Mystics – A Shadowforce Archer Preview

Written by Scott Gearin (for Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc)

Copyright © 2002 by Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.

Combined with the Spycraft Espionage Handbook or the Spycraft Lite supplement this preview introduces all the information necessary to create a 1st-level agent with mystical abilities. For the full details on mystic powers, invocations and ancient relics, and much, much more in the first official Spycraft setting check out the Shadowforce Archer worldbook, available from AEG in May 2002!

Echoes of the Ancients

Shadowforce Archer is not merely a world of cloak and dagger. It is a world of mystery laced with faith in the divine, with powers that guide us through the ages. Our history is a road map leading us to uncharted realms of understanding, where anything is possible. But it is also a shield, protecting us from the ravages of corruption, the pitfalls of villainy and vice. If we’re not careful, we may stumble…

Playing a Mystic Agent

The basis of all serious mystic study is the Mystic feat. This serves as an entry point into the unseen world. It in turn opens up other possibilities and leads to the next great discovery, the Initiate feat…

Mysticism is not inherently a class-based pursuit. At present, no base classes offer additional mystic feats, so those who wish to become a mystic do so using their level-based feat choices. While mystically oriented prestige classes (and threats) will appear in forthcoming supplements, particularly the Guardians of the Whispering Knife and Hand of Glory sourcebooks, it is possible for a dedicated student to achieve great power solely by using his level-based feats for choices from the mystic feat tree.

Mystic Feats

Discipline of the Body

You have extraordinary control over your body as the result of exotic eastern training.
Prerequisites: Str 13+, Con 13+.
Benefit: You may add your Strength modifier to your initiative rolls. Further, you may spend an action die to use one of the following abilities.
Endure: You gain 5 points of damage reduction against heat and cold damage for 1 minute.
Hold Breath: You may go without breathing for a number of minutes equal to your Constitution modifier while performing actions, or for a number of hours equal to your Constitution modifier while remaining still.
Withstand: The action die spent to activate this ability is rolled twice, and the sum added to a Fortitude save you are making (e.g. if you would normally roll 1d4, you roll 2d4 instead).

Mystic

The forces of the unseen world have peculiar resonance for you.
Benefit: Your action dice are considered one die type larger than you normally receive for your agent level (e.g. d4s become d6s, d8s become d10s). Further, you count as 2 bonded followers when participating in any mystic event (including one you are performing).

Sixth Sense

Sometimes you have glimpses into the unseen world, visions of past lives and unquiet spirits. Guardians of the Whispering Knife take a particular interest in those with the Sixth Sense ability, and often track them down and “collect” them for special training. This is one of the rare instances where outsiders are welcomed into the Guardians without question – those who can sense the dead are simply too important to let go, regardless of their background and disposition.
Prerequisites: Wisdom 13+.
Benefit: You see dead people. Whenever you are near the site of a person’s death, there is a chance that you experience an “echo” of their soul. Such an echo cannot speak to you or interact in any way, but may replay the events of its demise or pantomime events it has left unfinished.
To witness a death-echo, you must deliberately open yourself to the spirit world, taking a full round and making a Will save against a DC based on the following conditions about the spirit.

*If the DC is reduced to 0 or less, you automatically succeed.

With a successful save, you gain a vision as described above. Otherwise, you are shaken and disturbed by the forces you allowed into yourself and suffer a -1 to all skill checks and attack rolls for a number of hours equal to the Will save DC.