GLOG Class Attempt: Orc Haruspex.

((I suppose this is as inevitable as it is unusual. A custom OSR class, suited for something somewhere in between Goblin Punch's GLOG and Coins & Scrolls' Spiked Goblin Punch. The inspiration for the Haruspex comes entirely from Arnold K's material- I just felt the need to put into mechanics what (I think) hasn't been fleshed out by other readers yet.

Huge thanks go to The Lawful Neutral for assistance in designing some of the class abilities--as well as promoting my work way beyond what I would have expected from anyone--but the end result isn't his fault.))



It is said that the gods hate orcs. They hate everyone of course, but they hate orcs in particular.

And orcs hate them back.

Once upon a time, the first orcish void monks tried to respond to this hate with nothing, and they nothing'd themselves right out of existence- out of the reach of the gods.

The rest of orc-kind does not follow this tradition. Not because they disagree with its goals in the slightest, but because most orcs cannot bring themselves to be so... dispassionate. These orcs rail against the laughter of cruel gods, cast down their temples, and howl to the void until it knows that they are coming.

At the head of this wave of blood-soaked, righteous fury is the haruspex.

The gods, for all of their malignant power, are very simple and childlike at times. Lazy. They sleep for long hours of the day, heaviest at high noon, and mutter aloud the dark designs which they dream of. By partaking in the death that the gods revel in so, an orc can catch glimpses of their plans. Haruspices read the future in the blood and entrails of a kill, and the wounds inflicted upon their own bodies whisper it as prophesy.

This is a path rarely taken by orcs. Some clever, wakeful gods watch out for them, delighting in the torment that they can visit upon cowards and fools poking around in the livers of chickens in search of their own preservation. But a haruspex thinks nothing of this. They spit in the face of the gods and use their own prophesies against them, exulting in the ire of those whom they hate almost as much as themselves.


Possible Character Goals
Open your hate up to others. Empty the world's temples. Starve their patrons.
Hate yourself into the mightiest of furies. Try to kill a god.
Get the last, mocking laugh. Leap headlong into oblivion.

Tairaschamane by Pechschwinge

Orc Haruspex

Starting Equipment: Ritual dagger, bag of bones.
Starting Skills: Butcher

A: Haruspicy, Hate
B: Counting Coup, Ritual Wounds
C: Bloodied and Unbowed
D: Rage Against the Cackling Heavens

You gain +1 Hp and +1 to Save vs Pain for each Haruspex template you possess.

Haruspicy
Like an insolent child digging at an insect hive with a stick, you prod at the brains of the gods when they sleep. Their whispers fill your body and mind, and the only way to release them is to cut mouths into yourself capable of speaking them. Baleful warnings and hopes of trifling victories pour out to fuel your people with grim determination. They may not be immediately useful, for the thought processes of divinities are convoluted at best, but they will do no harm to heed. As long as the gods aren't listening.

You gain 4 Auspices Dice (AD) which you MUST roll every time you cast Haruspicy. By removing and studying the fresh entrails of a creature you were recently involved in killing, you may divine a future for yourself and your party or clan.

Add the results of your AD rolls together and match the total to a number on the Auspices Table to find the bonus provided by this use of Haruspicy. The auspice provides a specific bonus to you and your party for the remainder of the day, or until expended as noted in the auspice. You may use Haruspicy any number of times per day, replacing the previous auspice with a new one, so long as you are using a fresh kill made since your last divination for each casting of Haruspicy.

When you use the entrails of a creature more than 1 HD below you Level, you are forced to roll an extra AD. This extra die is not added to the total, and is used solely to risk another roll result matching. When you use the entrails of a creature more than 1 HD above you Level, you may ignore one matching AD.

When the values of 2 AD match, you invoke a Mishap. When 3 dice match, you invoke a Doom. When 4 or more dice match, you invoke a unique Disaster, awakening one of the sleeping gods and get their Full Attention.

For each template you gain in Haruspex, you may choose to roll one less AD.

Hate
You're not some simple berserker. You don't just whip yourself into a frenzy whenever you feel like it. Your hate is a constant, smoldering affair, carefully nursed and nurtured by pain and anguish until it can achieve deific proportions.

When you are reduced to one half your maximum HP or fewer, gain a bonus to Attack stat and damage equal to [Template-1]. When you are reduced to 0 HP or fewer, this bonus to Attack and damage increases to [Template].

Orcish Bloodpainter by Alan Pollack

Ritual Wounds
Your self-inflicted wounds have become severe and numerous enough that you can shrug off lesser injuries inflicted by the world.

Once per day you can automatically heal [Template] Fatal Wounds, but must roll twice on the Injury table and take the worse effect. You always gain Interesting Scars from this, in addition to your roll result.

Counting Coup
Orcish currency is death, measured in debt. On rare occasions, enough spilled blood can invert this debt. You and your clan keep a tally, and you can be sure the gods are counting too.

Keep tack of everything significant (i.e. no small, harmless animals) that you kill. For every 10 kills banked, you can spend them to modify a single roll by 1 point. You may spend 50 Kills to reroll a die, but you must take the final result. You may spend 100 kills for a Minor Miracle, but must then immediately roll on the Death and Dismemberment Table.

An average deposit to a skullcrusher's debt account.
Conquest by Rebecca Magar

Bloodied and Unbowed
Any inch of your scabrous hide that is not freshly cut in battle or ritual has become a mass of rugged scar tissue able to turn away some blades, and deadened nerves able to ignore the rest.

Reduce all incoming damage by 1 point. You gain a +2 to Save vs Fear.

Rage Against the Cackling Heavens
Your hatred has finally severed you from this false world of the gods' creation. Magic sloughs off of you, and supernatural beings find that they can barely approach you. Your soul frays around the edges. For the briefest moments, even displays of the gods' divine might peel away in the face of your bared fangs.

Once per day for one minute, you may project an aura of anti-magic out to 60' centered on you. Within this aura all magic--beneficial or harmful, divine or otherwise--fails or is suppressed for the ability's duration. Attempting to cast a spell within this aura results in nothing, and has a 1-in-6 chance of causing a Mishap anyway. Spells cast from outside of the anti-magic, but targeting creatures or an area within the field, have a 1-in-6 chance of succeeding. Auspices are not affected by this aura, though you or another Haruspex cannot attempt a Haruspicy while within it.

Creatures who are by their very nature supernatural are shunted out to the edge of the anti-magic field more-or-less harmlessly unless they can pass a Save vs. Wisdom. If such a creature tries to enter the aura, they take 1d4 damage per round as the magic in their bodies decompresses into the vacuum.

Holy symbols within this aura are also damaged in some way; wood rots or appears scorched, iron rusts, and precious metals gain a strange patina.

When you finally die someday, you will cease to exist. Your soul will laugh in the face of the gods who arrive to claim you before bursting into flames. Oblivion will embrace you at long last, and the ashes of your being will slip through your ultimate enemies' fingers like so much sand.

Additionally, other orcs will now recognize your severed status, and may avoid or seek you out as appropriate. A rare, reckless few might even request that you officiate tribal marriage or mating rituals. With the gods so focused on sneering at you, others in your presence might just get away with that most heinous of all orcish taboos: audible "I love you"s, and public displays of affection.

Orc Priestess by Windmaker

Auspices & Mishaps

“Minor” Auspices (1-6)
1	Your cowardice might pay off. This time.	Your next Haruspicy target counts as your Level+1, regardless of HD.
2	You will stumble into unexpected wealth. Don't stub your toe.	At some point in the next day, find a stash of 1d10 GP worth of goods.
3	The wind will twist and whip. Keep it at your back.	+1 Defense against ranged attack rolls.
4	Their work will be sloppy. Laugh at them for it.	+1 to one Opposed Check.
5	A great crushing weight seeks to squeeze the breath out of you. Shoulder it.	+2 Inventory Slots.
6	You'll want to look back when the time comes to run. Don't.	+1 to Movement.
“Average” Auspices (7-18)
7	You'll regret eating that. But it will be too late. Don't bother purging.	+2 to Save vs. Constitution for disease and poison.
8	The land itself will try to kill you. Overcome it.	+2 to rolls to jump, climb, balance, squeeze, or swim.
9	They are weak to those snarls called “smiles”. Use one.	+2 to one Reaction Roll.
10	Your death will come screaming and soon, but not tomorrow. Rest easy.	Get a Good Night's Rest without needing one ration or amenity.
11	They will fumble and trip. Take advantage of it.	+2 to one Combat Maneuver.
12	Their attacks will hit hard. Don't let them land.	+2 to Defense.
13	You will see your own softness and frailty in them. Punish them for it.	+2 to all attack rolls.
14	They will fall like sheep. Be the hunting wolf.	+1 to Initiative Checks.
15	You will be the hunted. Hide and you might live.	+2 to Stealth.
16	They already angered us more than you did. Be thankful.	One random enemy begins combat missing 1d6 HP.
17	Far worse things than this will happen to you. Count on it.	+2 to Save vs. Fear.
18	It won't be that bad. The pain will mean that it will heal. Probably. Just don't whine.	Reduce one Injury (Concussed/Cracked Rib/Disabled) by 1d4 days.
“Major” Auspices (19-24)
19	You will need to remember that old story. The one right on the tip of your tongue. Obsess over it.	33% chance to automatically solve one difficult puzzle or riddle.
20	They would close their hearts to your suffering. Do the same to them.	+3 to all damage rolls.
21	Their insides will be unguarded. Harvest them.	All attacks have Expanded Critical Range (+1) until a successful crit.
22	The fickle attentions of Luck will flirt with you. Don't let it get to your head.	+5 to untyped Save rolls.
23	See the glint in their eyes. Know when the knives will come out.	50% chance to avoid one ambush.
24	We are coming. Beware.	Apply the effects of any 2 Auspices.

1d6	Mishap
1	Divine Backlash from the unconscious god deals 1d6 damage to you.
2	Strangling Entrails entangle you, stunning you for 1d6 rounds.
3	Uncontrollable Hatred forces you to make 1 melee attack against closest target, whether friend or foe.
4	Stirring Divinities causes you to roll 2 additional AD next Haruspicy, counting only for additional Mishaps or Dooms.
5	False Prophecies deceive you. Roll on auspice table as normal, but invert all bonuses.
6	Divine Prank gives you random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then make a save. Permanent if you fail.

1d3	Doom
1	The gods have begun to notice your constant presence in their dreams. You must always roll 2 additional AD that count only towards Mishaps and Dooms.
2	Your old wounds begin to fester and bleed anew. For every Interesting Scar you posses, subtract that number from your physical stats.
3	You have annoyed one god too far. A 10 HD divine herald arrives to forcibly take you away to be the god's plaything. If defeated, a new one shows up each day until you are captured.

Disaster

Full Attention brings a deity to you, angry at your meddling. The exact details of this Disaster are up to the DM, but it should be as appropriately awful as having an angry, capricious god show up in the flesh could be.

Orc Witch Doctor by JP Targete