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The Modern Dispatch
Airborne Legionnaire:
Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
Written by Mike Lafferty Art by Rick Hershey of Empty Room Studios
In the alternate historical setting of Wizards and
Wiseguys, Magic is awakened in 1908 and drastically
alters the history of the 20
th
Century. Along with the
emergence of sorcery, portals have opened between
our world and Faerie. Around these portals, markets
and eventually towns spring up as mankind is eager
to learn the ways of magic and buy the wares that
the Fey offer. Most portals are temporary, only
existing during the week of the full moon. A few are
permanent however. On the European continent, there
are temporary portals scattered randomly throughout
various nations with only 2 permanent portals – one in
Bavaria and one in Siberia.
The Great War sees the first military applications
of wizardry upon the European continent. With its
permanent access to the Bavarian portal, Germany
has outstripped most other nations in magical
development and has been able to devote much
research towards the uses of magic in warfare
– specifically improving their skills in Evocation
sorcery. With its own portal in Siberia, Russia has
had the same advantage, but its magic research is
under the iron hand of Rasputin (under the auspices
of the Czar). Eager to cement his position of influence
within the Romanov power structure and loathe to
share his newfound knowledge, Rasputin limits access
to the Siberian portal to a bare handful. At Rasputin’s
insistence, Russia also refuses to share any research
with allied nations. This results in Russia being unable
to field an effective magical fighting force and the
Central Powers being at a marked advantage at the
onset of the Great War.
#
115
Content Manager:
Charles Rice and Chris Davis
Layout:
Chris Davis
www.RPGObjects.com
Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying
Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
d20 Modern and Wizards of the Coast are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the
United States and other countries and are used
with permission
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and are
used according to the terms of the d20 System
License version 6.0. A copy of this License can
be found at www.wizards.com/d20.
Airborne Legionnaire: Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
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The Modern Dispatch
Each nation’s research into the Arcane Arts is
inevitably influenced by the personalities of the
scholars who devote themselves to the study, as well
as by the type and quality of instruction available from
the Fey at portals that are located within its borders.
While the Germans are able to focus on the school of
Evocation, and Rasputin buries himself in the study of
Enchantment, French mages excel in the practice of
Necromancy and the British develop a proficiency in
the practice of Illusion magics.
Fortified with German and Austrian combat mages,
the Central Powers dominate the early years of the
war. Their infantry pushes into Belgium and the
Alsace-Lorraine region – attacking France from two
fronts. After a series of withering defeats, British
Illusionists and French Necromancers are able to halt
the juggernaut of the Central Powers combat mages
at the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.
With the Central Powers advance stopped, both sides
settle in for what promised to be a long grim stretch of
trench warfare.
However, 1915 brought 2 innovations that
threatened to break the deadlock and deliver quick
victory to the Central Powers. The first was the
development of a “synchronization gear” that
allowed a machine gun to fire through the turning
propeller of an aircraft. This made the aircraft of the
German air force vastly superior to their opponents.
Additionally, the Imperial German Army had trained
enough combat mages at this point for the generals
to allow several squads to be reassigned to aviation
duty. A second seat was retrofitted onto the Fokker
and Albatros fighter planes to allow the addition of
a combat mage as a sort of supernatural bomber and
tail-gunner.
These two innovations decimated the ranks of the
Allied air forces and allowed the Germans to provide
crushingly effective ground support to their infantry.
The Central Powers armies were moving again – and
France looked to be on the verge of quick defeat..
With French and British air defenses weakened,
zeppelin bombings become a deadly threat to both
Allied military and civilian targets. French and British
cities both lived in fear of nightly zeppelin attacks.
In Berlin, the Central Powers began drawing plans
for an invasion of England. In London, members
of parliament openly call for the government to
surrender.
With their army retreating, their squadrons of planes
reduced to a mere handful and their allies faltering,
the French Air Force (the Armée de l’Air) took a
gamble and procured several prides of griffins from a
Faerie trader at a portal near Marseilles. While French
wizards had never been able to apply shielding spells
to aircraft, they have no difficulty applying them to
living creatures and this provided some measure of
protection from the Central Powers combat magic
and bullets. The Fey trader (actually, a sympathetic
elf) also provided training in the art of griffin riding
and aerial combat as well as agreeing to provide
the Entente (Allied) Powers with a steady supply of
various magic items (particularly wands and rings)
that could be used with ease while engaged in airborne
combat.
Soon French spellcasters were trained as griffin
riders and the new Calvary of the Sky (Calvaire
du Ciel) took to the French skies, the last hope
of their desperate nation. Although not as fast
as the Central Powers planes at top speed, their
combination of defensive spells, magical firepower
and maneuverability made them a force to be
reckoned with. They had a dramatic impact from the
moment they entered service. On one memorable
night, July 28, 1915, the air cavalry downed 8 German
zeppelins and 30 fighter escorts in a 4 hour time span.
Expert at overwhelming and grounding the feared
zeppelins, they also proved effective at negating
the air support provided by German combat mages.
Over four weeks of extensive combat in the summer
of 1915, the griffin riders of the Calvary of the Sky
single-handedly turned the tide of the war, halting the
unstoppable Central Powers and saving France from
almost certain defeat. (This also has the unfortunate
effect of returning the war to a state of stalemate and
trench warfare.) Several more prides of griffins were
purchased and some are transported across the English
Channel along with a contingent of trainers to assist
the British. [Griffins are found in the SRD, along with
the rules for using them as mounts.]
Kaiser Wilhelm II responded by ordering the
Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte)
to begin the immediate creation of their own airborne
legions. Unfortunately for the Central Powers, the Fey
traders at the Bavarian Portal did not have access to
griffins. The best they could offer in terms of airborne
mounts were wyverns – barbarous, draconic creatures.
Fierce and savage beasts, wyverns had an unfortunate
tendency to kill would-be riders. Because of this issue,
they could never be deployed in as great numbers as
the allied griffins and do not help regain the initiative
as Central Power generals hope they would. [Wyverns
are found in the SRD, along with the rules for using
them as mounts.]
The mounts in this setting have been purchased
from traders at Faerie Portals and are allegedly
already trained. The Imperial German Army Air
Service found out quickly that even “trained” wyverns
could turn on their riders. A Wand of Charm Monster
quickly became standard issue for wyvern riders. At
the GM’s discretion, a wyvern that becomes spooked
may turn on its rider. A DC 25 Handle Animal check
will be required to placate the wyvern. A Diplomacy
check may be substituted for this.
A mount can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider
cannot also attack unless he or she succeeds on a Ride
check. At the GM’s discretion, other magical creatures
(hippogriffs, howlers etc) could be used as mounts.
See the SRD for full rules about having a magical
creature as a mount.
Airborne Legionnaire: Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
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The Modern Dispatch
decorations. His distinctive adornment made him
instantly recognizable to his enemies.
One example of this renown was when, late
one night in 1917, a German spy plane buzzed
Nungesser’s aerodrome, dropping a formal printed
invitation to a duel that was addressed simply: “To
Monsieur Skull and Bones.” Unfortunately, the
duel was a set up for an ambush. When Nungesser
arrived at the specified place and time, he was met
by 2 German wyvern riders and 3 Albatros biplanes.
According to his own unverified report, Nugesser
downed both wyverns before the planes fled in fear.
Nungesser did not return unscatched however – he
had broken both legs and had a cracked skull. This
was nothing unusual for him, and he was back on duty
after 3 months in the infirmary. (It has been said by
his detractors that Nungesser spent as much time in
the hospital as he did in the air or Parisian brothels
combined.)
This outcome was typical of Nungesser’s career
– he was often injured but proved very hard to kill. He
survived both the Great War and the Dragon War. He
disappeared in the early 1920s while trying to cross
the Atlantic on the same griffin he’d ridden throughout
both wars. He was never a great navigator and some
questioned why he’d undertake such a difficult
adventure. For weeks after his disappearance, the
French press, unwilling to report the loss of a national
hero, refused to acknowledge his death and engaged
in baseless speculation that he had flown into a mid-
ocean Faerie portal or was living among natives in a
South American jungle.
Quartermaster Corps in early 1915. This displeased
Richthofen immensely and he wrote the Emperor a
letter stating: “I have not gone to war to collect eggs
and cheese.”
His family called in a few favors, and Manfred
Richthofen, and his brother Lothar, were both
reassigned to the second class of German wyvern
riders who were training at an air base near the Black
Forest.. Manfred’s experience riding horseback made
him a natural. After a few false steps (including one
that landed Richthofen in the hospital for a week), he
bonded quickly to his wyvern and mastered the finer
points of aerial combat just as fast. He saw action first
in early 1916 at the battle of Verdun. Soon afterwards,
Oswald Boelcke, a noted German commander, took
an interest in Richthofen and had him transferred into
his own unit. Boelcke’s squadron was attempting
to contain the Allied advance in the trench battles
of Somme. Although the skies over Somme were
controlled by the effective and highly organized
Allied griffin squadrons, it was hear that Richthoven
would begin to earn his reputation as a masterful and
methodical adversary. Under Boelche’s tutelage, he
racked up 12 kills by November of 1916.
In early 1917, Richthofen scored his 16
th
kill. He
was awarded the Pour le Mérite (the Blue Max) and
promoted to captain of his own squadron based at the
aerodrome at Douai, France. Richthofen recruited
the best wyvern riders he could get into his unit and
decorated their wyverns in blood red barding. The
long list of victory and penchant for daredevil flying
made them darlings of the patriotic German press
(who were eager for any positive news to divert
attention from the bloody horrors of trench warfare). A
Berlin newspaper dubbed the squadron “Richthofen’s
Flying Circus” and the name stuck. It was during this
time that a reporter gave Richthofen the nickname:
“The Red Baron.”
After the bitter winter of 1916, the Flying Circus
was able to fly daily patrols and began executing
Famous Airborne
Legionnaires
Charles Nungesser (French - 43
victories)
Nungesser had volunteered for the air service in 1914,
before the introduction of griffins. He was denied
and entered the ground cavalry – specifically, the
2nd Hussars. He acquitted himself very well, bravely
charging a German staff car – killing 5 officers and
capturing the vehicle. He was able to parlay this
victory into an appointment in the French Air Force at
about the time the first griffin pride was purchase from
the Faerie Portal at Marseilles. During his initial week
of training, he took his griffin up without authorization
and became one of the first riders from the Escadrille
de Griffin (Griffin Squadron) to score a kill, downing
a German Albatros fighter plane. As a result, he was
simultaneously sentenced to eight days in the stockade
and awarded the
Croix de Guerre
.
Nungesser has been credited with creating the
stereotype of airborne legionnaires as flamboyant,
hard-living, reckless, womanizing rogues with a
strong disregard for military formality and discipline.
He was known to show up for morning patrol in a
tuxedo, often with his date from the previous evening
still on his arm. He was a frequenter of the brothels of
Paris and spent as much time or more there as he did
in the air. Legend has it that he was a patron of Mata
Hari, and, suspecting her espionage, would tantalize
her with wild (and wholly fictional) stories about
platoons of giant, bullet-proof cyclopean warriors the
French Army had procured from the Marseilles portal.
A man of black humor, he had the barding for
his griffin done up in black and grey with a skull
and crossbones, funeral candles and a coffin as
Manfred von Richthofen (German
– 80 victories)
The son of Prussian nobles, Richthofen learned to ride
and hunt in protected game forests at an early age.
His early military career in the cavalry on the Russian
Front was unremarkable and he was transferred to the
Airborne Legionnaire: Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
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The Modern Dispatch
the revolutionary group tactics that Richthofen had
designed during the slow cold weather months. The
effects were alarming: the squadron took down 80
Allied planes and griffins by March of 1017 – with
Richthofen upping his personal kill record to 36. He
treated his defeated opponents with an unusual sort
of respect, often purchasing elaborate headstones for
their gravesites. He also had a German silversmith
cast a tiny silver cup engraved with the date of each
victory (and when possible – the name of the downed
pilot). He displayed the cups in a trophy case in his
aerodrome.
Allied pilots and riders were obsessed with killing
Richthofen, but he evaded their attacks and ambushes
throughout 1917, racking up 68 kills by the end of the
year and evading many attacks and ambushes.
On April 21 of 1918, Richthofen’s luck
ran out. He led his squadron in an ambush
of a allied patrol of 15 griffin riders and
5 warplanes. One of the largest and most
dramatic dogfights of the war ensued, with
over 40 wyverns, griffins and planes engaged
in a frantic, twisting, aerial combat for most
of an hour. A soft-spoken Canadian griffin
rider, Captain Roy Brown, saw Richthofen
attacking one of his wingmen. To protect
his comrade, Brown maneuvered his griffin
directly behind the Red Baron and unleashed
a bolt of lighting from a standard issue RAF
wand. Perhaps distracted by the whirling
melee or by the target in front of him,
Richthofen took the full brunt of the attack
and fell, unconscious, from his wyvern.
The modest Brown never claimed credit for
the kill. Richthofen’s remains was recovered
by a platoon of Australian infantry. The
British Armed Forces claimed the body and
buried him with full military honors.
Requirements:
Base Attack Bonus:
+8
Dexterity 13
Skills:
Ride 4 ranks OR Pilot 4 ranks, Handle
Animal 4 ranks.
Action Points
The Airborne Legionnaire gains a number of action
points equal to 6 + one-half his character level,
rounded down, every time he attains a new level in
this class.
Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str),Listen (Wis), Jump (Str),
Spot (Wis), Navigate (Int), Tumble (Dex), Ride
(Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Bluff (Cha),
Concentration (Con), Profession (Wis)
Skill Points at Each Level
: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the Airborne
Legionnaire prestige class.
Bonus Feats:
At 3rd, 5th and 8th, the Airborne
Legionnaires gets a bonus feat. . The bonus feat must
be selected from the following list, and the Airborne
Legionnaire must meet all the prerequisites of the feat
to select it: Blind-Fight, Brawl, Combat Expertise,
Dead Aim Improved Brawl, Improved Feint, Iron
Will, Lightning Reflexes, Strafe and Survival.
Weapon Proficiency:
Airborne Legionnaires are
proficient with all simple and martial weapons.
Flyby Attack:
Beginning at 1st level, while flying
upon his aerial mount, an Airborne Legionnaire and
his mount both benefit from the Flyby Attack feat.
They may attack before, during, or after the mount’s
move.
Airborne Legionnaire
Advanced Class
Hit Die
The Airborne Legionnaire gains 1d8 hit
points per level. The character’s Constitution
modifier applies.
Airborne Legionnaire: Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
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The Modern Dispatch
Typical Equipment for a Wyvern Rider (ie Central
Powers Airborne Legionnaire
): Leather pilot’s
jacket, knife, military issue pistol (use Colt M1911
stats from MSRD), exotic military saddle (wyvern),
helmet, goggles, Broken Arrow Tattoo, Spell
Resistance Tattoo, Wand of Fireball (3
rd
) (50 charges),
Wand of Charm Monster (50 charges), Ring of Feather
Falling.
Table 1: Airborne Legionnaire Advanced Class
Level
Bab Fort Ref Will
Features
Def
Rep
1st
+0
+0
+0 +0
Share Spells, Flyby Attack
+1
+0
2nd
+1
+0
+0 +0
Aerial Defense, Empathic Link
+1
+1
3rd
+2
+1
+1 +1
Bonus Feat
+2
+1
4th
+3
+1
+1 +1
Evasive Action
+2
+1
5th
+3
+2
+1 +1
Bonus Feat
+3
+2
6th
+4
+2
+2 +2
Enhanced Maneuverability
+3
+2
7th
+5
+2
+2 +2
Mounted Spellcasting
+4
+2
8th
+5
+3
+2 +2
Bonus Feat
+4
+3
Typical Equipment for a Griffin Rider (ie
Entente (Allied) Powers Airborne Legionnaire):
Leather pilot’s jacket, knife, military issue pistol
(use Colt M1911 stats from MSRD), exotic military
saddle (griffin), helmet, goggles,
Broken Arrow
Tattoo, Tattoo of Body Adjustment, Tattoo of Spell
Resistance, Tattoo of Feather Falling ,Wand of Web
(3
rd
) (50 Charges), Wand of Lightning Bolt (3rd) (50
Charges), Ring of the Ram.
9th
+6
+3
+3 +3
Extended Empathetic Link
+5
+3
10th
+7
+4
+3 +3
Improved Aerial Defense
+5
+3
Share Spells
: Beginning at 1st level, at the
Legionnaire’s option, he may have any spell he casts
on himself also affect his mount. The mount and his
Legionnaire can share spells. The mount must be
within 5 feet.
Aerial Defense:
Beginning at 2nd level, whenever
an Airborne Legionnaire’s flying mount is required to
make a Reflex saving throw, the Airborne Legionnaire
may substitute his own Reflex saving throw, if his
bonus is greater than the mount’s.
Empathic Link:
Beginning at 2
nd
level, the
Legionnaire has an empathic link with his mount out
to a distance of up to 1 mile. The mount cannot see
through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate
empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link,
only general emotional content can be communicated.
Evasive Action:
At 4th level, the Legionnaire can
make a Ride, Pilot, or Tumble check to lessen the
damage dealt by a successful attack. If the check
result exceeds the attack roll, the damage is reduced
by half (round fractions down, minimum of 1 point of
damage). The Legionnaire can make an evasive action
check once per round.
Enhanced Maneuverability:
At 6th level, the
Airborne Legionnaire can increase his mount’s
flying maneuverability rating by one ranks, so that
a maneuverability rating of clumsy becomes poor,
poor becomes average, average becomes good, and
both good and perfect become perfect. At 8th level,
this ability improves so that the cavalier increases his
mount’s rating by 2 ranks (maximum is still perfect).
Mounted Spellcasting
: At 7
th
level, the Legionnaire
does not need to make a Concentration check to cast a
spell while riding a flying moving mount.
Extended Empathic Link:
At 9th level, the
Airborne Legionnaire’s Empathic Link with his mount
improves. It now has an unlimited range.
Improved Aerial Evasion:
At 10th level, an
Airborne Legionnaire’s mounted Aerial Evasion
ability improves. He and his mount still take no
damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against
attacks such as fireball, but now only take half damage
if they fail their saving throw.
Note
: Magical items can exceed the spell limitations
outlined in
Wizards and Wiseguys
for factions in this
time frame.
Airborne Legionnaire: Advanced Class for Wizards and Wiseguys
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