Thursday, June 18, 2015

The 'pay what you want' PC Class PC4 - The OSR Dervish From Jeremy Reaban For Your Old School Campaigns



There are certain classes that I come across that would fit right into games with little to no trouble at all. Take the Dervish class which looks like it leaped out from Al Qadim from TSR's classic second edition era except it came from the pen of Jeremy Reaban. The Dervish is a hypnotic dancer of death and master of the sword and it fits right into a sword and sorcery game with little issue. These typical warriors of a mystic path may be male or female and this is a path of subtle and dangerous aspect as bladed weapons are often used but these are actually mystic warriors some power! According to the Dervish wright up: 
"Dervishes typically serve mystery religions where insight is gained through ecstatic dance; gods and goddesses of ecstasy, such as Dionysus or Cybele; or dual aspect deities of love and war, such as Ishtar, Inanna, or Freya."
Grab It Right Over
HERE



 

Because the way the class is put together I can see all kinds of aplications for original OD&D and its clones. Advanced 1st edition Dungeons and Dragons, OSRIC, Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea and all of the derivative clones such as Fantastic Heroes and Witchery. What can be done with this class? A better question is what can't it do? For an oriental or South Asian style of pulp setting the Dervish fits seamlessly into the background. A twist for the Amazons  for AS&SH or as fit for the pulp assassins mentioned as part of the Si Fan in Fu Manchu. Many aspects of this class mirror the famous practitioners of the world famous  sword dances of various cultures

Many aspects of this class can and do emulate the sci fi classes of science fantasy, science fiction, and pulp adventure. This class has many aspects of cleric, warriors, and more from the realms of legend and mysticism from Orientalism, pop culture as well as the pulp magazines from yesteryear. Aspects of this class reminded me of the various Dune books by Frank Herbert and some of its non canon sources such as the Dune Encyclopedia. There are bits that this class brings to the table that may leave some players scratching their heads and it will require a bit of research on players parts even though everything about this class is laid out right at the DM's feet.
All in all I can actually see working with this class to create memorable NPC's, something different for players to play and for use with many of  various weird fantasy settings that are out on the market today. Do I think its well done? Yes I do and I can see this class having actual uses at the table. 

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