The Time of Waiting is Over!
The Lands of the Jade Oath Patronage Project!
It arrives before Chinese Democracy.
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| Cover Art by Wayne Reynolds |
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Heroes of the Jade Oath is the first book in Rite Publishing's Patronage Project.
Heroes of the Jade Oath will be a 260,000+ word pdf (250+ pages), with color interior art and maps. Patrons will have the option to purchase a hardback print copy or softback print copy at cost. Lands of the Jade Oath creator Frank Carr will write it and fan-favorite Bill Collins (Akashic Nodes, Six Arabian Nights, Tell It to My Axe, Blood of the Gorgon) will edit it. The cover of course is by Wayne Reynolds (4E D&D, Eberron, Pathfinder)
Patron
The complete player’s guide and adventure, with a full color layout out as a PDF and access to the Print On Demand book at cost (as low as $10.00+ shipping).
Question & Answer sessions along with articles with topics chosen by the patrons with any member of the production team the patrons choose including writer, developer, artist, cartographer, editor and even the layout artist.
Admittance to the daily design & development dialogue
Senior Patron
All of the above
Evaluate and suggest improvements at the initial sketch stage of interior art, cartography, layout, player handouts, and any other visual aspect of the project.
The ability to choose a topic of an article from a specific staff member of your choice.
Direct access to the project manuscript and to design Q&A sessions
Recognition in the credits .
Heroes of the Jade Oath
Play as an exotic, plant-like mandragoran, a mischievous bakemono, an otherworldly shenxue, or maybe as a member of some other exotic race. Use alchemical acumen, diagnostic skill, auspicious feng shui, or some other formidable and esoteric secrets that only an enlightened scholar can know in search of immortality. Master the magnificent skill of a kensai to the point of being able to wield even a broken weapon with deadly efficiency. Become a great demon-hunting hero full of bravado and rebellious arrogance. Move like a shadowy kusa in the night as your blade whispers its next dirge. Gain the white hair of the deadly lotus, master your unbound nature to free you from the karmic wheel of reality, or learn the powerful secrets of ch'i. Regardless of how you play, you will find yourself immersed in an evocative setting with an exotic character of your own making.
This first installment in the Lands of the Jade Oath series is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of the setting and help you create and run a character in the Lands of the Jade Oath. This guide includes a map of the region and serves as an introduction to its various exotic and enigmatic lands, cultures, organizations, and religions. Within you will discover new and revisited races, new and variant classes, well over 100 feats, an introduction to ch'i magic and sutra magic, exotic equipment, and more.
Heroes of the Jade Oath is designed for use with Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved and the 3.0 and 3.5 versions of the world's most popular role-playing game.
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| $120.00 USD- Senior Patron Membership for Heroes of the Jade Oath
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| 3 easy payments of $40.00 USD- Senior Patron Membership for Heroes of the Jade Oath
This will immediately bill $40.00 USD with 2 Recurring payments on a 30 day billing cycle, Failure to make a subscription payment results in cancelation.
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| $60.00 USD- Patron Membership for Heroes of the Jade Oath
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| 3 easy payments of $20.00 USD- Patron Membership for Heroes of the Jade Oath
This will immediately bill $20.00 USD with 2 Recurring payments on a 30 day billing cycle, Failure to make a subscription payment results in cancelation.
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| Heroes of the Jade Oath Preview: Feats |
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| Art by Amanda Webb |
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Da-Chen a peasant farmer has trouble dealing with his Ancestral Possession feat. His revered ancestor Kwan Lyan-Ran the Ghost Witch has no trouble dealing with her White Hair of the Deadly Lotus feat.
Ancestral Possession (Ceremonial)
The spirit of one of your ancestors possessed you during a previous ceremony that invoked your ancestor’s name. The ceremony brought forth the attentions of that ancestor’s spirit, despite no intention to do so. The ancestral ghost occasionally takes control of your body to pursue certain goals at the DM’s discretion.
When the ghost takes possession, his personality is in complete control, but your body does not change. He has a task to complete and he might or might not even know what that task is. When he completes that task, the ghost will leave you to your life. But, probably not until he meddles enough to set you on what he perceives as the right path.
Prerequisites: Truename, any other ceremonial feat.
Benefit: Whenever you roll a natural 1 on a d20 for any skill check, ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, the ancestral ghost dwelling within you takes control of your body. There is a 50% chance that the disoriented ancestor does not know what is going on and will lose his action until next turn, and is therefore flatfooted.
Likewise, whenever the ancestral ghost possessing you rolls a natural 1 on a d20 check, attack, or save, you take control of your body back. If the ancestral ghost goes to sleep in your body, you regain control again upon awakening. Even though it is a ghost, it still inhabits your body and feels the body’s need for sleep. If the ghost tries to deny sleep, it will begin to feel the effects from lack of sleep as normal.
When playing this ancestral ghost character, generate a new set of mental statistics (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) as per your campaign’s character generation rules. Choose a class for your ancestral ghost character. He may be any class, except oathsworn; for some reason unknown to mystics and scholars of the arcane, members of that class cannot possess or be possessed by their ancestors. The ancestral ghost is the same character level as you and progresses when you do. Select the ancestral ghost’s skills and spend his skill points accordingly. New feats should be selected, if needed; however, if a feat of yours is a racial feat or is representative of a physical trait, it should remain as a feat for the ancestral ghost character as well. Saving throws need to be adjusted, but hit points remain the same as yours for the ancestral ghost character. Hero points are also a shared commodity.
If you are both spellcasters, you can only cast a given number of spells equal to your maximum listed for your class and exceptional ability scores. Since both of you draw from the same pool of mystical energy you cannot cast any extra spells per day that the ancestral ghost may have and vice versa. For example, if you can cast 1 2nd level spell per day and you have already done so and your ancestral ghost character can cast 2 2nd level spells per day, he must count one of those spell slots as having been used even though he did not use it. Conversely, if he can cast 2 2nd level spells per day and has already cast 1 or more today and you can cast only 1 per day, then you cannot cast any more today, even though you, technically, did not cast any 2nd level spells today. Both you and your ancestor may determine spells readied differently based on your individual classes and feats.
White Hair of the Deadly Lotus (Chakra)
You can animate your extraordinarily long hair with your ch’i, treating it as a chakra, making it like another limb to you. It can even provide you with a longer than normal Reach as you learn to magically stretch your hair to reach a short distance away and make attacks, eventually even learning to manipulate objects with it.
Prerequisites: Con 11, Wis 13, Dex 13, Cha 11, Concentration 4, Long Hair, Ch’i Awakened, and one of the following: Defensive Unarmed Strike, Improved Unarmed Strike, or Mighty Unarmed Strike.
Benefit: You can animate your hair to extend the Reach of your attacks. While ch’i focused, you gain an extra 5 foot of Reach for your unarmed attacks per point of ch’i invested, though you don’t threaten the area into which you can make an attack beyond the 5 foot area closest to you as a result of this feat. You are proficient with using your hair as an unarmed attack in combat. Unless your hair is bound, you are always considered armed while ch’i focused (your hair is considered a light weapon). Your attacks with your hair may only deal non-lethal damage. For every attack, you suffer a cumulative -2 penalty to Strength- and Dexterity-based checks and attack rolls targeting creatures or objects up to 10 ft. or more away from you.
You can use your hair to grasp and retrieve items, grapple, or to perform trip or disarm attempts, but you cannot wield weapons with the hair. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with this feat. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat in conjunction with this feat to use your Dexterity instead of Strength for initiating a grapple when grappling at reach. You suffer a -4 circumstance penalty when grappling with just your hair no matter which modifier is used. When you fail to make a successful trip attack at reach with your hair, you cannot avoid being tripped by your target. You get a +2 bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an opponent (including the roll to keep from being disarmed if the attack fails should there be a weapon held by your hair with the improved version of this feat).
Using this feat provokes an attack of opportunity, just as if you had used a ranged weapon.
Expend your ch’i focus to attack many foes at once with your hair. When you perform the full-attack action, you can give up all regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. It requires at least 1 point of ch’i just to expend your ch’i focus, but an additional 2 points of ch’i for each additional 5 ft. in Reach. For example, you can attack all foes within 5 ft. after expending your ch’i focus with 1 point of ch’i in this chakra, all foes within 10 ft. for 3 ch’i points, all foes within 15 ft. for 5 ch’i points, and all foes within 20 ft. for 7 ch’i points.
You gain one point of ch’i.
Special: The Hands as Weapons feat cannot be used with this feat. This feat does not replace the Multiweapon Fighting or Multiattack feats. To make additional attacks utilizing your hair, either one of those feats must be acquired separately. For the prerequisites of Multiweapon Fighting, your hair may be considered to be an extra hand. To make multiple unarmed strikes using your hair, you must have Multiattack.
Improved: By taking this feat a second time, you can use your hair to attack with a light weapon as if it was one of your hands (only light weapons, anything heavier incurs the -4 nonproficiency penalty to attack even if the character is proficient with the weapon) or to manipulate objects. You do so with with less dexterity (-4 penalty to use Alchemy, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Forgery, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Use Rope checks). You inflict lethal damage with unarmed strikes made by your hair and can now use the Hands as Weapons feat in conjunction with this feat. To make multiple attacks with weapons using your hair, you must have Multiweapon Fighting.
You gain one point of ch’i.
Ch'i Feats
Ch'i feats are available only to characters and creatures with a ch'i point reservoir and the ability to gain ch'i focus.
Ch’i feats are supernatural abilities that cannot be disrupted in combat (as spells can be) and do not provoke attacks of opportunity (except as noted in their descriptions). Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and cannot be dispelled; however, they do not function in areas where magic or ch’i is suppressed. Leaving such an area immediately allows ch’i feats to be used.
Any ch'i feat that allows the investment of ch'i points is considered to be a chakra feat.
Ch’i feats and chakra feats can be selected at 1st level in the place of a general feat or talent.
Chakra Feats
Chakra feats are ch'i feats and work in all ways like ch'i feats, except as follows. Often, chakra feats can be used only when you are ch’i focused, others require you to expend your ch’i focus to gain their benefit, and some provide a benefit in both circumstances. Expending your ch’i focus does not require an action; it is part of another action (such as using a chakra feat). You may only expend your ch’i focus as part of one action.
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Da-Chen a peasant farmer has trouble dealing with his Ancestral Possession feat. His revered ancestor Kwan Lyan-Ran the Ghost Witch has no trouble dealing with her White Hair of the Deadly Lotus feat.
Ancestral Possession (Ceremonial)
The spirit of one of your ancestors possessed you during a previous ceremony that invoked your ancestor’s name. The ceremony brought forth the attentions of that ancestor’s spirit, despite no intention to do so. The ancestral ghost occasionally takes control of your body to pursue certain goals at the DM’s discretion.
When the ghost takes possession, his personality is in complete control, but your body does not change. He has a task to complete and he might or might not even know what that task is. When he completes that task, the ghost will leave you to your life. But, probably not until he meddles enough to set you on what he perceives as the right path.
Prerequisites: Truename, any other ceremonial feat.
Benefit: Whenever you roll a natural 1 on a d20 for any skill check, ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, the ancestral ghost dwelling within you takes control of your body. There is a 50% chance that the disoriented ancestor does not know what is going on and will lose his action until next turn, and is therefore flatfooted.
Likewise, whenever the ancestral ghost possessing you rolls a natural 1 on a d20 check, attack, or save, you take control of your body back. If the ancestral ghost goes to sleep in your body, you regain control again upon awakening. Even though it is a ghost, it still inhabits your body and feels the body’s need for sleep. If the ghost tries to deny sleep, it will begin to feel the effects from lack of sleep as normal.
When playing this ancestral ghost character, generate a new set of mental statistics (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) as per your campaign’s character generation rules. Choose a class for your ancestral ghost character. He may be any class, except oathsworn; for some reason unknown to mystics and scholars of the arcane, members of that class cannot possess or be possessed by their ancestors. The ancestral ghost is the same character level as you and progresses when you do. Select the ancestral ghost’s skills and spend his skill points accordingly. New feats should be selected, if needed; however, if a feat of yours is a racial feat or is representative of a physical trait, it should remain as a feat for the ancestral ghost character as well. Saving throws need to be adjusted, but hit points remain the same as yours for the ancestral ghost character. Hero points are also a shared commodity.
If you are both spellcasters, you can only cast a given number of spells equal to your maximum listed for your class and exceptional ability scores. Since both of you draw from the same pool of mystical energy you cannot cast any extra spells per day that the ancestral ghost may have and vice versa. For example, if you can cast 1 2nd level spell per day and you have already done so and your ancestral ghost character can cast 2 2nd level spells per day, he must count one of those spell slots as having been used even though he did not use it. Conversely, if he can cast 2 2nd level spells per day and has already cast 1 or more today and you can cast only 1 per day, then you cannot cast any more today, even though you, technically, did not cast any 2nd level spells today. Both you and your ancestor may determine spells readied differently based on your individual classes and feats.
White Hair of the Deadly Lotus (Chakra)
You can animate your extraordinarily long hair with your ch’i, treating it as a chakra, making it like another limb to you. It can even provide you with a longer than normal Reach as you learn to magically stretch your hair to reach a short distance away and make attacks, eventually even learning to manipulate objects with it.
Prerequisites: Con 11, Wis 13, Dex 13, Cha 11, Concentration 4, Long Hair, Ch’i Awakened, and one of the following: Defensive Unarmed Strike, Improved Unarmed Strike, or Mighty Unarmed Strike.
Benefit: You can animate your hair to extend the Reach of your attacks. While ch’i focused, you gain an extra 5 foot of Reach for your unarmed attacks per point of ch’i invested, though you don’t threaten the area into which you can make an attack beyond the 5 foot area closest to you as a result of this feat. You are proficient with using your hair as an unarmed attack in combat. Unless your hair is bound, you are always considered armed while ch’i focused (your hair is considered a light weapon). Your attacks with your hair may only deal non-lethal damage. For every attack, you suffer a cumulative -2 penalty to Strength- and Dexterity-based checks and attack rolls targeting creatures or objects up to 10 ft. or more away from you.
You can use your hair to grasp and retrieve items, grapple, or to perform trip or disarm attempts, but you cannot wield weapons with the hair. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with this feat. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat in conjunction with this feat to use your Dexterity instead of Strength for initiating a grapple when grappling at reach. You suffer a -4 circumstance penalty when grappling with just your hair no matter which modifier is used. When you fail to make a successful trip attack at reach with your hair, you cannot avoid being tripped by your target. You get a +2 bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an opponent (including the roll to keep from being disarmed if the attack fails should there be a weapon held by your hair with the improved version of this feat).
Using this feat provokes an attack of opportunity, just as if you had used a ranged weapon.
Expend your ch’i focus to attack many foes at once with your hair. When you perform the full-attack action, you can give up all regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. It requires at least 1 point of ch’i just to expend your ch’i focus, but an additional 2 points of ch’i for each additional 5 ft. in Reach. For example, you can attack all foes within 5 ft. after expending your ch’i focus with 1 point of ch’i in this chakra, all foes within 10 ft. for 3 ch’i points, all foes within 15 ft. for 5 ch’i points, and all foes within 20 ft. for 7 ch’i points.
You gain one point of ch’i.
Special: The Hands as Weapons feat cannot be used with this feat. This feat does not replace the Multiweapon Fighting or Multiattack feats. To make additional attacks utilizing your hair, either one of those feats must be acquired separately. For the prerequisites of Multiweapon Fighting, your hair may be considered to be an extra hand. To make multiple unarmed strikes using your hair, you must have Multiattack.
Improved: By taking this feat a second time, you can use your hair to attack with a light weapon as if it was one of your hands (only light weapons, anything heavier incurs the -4 nonproficiency penalty to attack even if the character is proficient with the weapon) or to manipulate objects. You do so with with less dexterity (-4 penalty to use Alchemy, Craft, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Forgery, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Use Rope checks). You inflict lethal damage with unarmed strikes made by your hair and can now use the Hands as Weapons feat in conjunction with this feat. To make multiple attacks with weapons using your hair, you must have Multiweapon Fighting.
You gain one point of ch’i.
Ch'i Feats
Ch'i feats are available only to characters and creatures with a ch'i point reservoir and the ability to gain ch'i focus.
Ch’i feats are supernatural abilities that cannot be disrupted in combat (as spells can be) and do not provoke attacks of opportunity (except as noted in their descriptions). Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and cannot be dispelled; however, they do not function in areas where magic or ch’i is suppressed. Leaving such an area immediately allows ch’i feats to be used.
Any ch'i feat that allows the investment of ch'i points is considered to be a chakra feat.
Ch’i feats and chakra feats can be selected at 1st level in the place of a general feat or talent.
Chakra Feats
Chakra feats are ch'i feats and work in all ways like ch'i feats, except as follows. Often, chakra feats can be used only when you are ch’i focused, others require you to expend your ch’i focus to gain their benefit, and some provide a benefit in both circumstances. Expending your ch’i focus does not require an action; it is part of another action (such as using a chakra feat). You may only expend your ch’i focus as part of one action.
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Heroes of the Jade Oath: Mandragoran Preview | Download and enjoy our preview of the Heroes of the Jade Oath Patronage Project, then join us as a patron and watch the Lands of the Jade Oath to life! (See Below) We have provided both a web based and an even better printer-friendly version of our second preview. This is a limited preview as you will have to join as a patron to see the full description (Mandragoran Evolved Levels.)
Mandragoran
Mandragorans are an exotic plantlike humanoid species known for their unique, tapered, head-vines called “nahmaun gorah”. They live in avery stratified society. Known for their deliberate and patient manner, they like to weigh the positive and negative aspects of a situation before making a decision. They are not slow to act though. Quite the contrary: the mandragorans can be very quick when the occasion calls for it. Thanks to their patient attitude and dependability, mandragorans have aptitude as merchants. Many mandragorans take great pains to ensure their position by making all agreements as written contracts. They consider signed contracts as binding and unbreakable for their part. Many would rather die than dishonor their part of a written contract, even if the other concerned party has dishonored their part of the contract. Paper is sacred and the written word is just as sacred as the paper it is written on. The spoken word is another matter altogether. Many a foreigner have found themselves easily deceived by the words of a mandragoran when a written contract was not involved.
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Mandragoran Preview (printer friendly version) |
HotJO Demon Hunter preview | Download and enjoy our preview of the Heroes of the Jade Oath Patronage Project, then follow us as an exclusive patron and bring the Lands of the Jade Oath to life! (See Below) We have provided both a web based and printer-friendly version of our preview. This is a limited preview as you will have to join as a patron to see the full description (20+ Demon Hunting Techniques)
DEMON HUNTER
“Evil does not die with the flesh.” – Kung Fu Tse
Undead, demons, devils, aberrations, foul spirits, practitioners of the darkest sorceries, and other evil creatures not native to this world imperil the people and the very land itself. The demon hunter strives to protect the land and its peoples by hunting these creatures down. She works to restore balance by returning these creatures to their proper place in the universe, either through banishment, destruction, or even redemption. The demon hunter brings a unique combination of magical training and combat prowess to bear against her sworn enemies.
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HotJO Demon Hunter Printer-Friendly Preview |
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Rite Publishing to produce Lands of the Jade Oath
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rite Publishing to produce Lands of the Jade Oath
August 25, 2008
Rite Publishing reached an agreement with Frank Carr to publish his Lands of the Jade Oath setting. Fans of Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved and the world's most popular role-playing game can soon buy exciting adventures with a unique and evocative oriental theme. Subsequent books will continue to explore the world and characters of Oriental Arcana. Lands of the Jade Oath is the most anticipated tie-in for Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved since its inception, and Rite Publishing is ecstatic to help finally bring it to fruition. Its creator Frank Carr will write it and fan-favorite Bill Collins (Akashic Nodes, Six Arabian Nights, Tell It to My Axe, Blood of the Gorgon) will edit it.
Over the years, there has been tremendous interest in Lands of the Jade Oath. This will be Rite Publishing's first Patronage Project (See Below). Interested parties buy in as patrons of the project. When the project reaches a threshold number of patrons, the project starts moving forward full force. The first manuscript will be open to patrons for play-testing. Supporters choose which scenes will be supported by interior artwork, and look over the shoulders of designers, editors and layout artists to offer suggestions and guidance on the various directions the project could take. They will have access to the exclusive Patron's Only adventure that will never become available again.
About Frank Carr
Frank Carr is the creator of Lands of the Jade Oath. He is a criminal and military intelligence analyst who worked with both the U.S. Army and the ATF, serving in the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. He play-tested for Monte Cook and Mutants and Mastermind's Algernon Files along with several others. He has been gaming since 1982, enjoying every version of D&D, L5R, Earthdawn, Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved, Rifts, Mutants & Masterminds, Fireborn, World of Darkness, and many others.
About Rite Publishing
Rite Publishing is a PDF and print on demand RPG Company known for its dedication to quality products, timely releases, and Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved. Its pending releases include Mythical Monstrosities (Sept 15th) and The Living Airship (Oct 15th), by the ENnie nominated author Soren K. Thustrup (Vault of the Iron Overlord, Circle of Rites, and Beyond Creation). Monthly releases will follow from the Monsters Evolved series, Magic Items Evolved series, and the much-anticipated Rituals of Choice Adventure Path.
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For more information, and subsequent updates about Lands of the Jade Oath and other projects, contact Rite Publishing at LotJO@ritepublising.com or visit the website at www.ritepublishing.com.
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