Mystaran Campaign: The Akuma

Akuma is Japanese for Demon, and it provides us with an appropriate 'Race' Name.

Akuma: The Fiends that invade our world are a little different. They are not the fiends we know from Monster manuals. They are the mortal Race from which the more powerful entities have emerged.


As an alternative to the Common Races available as NPC and PC, Akuma being a far more diverse option, we simply develop a class as though it were human and follow the following rules to describe our unique fiends.

 

BASE ABILITIES
First off lets replace Gate Travel by Transposition - The ability to Exchange places with another. This gives our Mortal Demons the ability to swap places with Red Riding Hood while she is obscured from the view of the Woodsman escorting her through the Forest. The Method of exchange does not allow for the movement of clothing and equipment so When Demonwolf swaps Places with Red Riding hood, she winds up in the woods buck naked, and Demonwolf finds himself wearing a nice red cloak and clothing. When Nerone the Serpent needs to flee the Adventurers who have him surrounded- He swaps places with a flock of Crows in a distant tree so his robes collapse as he apparently becomes a flock of startled crows.

Transposition - Swap places with any living thing (or group of smaller living things). The exchange of location does not include the clothing, weapons, or equipment of the individuals involved. Range of Transposition (1 mile per level - Line of Sight - yes our Akuma have incredible sight).

Next lets look at Magic Resistance and Normal Weapon Immunity. I really want to keep these though the assumption that they are resistant to all magic and can only be harmed by Magic Weapons seems overly powerful for something that should be a rival to Humans in our Mystara Setting. Normal Weapons should mean that at fourth level it takes a Silver Weapon to harm our Akuma. It means we can call our old werewolves by the name Akuma. This gives a more traditional feel to our horrors and broadens the nature of our Akuma.

Akuma Immune to Normal Weapons at Level 4+

Finally lets look at our problem area - Magic Resistance. Basically we are dealing with beings from other planes. Unless magic is at superposition to all realities, Magic must differ with the differences that those realities impose. If there is a problem, it is that the Akuma becomes 100% immune to Magic at around 10th level. We could decide that this immunity is progesssion. Basically 100% means immunity to 1st level magic, 200% means immunity to 1st-2nd level magic, but this seems to weaken it. So lets keep it for now.

Magic Resistance 50% + 5%/level

Choose Akuma Class: Roll up a class as though it were human (any class is available).

Appearance: Simply select a human (or animal), and a monster and combine the results. This has a minor effect on our character - they gain any unusual abilities associated with a physical attribute -a tail might allow a whip attack, claws allow a claw attack, wings might allow flight.

Clans of the Akuma

Amongst the many diverse Akuma subtypes that have crossed the planar boundary and invaded Mystara are four:

• Ryu Ojo
• Shiroi Karasu
• Gekko Ryoshi
• Warui Okami

The Ryu Ojo or Dragon Princess have the upper body and head of a female human and the lower form of a Snake.

The Shiroi Karasu or White Crow have the head and legs of a White Carrion Bird and the Body of a Man. These are the source of the Miasma that plgues the lands.

The Gekko Ryoshi or Moonlight Fisherman has the body of a Spider and the head of a Man.

Warui Okami or Bad Wolf is perhaps one of the few who look most like the animal form. They have all the appearance of a Wolf with powerful arms (almost bear like) as they stand upright. They are the origin of the Werewolf in the Republic.

Name: Kuro the Priest

RACE: 'Albino Crow' (Shiroi-Karasu)

CLERIC OF ORCUS (L5); STR(7), INT(13), WIS(16), DEX(13), CON (9), CHA(4); 32HP; AL: Neutral (Evil); 75% Spell Resistance; Immune to Normal Weapons; Gate Travel; Spells (as level 5 Cleric); Description: Likes to pass itself off as a Plague-warden (aka Cleric) and is never seen without it's 'mask', black full length robes and black broad-brimmed hat). It is usually involved in the burial of the victims of the Maisma (which it spreads thanks to the fleas it carries). Currently wanders about the Plague ridden lands. Undisguised this fiend has the body of a Human, and the Head and Legs of a White Carrion Bird (Albino Crow).