Patron - Karkath the Fireduke

I’ve never been a fan of a cursory ‘Bob, God of Fire’ deity … and that applies to Patrons too.  A theme is great, but it can be a little more complex and imply a backstory or history.  I had a player have their Elf character choose a Patron Bond with a one liner entry in my campaign handout, for ‘Karkath, the Fireduke’.  And she kept casting Invoke Patron, over and over ….

For the first several sessions, I made up Invoke Patron results on the fly, things catching fire, flaming hands, even tiny fire sprites being summoned, but it felt horribly vanilla to me.

Digging through my DCC library, both Goodman Games and third party publisher stuff, I didn’t find anything that I could easily use for my game – first , there was a dearth of ‘fire patrons’ and secondly, what I did find was ‘blast them with fire’ …

So I decided that Karkath was not only the father of all dragons, and lived in a fiery plane, they were the living bellows of ‘the God-Forges of Ur-Ungan’, and everything started falling into place.  Karkath knows ‘the secret of steel’, the origins of magic, how to make things.  This makes it easy to set up a cult following to The Living Flame, and coming up with Invoke Patron effects like unmaking things with fire, the ability to make a fiery crown that feeds on the souls of the unworthy, and other thematic effects.

I will be honest, I struggled for a while with Patron Taint, and I haven’t even started on Spellburn or custom spells, but this is making my player happy (ish?  Patron taint seems to alarm her slightly).

Regardless, have a patron to use from my Aquerria campaign!  If you come up with some good spellburn ideas, email them over to archadethered@gmail.com and I’ll incorporate them...
 

Karkath

The Fireduke, Dragonfather, The Living Flame

Karkath the Fireduke is said to be the progenitor of all dragons, a great worm-like beast with dozens of legs and three heads, each wreathed in a flaming halo shaped like a burning crown, that dwells in the fiery seas of Ur-Ungan, and maintains the crucibles of the God-Forges.  It is said he has breathed life into the craft of everything in all the planes, that a spark of his fiery breath carries the secret of steel, the sound of gears, and the primordial sigils of magic.  Karkath craves knowledge of all things, and power above all else, and dragon reflect these traits in their hoards and pursuit of magic.

Many human cultists believe that Karkath might impart the path of riches and immortality if proper sacrifices and pacts are made to him, and engage in elaborate ceremonies to Karkath asking for him to whisper to them, to impart some small piece of knowledge.  They often learn some small phrases in the draconic tongue of Nibelung, and brand themselves with the mark of the fiery crowns, and maintain temples with great fires that burn in worship of the Fireduke.  It is said that all crafted things originate in the forges of Karkath, and that all things must eventually return to those forges, if Karkath decides it.

Invoke Patron Check Results

12-13      Karkath touches the caster, causing a raging fever to build within them, and they radiate heat, affecting anyone within 10 feet.  Any nearby creatures must make a Fortitude save equal to or greater than the caster’s spell check or suffer 2d6 damage and flammable accoutrements on their body crisp and smoulder.

14-17      The dragonfather imparts a word of unmaking, and when spoken the caster may choose one object within 60’ to burst into flame if flammable, and if worn causes 1d6 damage per round (an action and a Reflex save against DC 12 allows the wearer to put it out).  Paper objects immolate immediately, wooden, rope or leather objects immolate over 2d6 rounds if not extinguished.

18-19      Karkath whispers the secret of steel to the caster, allowing them to repeat the words and cause any wielded metallic weapon to glow red-hot from within and cause an extra 1d6 damage on any strike for up to 2d6 + CL rounds.  The caster is not harmed by the heated weapon, but if it is dropped the effect ends, and if another person touches or attempts to wrest it away from the caster, they suffer 2d6 damage.

20-23      A fiery crown appears, floating above the caster’s head, radiating the majesty of Karkath.  All within 30’ who do not claim Karkath as their patron must make a Will save of 15 or suffer a temporary loss of 1d6 Personality.  For every point of Personality lost, the caster gains an extra week of longevity.

24-27      The caster briefly becomes embued with fire and flame flickering from their skin and eyes, becoming immune to all heat and fire effects, but vulnerable to cold or water.  They gain infravision to 60 feet, +10 feet movement, and any that touch them suffer 1d8 points of damage.  The burning aura remains for 1d8 + CL rounds.

28-29      The caster summons a fire elemental that serves them loyally for 1d6 + CL rounds.      Fire Elemental: Init +6, Atk burning touch +12 melee (3d6), or flaming bolt +8 missile fire (2d6, range 40’); AC 18; HD 8d8 (36 hp); MV 40’; Act 1d20; SP burning touch (DC 16 Reflex save or take 1d6 damage each round until the fire is extinguished with another DC 16 save), vulnerable to cold and water, immune to heat and fire, elemental traits; SV Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +8; AL N.

30-31      The caster can draw fiery protective runes in the air before them, which orbit the caster, creating light up to 60’ away, and granting them a +4 to all saving throws against magic effects directed against them for CL turns.

32+         For 1d8 days, the caster gains +4 to Initiative and immunity to heat and fire effects, and a shimmering scale-like pattern also grants them +4 to AC.  For this gift, Karkath will demand a great service from their devoted servant.

 

Patron Taint

When patron taint is indicated for Karkath, at a 1% cumulative rate for every patron spell or by other spell misfires, roll 1d6 on this table. When a caster has acquired all taints at all levels of effect, there is no need to continue rolling any more.

1              The first time this is rolled, smoke wafts from the caster’s mouth and nostrils every time they cast a spell for the next 1d6 days.  If rolled again more smoke billows forth and in more prodigious quantities every time a spell is cast, granting a -2 to any missile attack is made against the caster for 1d4 rounds.  If rolled a third time, the smoke is constant, and does not stop.

2              The caster’s eyes take a slightly reptilian cast that is unsettling.  If rolled again, the caster’s eyes no longer blink horizontally and become bright yellow or green, and the caster gains Infravision 30’ if they did not previously have it.  If rolled a third time, they bulge in their eye sockets, and give the caster +2 to search checks and infravision extends to 60’.

3              If this taint is gained, every time the caster uses a magic item or casts any magic spell, whispers fill their ears and mind heard only by them, distracting them with half-heard explanations of the world, giving them a -2 penalty to further magic checks for 1d8 rounds.  If rolled a second time, the whispering grows stronger and more insistent, and the caster must make a DC 12 Will save every time they use a magic item or cast a spell or lose their next action as they stop to hear the secrets of the cosmos.  If rolled a third time, the Will save DC increases to 15, and all within 20’ can hear the murmur of the whispers.

4              Black scales start to form around the eyes and fingers of the caster.  If rolled a second time, skin starts to slough away, and patches of shiny black scales start to be revealed, granting a +2 to saving throws against fire damage but giving a -1d to social interaction checks as most people are unsettled by the alien skin.  If rolled a third time, the caster’s skin is completely replaced, and grants a +1 to their AC.

5              The caster’s blood becomes sluggish and craves the heat of the fiery seas of Ur-Ungan – if in any temperatures below room temperature, the caster suffers -1 to Initiative checks and Reflex saves for an hour after casting any spell.  If rolled a second time, the penalties increase to -2 and are constant even if a spell isn’t cast.  If rolled a third time, the penalty increases to -1d, and the caster becomes vulnerable to cold damage.

6              The caster becomes more and more avaricious – they must make a DC 5 Will save to give away any money, magic, or valuables to any other person.  If taken from the caster involuntarily, they must make the save or enter into Battle Rage for 1d6 rounds, attacking the nearest target and unable to distinguish friend from foe, with all attacks gaining +1d6 rounds.  If this taint is rolled a second time, the Will save increases to DC 10, and any Battle Rage lasts 1d8 rounds.  If rolled a third time, the Will save increases to DC 15, and any Battle Rage lasts 1d10 rounds.