Fisher River Scouts

Prime Requisite: Dexterity

Requirements: None

Hit Dice: 1d6

Maximum Level: 11

The fisher River Scout is an explorer, hunter and guard of the waterways around the Holt or Raft. Human rulers often hire them, when available, to provide warning of trouble approaching in the water or to bypass enemy land defenses and gather information.

River Scouts are trained combatants, although they strongly prefer to avoid being noticed. At first level they hit an unarmored foe (AC0) with an Attack throw of 10+. They advance in attack throws and saving throws as Thieves, by two points every four levels of experience. Because of their concentration on moving in the water, River Scouts have a narrow selection of weapons and armor. They may wear no armor heavier than leather and may only use weapons from the sword/dagger and bola/darts/nets/slings/sap/staff lists. River Scouts may fight with two weapons, but may not use two handed weapons or shields. River Scouts get no damage bonus and may cleave once per two levels. River scouts have the Blade-Dancing power. The character gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class if wearing leather armor or lighter and able to move freely. At level 7, the AC bonus increases to +2,

A river scout has many stealthy abilities enabling them to avoid detection and gather information. At first level they have the thief abilities of Climb Walls, Find Trap and Move Silently. At second level they add the ability to Remove Traps, at fourth level they can Backstab and at ninth level they add the bard ability to Read Languages.

Additionally, they have the following custom powers available at first level: Difficult to Spot ( The character has the ability to seemingly disappear into woods and underbrush with a proficiency throw of 3+ on 1d20. In dungeons, if the character is motionless and quiet in cover, he can escape detection with a proficiency throw of 14+ on 1d20.) and Tracking. The character can follow tracks with a proficiency throw of 11+. At fifth level they gain the power of Savage Resilience. When the character is required to consult the Mortal Wounds table, the player may roll twice and choose the preferred result to apply. The character also subtracts his class level from the number of days of bed rest required to recover. They have a Swim speed of 90' and the following abilities as Fishers: Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 1d4 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 15' in the water or 5' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 90' and can hold it's breath for 30 rounds (5 minutes). at ninth level when they establish a stronghold they gain Animal Friendship. Whenever the character builds a Raft, all ordinary animals within 5 miles of the stronghold become kind and helpful.

Upon attaining 9^th Level (River Warden) the River Scout may establish a Raft or village of Fishers. Rafts follow the same rules for population growth as do Elven fastnesses.

River Scout Attack and Saving Throws
Level	Petrif & Paralysis	Poison & Death	Blast & Breath	Staffs & Wands	Spells	Atk Throw
1-2	13+	13+	16+	14+	15+	10+
3-4	12+	12+	15+	13+	14+	9+
5-6	11+	11+	14+	12+	13+	8+
7-8	10+	10+	13+	11+	12+	7+
9-10	9+	9+	12+	10+	11+	6+
11	8+	8+	11+	9+	10+	5+

River Scout Level Progression
Experience	Title	Level	Hit Dice	Backstab
0	River Scout	1	1d6	-
1,175	Water Rider	2	2d6	-
3,550	Swimmer	3	3d6	-
7,100	River Explorer	4	4d6	x2
14,200	River Guide	5	5d6	x2
28,400	River Tracker	6	6d6	x2
56,800	River Pathfinder	7	7d6	x2
113,500	River Ranger	8	8d6	x3
227,000	River Warden	9	9d6	x3
377,000	River Warden, 10th level	10	9d6+2*	x3
527,000	River Warden, 11th level	11	9d6+4*	x3

* Hit point modifiers to Constitution are ignored

River Scout Skills
Level	Climb Walls	Find Traps	Move Silently	Remove Traps
1	6+	18+	17+	-
2	5+	17+	16+	18+
3	5+	16+	15+	17+
4	4+	15+	14+	16+
5	4+	14+	13+	15+
6	4+	13+	12+	14+
7	3+	11+	10+	13+
8	3+	9+	8+	11+
9	3+	7+	6+	9+
10	3+	5+	4+	7+
11	2+	3+	2+	5+

River Scout Proficiency List: Acrobatics, Alertness, Ambushing, Beast Friendship,Cat Burglary, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, knock down), Eavesdropping, Endurance, Fighting Style, Land Surveying, Lip Reading, Mapping, Mimicry, Naturalism, Navigation, Passing Without Trace, Precise Shooting, Riding, Running, Seafaring, Skirmishing, Skulking, Sniping, Survival, Swashbuckling, Trap Finding, Trapping, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus

River Scout Proficiencies Gained per Level
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
C+G	-	-	C	G	-	-	C	G	-	-

Requiem for a Grognard

We buried Cucch one month ago today.  My sons carried one side of the casket and I gave the eulogy.

Mike Cuccherialla

Sue, I am humbled and grateful that you asked me to speak today, for although it might have surprised my mother to hear it, Mike was my brother. A brother in arms, a brother in spirit and a brother who shared my life.

Father Tim, Sue shared your hobby with me, and you cannot believe how appropriate it is for you to be performing Mike's ceremony,as Dungeons and Dragons was a shared hobby for myself and Mike and for a great many people in this room.

For while I can't tell you exactly when I met Mike the first time; I know that it was soon after I came down to the Twin Cities for college and that it involved playing Dungeons and Dragons. One of the guys in the dorm played and was in Navy ROTC. He introduced me to a group of his friends who were in ROTC and gamed together. Mike was there in the group, ready to have fun or provide whatever help anyone needed. I always remember him with a smile lurking on his face and a look in his eye that no matter what, he was enjoying life.

Well, Mike graduated, got his commission in the Navy and moved to Norfolk. I heard about him occasionally through our friends, but didn't speak with him for about two years, until Karen and I married, I received my commission and we too moved to Norfolk, expecting our first child. Mike was there, same smile and look in his eye; showing us around and helping us move into the apartment below his. He was at the table with us for Thanksgiving; helped us bring the crib home from the store, an episode that saw him play a practical joke on a shipmate that traveled to Italy and back that summer and has stayed with us for over thirty years.

I had a six month deployment to the Mediterranean which started two months before Karen was due. But I didn't worry, because I knew Mike would be there. And when the hurricane blew in, after our son's birth, and they they were talking about evacuating Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Mike was there to tell Karen not to worry, since they hadn't sent the fleet out to sea to avoid the hurricane, there was no need for her to pack up a new born and try to find a place to stay.

Mike left the service and moved back to Minnesota, while I stayed in for a number of years; again I'd hear about him occasionally. But one summer, while we were moving from San Diego to New York City, we stopped back in the Twin Cities and I somehow managed to track him down in those pre-cell phone days. We arranged that he'd come out to my sister-in-law's house where we we staying late in the evening, because of his schedule. And Mike was there, but this time he surprised us with Sue. That's how I got to meet the great love of his life and hear the story of how he had to go all the way to Yugoslavia to meet to meet a nice girl from east of the river.

Our ways parted again, until I left the service and came back here to settle down. And Mike and Sue were there, welcoming us back and inviting me to join with them and their friends officially to play Dungeons and Dragons, but really we spent just as much time socializing, every month or so for most of the last sixteen years.

Soon after, we returned, Mike and Sue told us there was a baby girl overseas that needed a family. And Mike and Sue were there, to bring Katherine into their home, their family and their love; raising a beautiful young woman who takes after her father in the way she holds her head, chooses her words, the love and support she gives her friends and in the joy she takes in life.

When our oldest son,Michael, the one who was born during that first deployment, was married only 18 months ago, Mike was there. Sharing his zest in life, making a speech and dancing with everyone, while wearing the most godawful blonde wig – basking and amplifying the joy felt by our family.

Finally, just six weeks ago, on the coldest day of the winter, Mike was there. To support me and my family at my mothers' funeral, he, Sue and Katherine had driven three hours in sub zero temperatures to be there for us and show us their love and support in our own time of need.

 Mike's legacy and challenge to me and to all of us, is to be there for each other in happiness and sorrow. To remind us that all clouds will pass and to fill our lives with joy.

Fishers as a Player Race

Below is the write up for creating Custom ACKS classes for the previously published Fisher race.  Note that in addition to the Players Companion, this thread on Gnomish Infravision (see Alex Macris' comment from 2012-03-12) describing how to calculate XP Costs on the ACKS forums is required to create Custom Classes for new races.  I found that the calculation for XP requirements beyond 8th level is a little confusing - so I'll restate my understanding here:

"7. If the race’s racial value does not mimic a class (such as dwarf), divide the Racial Value XP cost at Value 4 by the cost for dwarf 4 (1,400) and multiply the result by 10,000 for 2 class types and 30,000 for 2 class types. This is the additional cost per level after 8."

The 'Racial Value XP at Value 4' for the Fisher is 1300 XP based on the abilities available to a character with 4 build points assigned to the Fisher race.  Once I understood that the calculation is easy (1300/1400)*10,000 = 9,285.7...  rounded down to the nearest 1000, that's 9,000.  So every level of a Fisher class based on thief (or fighter) will require 109,00 XP to go from Level 9 to Level 10 and so on up to the maximum class level.  For classes based on Arcane or Divine classes, they would require 27,000 additional XP to advance from Level 9 to level 10.

  

Fisher Custom Classes

Fishers were created by Vidra, Priestess of the Final Justice of Themis (Hades) {Use Turas in ACKS; any deity opposed to the Undead may be substituted, such as Humakt from Runequest} to pursue the undead when they tried to hide beneath the waters. Since then small communities of them have spread along the rivers and coasts, living by hunting and gathering, trading fish and freshwater pearls for manufactured goods. Their innate sense of fun and frolic deter them from arduous labor such as farming, although many individuals with a sense of adventure make a living as sailors and boatmen. They respect any property that is obviously under the control of an individual, but anything that appears unattended if often found to be missing after a fisher passes by.

Fisher character classes are created using the Fisher racial category and experience points. Requirements, class category values, hit points after level 9 and experience point progressions are modified as noted below.

Requirements

All Fisher classes require a minimum Dexterity and Constitution of 9 or better.

Class Category Values

Fighting: Due to their short stature, Fishers can never use two handed swords or longbows, regardless of their Fighting value. Fishers with Narrow or Broad weapon selections must include Short Sword, Net and Sling.

Arcane: Fishers may never allocate more than 2 build points to the Arcane category.

Fisher Value

Value	Fisher	XP Cost
4	Fisher 4	1300
3	Fisher 3	950
2	Fisher 2	650
1	Fisher 1	375
0	Fisher 0	125

When building a Fisher custom class, assign between 0 and 4 build points to the Fisher Value.

Fisher 0: At Fisher 0, the character gains the following custom powers:

Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 1d4 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 10' in the water or 3' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 60' and can hold it's breath for 12 rounds (2 minutes).

Fisher 1: At Fisher 1, the character gains the following custom powers:

Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 1d4 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 10' in the water or 3' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 90' and can hold it's breath for 30 rounds (5 minutes).

Bladedancing: The character gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class if wearing leather armor or lighter and able to move freely. At level 7, the AC bonus increases to +2, and at level 13 the AC bonus increases to +3.

Fisher 2: At Fisher 2, the character gains the following custom powers:

Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 1d4 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 15' in the water or 5' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 90' and can hold it's breath for 30 rounds (5 minutes).

Bladedancing: The character gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class if wearing leather armor or lighter and able to move freely. At level 7, the AC bonus increases to +2, and at level 13 the AC bonus increases to +3.

Fisher 3: At Fisher 3, the character gains the following custom powers:

Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 1d10 rounds. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 1d4 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 15' in the water or 5' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 120' and can hold it's breath for 1 turn.

Bladedancing: The character gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class if wearing leather armor or lighter and able to move freely. At level 7, the AC bonus increases to +2, and at level 13 the AC bonus increases to +3.

Thick Fur: The character gains an additional +1 AC due to the thickness of it's fur. It ignores the effects of cold, but suffers double the effects from heat.

Fisher 4: At Fisher 4, the character gains the following custom powers:

Paralyzation: 3 times per day when executing a successful Wrestling attack the Fisher may inject a neurotoxin into it's opponent. If the opponent fails to save versus Paralyzation they are paralyzed for 2d4 turns. If they succeed, the affected body part “falls asleep” for 2d8 rounds.

Electrolocation: The character can locate invisible creatures within 15' in the water or 5' through the air.

Swimming: The character has a swim speed of 120' and can hold it's breath for 1 turn.

Bladedancing: The character gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class if wearing leather armor or lighter and able to move freely. At level 7, the AC bonus increases to +2, and at level 13 the AC bonus increases to +3.

Thick Fur: The character gains an additional +1 AC due to the thickness of it's fur. It ignores the effects of cold, but suffers double the effects from heat.

Experience Point Progression After 8^th Level

Fishers using the fighter or thief progressions increase the amount of experience required to gain each level after 8th by  9000 XP. Fishers using the arcane or cleric progressions increase the amount of experience required to gain each level after 8th by 27,000 XP. These are in addition to the standard 100,000 XP per level after Level 8.

Fishers - an ACKS race

A new race for Adventurer, Conqueror, King - the Fisher.  Inspired by the Niffler from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (without being hunted to extinction as the primary component for Bags of Holding); the common platypus (although they're better described as unusual than common) and Runequest Ducks (when given a choice between being described as annoying or plucky, ducks will always choose to be considered annoying, when you have feathers 'plucky' has a whole 'nother meaning.)

For an upcoming campaign, I wanted to develop a race that fills the 'hobbit' spot without being completely senseless in a fantasy setting.  Even within the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien admits that the concept of hobbits is untenable within his world.  They are almost completely dependent on the services of others to defend them from enemies, i.e. the Rangers patrolling the North.  Once that protection is withdrawn they immediately become a plantation of slaves to the first warlord to come around with a gang of a few hundred men.   I can easily imagine a version of Middle Earth where a dragon lives in Michel Delving, and treats the hobbits as a source of wealth and livestock - and there's nothing they can do about it.

Runquest Ducks on the other hand, have been a source of derision by players for years.  Yet they make sense within their world, they're despised, untrusted and victims of a massive pogrom by their erstwhile friends and neighbors.  They respond by scattering into the swamps and marshes that humans don't want to live in and persevere in small groups.

Both races are depicted as small, natural thieves and often played humorously by the DM and players.

I had been planning on introducing Ducks into ACKS for my next campaign, when my much better half took me to see the latest JK Rowling money pump.  And I was entranced by the Niffler, greedy little SOB that he is, but too small for a potentially playable race.  So I worked with the concept, starting with the platypus and came up with:

Using the rules for creating monsters from ACKS Lairs and Encounters,(pg147) here's my worksheet: