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Watchmage Squadron

Governments often organize and deploy squadrons of watchmages in places where dangerous magic is expected. Members combine their spellcasting to cast at a higher level than they could alone.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 27
Unspecific Lore: DC 25
Specific Lore: DC 22

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Watchmage SquadronCreature 10

Gargantuan Human Humanoid Troop 
Source NPC Core pg. 120
Perception +22; invisibility scan
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +21, Athletics +19, Intimidation +20, Legal Lore +21, Society +19
Str +3, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +0
Invisibility Scan Invisibility can't make anything undetected or unnoticed to the watchmage squadron.
AC 30; Fort +22, Ref +16, Will +19
HP 180 (4 segments); Thresholds 120 (12 squares), 60 (8 squares); Weaknesses area damage 10, splash damage 10
Troop Defenses
Speed 25 feet, troop movement
Arcane Prepared Spells DC 26, attack +18; 5th fireball, locate, slither; 4th dispel magic, grim tendrils; 2nd revealing light; Cantrips (5th) detect magic, frostbite, light, tangle vine
Bash Heads [two-actions] (nonlethal) The watchmages lash out against all enemies in a 5-foot emanation with their fists, dealing 4d4+4 bludgeoning damage with a DC 29 basic Reflex save.Fire Shortbows! [one-action] to [three-actions] (arcane) Frequency once per round; Effect The watchmages fire a volley against each enemy in a 10-foot burst within 150 feet, with a DC 26 basic Reflex save. The damage depends on the number of actions. When the squadron is reduced to 2 or fewer segments, this area decreases to a 5-foot burst.
[one-action] 1d6+3 piercing plus 1d6 force damage
[two-actions] 3d6+6 piercing plus 1d6 force damage
[three-actions] 4d6+6 piercing plus 1d6 force damage
Troop Spellcasting When the watchmage squadron Casts a Spell, the individual members combine their efforts into casting a more powerful version than any one member could achieve alone. When Casting a Spell that has an area of a burst, cone, or line and doesn't have a duration, increase the area of that spell. Add 5 feet to the radius of a burst that normally has a radius of at least 10 feet (a burst with a smaller radius is not affected). Add 5 feet to the length of a cone or line that is normally 15 feet long or smaller, and add 10 feet to the length of a larger cone or line.

All Monsters in "Official"

NameLevel
Accuser Agent9
Archer Sentry2
Arrester Squadron8
Barrister-1
Captain of the Guard6
City Guard Squadron5
Equestrian Constable4
Executioner6
Gendarme8
Grand Inquisitor15
Guard1
Harbormaster3
Infernal Registrar10
Inspector3
Jailer3
Judge-1
Mayor0
Prime Minister0
Tax Collector-1
Warden6
Watch Officer3
Watchmage5
Watchmage Squadron10

Official

Source NPC Core pg. 108
Larger societies rely on those with the authority and the ability to interpret and enforce laws. Some carry out these duties fairly, but others are harsh and cruel, imposing severe punishments on anyone unable to pay for clemency.

Sidebar - Related Creatures At Your Service

Many officials can conscript others into service in a variety of positions. These are usually other officials like guards or jailers, but some NPCs from other sections who might be conscripted include drover, guide, messenger, and tracker. On rare occasions officials are given some amount of authority over NPCs in the military. The harbormaster also can conscript the services of a bosun, dockhand, navigator, or ship captain.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Crossover Ancestry NPCs

Several of the NPCs elsewhere in NPC Core can fit well in this group: Big boss goblin (level 6), elven court guard (level 13), kobold egg guardian (level 3), swarm voice (level 3), tidewater guard (level 4)

Sidebar - Additional Lore Delaying Tactics

An official can weaponize bureaucracy. A judge might enforce an archaic law generally ignored yet still on the books. A tax collector could ask for the seal of a lord who is out of the region. The harbormaster could require all fees in local coin, fully aware that money changers won't be open for days.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Deploying The Watch

If no guard is present, it takes at least 1–2 rounds for a civilian to find a guard to sound an alarm whistle. If a guard was on the scene, they would sound the alarm immediately. Reinforcements typically arrive 2–3 rounds later.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Deputized Adventuring

Watch officers often need specialized help solving difficult criminal cases or tracking down fugitives who have evaded capture. Adventurers who are hired in as consultants are typically deputized, granting them temporary legal authority comparable to constables. They can humanely arrest suspects, perform reasonable searches and questioning, and confiscate and return stolen goods. Corrupt officers might deputize in exchange for an ample bribe if their actions are plausibly defensible.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Guard Patrols

High-security areas, city walls, and main streets tend to have regular guard patrols, both hourly and nightly. These patrols usually take regular breaks at gates, castles, guardhouses, jails, ports, or watchtowers. Other areas within watch jurisdiction tend to get visits sporadically, sometimes only when an alarm is raised.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Intelligence Networks

Complex governments rely on bureaucracies and trusted messenger systems to monitor their expansive territories, send orders, and enact large-scale decrees. Most governments formally use conventional officers to carry out their policies, but secretive or unofficial networks of more trusted agents handle more sensitive matters. They also ferret out corruption and dissent among the regular officers.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Jailbreak!

If a PC or ally gets imprisoned, the group might plot a jailbreak. For a complex jail or penitentiary, this might require the use of the infiltration subsystem. With a smaller town or city jail with a simple structure and small staff, it could require just a bit of force. The jailbreak might just be the beginning, leading to additional adventure!

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Making Bureaucracy Fun

Waiting in lines and filling out forms is rarely fun in real life, so how can it be fun in your game? Keep scenes moving and allow everyone to participate. Describe how long PCs wait, but never actually force your players to wait as their characters do. The frustration of filling out forms or talking to dozens of clerks in different departments can be summarized or delivered as background. Further, if a roll isn't needed or roleplay isn't happening, the scene can simply be part of that background, meaning that even while their characters are at their wits' ends, your players are just as involved as they would be in any other social challenge. Finally, make sure every PC has some way to contribute.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Off With A Warning

Officers can often be convinced to drop a minor or tenuous investigation.
  • Request with a sympathetic story (standard DC for civil infraction, hard DC for misdemeanor, very hard DC for lesser felony unlikely to go to trial)
  • Explain away suspicious circumstances
  • Give a bribe of about one-quarter to half the fine
  • Invoke a jurisdiction conflict (Society with a hard DC of the officer's level)
  • Invoke an associate powerful enough to make life difficult for the officer (Coerce, potentially Lie)

Sidebar - Additional Lore Officer Ranks

Some ranks within the hierarchy of security forces, from highest to lowest, include grand inquisitor, lord constable, chief inspector, royal accuser/inquisitor, sheriff, captain, inspector, reeve/ bailiff, lieutenant, gendarme, sergeant, corporal, constable, and deputy/ watchman. These titles and structures can very greatly between different settlements and cultures.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Unusual Misdemeanors

  • Altering the weather without a permit
  • Failing to clean up after animal companions
  • Flying within city limits
  • Selling potions without a license