Rito Bard
The Rito are a flying, bird like, humanoid race that tend to make their home on high cliffs and mountains. Some theories state that they are related to the Zora, but if there was a divergence between the two races it is lost to history. The Rito are a social people, often living in large villages and generally being welcoming of any of those who can reach their remote perches. Despite their arms/wings seeming to be far too small for a bird of their size and weight, Rito are actually powerful fliers, and experts in reading the wind currents and updrafts.
Like the birds they resemble, many Rito are capable singers, and Rito Bards are respected all over Hyrule. Due to a lack of lips and the fact that Rito performances often are composed of singing with a musical accompaniment, Rito rarely use wind instruments, preferring string, drums and other hand powered devices. Rito Bards will often accompany adventurers as an attempt to live out the adventures contained in the songs they sing, inspiration for songs of their own, or perhaps because their music career just isn’t paying the bills.
Class: Bard
Stock: Rito
Raw Abilities: Will 5, Health 3.
Skills: Orator 4, Loremaster 3, Fighter 2, Pathfinder 2, Persuader 2, Scholar 2
Wises: Choice one of Wind-wise or Legend-wise, take a second wise of your choice
Trait: Eagle Eyed - Rito have the sharp eyes of a bird of prey, and can make out details from great distances away. On the other hand, their night vision isn’t very good, and sometimes they are so detail oriented they can’t see the forest through the trees.
Starting weapon: Choose a bow or dagger
Starting armor: None
Alignment: Any
Racial Benefit: A Rito’s arms also function as powerful wings (or perhaps it is the other way around), Rito have the ability to fly, with the following restrictions:
Flying Requires use of both arms, a Rito can not fly if one or both of their arms is injured, restrained, or otherwise damaged or missing, they can not carry anything in their hands that requires both hands to carry.
A Rito can not fly while wearing armor, a backpack, or carrying anything exceptionally heavy (GM’s discretion, but normal adventuring gear shouldn’t be a problem)
Ritos require a large open space to fly, typically this is not available underground, however, at their discretion, the GM may rule that certain large chambers have sufficient space.
A Rito may not hover, but may, with room to fully extend its wings, land and descend vertically. A Rito that is caught by surprise by a fall can not use its ability to fly to catch itself unless it has an appropriate instinct or the fall is greater than 50 feet.
Rito Nature
Write Nature: Rito on your character sheet. Your descriptors are Scavenging, Soaring and Singing. Rito characters have a base Nature of 3. Answer the following questions to determine your final starting Nature score, and possibly some traits.
Rito: Scavenging, Soaring, Singing
When looking for food, will you take advantage of another’s kill, or do you insist on getting your own food?
[ul]
[li]If you’ll take whatever you can get, increase your nature by one.
[/li][li]If you insist on being self-reliant, you may replace or increase your home trait with Adventurous or Honorable
[/li][/ul]
When confronted, do you take to the skies and flee, or do you stand your ground and fight?
[ul]
[li]If you take to the skies, increase your starting nature by one and decrease your starting Fighter skill by one.
[/li][li]If you stand and fight, your nature and fighter remain unchanged.
[/li][/ul]
Do you sing the songs of your people that tell how the world was before the calamity, or do you dismiss such things as frivolous nostalgia?
[ul]
[li]If you sing the songs, increase nature by one.
[/li][li]If you don’t see the need for such thing, you may replace or increase your home trait with Bitter or Quiet.
[/li][/ul]
Level Benefits
Level 1
Rito Bard:You can wear leather or chainmail armor, you cannot use a shield or wear a helmet. You can wield Bows, Crossbows, Daggers, Polearms, and Spears.
Level 2
Song of Storms: In the land of Hyrule, there are songs that can control the winds and the rains. Once per adventure, the Rito Bard can substitute any described weather with season-appropriate weather of the Bard’s choosing. If you are using special weather rules, this lasts until the next time weather would be determined, otherwise, it lasts until the end of the next camp phase. This ability requires an instrument.
Rito Archery: You may carry and fire a bow while flying.
Level 3
Sun’s Song: The Sun’s Song functions as the Cleric’s Fury of the Lords of Life and Death prayer, except it uses Oratory to use instead of Ritualist, and requires an instrument instead of a holy symbol.
Deep Mind: As the level 3 Skald ability ((Take Sun’s Song if you don’t have access to Middarmark))
Level 4
Song of Healing: A Rito Bard knows songs that can ease even the weariest of souls, once per camp or town phase the Bard can grant an ally a free recovery test for the afraid or exhausted condition. The test must otherwise abide by standard recovery rules. This ability requires an instrument.
Armored Avian: You may fly while wearing chainmail or leather armor, but not plate, even if you have the ability to wear it.
Level 5
Songbird: Your singing voice counts as an instrument for your class abilities that require an instrument.
Death From Above: In Flee, Kill, Drive Off, and Capture conflicts where you have room to fly, gain +2D to maneuver actions (in addition to any weapon bonuses)