The Wild Huntress O.C.C.

Practitioner of Magic

A man races down the street, his hair matted down against his head from all the running. Puffs of breath can be seen in the cool night air though his body is burning from the exertion. The sound of the dogs can be heard howling behind him. Sweat drips off of him and into his eyes. He continues to run as he tries to wipe his eyes. His vision is still blurred as he makes the next turn. The dogs are getting closer; he needs to move faster. His lungs burn as he tries to pump his fatigued legs faster. Again he wipes at his eyes trying to clear his vision. It's a little too late as he realizes he's running down a dead end.

Quickly he turns to go back the way he came, but there is no luck. Standing before him is the figure that's been chasing him. He squints and flicks more sweat away. It's a female Elf; a woman is the one that's been chasing him! She keeps her dogs reigned in as they bark and howl to be set free to rip into their prey. There is no where to go. He's completely trapped. However, she's not making any move. Maybe she's just trying to scare him. That's his hope, but somehow he knows it's not true. If that's all this was then he wouldn't still be all too aware of how fast his heart is racing.

With a flick of her arm she releases a small flock of sparrows from her sleeve. It's an amateur trick, a simple sleight of hand of a stage magician. What happens next though is not. All the sparrows suddenly morph into falcons. The falcons screech as they fly towards their prey. He tries to bat them away with his hands, but their claws and beaks continue to shred into him, slashing at his arms and face. By the time the birds finally call off their attack the last thing he sees is a large canine already leaping for his throat.

The Wild Hunt is an ancient mythology on the Palladium World whose origins date back to before the Elf-Dwarf War. It is always led by a woman with the use of dogs, but can also include other people (even males), birds, and spirits. Traditionally the Wild Hunt focused on males who have wronged women in a moral sense but are culturally exempt from persecution. Then as time passed the Wild Hunt became an unofficial method used by Elves to help track down serious criminals such as traitors, those who murdered kin, and other socially detestable acts. During the Age of Purification, the Wild Hunt focused on tracking down sources of magic and magic users on the run. In more modern times the reasons vary far more, mainly depending on the individual leading the hunt.

A large part of the myth is that whoever sets eyes on the Wild Hunt will disappear, usually never to be seen again. For this reason, those who hear the sounds of the dogs on the hunt will often dive to the ground with their face down or cover their heads with blankets to avoid seeing it. Only after the sounds of the hunt have faded into the distance is it safe to get up and move once again. This method of protection has become another part of mythology with many children hiding under a blanket to protect from all sorts of danger.

Origins of the Hunt

During the height of the Age of Elves a wild boar terrorized an Elven territory, destroying crops and rampaging fields. The boar was so fierce and powerful that it even killed many warriors. The first wound to the boar came from the arrow of an Elven maiden. Momentarily downed and distracted by the hit, an Elven warrior was able to move in and behead the boar, ending its reign of terror. In honor of her help and for delivering the first blow, the warrior offered the hide of the boar to the maiden. Offended that a woman would be granted the hide when men were involved, three other Elves who had participated in the hunt took the hide from the maiden claiming it as their right. The Elven warrior, appalled by their behavior, killed all three and returned the hide to its rightful owner.

Unfortunately, the three killed by the warrior were of noble blood and the lord of the land was forced to take action to ease the tension of the other nobles. The warrior was executed for murder. As for the maiden, she was exiled from the land as the source of conflict and the hide taken from her once again, the lord of the land taking claim of it this time. Three days later the lord of the land was found dead, an arrow in his chest, and the hide missing. Those that were there on that day say there was an odd silence in the air, and that the lord's hounds made no sound. All of them were taken as well.

The Elven maiden led the first Wild Hunt. She hunted down males she felt committed crimes against women, who by Elven culture had few rights. Because she was a woman, any who saw her could not be allowed to tell anyone, her very existence a crime to the Elven people. Some were killed, others were required to join the Wild Hunt alongside her, and once in a while one would be trained as her successor. This let the legend of the Wild Hunt live on long after its originator, and the mysticism surrounding it to grow all the more.

The Wild Huntress & Armor

Most Wild Huntresses tend to prefer leather armor because it offers excellent maneuverability, stealth (no jingling or clunking of metal parts), comfort, and because it can be dyed various shades which are perfect for blending into the wilderness. Unlike the Men of Arms, a Wild Huntress is not trained in the use of heavy types of armor which are cumbersome and confining. Furthermore, covering oneself in metal has the strange effect of hampering the channeling of magic energy! If more than 50% of the character's body is covered in metal (chain mail, scale, plate, etc.) the wild huntress must spend 20% more P.P.E. to cast a spell and its duration is reduced by 20% as well.

Of course, a Wild Huntress may elect to use/wear any type of armor she desires, but with the considerations above and the usual encumbrance penalties: -15% to prowl and -20% to climb/scale walls or swim in full splint or plate armor. -10% to prowl, swim, or climb in chain or scale mail and -5% in studded leather. Most practitioners prefer to wear leather armor (studded does not interfere with spell casting) or better yet, magic body armor, charms, and talismans.

Special Abilities of the Wild Huntress

1. Initial Spell Knowledge: At first level a wild huntress may select a total of three Woodland Magic spells from levels one through three. The selection of these spells will typically reflect the focus of the wild huntress as well as the mentality of the instructor.

2. Additional Spells: As the wild huntress grows in her experience her understanding of nature also increases. At levels two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, and fourteen the character learns one new Woodland Magic spell – select one from any level up to the character's own level of achievement/experience. The Wild Huntress cannot learn new spells like a Wizard; her magic abilities come from a communion with nature.

3. P.P.E.: 1D4x10 plus the P.E. attribute number. Add 2D4 P.P.E. per level of experience, starting at level one. A Wild Huntress is a practitioner of magic, but with a very narrow field of knowledge and considerably less P.P.E. than a traditional magic O.C.C. The Wild Huntress cannot draw on the P.P.E. from living people or animals, but can draw from blood sacrifice of animals (only if evil), ley lines, and nexus points. See the Magic section for details (Palladium Fantasy main book).

4. Bonuses: +1 to save vs. magic (+6 against Faerie Magic), +2 to save vs. possession, and +1 to save vs. horror factor at levels two, five, ten, and fifteen.

The Wild Huntress O.C.C.

Alignment: Any

Attribute Requirements: I.Q. 10 and P.E. 12 or higher.

Race Restrictions: Traditionally the Wild Huntress was the role of an Elf, and still to this day 95% are Elves. 3% are human with the other 2% composed of other races chosen as successors by various Wild Huntresses.

Gender Restrictions: Females only.

O.C.C. Skills:

Languages: Native Tongue at 98% plus two of choice (+10%)

Animal Husbandry (+15%)

Breed Dogs (+15%)

Falconry (+10%)

Horsemanship: General (+10%)

Land Navigation (+10%)

Sing (+10%)

Track Humanoids (+20%)

Wilderness Survival (+10%)

W.P. Two of choice

Hand to Hand: Basic

Hand to hand: basic can be changed to hand to hand: expert at the cost of two O.C.C. Related Skills, or martial arts or assassin (if evil) for the cost of three O.C.C. Related Skills.

O.C.C. Related Skills: Select eight other skills of choice at level one, plus select one additional skill at levels three, six, nine, and twelve. All new skills start at level one proficiency.

Communications: None

Domestic: Any (+10%)

Espionage: Detect Ambush, Escape Artist, and Intelligence only.

Horsemanship: Exotic only (+5%).

Medical: Any

Military: Camouflage only.

Physical: Any; except Acrobatics, Gymnastics, Boxing, & Wrestling.

Rogue: Any (+5% for Concealment and +10% for Prowl only)

Science: Any (+5%)

Scholar/Technical: Any (+10%)

Weapon Proficiencies: Any

Wilderness: Any (+5%)

Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select three secondary skills from the previous list at level one, and two additional skills at levels two, five, seven, ten, and thirteen. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in the parenthesis. All secondary skills start at the base skill level. Also, skills are limited (any, only, none) as previously indicated in the list.

Standard Equipment: Two sets of clothing, a cape or cloak with a hood, boots or moccasins, a pair of soft leather gloves, belt, bedroll, backpack, a medium-sized to large purse/satchel, two small sacks, water skin, 30 feet (9 m) of rope, 1D4 wooden spikes, a mallet, 1D4 candles, small mirror, and a tinder box.

Plus a riding horse of good quality. The horse has 30+2D6 S.D.C., 6D6 hit points, running speed 50 (35 mph/56 km) and a maximum speed of 66 (45 mph/72 km), and a value of 1D4x1000 gold! Note: Horse running speeds are taken from Monsters & Animals, not the main book under the Knight or Palladin descriptions.

Armor: Starts with a suit of hard leather (A.R. 11, S.D.C. 30).

Weapons: A pair of knives and one additional weapon of choice. All are basic S.D.C. weapons of good quality. Magic weapons and additional items must be acquired later. Favorite weapons include knives, bow and arrow, short swords, and staves.

Money: The character starts with 100 in gold. Additional money will come from payment for services and/or the acquisition of booty. Some will hire out their services to track down targets, and most will loot the remains of their prey.

Experience Point Table: Same as the Ranger, Psi-Healer, & Psychic Sensitive.