These are the abilities that only Player Characters (and possibly a very few important NPCs) will have.  It is because of your special heritage, which you should invent as part of your RTJ.  This special heritage and the benefits from it is the reason that your characters became Player Characters.  (Consider the Farseer magic that ruling family, including Fitz, have in Robin Hobbs' Farseer Trilogy.)

You'll get one special ability at each level.  The will probably go in a theme, and I'll invent them with consideration of your background and gaming interests.  They are meant to be pretty significant, more than a feat.  While not quite a defining characteristic, the overall theme might be.  For instance, if you start with Danger Sense and then move into other mental abilities, that will absolutely be the center of your character.

I should add that these are not cast in stone.  Even for first level, if you have a similar ability that makes sense for your character, feel free to ask.  I might say no, but I might not.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:05, Wed 23 Feb 2022.

Adrenaline Rush

Once per day you can trigger, as a swift action, an adrenaline rush that is a superior version of the normal fight-or-flight response.  For 5 rounds, you will have the effect of +2 DEX, +2 STR, +10 movement, additional +2 AC (dodge) and +2 initiative.  After the 5 rounds have expired, you'll be extremely tired for 5 rounds and debilitatingly hungry until you eat.  (-2 DEX and -2 STR, -5 Movement from tiredness.  -2 STR -2 CON from hunger)

Rush time:   +2 DEX, +2 STR, +10 movement, additional +2 AC (dodge) and +2 initiative
Exhaustion and hunger time:  -2 DEX, -4 STR, -2 CON, -5 movement  (The -4 STR might also mean you are now overburdened.)
Exhaustion only (assuming you eat immediately):  -2 DEX, -2 STR, -5 movement
Hunger only:  -2 STR, -2 CON

The bonus and penalty to AC is in addition to that you gain or lose from the DEX change.


Danger Sense

Requirement:  WIS 12+   Perception 4+  (That is, at least 1 point put into Perception as long as it is a class skill.)
You have an innate knack to know when someone is focused on you with injurious intent.  You can't be ambushed or even surprised by a thinking being who knows you are there and intends to harm you.  This is a mental ability, so it doesn't protect against mutual surprise, traps, nor non-thinking beings.  Because you know when the attacker will strike, you can wait and apply a dodge bonus of +4 AC to their first attack and then counter-attack at +2 in the same round, though this can't be a full round attack.  You have a permanent +2 initiative in all combat (even against non-thinking beings).  This ability works against all vertebrates and against a very few intelligent cephalopods, but not against most most invertebrates.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:25, Sat 07 Jan 2023.

------------------- Level 2 -------------------

You can take the other ability from Level 1, or one of these:

Animal Companion

You are bonded to a single animal, as with the Druid class feature Animal Companion with an effective Druid level of one less than your overall character level.

Rule change:  If you take this ability, the bonus skills learned is doubled.

The "Share Spells" ability associated with the class feature is replaced:  Instead, you can share your Level 1 ability with the animal.  For the Adrenaline Rush, you and the animal each have 5 rounds per day, which may be taken at the same time or separately.  In the down time after an Adrenaline Rush, until the animal has eaten, you will be at -8 animal handling to get the animal to do anything that is not directly related to getting food or escaping an imminent danger.

Innate Skills

As you grow into the skills that are part of your secret heritage, you find that you have some innate talent for one or two particular skills.  You have a permanent bonus of +4 to each of 2 skills, or +6 to a single skill.  (These would typically be something you are building your character around, such as Disguise, Stealth, or maybe Intimidation in which you will eventually be at a supernatural level of ability.  It was actually part of my plan for Ricka, who has doppleganger in her ancestry and was aiming to become like a faceless one from Game of Thrones.)



Advanced Adrenaline Rush Requires Adrenaline Rush

Any number of times per day, as a swift action, you can trigger your adrenaline rush.  For up to 10 rounds, you will have the effect of +4 DEX, +4 STR, +15 movement, additional +4 AC (dodge) and +3 initiative.  After the adrenaline rush is over, you have the same number of round debilitated as you had it active, plus additional time debilitated until you eat.  It can not be triggered again until you eat, but if you ended it early and there is still time in your 10 rounds you could re-activate it.  These additional rounds will count double towards your down time, however.

Rush time:   +4 DEX, +4 STR, +15 movement, additional +4 AC (dodge) and +3 initiative
Exhaustion and hunger time:  -4 DEX, -6 STR, -4 CON, -15 movement, -2 AC  (The -6 STR might also mean you are now overburdened.)
Exhaustion only (assuming you eat immediately):  -4 DEX, -4 STR, -10 movement, -2 AC
Hunger only:  -2 STR, -4 CON, -5 movement

The bonus and penalty to AC is in addition to that you gain or lose from the DEX change.

Advanced Danger Sense  Requires Danger Sense

You sense when a thinking being is focused on you, whether with injurious intent or not.  If they are speaking about you (possibly whispering to a friend), you will hear the words clearly as if you are part of their conversation, even from across a noisy room.  This can be overwhelming, at first, for someone who is the center of attention already, but you'll learn to handle it.  You can choose to ignore some to focus on one or two.

If a person does intend you harm, you will not only know exactly when they will attack, but you'll know what form that attack will take.  This gives you a permanent +2 to AC to all attacks from thinking beings and your bonus to their first attack (assuming you don't simply avoid the situation) is +8 AC and +4 to counter attack.  Your permanent initiative bonus increases to +4.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:59, Thu 19 Jan 2023.

------------------- Level 3 -------------------

You can take any ability from an earlier level for which you have the prerequisites.

Animal Sight  Requires Animal Companion.

You can see / hear / smell through your companion's senses, including both the benefits and limitations of those senses.  When you use this ability, you are not completely helpless in your own body -- you still have reduced perception but can't take any action that isn't mostly automatic.  For example, you might be walking or riding a horse on a road, and you could continue doing so, but you wouldn't want to be walking along a narrow path on a cliff face.  If you start to approach something unexpected, such as travelers approaching, you'd probably be aware of it.  (Think of texting while driving -- you're about that aware.  If something especially interesting happens in the animal space, you're likely to miss something in the human space, even something dangerous.)

Also, your effective "Druid Level" for the Animal Companion increases by 2, making it one more than your class level.

Innate Skill Mastery  Requires Innate Skill

You really have some sort of supernatural ability that will always, always work against normal people, and only has a chance of failure against high level people or those with some sort of supernatural ability of their own.

Your permanent bonus or bonuses from Innate Skill is doubled, putting you at +12 for one skill or +8 for each of two skills.  In addition, if you arrange special circumstances, then the bonus is increased by half again (to +18 or +12 for
 two).  Again, using the faceless ones as an example, having the skinned face of the person you are trying to emulate counts as a special circumstance.  For stealth, if you have arranged for a distracting light that flashes occasionally in sight of the people who otherwise would be observing you, that counts.  The special circumstance has to be something planned and partially executed in advance.

The point here is that even in adverse circumstances, where you are taking several penalties to the roll, you still expect to succeed nearly 100% of the time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:41, Tue 17 Jan 2023.