From: aturpen@JUNO.COM (Aaron S Turpen)
First, I would like to thank everyone who sent suggestions, criticism,
and support! I didn't realize that this would be so popular. I guess a
class based on Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series was a good idea. :)
As before, if anyone would like to receive the MS Word version of this (a
little better layout and easier to understand) post, let me know in
private mail. I can send it to you.
So, without further ado, here is the new and improved Slinger class for
AD&D 2nd ed.:
Slinger Class
by Aaron Turpen (Aaron.Turpen@m.cc.utah.edu)
[Adapted to AD&D rules from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series,
featuring the Gunslinger, (C) 1991 Stephen King.]
This adaptation is for AD&D 2nd edition rules. It is a modified
fighter/thief with adaptations from the Monk rules in 1st edition AD&D.
In my opinion, it is a well-balanced and fun to role-play class.
Especially if you run or are playing in a predominantly evil or wasted
world. I have played this class in the Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and two
home-made settings. It fit well. Although a few adaptations may need to
be made in some circumstances.
The Slinger is a character who sees the world in a unique way.
Most Slingers are Neutral Good, but any good alignment is accepable.
Slingers have tendencies towards quiet, thoughtful natures and are rarely
outspoken. When a Slinger speaks, however, most people listen. They
carry with them an aura of authority, though they rarely use this.
Slingers generally think of themselves in the third person and rarely, if
ever, show feeling or emotion. This is not to say they are unemotional,
just that those emotions are deadened or unpronounced.
Most Slingers are proceeding through life with a goal-be it
defined or not. Many have lost siblings, parents, etc. early on in their
life and are searching for a meaning. Many others are on a quest they
don't realize or that has been fated to them. A Slinger without a goal
is a thief without hands. She is no longer a Slinger.
People who encounter a Slinger usually have the same reaction.
They think of this person is a quiet, thoughtful, and perhaps dangerous
person. A Slinger is something to behold in movement-just to watch them
walking is to watch a ballet of grace in motion. A Slinger is combat is
even more impressive. The fluidity and seeming absent-mindedness of his
movements is remarkable. He is a virtual opera of flying daggers and
quiet movement.
Slingers are trained from a young age, usually by another,
higher-level Slinger. It is rare to find more than three pupils to the
teacher and even rarer for a Slinger to sell his or her teachings to
another. Many of these, as before mentioned, are orphaned or abandoned.
The training involved to become a Slinger has, more than once, killed the
pupil. The physical training is intense and the mental training is
exhausting. Upon graduation (1st level), a Slinger is sent into the
world with only the two special daggers his teacher has given him. These
daggers will stay with this person for the rest of their life and are
commonly passed on to a child or favorite pupil when the Slinger has
reached the last stage of his life.
HD = 1d8
AL = Any G align. only.
Race = Human only.
Prime Requisites
Dex - 14
Wis - 9
Con - 12
Chr - 13
Dex Bonus (16+)
+10% ExP
+1 dagger/round at 3rd and another at 9th.
+2% to Thieving Abilities per level.
Con Bonus (16+)
16 = +1 HP
17 = +2 HP
18 = +3 HP
Base Thieving Abilities
Hide in Shadows = 10%
Move Silently = 15%
Detect Noise = 10%
+5%/level up to 90%
Attributes
+1 on all saving throws against magic.
Aversion to magic with a 20% failure rate when using magical items. (See
Dwarf race notes for more information on details) that are not daggers or
related.
If "backstabbing" a victim (attacking while sleeping, unawares, etc.),
suffers a -50% (1/2) to damage roll.
Cannot use written magical items.
Cannot wear any armor above studded leather.
Secret/Special language is the High Speech. Can communicate with other
Slingers using this language. Some intelligent, good aligned, animals
and monsters understand this as well.
Dagger attacks gain a +1 to damage.
Cannot own more than six magical items.
Saves as a Rogue of like level.
Attacks (rolls) as a Fighter of like level.
Title Level ExP HD Abilities
Gained
Maggot 1 0 1d8 None
Grunt 2 1,200 2d8 None
" 3 2,400 3d8 3 daggers/round
Runt 4 4,800 4d8 None
Man 5 12,000 5d8 Permanent 30% Find Traps,
Hunger and thirst have no
effect until deadly.
" 6 24,000 6d8 4 daggers/round.
" 7 48,000 7d8 None
" 8 90,000 8d8 None
Slinger 9 168,000 9d8 5 daggers/round, Name Level,
Receive Ka.
" 10 348,000 9d8+2 None
" 11 528,000 9d8+4 None
Protector 12 708,000 9d8+6 Heal 1d4 pts/day on self/other.
" 13 888,000 9d8+8 None
" 14 1,068,000 9d8+10 None
Ka-Slinger 15 1,248,000 9d8+12 Daggers become 1d8 dmg.
" 16 1,428,000 9d8+14 None
" 17 1,608,000 9d8+16 None
" 18 1,788,000 9d8+18 Immunity to all poisons,
suffer no aging effects
(except death,of course).
" 19 1,968,000 9d8+20 None
" 20 2,148,000 9d8+20 +1d10 x 5 years to life
expectancy.
The Father
Though a Slinger may be an orphan, or a castaway, that Slinger always
has a Father. The one who trained the Slinger will always be considered
that Slinger's Father. To go against the honor of the Slinger is to deface
one's Father. This is the lowest crime a Slinger can commit. Death and
violence are an intricate part of the Slinger's life. The pain and
suffering of others is not. Slingers are honored in battle by the warrior
classes in both song and story for their chivalry and adeptness in battle.
A Slinger in battle is a sight to behold and the songs the Slinger sings of
his or her Father are legends in their own right.
When a Slinger falls in battle, they are honored by others with the
sober ceremonies usually only reserved for Kings and Paladins. When a
Slinger falls in battle and another Slinger is present, no burial right is
done by the Slinger's peer. The dead Slinger's daggers are taken and
destroyed. They cannot kill again. It would be dishonor to the Slinger's
Father for those weapons to cause pain when the wielder who spent his life
with them can no longer use them.
The Ka
The Slinger believes and is directly tied to a belief in the Ka. The
Ka is an ancient word in the High Speech which means "Circle of Life." All
things: birth, life, death, pain, happiness, love, hate, are a part of the
Ka. Gods exist as part of the Ka. Man exists as part of the Ka. Evil and
Good are parts of the Ka. Everything in the universe moves in circles, from
the highest Sun to the lowliest flake of sand. Nothing can disturb the Ka,
nothing can change it. It is the fundamental universal law.
The person who moves with his personal Ka will have harmony and
simpleness. One who moves against the Ka will have strife and discord.
Finding the path of your Ka takes many years. When it is reached, the
Slinger will understand everything and have perspective on all. He becomes
omnipotent without being all-seeing. He becomes one with his Ka and his Ka
becomes him.
Slinger's Chant
"I do not aim with my hand, he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face
of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not throw with my hand, he who throws with this hand has forgotten the
face of his father.
I throw with my mind.
I do not kill with my dagger, he who kills with his dagger has forgotten the
face of his father.
I kill with my heart." [Adapted from page 26, "Waste Lands" by
Stephen King, (C) 1991]
