Eclipse d20 – The Number Lords of the Manifold

   Here we have a template for some of the “minor” villains of the Manifold Campaign – the Number Lords of Battling Business World. Some information on their realm, and notes on some of the Greater and Lesser Number Lords can be found Here. Statistics for Terry Jenkins – the current Champion of the Numbers – can be found Here. Finally, the Occult Accounting skill they provide can be found Here.

   The terrible Number Lords like to see themselves as the incarnations of rationality, logic, and order in the universe.

   Unfortunately, the notion of mathematical concepts having avatars at all – much less incarnations with supernatural powers to manipulate reality – is pretty irrational.

   That fundamental contradiction is at the root of the madness of the Number Lords.

   This is another extraordinarily powerful race for +1 ECL – although it does benefit massively from the fact that, in the Manifold setting, attribute bonuses are purchased for half price. On the other hand, it isn’t really suitable for player characters: a race which is inherently mad, can’t use most items, has little use for treasure, and can’t really interact well with more conventional entities, has a hard time fitting into most groups. For that matter, the Number Lords have a hard time fitting into reality, and cannot even appear in more rational worlds.

• Self-Development:
  • +8 Intelligence (24 CP).
  • +4 Wisdom (12 CP)
  • +4 to any one attribute (12 CP)
    • Note that, in the Manifold, attribute bonuses are purchased at half cost; in other settings these bonuses should be halved.
• Nightsight: Occult Sense/Darkvision (Rather like Neo’s view in “The Matrix”) (6 CP).
• Celerity, with Additional Movement Mode (Flight, 30′) (18 CP).
• Enthusiast, Specialized in Skills for Double Effect (two floating skill points) (3 CP).
• Intellectual Focus: Augmented Bonus/may add their Cha Mod to their scores in Intelligence-related skills (6 CP).
• Magic Resistant: Resist/+2 bonus to Saves versus Spells (3 CP).
• Mathematical Hexcrafting:
  • +6 Base Caster Levels, Specialized in Hexcrafting, Corrupted/displays unnaturally alien magic when used (12 CP).
  • 6 Hexcrafting Card Slots, Specialized and Corrupted/Destructive Side Effects, Must drain Charisma from others to regain powers, Narrowly “themed” deck (mathematics / physics, exchanges, etc). 6 points/card base, net 2 points/card (12 CP).
  • The mathematical powers of the Number Lords are normally based on Intelligence – which almost always qualifies them for two bonus card slots and makes their spells rather difficult to resist.
• Witchcraft: All Number Lords have basic Witchcraft (18 CP) with three Pacts – Karmic Links (to fulfill their need for balance), Vampirism (their touch drains 1d4 Charisma, both restoring their psychic powers and fulfilling the prerequisites for them to regain their hexcrafting slots), and Duties (must respond when properly invoked), for (-18 CP) – and a net total of zero.
• Inherent Magic: Innate Enchantment, all abilities unlimited use-activated, personal-only (x.7 cost) where applicable. 15,000 GP base value (16 CP).
  • +2 Intelligence (1400 GP).
  • +2 Charisma (1400 GP).
  • +2 Wisdom (1400 GP).
  • Immortal Vigor I (+2d6 – effectively 12 due to at-will use, +2x Con Mod HP, 1400 GP).
  • Warding Rune (1 + Caster Level/3, +4 max, resistance bonus on saves, 1400 GP).
  • Skill Mastery (+3 to Intelligence-based skills) (1400 GP).
  • Shield (a barrier of lesser numbers) (2000 GP).
  • Unseen Servant (2000 GP).
  • Obscuring Mist 1/Day (A cloud of lesser numbers) (400 GP)
  • Cause Fear 1/Day (400 GP).
  • Calculate (Instantly solves a mathematical problem) 1/Day (200 GP).
  • Call to Mind 1/Day (400 GP).
  • Mage Armor (a cloud of lesser numbers) 1/Day (400 GP).
  • Cause Fear 1/Day (They are eldritch abominations) (400 GP).
  • Hypnotism 1/Day (Talking Shop) (400 GP).
  • Sleep 1/Day (Talking Shop) (400 GP).
    • Immunity/Stacking limits when combining innate enchantment effects with external effects (Common, Minor, Trivial – only covers L1 effects, 2 CP).
    • Immunity/Dispelling and Antimagic (Common, Major, Epic, Specialized and Corrupted/only protects innate enchantments that provide personal augmentations, 9 CP).
    • Immunity/the normal XP cost of Innate Enchantments (Uncommon, Minor, Trivial [only covers first level effects at caster level one], Specialized/only to cover initial racial abilities, 1 CP).
• Template Disadvantages: Inept (Charisma-Related Skills), Compulsive (Attempts to eliminate “unnatural” power sources), Poor Reputation (Insane godlings), for a net -10 CP.

   That has a net cost of 126 CP – pretty pricey. Fortunately, the entire package is Specialized. The Number Lords are pretty obviously inhuman (they’re floating numerals), apparently lack limbs (they can’t wear things, although they can manipulate objects as if they had hands), and speak in a sourceless voice which seems to echo horrifying inside the listener’s heads. Perhaps most importantly, they’re incapable of using magical or psionicly-powered items of any kind – and are fundamentally crazy. They can use technology, but rarely find any that’s suitable. They often cannot even MANIFEST in rational worlds… That selection of difficulties reduces the net cost to 63 CP – a +1 ECL template.

   Technically, the Number Lords should probably have a selection of Immunities to represent the “fact” that they have no normal metabolism, need not breathe, and so on. On the other hand – following the conventions of the comics – that’s only partially true; things like gas will affect them whenever the game master feels that it’s amusing and – in the Manifold setting – they can usually be assumed to be using their equivalent of Smartclothes (which provide a great deal of protection from that sort of thing), just like everyone else.