Crypt Defender (Character Kit)

Crypt Defender
Paelor didnt need Crystalhawks shrill cry in the cool night air as a warning. He heard the drunken group stumbling down the road toward Overbarrows ten minutes ago. He moved silently down the small gully toward the road and slipped into a narrow dry tunnel he had built himself. The tunnel carried him squarely under the middle of the road. Paelor reached his cramped cubby hole and found his equipment. He smeared a sweet smelling concoction from a jar onto his face and found a pile of ripped, light colored cloth and pulled i
Description: In an era when powerful necromancers raise the dead and a primary source of income for adventurers comes from looting tombs ancient as well as new, who protects burial sites from desecration? Who scares off the curious and fights the grave robbers and ghouls? As a kit of the ranger class, the Crypt Defender fills this role admirably.
Requirements: Crypt Defenders have the same basic requirements as the ranger class.
Special terrain: Crypt Defenders must choose a single local as their special terrain. The only exception is a defender in service to a ruler, who is assigned to different locals as needed. Defenders usually don’t travel much, regarding their obligations to their site paramount above all else. Their special terrain is normally a large tomb complex (such as pyramids or a barrow), a large battlefield with mass grave sites, or a large cemetery or catacombs.
Role: One of the primary sources of income for many adventurers is the exploration and looting of dungeon complexes and burial areas. But what do you do if you don’t want an area to be desecrated by a group of adventuring tomb robbers? Who does a king set to guard his final resting place? And who prevents looters from scavenging a battlefield or digging up mass graves? This is where the Crypt Defender steps in.
As a ranger, the Crypt Defender devotes himself to learning the area he guards. In the open glade of a battlefield, he knows every fold in the earth. In a dungeon tomb, he knows every pitfall and monster (and probably feeds a few as extra insurance, too!). The Crypt Defender is posted to a locale either out of a sense of duty or because a high ranking individual requests it. Once he assumes the responsibility for an area, he defends it vigorously. For curiosity seekers or teens on a lark, the defender gives them a good scare or a friendly warning. For deter mined adventurers, a stern warning is in order. Looters and others who seek to disturb the defenders charge are in for a run- ning battle of amazing proportions, as the ranger pulls out every trick he knows to eliminate the threat.
Secondary skill: Farmer, fisher, limner/painter, mason, trapper/furrier.
Weapon proficiency: Crypt Defenders can use any weapon, with two provisions. A defender can utilize only weapons of a size appropriate to their locale. For instance, a defender of a pyramid com- plex would be unable to use any weapon of large (L) size, such as a pole arm, in the narrow confines of his locale. Meanwhile, the defender of a battlefield would be able to use any weapon and would probably use several missile weapons to take advantage of the range capabilities.
A defender must also allocate one weapon proficiency slot to a weapon linked to a site. A pyramid defender would choose a kopesh, for example, while a defender of the catacombs of an abbey would be required to pick the cleric’s favorite weapon, probably a quarterstaff or mace.
Non-weapon proficiency:
* Bonus: Local history. 
* Recommended: Ancient history, blind fighting endurance, etiquette, hunting, persuasion, reading/writing.
Armor/equipment: Crypt Defenders have no restrictions on the amount of equipment they can possess, although most adopt the spartan ways of their brethren and donate any gifts or excess equipment. For armor, a Crypt Defender adopts the ceremonial armor of the site he protects. Some defenders use this to their advantage, creating the impression that their locale is haunted by the ghosts of the deceased.
Species enemy: Crypt Defenders do not choose a species enemy as do other rangers, and they do not enjoy the same attack bonus or reaction penalty.
Followers: Crypt Defenders receive only one follower at the appropriate level. This follower becomes the next defender of the site whenever the Crypt Defender retires or moves on. If the site is not a permanent one, the follower leaves with the Crypt Ranger as an apprentice.
Special Benefits: Reaction bonus. Crypt Defenders receive a great deal of respect from everyone, as they are
defenders of the dead. They are honored by periodic visits from priests and noblemen. Visitors to their sites often leave a gift ranging from money or artwork to a simple home cooked meal. If the defender makes a reasonable request, chances are it will be granted. Crypt Defenders gain +2 to reaction rolls with those who know their station.
Alertness and area knowledge. Crypt Defenders come to know their sites so well that anything out of the ordinary puts them on their guard. In the catacombs, for instance, a Crypt Defender uses air currents, smells, and sounds to determine what is normal and what is amiss. He shifts into a defensive mode reaction rolls.
Speak with dead. Once per week, a Crypt Ranger can attempt to speak with dead at his locale in a manner similar to the 3rd-level priest spell of the same name. The ranger can ask one complex, two moderate, or three simple questions of the dead, but the answers, while truthful, may be very ambiguous. The length of time since the death of the petitioned soul is irrelevant, since this ability is tied directly to the site the Crypt Defender serves.
Special Hindrances: Crypt Defenders lead an extremely solitary life. Even for the ranger, this life is lonely and has few physical rewards. Adventuring is a rare occurrence for the Crypt Defender, and few choose this kit. But for that rare indi- vidual, being a defender can be a fulfilling and even religious role in life.
Defending a huge or well known site can be extremely tiring and dangerous, as wave after wave of adventurers, looters, or curiosity seekers swarm to the area. For this reason, most defenders employ numerous animal companions and traps to assist them in their task.
Training is also a solitary pursuit for a Crypt Defender. Except in the rarest of cases, defenders are required to train themselves as per the rules for self training in the DMG.
Role in the campaign: Crypt Defenders are a loosely organized branch of the ranger class. They have no recognized leaders, preferring to follow their own council. Some are retainers to kings and as such are sent to various locales to defend for differing lengths of time. Others are people with an obligation to a certain site or person and they choose to pay that obligation by becoming a defender. Many simply feel a calling to protect a certain site.
immediately. This translates into a +2 on    comes to loot your tomb? What happens
Defenders employ many of the ranger’s special skills to their mission. Animal companions become trusted guards and friends. Hunting abilities translate into guerrilla tactics against much larger parties. Much like cornering an animal in its lair, it can be a danger- ous thing to disturb a site protected by a Crypt Defender.
As a kit for a solo campaign, defenders make great PCs. Their independence and solitary nature make them ideal for campaigns where a DM could test the player’s inventiveness with a storyline based around a series of threats to the rangers site. How do you scare off or kill the normal adventuring party that pens when a vampire decides he wants your barrow as a base of operations?
If a player wants to run a Crypt Defender as a member of an adventur- ing party, there are a number of ways it can be worked into the story line. As a beginning character, the Crypt Defender’s site is robbed. It is up to the defender to track down and recover all of the missing treasure (with some help or hindrance from the voices of the suit- ably annoyed dead). His superiors might become concerned that the defender is not as dedicated to protecting his site as he should be, sending him on a quest to prove his commitment. This quest would be something relevant to the character’s duties such as discovering a piece of lost history or locating a lost relative.
As an NPC, the defender is invaluable. Perhaps the defender needs help to repel a drow invasion that has broken through into the bottom level of his mausoleum complex. Maybe the PCs need assistance finding their way through the haunted battlefield without disturbing one of the many ghosts in the area. An adventuring party could easily run afoul of a Crypt Defender in the course of their travels.
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