Arbiters (12 RP)

The inevitables are a proud, honorable race of outsiders constructed on their homeplane and tasked with meting out justice across all planes. Of that lot, arbiters in particular have a fondness for visiting the material plane, where the atmosphere is almost euphoric. With the war between Order and Chaos finding its way to that realm, the arbiters happily flock to it in search of adventure and chaotic acts to prevent.

Physical Description: Arbiters are small, metallic balls with a singular eye at their center. Each arbiter has a pair of wings grafted to its body that help to keep it mobile. The ambient chaotic energy that suffuses the material plane makes it hard for most arbiters to fly more than a few feet off the ground. There is no clear difference between arbiter genders.

Society: Arbiters seek others of their kind in order to found villages and cities built on order and law. Failing that, they will often take up residence in capital cities, near judicial buildings and jailhouses where their work can mean something.

Relations: Arbiters are so happy to be away from the lull of their homeworld and the constant lack of adventure that they go out of their way to make friends, even of creatures whose actions are not always as lawful as their own. They find these creatures fascinating and always try to steer them in what the arbiters believe is the right direction. Only when an arbiter believes a creature’s actions would harm itself or others does the arbiter step in and deal with the problem directly.

Alignment and Religion: Arbiters strive to be lawful good, but their interpretation of that alignment is so rigid that many suffice to live as neutral good. It is against their fundamental programming to ever act truly chaotic. As for religion, an arbiter will often worship a collection of lawful deities, but will side with the closest to lawful good when required to do so.

Adventurers: As adventurers, arbiters try to be a party’s voice of reason. While they can forgive the sleights that can occur as a normal part of heroism, they will outright refuse to perform what they believe is an evil act, and only in the gravest of circumstances will one act in a chaotic manner, since doing so would change its alignment and thus its very being.

Male Names: Fortiori, Habeas, Initio, Jure, Novo
Female Names: Delicti, Generis, Judicata, Scintilla

Random Starting Ages
Adulthood Intuitive1 Self-Taught2 Trained3
1 years +1d4 years
(2 – 5 years)
+1d6+1 years
(3 – 8 years)
+1d8+2 years
(4 – 11 years)

1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, trainers, and witches.
3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Random Height and Weight
Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
2 ft. 3 in. +2d4 in. 116 lbs. +(2d4×3 lbs.)

Standard Racial Traits

Arbiters usually have the following racial traits.

  • Ability Score Modifiers: Arbiters are tough and perceptive, but adhere to order and law. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
  • Type: Arbiters are outsiders with the native subtype.
  • Small: Arbiters are Small creatures gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
  • Slow Speed: Arbiters have a base speed of 20 ft.
  • Limited Flight: An arbiter can fly, but without magical aid or special training cannot lift itself more than 5 feet above solid ground. It takes no damage from falling (as if subject to a constant non-magical feather fall spell). While in midair, an arbiter can move up to 5 feet in any horizontal direction for every 1 foot it falls, at a speed of 60 feet per round. It cannot gain height with its wings alone; it merely coasts in other directions as it falls. If subjected to a strong wind or any other effect that causes a creature with gliding wings to rise, it can take advantage of the updraft to increase the distance it can glide.
  • Languages: Arbiters begin play speaking Common. Arbiters with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Defense Racial Traits

  • Lawful Creation: Lawful arbiters have DR 2/lawful that increases by +1 at character level 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 18th, and 20th. An arbiter that ceases to be lawful loses both detect chaos and lawful creation until it atones.

Senses Racial Traits

  • Darkvision: Arbiters have darkvision 60 ft. (they can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.)
  • Low-Light vision: Arbiters can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
  • Detect Chaos: Arbiters can detect chaos in the same way paladins can detect evil.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following racial traits can be selected in place of the typical arbiter racial traits.

  • Corrupted Programming (Sp): An arbiter with this trait can cast expeditious retreat once per day. Starting at 3rd level, it can cast levitate once per day, and at 5th level, it can cast fly once per day. The arbiter’s effective sorcerer level when using this ability is equal to its character level. This racial trait replaces detect chaos and lawful creation.
  • Judicial Programming: Once per day, an arbiter with this trait can smite a chaotic creature. This functions as the paladin smite evil ability, except that it only works on chaotic creatures. The arbiter’s effective paladin level when using this ability is equal to its character level. An arbiter that ceases to be lawful loses both detect chaos and judicial programming until it atones. This replaces lawful creation.
  • Marshal Arbiter: There are some arbiters who make better diplomats, but are more willing to make calls that aren’t always within lawful bounds. A marshal arbiter gains +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma and DR 2/magic that increases by +1 at character level 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 18th, and 20th. This alters the arbiter’s ability scores and replaces lawful creation.
  • Truespeech: Arbiters will sometimes retain their celestial language. They gain truespeech. This replaces detect chaos and alters languages..

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

  • Bard: Add one spell known to the bard spell list from the cleric’s law domain or the inevitable subdomain.
  • Cavalier: Add +5 feet (up to +30 feet maximum) to the cavalier’s speed when it uses the charge or withdraw action. After +30 feet, the cavalier can select this again to gain the Run feat.
  • Cleric: Add +1/2 to the cleric’s channeled energy total when healing lawful creatures.
  • Convoker: Add DR 1/chaotic to the convoker’s avatar. Each additional time the convoker selects this benefit, the DR/chaotic increases by +1/2 (maximum DR 10/chaotic).
  • Monk: Add +1/2 to the damage of an unarmed strike made against a chaotic creature.
  • Paladin: Add +1/6 to the morale bonus on saving throws provided by the paladin’s auras.
  • Rogue: Add +1 to the damage dealt by the rogue’s sneak attack against chaotic creatures (maximum +5 damage).
  • Sorcerer: Add one spell known to the sorcerer’s spell list from the cleric’s law domain or the inevitable subdomain.

Racial Archetype

The following racial archetype is available to arbiters:

Racial Feats

The following feats are available to an arbiter character who meets the prerequisites.

Order of Inevitable Law (Cavalier Order)

The following cavalier order can only be taken by arbiters and those they deem worthy of training.

Edicts: The cavalier must remain lawful and must always work to bring order to the world. He must stand up for what is just and guard his allies from the temptations of the Chaos.

Challenge: Whenever an order of inevitable law cavalier issues a challenge against a chaotic creature, he also gains a +1 circumstance bonus on melee attack rolls against the target of his challenge. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses.

Skills: An order of the dragon cavalier adds Knowledge (planes) (Int) and Knowledge (religion) (Int) to his list of class skills. When the cavalier makes a monster lore Knowledge check to identify a chaotic creature, he gains a bonus on the check equal to 1/2 his cavalier level (minimum +1).

Order Abilities: A cavalier that belongs to the order of inevitable law gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Bravery (Ex)

At 2nd level, the cavalier gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against fear. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd.

Combat Leader (Ex)

At 8th level, an order of inevitable law cavalier and each of his allies within 50 feet of him gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks. This ability functions only while the cavalier is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

Aura of Resolve (Su)

At 15th level, an order of inevitable law cavalier is immune to charm spells and spell-like abilities. Each ally within 10 feet of him gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm effects. This ability functions only while the cavalier is conscious, not unconscious or dead.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Book of Many Things, © 2018,Samurai Sheepdog; author Kevin Glusing.

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