Open Game Content: Slavic Folklore & Fairy Tale Subclasses for Fantasy RPGs

Heroes (Bogatyri) by Viktor Mikhailovich Vatsenov
is in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

This new entry of D12 subclasses (inspired, as always, by the original concept I first saw from Dyson Logos) is about Slavic-inspired folklore and fairy tale characters. 

For links to my other D12 subclasses tables: 

• Experts/Specialists
• Wilderness
• City/Urban
• Naval/Sea
• Horror
• Fairy Tale
• Sword & Planet
• Criminal
• B/X Sorcerer Bloodlines
• You can also just search the subclasses tag for the latest updates

I've always enjoyed reading about mythology and folklore from cultures that I didn't learn about in school, which were primarily of the Greek and Arthurian English variety, with an occasional smattering of Norse and Egyptian thrown in if there was time or if the teacher particularly liked the subject matter. I recall in 4th Grade that there was a whole section on Greek mythology, which is when I memorized the names and powers of all the Greek gods. Around that same time, my mom's friend gave me museum catalog of the King Tutankhamun exhibit that had been traveling around the United States, and that's how I learned about the Egyptian pantheon. 

Throughout my schooling, however, we never learned about the mythology or folklore from other places, such as Asia, Africa, India, or Eastern Europe. 

I think my first exposure to the idea of including Slavic influences in a fantasy RPG campaign was probably from reading through the Warhammer Fantasy RPG rulebook and reading about the country of Kislev. The imagery of Warhammer particularly appealed to me in general, but I really liked the idea of a country that was based on Medieval Russia, even though I knew very little about the geography or history. 

That all led me to doing research in my college library during my study breaks, and adding some loosely Slavic-themed countries to my World of Samoth campaign that I was working on. I took a lot of notes from various books on the history and folklore of Russian and Eastern Europe while doing my research, and a lot of those ideas still stuck with me. 

That said, these are Slavic inspired subclasses, and are not accurate in terms of history or even in terms of folklore. I took broad ideas, exaggerated some of them, twisted a few others around, and in general tried to pick and choose from concepts that would easily fit the mold of the subclasses I've been doing, which is to take one of the seven Moldvay Basic Classes and tweak them ever so slightly to give them a new and different twist that can easily be dropped into a game. While a few of these could have been turned into stand-alone classes with more abilities, that's not what I was attempting to do. 

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions, both in terms of the mechanics and flavor of the these subclasses, but also from people who might have a better knowledge of Slavic folklore. I endeavored to pick concepts that seemed fairly common across a wide variety of Slavic mythological stories, but I do want to make sure I'm not presenting anything in a way that could be deemed offensive to people of Slavic origins, so please let me know if you see anything that looks "off."

ON LANGUAGE: I should also point out that many of these classes have gender-based names to them; for example, a female charodey is called a charodeytsa, and the vila were always female. However, I decided to just use the version of the name that I encountered most often, and also dispensed with any ideas that any of these characters had to be male or female. If you wish to use the gender-specific terms, you can easily search them up online. Also, not having learned any of these languages, I am using standard English pluralization by just adding an "s" to the end of each word when describing more than one. I'm also not capitalization any of the words unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. 

RESOURCES: I used a lot of resources for this list, including my original research from back in the early 1990's at my college library, an article from Dragon #290 called "Red Sails," a supplement for GURPS called simply Russia, a 3rd Edition supplement called Frost & Fur, and the blog Bardiches & Bathhouses (which also has a link to a fully developed 5th Edition Russian/Slavic campaign setting by the blog author called Lukomorye). 

CLERIC: I found the idea from the volkhv just by searching through different examples of Slavic folk magic. It is one of the more common archetypes found throughout many stories as well as most RPG supplements I looked through. A common theme found in many of the subclasses is that of shapeshifters, which appears in the volkhv in terms of transforming into a wolf. For the táltos, I found that idea from the "Red Sails" article (which suggested using the Shaman class as described in the 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures book), and then I did more research about them online. There was also a fun article I found in Dragon magazine issue #247 by Tom Moldvay that presented an entire Táltos stand-alone class for the 2nd Edition game. Despite owning this particular magazine, I didn't find that article until after I finished writing the ideas for my subclass, but it may interest others who are looking for more depth. 

DWARF: The karzelek was another idea I found from reading through books and articles on Slavic mythology. Many descriptions of them seem a bit more akin to kobolds, but visual representations seemed closer to dwarves. 

ELF: This was a bit tough, as there were a few options to pick from, but ultimately I went with vila. There are actually three different types of vila (forest-dwellers, water-dwellers, and cloud-dwellers) but rather than depict all three, I focused just on the forest version. While some writings depict the vila more as nymphs, others equated them as akin to the Norse Valkyrie, and it was this idea that sparked my imagination. 

FIGHTER: As expected, this class was one of the easiest when it came to developing subclasses. I did waver back-and-forth about whether to include the Cossacks, since they are a "real world" culture and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't portraying them incorrectly. In the end, I decided that my list was a "fantasy" version using the various sources as inspiration rather than attempting to portray them realistically. The bogatyr are classic heroes from Russian folklore and mythology, not too unlike early edition paladins. Again, going back to Dragon magazine, in issue #53, there was an entire article providing 1st Edition stats for several famous bogatyr characters from mythology. Most of them were depicted as high-level lawful good fighters. Lastly, the strelets was another archetype that I wasn't sure whether to include, primarily because they were mainly known for being infantry sharpshooters with harquebuses and other early firearms. I ultimately included it just to have something different for games that include black powder weapons. (In this case, I will point out that the plural of strelets is stresltsy, to help differentiate a plural since the singular term ends in an "s"). 

HALFLING: This was one of the more difficult subclasses to develop, as, unlike dwarves and elves, the halfling class owes its genesis primarily to Tolkien's works, so there wasn't an easily identifiable archetype in Slavic mythology. I decided on the domovoi by actually asking for input on Twitter to see if anybody had any ideas for a Slavic-inspired halfling. A couple different people suggested the domovoi as being the closest (one of them seems to have deleted their tweet that suggested it, though).

MAGIC-USER: This one was a bit challenging, as there are lists of many different types of magical practitioners that I could find in Slavic mythology, but most of them were evil, and almost all of them involved fortune telling and predicting the future, so, while the differences may have been obvious to someone who is more learned in Slavic mythology, to a layperson such as myself, they all started to sound the same. As an example, I made notes for both the koldun and the ved'ma when I first began my lists, but as I began writing them, I realized that their abilities and modifications were too similar, so I swapped out the ved'ma for the charodey.  One idea I had for the koldun is that when rolling on the NPC Reaction table, a result of 12+ means "intimidated" rather than "friendly, helpful." The idea is that the end result would be the same (the NPC would be open to discussing a non-violent solution to an encounter), but in the case of the koldun, the NPC would do it out of fear rather than out of friendliness. While I will probably use that change for my games, it started to get too fiddly when trying to write it to fit on the table. 

THIEF: After the halfling, I had the most difficulty developing Slavic-inspired subclasses for this class, because the thief is really a generic kind of class, while I wanted a very specific and strong archetype from the source material. I seem to recall finding the razboinik from having read a story called Nightingale the Thief, the main character of which is a bandit called Razboinik. I thought it was a proper name, but then I ended up searching through several different Slavic language dictionaries for words for "bandit" and came across the Bulgarian razboinik. The skomorokh could, in very generic terms, be thought of as a Slavic fantasy version of a D&D bard, but in this case, the only magic abilities I gave them was some limited fortune telling. This was another class, after the Cossack, that I thought twice about including, as viewpoints on having trained bears have definitely changed (for the better) over the years, and I certainly don't want to encourage the mistreatment of animals. In my research, though, this was such a strong and unique archetype that I felt I wanted to include it.    

Here's the chart of the subclasses. As with my other subclasses, the idea is to eventually include all of these in a single publication, along with design notes and supplemental material for each "genre" of subclass. Let me know what you think. 

 

Roll	Subclass	Class Modifications
Cleric
1	Volkvh	A priest that possesses mystical powers, particularly the abilities to change shape and to predict the future. Once per week per level, can change shape into a normal wolf. All equipment carried absorbs into the wolf form and returns when the volkh changes back. Cannot cast spells while in wolf form. Can cast commune as a 4th level spell instead of 5th level. Gains a +4 bonus to saving throws against spell abilities of fairy creatures (dryads, nixies, pixies, and sprites). Cannot wear plate armor or use shields. Cannot cast reversed versions of spells.
2	Táltos	A supernatural being, similar to a shaman, chosen by the gods or spirits either before birth or during childhood. Can cast speak with animals 1x/day. Can spend 1 turn to enter a spiritual trance to seek divine knowledge by asking one yes or no question per level; requires the táltos to make a save versus death. Failure means the divination did not work and the táltos must pray for one month before trying again. All cure spells cast after spending 1 turn to enter a spiritual trance heal +1 additional HP per every three caster levels (+1 at 1st – 3rd level, +2 at 4th – 7th level, +3 at 8th – 11th level, and +4 at 12th level and higher). Cannot wear plate armor or turn undead. Most are born with a sixth finger on one hand.
Dwarf
3	Karzelek (also Skarbnik or Dzedka)	Live in mines and underground workings and are guardians of gems, crystals and precious metals. While underground, 2-in-6 chance to divine the presence of gems, jewels, precious metals, or veins of ore within 30’ and 3-in-6 chance to always know the location of true north. Does not have the standard dwarf abilities of detecting construction tricks or listening at doors.
Elf
4	Vila	A woodland spirit related to faeries, who like to ride and hunt on horses or stags, dance in a circle dance, and are fond of fighting. Once per week per level, can change shape into a wild horse, falcon, snake, swan, or wolf. All equipment carried absorbs into the animal form and returns when the vila changes back. +1 to CHA. While mounted on a horse or stag, gain +1 to attack rolls and AC. Cannot use a shield or cast arcane magic spells. Usually dressed all in white and has long, blonde hair.
Fighter
5	Bogatyr	Elite warriors and heroes, similar to a knight-errant. Immune to supernatural fear effects. Once per day, can increase in size, gaining +2 to STR for 1d4 rounds. +1 to damage versus chaotic foes. Must be lawful and pay +10% in XP per level.
6	Cossack	Cossack communities originate in the steppes, and are known for their independence, horse-riding, and scouting abilities. When mounted and wearing only leather or no armor, adds +1 to attack rolls when using a sabre, spear, or bow, and +1 to AC. No risk of becoming lost while in steppe lands (see Losing Direction in Wilderness Adventuring in Core Rules). Cannot wear plate armor or use a shield.
7	Strelets	An infantry soldier, known for skill with primitive firearms and polearms. Part of a professional army, but often take to farming to supplement poor income. +1 to attack rolls if part of a group that includes another strelets. Double damage if roll a 20 on an attack roll while using a polearm or firearm. Starts play with only 2d6 x 10 gold pieces and a small, impractical piece of land in a remote area that requires 10 gold pieces per month to maintain. Wears a red, blue, or green coat, with orange or yellow boots.
Halfling
8	Domovoi	A household spirit and protector of a specific family. Must pick another family to watch over and protect. For members of that family, can predict important events once a month by making a WIS check. With a success, the referee can reveal whether the family will suffer a death, a plague, a marriage, war, or other event. The prediction does not take into account any possible circumstances that may affect the outcome, such as interference by other parties. 2-in-6 chance to make or repair small wooden items from raw materials (not weapons). Does not have the hiding in woods or undergrowth ability or missile attack bonus. Easily offended, with yellowish-gray hair and glowing eyes.
Magic-User
9	Koldun	A magical practitioner, usually older, who intimidates others by threats of misfortune. Can cast only reversed versions of spells. +4 bonus to saving throw vs paralysis from ghouls and mummies, and to saving throw vs spells against a vampire’s charming gaze. Must take the cleric spell bless (blight) as their first known spell at 1st level. Minimum CHA 13. Must be non-lawful and pay +5% in XP per level.
10	Charodey	A person who uses unusual, extraordinary magical abilities, including fortune-telling, prophecy, bewitching, cursing, charming, and poison. Victims of a charodey’s charm spells or poison suffer a -2 penalty to their saving throw. Must pay +5% in XP per level.
Thief
11	Razboinik	A wilderness bandit known for hiding in trees and jumping down to surprise opponents. In forest settings, has a 3-in-6 chance of hiding while sneaking up on a target, gaining surprise (see Surprise under Encounters in Core Rules). If the surprise is successful, the razboinik forces the other combatant to make a morale check and add +2 to the roll (see Morale in Other Combat Issues in Core Rules). The thief skill of Climb Sheer Surfaces is used for climbing trees. Does not have the thief abilities to find or remove treasure traps or open locks.
12	Skomorokh	A traveling musician and actor, who performs at important events and holidays as well as at normal stage routines using jokes, puppet theater, tricks with trained bears, and song-and-dance routines. At 2nd level, gains a trained black bear as a companion. The bear will follow the skomorokh and can perform up to six tricks. Once per week, can tell fortunes and get omens by listening to the bear’s growls for two turns. Afterwards, the skomorokh makes a WIS check (see Ability Checks in Checks, Damage, Saves in Core Rules). With a success, the skomorokh tells the referee a stated course of action, and the referee states whether the action will favorable, unfavorable, both, or neither. Typically plays a gusli (multi-stringed plucked instrument). Does not have the thief skills of climb sheer surfaces or find or remove treasure traps.

 

Hanging: A small restaurant in Santa Monica called Massilia while I wait for my dad's medical treatment, and at home at the dining room table (both times on my laptop), and notes taken on the couch or in my office in a small notebook

Drinking: Black coffee (Americano)

Listening: "Mystic Matterz (Blockhead Remix)" by the Polish Ambassador with Zion I and Nitty Scott (original version found on the album "Time's Running In")