Contents
The Old World campaign setting can be used with a number of different systems. Accordingly, the allowed materials list for player characters in the setting, and the applicable house rules, depend on the system being used for any given adventure.
Note: See also the section on magic in the Old World.
All systems
Races
See the Races page for information on available player character races, and their racial traits and qualities.
The setting background section describes what place each of the player character races has in the setting.
Pathfinder
Skills
The Knowledge (the planes) skill is not available. (See magic in the Old World for more information.)
When using the Intimidate skill to demoralize opponents, any bonuses to saves against fear (such as those granted by the bard’s inspire courage ability, or by the bless spell) apply to the Intimidate check DC.
The Handle Animal skill works differently in the Old World campaign setting; see the linked page for details.
Feats
See the Feats page for information on feats that are available in the Old World campaign setting.
Classes
The following classes are available:
- Core Rulebook
- base classes:
- prestige classes:
- arcane trickster
- assassin
- duelist
- eldritch knight
- Advanced Player’s Guide
- base classes:
- oracle
- witch
- The witch class is heavily modified; see the Witch page for details.
- summoner
- The summoner class is modified; see the Summoner page for details.
- prestige classes:
- holy vindicator
- rage prophet
- Ultimate Magic
Some of the available classes are modified from their published versions. See below for changes to specific classes.
Barbarian
Rage
In the description of the barbarian’s rage class ability, replace this sentence:
If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
With this:
If a barbarian falls unconscious while raging, then at the end of his next turn (or his current turn, if he falls unconscious on his own turn), his rage ends. While the ending of the rage causes the barbarian’s hit points to drop (due to the loss of the Constitution bonus granted by rage), this cannot reduce his hit point total below a value 1 point higher than his death threshold.
(Of course, the barbarian may continue losing hit points thereafter, in all the usual ways. Most commonly, if the unconsciousness was caused by damage which brought the barbarian’s hit points below 0, then—unless his condition stabilizes before then, or he regains hit points in some way—he will lose 1 hit point at the end of his subsequent turn, one round after his rage has ended; this, naturally, will kill him.)
Moment of clarity (rage power)
When the moment of clarity rage power is activated, the barbarian does not lose his bonus to Constitution from rage (and thus his hit point total does not change). (The ability otherwise works as written.)
Bard
Bardic knowledge
The following is added to the description of the bardic knowledge ability:
The sum of the bard’s ranks in a skill, and his bardic knowledge bonus, cannot exceed his character level. If this sum would be higher than the bard’s character level, then the bardic knowledge bonus is reduced so as not to exceed this limit.
The bonus to Knowledge skill checks from bardic knowledge applies only when answering questions related to a field of study, identifying monsters and their abilities, or otherwise determining what the bard knows. It does not apply to other uses of Knowledge skills, such as doing research or navigating during a sea journey.
Starting at 5th level, the bard also adds a +1 bonus to all research checks (regardless of what skill is used for the check); this bonus increases by +1 at every 5th level thereafter, to a maximum of +4 at 20th level.
Inspire resilience
Bards do not gain the inspire competence ability. Instead, they gain the following:
Inspire Resilience (Su): A bard of 3rd level or higher can use his performance to inspire resilience in his allies (including himself), making them resistant to physical attacks. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance.
An affected ally gains damage reduction 1/—. The damage reduction granted by this ability increases by 1 for every four levels the bard has attained beyond 3rd (2/— at 7th, 3/— at 11th, 4/— at 15th, and 5/— at 19th).
The damage reduction granted by inspire resilience stacks with a barbarian’s damage reduction (or with any similar ability). Inspire resilience does not apply to allies who are immobilized or otherwise incapacitated.
Inspire resilience is a mind-affecting ability, and relies on audible components.
Combine songs
Bards also do not gain the lore master ability. Instead, they gain the following:
Combine Songs (Ex): A bard of 5th level or higher can combine the effects of two performances. Once per day, a bard who is already maintaining one performance can start a second performance (taking the usual action required to start a performance) and gain the benefits of both. (Normal stacking rules for bonus types apply.) The bard can use this ability one additional time per day for every six levels he possesses beyond 5th, to a maximum of three times per day at 17th level.
The following text replaces the description of the bard’s versatile performance ability:
Versatile Performance (Ex): At 2nd level, and at every 4th level thereafter, a bard can gain one of the following benefits (he may select a benefit multiple times, making appropriately different choices for that benefit each time it’s chosen):
Gain Class Skill: The bard selects one of the following skills: Fly, Handle Animal, Ride. That skill is now a class skill for him.
Gain Skill Focus: The bard selects one of the following skills: Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Linguistics, Perception, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or a skill which he has previously gained as a class skill via versatile performance. He gains the Skill Focus feat for that skill. The bard must have at least 2 ranks in the chosen skill in order to gain this benefit.
Gain Skill Trick: The bard learns his choice of two of the following skill tricks. He must meet all prerequisites for the skill trick. (Note that skill rank requirements are reduced by 3 in Pathfinder.)
- Acrobatic Backstab
- Back on Your Feet
- Distracting Taunt
- Group Fake-out
- Insightful Improvisation
- Never Outnumbered
- Nimble Stand
- Rhetorical Flourish
- Second Impression
- Shrouded Dance
- Social Recovery
- Timely Misdirection
Gain Bonus Feat: The bard gains his choice of one of the following feats. He must meet all prerequisites for the feat.
Cleric
Cleric domains
The following domains and subdomains are available for clerics of the deities worshipped in the Old World campaign setting. (Subdomains are listed in parentheses after the base domain. Unless noted otherwise, either the base domain or any of the listed subdomains may be selected by clerics who follow the given deity.)
- Pelor (a.k.a. the Shining Lord, the Radiant One, the Great God Above, etc.)
- Note: Many of the domains and subdomains listed here are provided by various divine intermediaries (saints, celestial lords, etc.). See the section on gods & religion in the Old World for details.
- Air (Cloud, Wind)
- Animal (Feather, Fur)
- Charm (Love)
- Community (Family, Home)
- Earth (Metal)
- Fire
- Glory (Heroism, Honor)
- Good (Agathion, Archon, Azata)
- Healing (Restoration)
- Law (Archon)
- Luck (Fate)
- Nobility (Leadership, Martyr)
- Plant (Growth)
- Protection (Defense, Purity)
- Repose (Ancestors, Souls)
- Strength (Resolve)
- Sun (Day, Light)
- War (Tactics)
- Weather (Seasons, Storms)
- Gruumsh (a.k.a. the One-Eyed God)
- Various evil gods, demon princes, archdevils, etc.
- ??? (probably also someone evil? this sounds pretty evil to me. stay away from this stuff imo)
Magus
The magus’s spell list is as follows (with spells from Ultimate Magic removed):
- 0 level
- 1st level
- 2nd level
- 3rd level
- 4th level
- 5th level
- 6th level
Ranger
The ranger’s favored enemy ability is modified as follows:
Favored Enemy (Ex): If a ranger spends at least a day observing, tracking, or otherwise interacting with creatures of some sort, he may designate such creatures as a favored enemy.
The ranger gains +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against his favored enemies. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.
A ranger may have one favored enemy at a time (that is, he may only designate one kind of creature as a favored enemy; if he wishes to designate another kind of creature as a favored enemy, he loses his favored enemy bonuses against any other kinds of creatures).
At every fifth level (5th, 10th, etc.), the ranger may have one additional favored enemy at a time. The ranger’s bonuses against favored enemies also increase by +2 at these levels.
Summoner
The summoner class is modified; see the Summoner page for details.
Witch
The witch class is modified; see the Witch page for details.
Prestige classes
Rage prophet
The savage seer class ability is modified as follows:
Savage Seer: A rage prophet’s class level stacks with barbarian levels for determining the effect of rage powers, as well as for determining which rage powers he may select (should he gain additional rage powers, e.g. by taking more levels in the barbarian class, or gaining the Extra Rage Power feat), and stacks with oracle levels for determining the effect of oracle revelations and his oracle’s curse, as well as for determining which revelations he may select (should he gain additional revelations). This does not grant additional abilities.
The raging healer class ability is modified as follows:
Raging Healer (Su): At 2nd level, a rage prophet is able to cast cure spells on himself while raging, without having to use the moment of clarity rage power.
The ragecaster class ability is modified as follows:
Ragecaster (Su): Starting at 4th level, a rage prophet’s spells grow more potent when he rages. When casting spells while raging (e.g., by using the moment of clarity rage power, or via the raging healer or raging spellstrength class abilities), he adds his barbarian level to his caster level. At 7th level, he adds his Constitution bonus to the save DC of any spells cast while raging.
The raging spellstrength class ability is modified as follows:
Raging Spellstrength (Su): At 8th level, a rage prophet is able to cast spells with a range of “personal” on himself while raging, without having to use the moment of clarity rage power.
Spells
Spells & higher level spell slots
Using a higher-level spell slot to cast a spell increases the spell’s effective level for the purposes of calculating saving throw DCs, interaction with a globe of invulnerability, etc. (In other words, all spellcasters get the equivalent of the Heighten Spell feat for free, as a basic feature of the spellcasting system.)
(See also Metamagic feats.)
New & modified spells
The following new spells are available in the Old World setting:
The following spells are not commonly available in the Old World setting (they cannot be learned without finding a scroll, spellbook, etc. containing that spell):
- clone
- gate
- getaway
- plane shift
- simulacrum
- refuge
- teleport
- teleport, greater
- teleportation circle
- teleport object
- transport via plants
- word of recall
The following spells work differently in the Old World setting:
The following spells have their material components modified:
| Spell | New material component |
|---|
| animate dead | black onyx gems worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead, placed into the mouth and/or eye sockets of each corpse to be animated (the magic of the spell turns these gems into worthless, burned-out shells) |
| circle of death | a black pearl worth at least 500 gp |
| continual flame | a powder made from semi-precious gemstones with a total value of at least 50 gp |
| create undead | black onyx gems worth at least 50 gp per Hit Die of the undead, placed into the mouth and/or eye sockets of each corpse to be animated (the magic of the spell turns these gems into worthless, burned-out shells), plus a clay pot filled with grave dirt and another filled with brackish water |
| forcecage | a powder made from precious gemstones with a total value of at least 500 gp, which is tossed into the air and disappears when you cast the spell |
| glyph of warding | you trace the glyph with incense, which must first be sprinkled with powder made from precious gemstones with a total value of at least 200 gp |
| greater glyph of warding | you trace the glyph with incense, which must first be sprinkled with powder made from precious gemstones with a total value of at least 400 gp |
| nondetection | a gemstone worth at least 50 gp |
| protection from spells | a precious gemstone worth at least 500 gp |
| stoneskin | powdered granite (which is sprinkled on the target’s skin), plus a precious gemstone worth at least 250 gp |
| symbol of death | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| symbol of fear | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 1,000 gp |
| symbol of insanity | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| symbol of pain | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 1,000 gp |
| symbol of persuasion | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| symbol of sleep | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 1,000 gp |
| symbol of stunning | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| symbol of weakness | mercury and phosphorus, plus diamonds and opals with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| temporal stasis | a powder made from precious gemstones with a total value of at least 5,000 gp |
| undeath to death | a precious gemstone worth at least 500 gp |
The following spells have their focuses modified:
| Spell | New focus |
|---|
| protection from spells | a precious gemstone worth at least 1,000 gp for every protected creature |
Weapons
Replace the descriptions of longbows (including composite and mighty composite longbows, which no longer exist) and shortbows (including mighty composite shortbows, which no longer exist) in the Core Rulebook with the following. (Range, damage, and other properties are unchanged. A heavy longbow’s price is double that of a standard longbow.)
- Longbow: You need at least two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. You must be standing up to fire a longbow; you cannot fire one while prone, crouching, kneeling, etc. A longbow is too unwieldy to use while you are mounted. You add your Strength bonus to damage rolls with a bow, up to the bow’s maximum pull (+4 for a standard longbow). If your Strength modifier is less than the bow’s maximum pull − 2, you take the difference as a penalty on attack rolls made with the bow. (For example, a character with a Strength bonus of +1 would take a −1 penalty on attack rolls with a longbow, as his Strength modifier is 1 point less than the bow’s maximum pull − 2.)
- Longbow, Heavy: Specially made for exceptionally strong characters, a longbow of this sort has a heavier maximum pull (+6).
- Shortbow: You need at least two hands to use a bow, regardless of its size. A shortbow can be fired while crouching or kneeling, though you take a −2 penalty on the attack roll; you cannot fire a shortbow while prone. You can use a shortbow while mounted. You add your Strength bonus to damage rolls with a bow, up to the bow’s maximum pull (+2 for a standard shortbow). If your Strength modifier is less than the bow’s maximum pull − 2, you take the difference as a penalty on attack rolls made with the bow. (For example, a character with a Strength modifier of −1 would take a −1 penalty on attack rolls with a shortbow, as his Strength modifier is 1 point less than the bow’s maximum pull − 2.)
- Shortbow, composite: A shortbow can be made of several materials laminated together. The resulting design allows the bow to shoot farther than a simple shortbow, but makes the bow more expensive to make and maintain.
Weapon groups
Each weapon belongs to a group of similar weapons, such as axes (which includes one-handed, two-handed, and throwing axes) or polearms (which includes halberds and glaives). A weapon can belong to more than one group (for example, daggers are included in basic weapons as well as in light blades).
All characters are proficient with basic weapons. Most characters also gain proficiency with one or more additional groups of weapons, depending on their class (see each class’s description for details). A character can gain proficiency with additional weapon groups by taking the Weapon Proficiency feat. A character who uses a weapon with which he or she is not proficient takes a −4 penalty on attack rolls.
Note: Characters and classes do not lose any weapon proficiencies with this rule. All characters gain proficiency with basic weapons, in addition to whatever weapon proficiencies they may already have in the standard rules.
Common weapon groups include the following:
- Axes
- Basic weapons (club, dagger, sling, sap, quarterstaff)
- Bows (longbows and shortbows)
- Cavalry weapons (curved swords, lance, shortbow)
- Crossbows
- Hammers (warhammer, great maul)
- Heavy blades (longsword, bastard sword, greatsword, etc.)
- Light blades (dagger, short sword, rapier)
- Maces & clubs (including the morningstar)
- Polearms (halberd, glaive, etc.)
- Shields
- Note: Characters who are proficient with shields are also automatically proficient with the use of shields as weapons (i.e. using them to make a shield bash)
- Spears (shortspear, longspear, javelin)
- Unarmed attacks (unarmed strikes, as well as gauntlets, brass knuckles, etc.)
Exotic weapons
There are some weapons that do not resemble the common weapon types described above. These are usually weapons designed for specific purposes, or for use with unusual fighting techniques. A character who is not proficient with an exotic weapon must take the Weapon Proficiency feat for that specific weapon in order to use it properly (that is, exotic weapons are generally not considered to be part of any common weapon group). (In cases where an exotic weapon is fairly similar to a non-exotic weapon with which a character is proficient, the character is also considered to be proficient with that exotic weapon, but is unable to use the special or distinguishing features of the exotic weapon unless he takes the Weapon Proficiency feat for that specific exotic weapon.)
Combat maneuvers
Attempting a combat maneuver (such as disarm, trip, etc.) no longer provokes an attack of opportunity. However, failing a combat maneuver check does provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender.
Details, and specific rules and exceptions that apply to specific combat maneuvers, are as follows.
Failing a Combat Maneuver Check: In the case of most combat maneuvers, if you fail your combat maneuver check, you provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender. (Any attack the defender makes against you as part of that attack of opportunity cannot provoke an attack of opportunity from you in turn, even if that sort of attack or maneuver would normally provoke an attack of opportunity. Thus it’s impossible to have, e.g., a back-and-forth chain of trip attacks, each triggered by the previous failed attempt of the other combatant.)
Bull Rush
If your check fails, your movement ends in front of the target, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from him.
Dirty Trick
If your check fails, you provoke an attack of opportunity from your target.
Disarm
You can make a disarm attempt with a weapon or with an unarmed strike. If you are attempting a disarm while unarmed yourself, you provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent unless you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (or a similar ability that causes you to threaten your opponent with your unarmed attacks). Any damage you take from this attack of opportunity is applied as a penalty to your combat maneuver check for the disarm.
If your check fails, your opponent is not disarmed, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from him.
Drag
You provoke an attack of opportunity from an opponent you try to drag, unless you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (or a similar ability that causes you to threaten your opponent with your unarmed attacks). (You likewise do not provoke an attack of opportunity if you are using a natural weapon to initiate the drag.) Any damage you take from this attack of opportunity is applied as a penalty to your combat maneuver check for the drag.
If your check fails, you’ve failed to get a hold, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent.
Grapple
You provoke an attack of opportunity from an opponent you try to grapple, unless you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (or a similar ability that causes you to threaten your opponent with your unarmed attacks). (You likewise do not provoke an attack of opportunity if you are using a natural weapon to initiate the grapple.) Any damage you take from this attack of opportunity is applied as a penalty to your combat maneuver check for the grapple.
If your check fails, you’ve failed to get a hold, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent.
Overrun
The target of your overrun maneuver may choose to avoid you. If he does, then you need not make a combat maneuver check.
If your check fails, your opponent is not knocked prone, and you end your movement in your opponent’s space. You also provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent (even if you normally would not provoke an attack of opportunity for entering his space).
Reposition
If your check fails, you provoke an attack of opportunity from your target.
Steal
If your check fails, you provoke an attack of opportunity from your target.
Sunder
You can make a sunder attempt with a weapon or with an unarmed strike. If you are attempting a sunder while unarmed yourself, you provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent unless you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (or a similar ability that causes you to threaten your opponent with your unarmed attacks). Any damage you take from this attack of opportunity is applied as a penalty to your combat maneuver check for the sunder.
If your check fails, you don’t deal any damage (but you don’t provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent).
Trip
You can attempt a trip while unarmed, or with certain weapons (those marked as “trip” on the Equipment page, as well as a quarterstaff).
If your check fails, your opponent is not tripped, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from him. If you a weapon to make your trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid provoking the attack of opportunity.