The sneak preview below offers just a small peek at a portion of the new Supernatural Signs of Good and Evil from the Grimoire Viperian! Get the full PDF for complete rules for this and other great content!

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Legends tell of rare heroes and villains born with a special destiny, or who have accomplished such great or heinous deeds that they have been noticed by supernatural powers, gods, angels, demons, devils or otherworldly beings, who become their patrons. These individuals are often marked by their patrons in some way, typically by the presence of a birthmark or a sign (though some may be invisible and only revealed in special circumstances), and are gifted with powers above and beyond those of mere mortals. Often they receive a vision or a dream that gives a glimpse of their destiny or patronage, or they may be approached by another individual with the same or similar sign, who offers an explanation. Rarely, they are contacted directly by a supernatural agent of their patron, who cryptically announces their destiny and the meaning of the sign they have acquired. Other individuals who desire the power of these signs frequently invoke the name of the sign while inscribing it in the air, hoping to attract the attention of the sign’s patrons and be gifted with power, or at least a temporary boon.

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Supernatural signs are essentially templates that can be applied to a creature. It’s solely up to the game master to decide if a character, non-player character or monster has earned a particular sign based on their great deeds. 

 

The GM should be very careful not to upset the balance of power in their game by awarding too many signs to characters, or by awarding a sign that is too powerful for a low-level character. In general, a character should be lucky to gain even a single sign in their career.

 

Villains and monsters, on the other hand, are a different story, and a sign can turn an average foe into a unusual, flavorful force to be reckoned with. The GM should feel free to add signs to noteworthy, unique villains and monsters, keeping in mind that they must still be careful not to make the villain overly powerful. For example, imagine an evil sorcerer or dragon with the Demonic Sign, who has a legion of dark knights under his command. Only the sorcerer or dragon and possibly a few of his chief knight captains should have signs, not the entire legion or otherwise things can get out of hand quickly. However, the entire legion might have adopted the Demonic Sign for their insignia.

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Each supernatural sign template follows a theme and grants several powers in line with that theme. Lesser and greater signs exist, and the powers they grant vary.

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Examples of signs include the Signs of:

• Phoenix

• Intrepid Lion

• Black Goat

• Plague

• Demonic

• Insanity

• Evil

• Netherworld

• Vile Serpent

• Slaughter

• and more, too awesome or nefarious to mention here

 

For example, an evil knight gifted with the Sign of Plague might be a plague carrier, gaining the “Vile Epidemic” ability or the ability to cast Contagion. He might also leave a trail of noxious slime, suffer from necrotic tumors or exhude a horrible stench, just to name a few of the nasty and wickedly fun abilities associated with the Sign of Plague.

 

This flexibility in template powers lets the GM craft unique and suprising foes that players will never forget!  A good character lucky enough to be gifted with a supernatural sign of good (celestial sign) is truly blessed and unique.