Marrow Priest (3.5e Class)

An example of a Marrow Priest; art by Nebezial

Marrow Priest

Background to be inserted. Needed revision.

Making a Marrow Priest

Description to be inserted. Needed revision.

Abilities: Marrow Priests are, first and foremost, artisans: a high Intelligence score will improve the quality of their Bloodwork, and allow them to work effectively in more fields. True to their Cheruvi origin, however, the vast majority of them are also skilled combatants trained with an eye towards supporting their fellows, and will benefit from a high Dexterity score.

Races: Marrow Priests originated amongst the Cherufe, and so many of the most skilled are of that race. However, the discipline has spread far and wide, so virtually any race can practice this form of shamanism.

Alignment: Any. Marrow Priests are not bound to any particular creed or deity, although those of Lawful and Good alignments have a tendency to shy away from the brutal, invasive nature of this power.

Starting Gold: <-starting gold; YdZ->×10 gp (<-average starting gold. This calculated by multiplying the number of die rolls by the die size plus one and multiplying the result by 5 [Y × (Z + 1) × 5].-> gp).

Starting Age: Moderate (as Fighter)

Table: The Marrow Priest

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Bloodwork
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Bloodwork +1
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Trapfinding
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5
8th	+6,+1	+2	+6	+6	Bloodwork +2
9th	+6,+1	+3	+6	+6
10th	+7,+2	+3	+7	+7
11th	+8,+3	+3	+7	+7
12th	+9,+4	+4	+8	+8	Bloodwork +3
13th	+9,+4	+4	+8	+8
14th	+10,+5	+4	+9	+9
15th	+11,+6,+1	+5	+9	+9
16th	+12,+7,+2	+5	+10	+10	Bloodwork +4
17th	+12,+7,+2	+5	+10	+10
18th	+13,+8,+3	+6	+11	+11
19th	+14,+9,+4	+6	+11	+11
20th	+15,+10,+5	+6	+12	+12	Bloodwork +5
Class Skills (<-number of skill points-> + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Disable Device (Int), Open Lock (Dex), Search (Int).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Marrow Priest.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Marrow Priests are proficient with all simple weapons, the longbow, the shortbow, and light armor.

Bloodwork (Su): A Marrow Priest's most versatile ability is her ability to forge blood into objects of virtually any nature, given the time. This does not have to be her own blood—it can be drawn from willing subjects with a minimum of effort, and when forging Bloodwork items for others a Marrow Priest usually uses the subject's blood. This class feature can be treated as a template applied to items created using this ability; Bloodwork items weigh 33% what the base item does (rounded to the nearest quarter-pound), have 120% the hardness. Their hitpoints and damage are unchanged by this template. What follows is a breakdown of the rules supporting this class feature; a more complete version can be found PLACEHOLDER.

Forging: To forge a Bloodwork item, a Marrow Priest must have the blood required, enough time to complete the process, and succeed on an Intelligence check with a Difficulty Class equal to 10 + the pints required (medium) + the time required (also medium) for weapons and equipment, and 10 + AC Bonus for armor. A Bloodwork item requires ten pints of blood for every eleven pounds of weight, plus one pint per pound of the remainder (rounded to the nearest half-pint). It takes a number of rounds equal to twice the cost in pints to forge a Bloodwork item (always rounded down). If a Marrow Priest does not pass the required check, the required time has elapsed but they may immediately try again—the blood is not wasted unless they discard it by turning their attention elsewhere. A few common example items are given on the table below, to demonstrate.

Table: Example Bloodwork Items

Base Item	Weight			Hardness	Pints			Time			DC
	Small	Medium	Large		Small	Medium	Large	Small	Medium	Large
Arrows (20)	0.5	1	2	6	0.5	1	2	1	2	4	13
Half-Plate	8.25	16.75	33.25	12	8	16	30	16	32	60	17
Heavy Shield	1.75	3.25	6.75	6	2	3	7	4	6	14	12
Longbow	.5	1	2	6	0.5	1	2	1	2	4	13
Longsword	0.75	1.25	2.75	12	0.5	1.5	3	1	3	6	15
Shortbow	.25	.75	1.25	6	0.5	1	1.5	1	2	3	13
Short Sword	.25	.75	1.25	12	0.5	1	1.5	1	2	3	13

Enhancement Bonus: As a Marrow Priest grow ever more skillful in her craft, her Bloodwork improves. Depending on the nature of the object, it gains a specialized bonus with the Marrow Priest's current Enhancement level. A Marrow Priest gains one level of enhancement every four levels, and starts with none.

Rapid Blood Loss: The average human has 10 pints of blood in their body, each of which weighs approximately one-and-one-tenth pounds. This is used as a standard candle that all other volumes are based upon. In general, blood volume follows the square/cube law—that is, a creature half the size of another will have one-eighth the volume, and a creature twice the size of another will have eight times as much volume. Blood loss is considered rapid when at least 15% of the body's maximum potential volume is lost in the space of one-and-one-half minutes, or 15 rounds of combat. In terms of rapid blood loss, a creature that has lost 15-20% of their blood is fatigued. A creature that has lost 20-30% of their blood is exhausted. A creature that has lost 30-40% of their blood loses consciousness. Beyond that, they face exsanguination, or death by blood loss. Refer to the table below for a general overview of racial blood volumes—use your best judgement if your character does not fit precisely.

Table: Racial Blood Volume¹

Size Class	Height^2/Weight^3	Volume^4		Size Class	Height^2/Weight^3	Volume^4		Size Class	Height^2/Weight^3	Volume^4
—	—	—		Small	2'0"–2'8"//18–30 lbs	1		Huge	16'0"–21'4"//1,140–2,025 lbs	500
—	—	—		Small	2'8"–3'4"//30–50 lbs	1^1/4		Huge	21'4"–26'8"//2,025–3,170 lbs	640
Fine	<0'6"//<1.0 lbs	<^1/250		Small	3'4"–4'0"//50–70 lbs	1^1/2		Huge	26'8"–32'0"//3,170–4,560 lbs	780
Diminutive	0'6"–0'8"//1.0–2.0 lbs	^1/60		Medium	4'0"–5'4"//70–125 lbs	8		Gargantuan	32'0"–42'8"//4,560–8,110 lbs	3980
Diminutive	0'8"–0'10"//2.0–3.0 lbs	^1/50		Medium	5'4"–6'8"//125–200 lbs	10		Gargantuan	42'8"–53'4"//8,110–12,670 lbs	5120
Diminutive	0'10"–1'0"//3.0–4.5 lbs	^1/40		Medium	6'8"–8'0"//200–285 lbs	12		Gargantuan	53'4"–64'0"//12,670–18,245 lbs	6260
Tiny	1'0"–1'4"//4.5–8.0 lbs	^1/8		Large	8'0"–10'8"//285–505 lbs	62		Colossal	>64'0"//>18,245 lbs	>31,850
Tiny	1'4"–1'8"//8.0–12.5 lbs	^1/6		Large	10'8"–13'4"//505–790 lbs	80		—	—	—
Tiny	1'8"–2'0"//12.5–18 lbs	^1/5		Large	13'4"–16'0"//790–1,140 lbs	96		—	—	—
Note that some races will not have blood at all, or are of an armored nature (perhaps insectoid) that means they have less blood than the above chart would indicate. A particularly noteworthy example of the opposite extreme is the Cherufe race—Cherufe are much heavier than they appear due to their dense physiology, and also possess 48 pints of blood. Heights are based upon the standard d20 SRD table describing size and scale; thus it works best when describing simple humanoids or quadrupeds, with height and length being the operant factors. Weights are based upon the Ideal BMI formula; the provided values are the midpoint of the range the formula produces for the corresponding height. Slight variance from the values in this range, then, are to be expected (within 10%). It is only for greater discrepancies that a given volume need be adjusted. Measurement of blood volume is always given in pints, and generally follows the square/cube law.

Exsanguination: If a character should ever fall below 60% of their maximum blood volume, with at least 20% of that loss in the space of 15 rounds (or one-and-a-half minutes), they will most likely die of rapid blood loss. They must pass a DC 20 fortitude check, or die. If this rapid blood loss is not stopped, they must continue making fortitude saves on subsequent rounds; each consecutive round increases the DC of the required save by two.

Blood Regeneration:

Trapfinding: Starting at 5th level, Marrow Priests can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20. Finding non-magical traps has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magical trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A Marrow Priest can also use the Disable Device skill to disarm a magical trap. This generally has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create it. A Marrow Priest who beats a trap's DC by 10 or more can study a trap to figure out how it works, then bypass it (with her party) without disarming it.

<-extraordinary class feature-> (Ex): <-class feature game rule information->

<-psi-like class feature-> (Ps): <-class feature game rule information->

<-spell-like class feature-> (Sp): <-class feature game rule information->

<-supernatural class feature-> (Su): <-class feature game rule information->

<-class feature->: <-class feature game rule information->

<-subclass feature -> <-"(Ex)", "(Su)", "(Sp)", or "(Ps)" if applicable.->: <-subclass feature game rule information->

<-Lather, rinse...->

<-... repeat as necessary.->

Ex-Marrow Priests

Should a Marrow Priest ever go 1d6+1 days without a fresh pyrope infusion, they will lose all of their powers—the DM makes this roll in secret whenever a Priest gets an infusion, so management of this is an important aspect of the class. To regain their powers, they must re-introduce pyrope to their bloodstream and wait one week, with infusions every two days.

Epic <-class name->

Table: The Epic Marrow Priest

Hit Die: d8

Level	Special
21st	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
22nd	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
23rd	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
24th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
25th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
26th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
27th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
28th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
29th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
30th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
<-number of skill points-> + Int modifier skill points per level.

<-existing class feature->: <-how this class feature increases or accumulates at epic levels->

<-another existing class feature->: <-how this class feature increases or accumulates at epic levels->

<-Lather, rinse...->

<-... repeat.->

Bonus Feats: The epic <-class name-> gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic <-class name-> bonus feats) every <-number of feats per level-> levels after 20th.

Epic <-class name-> Bonus Feat List: <-list of bonus epic feats->.

<-Sample race of your choice-> <-class name-> Starting Package

Weapons: <-Weapon selection for starting at 1st level with this class.->.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty
<-Skill name->	<-4 for class skills and 2 for cross-class skills->	<-Abbreviated key ability->	<-armor check penalty based on starting armor. If inapplicable put "—"->
<-Skill name->	<-4 for class skills and 2 for cross-class skills->	<-Abbreviated key ability->	<-armor check penalty based on starting armor. If inapplicable put "—"-> <-copy and paste the rows as necessary.->

Feat: <-1st-level feat selection->.

Bonus Feats: <-1st-level feat bonus feats due to class or sample race. remove this section if this sample doesn't get any bonus feats at 1st level. ->.

Gear: <-Starting armor and other equipment outside of weapons.->.

Gold: <-Starting gold using this package.->.

Playing a <-class name->

Religion: <-description of how this class typically (but no exclusively) approaches religion including likely portfolios it would worship->.

Other Classes: <-How this class typically interacts with other classes and how characters of this class interact with characters of other classes->.

Combat: <-Typical role in combat->.

Advancement: <-Typical advancement options for characters with this class. Include desirable multiclass options->.

<-pluralized class name-> in the World

“	<-Some quote from a character of this class->	”
—<-NPC name->, <-race-> <-class->

<-Where characters of this class fit in a d20 world.->

Daily Life: <-day in the life of a character of this class->.

Notables: <-notable NPCs of this class->.

Organizations: <-info on what, where, when, and how characters of this class congregate and assemble->.

NPC Reactions: <-How NPCs react to PCs of this class->.

<-class name-> Lore

Characters with ranks in <-the appropriate skills-> can research <-pluralized class name-> to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

<-the appropriate skills->

DC	Result
5	<-common knowledge->.
10	<-not so common knowledge->.
15	<-rare information->.
20	<-very rare information->.

<-pluralized class name-> in the Game

<-How characters of this class fit in the game (PC and NPC) and what roles they play.->

Adaptation: <-Possible variant conceptions of this class.->.

Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPCs of this class.->.

EL : <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter.->.

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