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By Chris Sakkas
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Download a nicely-formatted PDF of the class.
Replacing the Warrior
The warrior of Redbox Hack 2 is a disappointment. Its companion, the stealthy longrunner, is a fresh take on the scoundrel archetype – skipping across the seas, drawing doorways with chalk and with a contact in every city. The warrior is just a warrior, what we have come to expect from thirty years of fantasy heartbreakers.
I’ve attempted to fix this by writing up a set of new warrior-like classes. Each – hopefully – has a compelling hook in the setting and out-of-combat powers that create and solve problems.
The Haunt is my first attempt. He’s a dabbler in ghosts and spectres, someone who dwells in dark fens and swamps.
The Haunt
You are a swamp dweller, a vagrant or a tramp who can speak with and summon the spirits of the dead and the damned.
Limitation: Heart of Gold
Despite your heretical activities and your macabre appearance, you are a kindly soul. When confronted by injustice or hurt, like a lost child or a wounded animal, you must assist them.
Talents
Jack O’Lantern
With a wicker basket, you have no need for light from a Jack O’Lantern. Instead, the pumpkin-headed and candle-eyed scarecrow is a sentry, spy and messenger who communicates with you by whispering messages on the wind. Some Jack O’Lanterns are granted movement by their creator; they have an unfortunate habit of becoming distracted by beautiful maidens, frightening travelers and hunting for buried treasure. A Jack O’Lantern whose Haunt has died may sometimes pull itself up from the ground and bestow movement upon itself as it hops down the road.
Wicker Basket
You can trap the souls of the dying in a wicker basket you carry on your belt or at the end of a walking stick. Only three souls will remain in the basket at one time and they sometimes fight or connive depending on their personalities. They will answer questions if threatened by cats – which all ghosts hate – or the smell of burning witchwood. If the wicker basket is shaped as a lantern, they souls release witchlight which reveals that which is hidden
The Gravedigger’s Pet
You summon a child who died before his or her time to walk as a ghost by your side. The child has no material form, but may choose to Assist you in combat (essentially a free action rolling your Stubbornness rather than your Alertness). It is your responsibility to care for the child and bring him or her to peace.
Hunter’s Look
An animal that or person who meets your gaze cannot move or look away until you close or the gaze is broken.
Sandman’s Burden
You bring with you a feeling of somnolence and languidness that lures others into a false sense of security. Where it is obvious from the fiction that you have surprised your foes, you automatically win Initiative. If it is not obvious, you still get a +5 bonus to your Alertness roll to determine initiative. Out of combat, you can sprinkle sand into a creature's eyes to put it into a deep sleep.
Strike the Shadow
If your opponent casts a shadow, you can scuff it with your boot or pull parts of it away. Your attack treats your enemy as unarmoured but you must attack unarmed. Out of combat, you can read people based on the body language of their shadow, a being that cannot lie.
