds, weighs about as much as a metal trash can. Opening at the base lets someone sit in it and give spooky, echoing pronouncements from within.

14. A Trained Mynah Bird, recites passages of scripture in a convincing human voice.

15. Pouches of powder that turn fires green, blue or white when you throw a handful in. Classic trick to impress the punters. 3 handfuls of each. 1 slot in total.

16. Totemic Mask, copper and turquoise, depicts one of your Order's g_ds; 1. Centre 2. North 3. East 4. South 5. West 6. An unknown foreign g_d.

17. Sandalwood Pattens, make you look about 2 inches taller and keeps the hem of your robe out of the muck. Also let's you ignore caltrops, incidentally. 1 slot, 0 when worn.

18. Reed basket, with shoulder straps, holds 3 slots worth of items.

19. Bottle of Perfume Essence, dilute with water or alcohol to make ten bottles of regular perfume, used neat it lasts for hours and smells strong enough to block out all other scents.

20. A rare curio;

1. A writ of indulgence entitling the bearer to perform 1 mortal sin, damnation free. Can also wipe out 5 Hubris, once only.
2. Trick glove, thumb is connected to a tarred cloth hose that goes under your robes, behind your back and out your other sleeve. Pack the end of the hose with a tube of poison powder, make an appropriately mystical gesture and blow into your thumb to spray a ruffian. 1 slot, 0 when worn.
3. PRAISE BE-, a broken takoba, dagger-sized. Amnesiac, but eager. If reunited with the rest of its blade - currently occupying the gullet of a sea monster - becomes a +3 medium weapon.
4. Box of Blessed Salt, place a pinch on the tongue before quaffing a potion to ignore any negative effects or curses. 2d4-1 pinches. 1/3 slot.
5. A Staff of Office, rosewood with an ostentatious finial, undead and unholy things have to save to get within 30ft of it, and if they do it counts as a blessed weapon.
6. An Archpriest's seal, will open a lot of doors and impress important people with the seriousness of your mission. Roll a d6 when you select this item - on a 5-6, you shouldn't have this.

Harder, better, faster, stronger - Gene Soldier (GLOG Class)

The Occult Secret Agent was originally intended to be a one-off, but Spwack suggested making it the "caster" of a traditional adventuring trio in an occult technothriller setting. Here's the fighter, based off the prompt "biological weapon";

Helix Warrior by Joel Thomas, from d20 Future

Lurking within the human genome is an ancient secret, traces of a nonhuman bloodline that has been preserved since antiquity. Annunaki, Nommo, Atlanteans, Nephilim, every conspiracy has a different name for the gods that myth and scripture say once took human spouses. With gene therapy these ancestral variances can be exaggerated, made more pronounced. The results speak for themselves, producing operatives that are simply more than human..

Class: Gene Soldier

Every template you have in this class gives you +1 To Hit and every odd level also gives you +1 Defence. You can wear any kind of armour and cannot fumble with natural weapons and your choice of five other weapons.

Starting Skill: 1. Athletics 2. Medicine 3. Philosophy 4. Survival 5. Literature 6. Tactics

Starting Equipment: Cool black-pleather ninja suit (no armour, but +1 to Sneaking), tactical webbing, wraparound sunglasses, suppressed submachinegun or pair of mini-uzis and 5 magazines, carbon-black ninja-to, wrist-mounted computer, well-thumbed copy of Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1 item from equipment table below.

A: Hardened, Augment
B: Determinator, +1 Augment
C: Tyger Tyger, +1 Augment
D: Apex, +1 Augment

A: Hardened
You count as wearing light armour even when bare naked and your fists count as light weapons. Your not-entirely-human nature is detectable to an X-ray scan, blood test, or by someone trained in Medicine.

A: Augment

You start with 1 level in a biological Augment of your choice. Each time you gain another template you gain another Augment at level 1 and increase the level of all your previous Augments by 1.

B: Determinator 

You do not go the way of all flesh. Once per round, you can choose to take 1d6 damage from a source of harm instead of its normal damage.

C: Tyger Tyger

When you kill or neutralise an enemy, you may immediately make another attack against another target as long as they are in range.

D: Apex

Your genetic inheritance is realised (see Augments below). Your natural aging effectively ceases, and you become immune to all natural diseases. You can heal back from any injury without scars as long as you survive, even loss of limbs or horrific systemic injuries like having acid injected into your bloodstream, suffering 3rd degree burns or having your spine crushed.

Haven Troopers from Metal Gear Solid 4

AUGMENTS

Flesh

You have a Flesh-out-of-6 chance to be able to perform absurd feats of strength - stuff like wrenching open bulkhead doors, bending tank cannon barrels or throwing full oil drums, +1 if it is a feat within the normal limits of human ability. If you fail you can choose to lose 1d6 hp to reroll.

If you have level 4 in Flesh your bloodline is revealed to originate with the Nephilim giants that built the first human civilisations. You gain a full foot in height and can now wield heavy weapons one handed and emplaced weapons two-handed without bipod or brace.

Bone

No environmental condition natural to Earth's surface has any chance of killing or impairing you, and you have Bone-out-of-6 chance to survive even conditions as extreme as prolonged exposure to hard vacuum, the radiation of a reactor core, or being trapped in a burning building, though not necessarily without consequences you will take a long time to recover from.

If you have level 4 in Bone, your bloodline is revealed to originate with the Atlanteans, first great conquerors and empire-builders of Earth. You grow gills between your ribs and your skin takes on a bronze hue. You gain the ability to breathe water and propel yourself through bodies of liquid at your full running speed using your body's electrostatic field, your immunity to harm from common conditions on Earth's surface extends to below the surface of the ocean.

Blood 

For each level of Blood you possess, you gain one of the following physical mutations;

• You gain a venomous spur at the base of your thumb, it is invisible when not deployed. Your unarmed attacks now count as Medium weapons and if you catch someone when they are unaware or can't fight back you can render them unconscious unless they save against your venom.
• You can quadruple your jump height and distance.
• You can see as well as an eagle, including having telescopic vision.
• You have a supercharged adrenal gland. You can take 1d6 damage to perform an additional action on your turn.

If you have level 4 in Blood, your bloodline is revealed to originate with the Nommo, amphibian gods from Sirius. Your eyes become disconcertingly large. You can change your appearance to mimic anyone you have met as long as they possess generally humanoid biology, within 10 minutes. You also have a Blood-out-of-6 chance to avoid detection of your genetic augmentation by anything other than a DNA test.

Nerve

For each level of Nerve you possess, you gain one of the following mental mutations;

• You gain access to the memories of your genetic ancestors, allowing you to become proficient with any skill that was invented before your birth with a minute of meditation until the next time you sleep. You can only have 1 skill per level of Nerve active at a time.
• You can read the emotions and surface thoughts of others. This isn't a psychic effect, you are listening to their subvocalisations and heartrate, watching microcues, and Sherlocking their personality. If someone knows you can do this they can save to try to hide their true feelings.
• You can decode any cypher with d6-Nerve hours of study (min. 0) and have Nerve-out-of-6 chance of successfully intuiting any password.
• You can read as fast as you can flip pages and retain everything you see. Given the necessary implements you can recreate anything you have ever seen or read from memory in photorealistic detail.

If you have level 4 in Nerve, your bloodline is revealed to originate with the Annunaki, travelers from a distant star who uplifted humanity from the apes. Your skin turns a golden hue. You possess true free will, decoupling your actions from circumstance, making you immune to emotional and mind-influencing effects. (You can see the Fnords).

Breath

(Stolen from Spwack's psion, because the Discipline mechanics are too cool to get memory holed)

You have unlocked the secret bioenergetic properties of your bloodline, which you might call vril, orgone, pneuma or chi depending on the common nomenclature of your conspiracy. 

As an action, roll under your Wisdom to enter a state of Focus. If you suffer a critical hit, are knocked prone or go below half or 0 HP, you must reroll to retain Focus. Being knocked unconscious automatically causes you to lose Focus. 

You learn how to do one the following things while Focused;

1. Use Wisdom in place of a stat chosen when you enter Focus.

2. Force a minor unnamed NPC to save or believe the next thing you tell them as long as it's reasonably plausible.

3. Bend, break or decay a small unmoving object by staring at it for 2 rounds.

For each level of Breath after the first, you learn one Discipline. You can acquire more by seeking out enlightened masters and learning from them, they will always require a significant service for their tuition.

If you have level 4 in Breath your bloodline is revealed to be the Denisovan coneheads who taught humans spirituality, science and hierarchy. Your skull elongates noticeably and your hair turns red if it wasn't already. You can now use the Surges from any Disciplines you know.

Equipment

1. Tactical mask with built-in radio.

2. Abseiling harness and 50 meters fiber cord line.

3. Grappling hook gun.

4. Pocket Furnace, destroys documents and other small items of potential evidence.

5. Geckotech boots & gloves, lets you climb as fast as you can walk even on surfaces with no handholds, must maintain contact with at least 3 limbs.

6. Ex-Soviet PSS silent pistol (requires special hard-to-find ammo, actually quieter than a Hollywood silenced pistol).

7. Bug detector, finds hidden electronics 5:6 times if 10 minutes spent sweeping a room.

8. D8 Flashbangs, blinds and deafens for d3 rounds on a failed save.

9. Black leather trench coat.

10. Nice suit (+1 to reaction rolls), cut and elasticated for freedom of movement.

11. Night vision goggles, allows grainy black-and-green vision in darkness.

12. Set of multi-theater camouflage paints.

13. .50-cal sniper rifle.

14. Canister of actual honest-to-G_d knockout gas, contains enough to fill a theater hall, save-or-sleep, only 2% chance of persistent coma.

15. Shoes with concealed poisoned toe-blade. Click heels to reveal.

16. High-end multitool with 12 features.

17. D4+1 limpet mines, can be timed or remotely detonated.

18. Black SUV.

19. Thermite charge, will reduce even most really hard stuff to slag within about a minute.

20. An unusual or esoteric item of inexplicable origin;

1. A bright red card that has a 4:6 chance to hack any card reader.
2. A bright blue card that will extend unlimited credit, has a 3:6 chance of attracting unwanted attention.
3. A bright green card that can scrape ice off windshields and instantly open poor-quality locks.
4. Experimental vibroknife, deals damage as a medium weapon and counts armour as 1 grade poorer (heavy to medium, medium to light, light to nothing). Jams up on a fumble and becomes a regular knife until repaired.
5. Atlantean healing sarcophagus, reverses progression of illnesses and quadruples natural healing. If used on a normal person, 10% chance they must save or acquire a permanent mutation every 24hrs of use.
6. Soliton radar. Detects position of living beings of dog-size or larger in a 10-meter radius. Ordinary comms chatter will make it fritz out.