Seven Voyages of Zylarthen Classes

As given in 7VoZ, there are three classes – the fighting-man, thief, and magic-user. The elf may, as is traditional in OD&D, take both fighting-man and magic-user but I desire more: I wish similar combinations for fighting-man-thieves and thief-magic-users. Of course there is the option given to “change class” but I like providing the potential for players to unlock the ability to multi-class.

First, a note of setting – I have eliminated elves, dwarves, and halflings. They do not fit the fantastic eastern milieu and therefor shall be replaced as follows:
Elf becomes the Djinn-Blooded The descendants of those who made deals with genie-kind, the Djinn-Blooded have bronzed skin on powerful frames and inky-black hair. They are multi-classed Fighting-Men/Magic-Users, though they are limited to 4th level (Knight) in the former and 8th level (Solonist) in the latter. For purposes of gaining experience, they must choose to operate as a only one class or the other during the course of a single adventure, but they may freely switch classes in between adventures. At all times they will use the most advantageous of the hit dice, attack tables, and saving throws of the levels attained in each class. The Djinn-Blooded may always utilize the full weapons and armour of the Fighting-Man, but they may not cast spells while wearing armour. Their acute senses give them a 2-in-6 chance of detecting secret doors merely by proximity or casual observation.
Dwarf becomes the Nephilim-Blooded Those whose ancestors were graced by the touch of angels may be born with unique powers. They often posses an unearthly beauty and statuesque proportions. They operate as Fighting-Men but may not progress beyond the 6th level (Defender). They have these special advantages: 1) they are highly resistant to magic and add one step (six levels) when rolling all saves against magical effects; and 2) they alone are able to successfully wield the Magic Hammer of the Gods.
Halfling becomes the Satyr-Blooded These joyful, rotund people are fond of food, drink, and merriment. They operate as Thieves but will be limited to 4th level (Dodger) in that class. Like the Nephilim-Blooded, they add one step when making saving throws against magic. They also have deadly accuracy with slings (+3 on attacks).

The following two options are probably stolen from Melan from what I remember and are only available if players can make friendly contact with that group.
Amazon Attacks from men suffer a -1 penalty on to-hit rolls or -2 if two or more amazons are fighting side-by-side. They are limited to Fighting-Woman 9, Thief 6, Magic-User 0.
Cossack They may perform the split move & fire with a bow, even while mounted (an ability that normally belongs to the Elf). They are limited to Fighting-Man 9, Thief 6, Magic-User 0.

With Fighting-Man/Thief covered by the Amazon and Cossack and Fighting-Man/Magic-User covered by the Djinn-Blooded, that leaves the Thief/Magic-User. At first my idea was to draw from the Charan Caste of India; poets, archaeologists, and diplomats. This bounced around in my head for a bit but I didn’t like how it was shaping up. I then remembered that the oft-maligned class of Bard exists and maybe I can abuse that into something workable. This gives us the following:
Tuvan A clan of mystical traveling story-tellers who often take on the role of a jester-like narrator. Their primary method of transmitting epics is throat-singing and their tales revolve around simple peasant heroes who use trickery and guile to outwit their foes. They may perform a enthralling/distracting song (or other oration) that affects 1-6+HD creatures (that would logically be subject to such an effect) and has a 3-in-6 chance of working. They also receive a +1 on rolls to read languages. They are limited to Magic-User 4, Thief 9, Fighting-Man 0. (These level limits may be subject to change over time).

Using a warped version of bard marries the two classes well but instead of a horny troubador, we have a mystic desert nomad. Like Amazon and Cossack, you just come across one of these fellows in the wilderness and “earn” the option of playing as one. In testing the class I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see it at higher levels to adjust the max-level amounts, but I’ve seen it up to level 4 or 5 (can’t remember, roughly even split between the two classes) which worked well. It gave the Thief a bit of extra toolbox and the player leaned into the mysterious wanderer role, avoiding spells like magic missile and shield, instead opting for fun, thematic spells like snake charm and dancing lights. I am looking forward to seeing how this operates in a purely dungeon context as I (slowly) test (and write) my next Zylarthen-based module, a big friggen dungeon which so far is on track to be the largest Buddyscott Production by quite a significant margin. Stay tuned for that one!