Mlar

I’llsay one thing for the githyanki; they know how to build stuff. You’llnote, dear diary, that I’m using the githzerai emphasis on the word ‘know’there. I’m getting ahead of myself, though. I’ll begin at the beginning.

I’dhooked up with a platoon of blood warriors, looking for a bit of first-handexperience of their trade. Figured I could do what Jeena Ealy couldn’t, andpresent a realtale of danger. Not just the squalid violence you might find in the Hive, butreal, soul-shredding, gut-hacking warfare. We’d just set out from Carceri, ourranks swelling by a couple of hundred bashers who were looking to earn a bitmore jink without much thought for the problems that would lay ahead. Acting onintelligence that Zimimar had set a platoon out onto the corpse of one of thelong-lost demon lords. Our squad was to go there and, in the words ofHurquaiiia, our Marilith leader, ‘rip their malodorous, fetid guts out’.

Thatwas more or less the plan, were it not for the githyanki squads that ambushedus. Our tanar’ri leaders legged it as soon they caught a glimpse, leaving themto us. We didn’t stand a chance. We lost most of our squad, of course; wefought bravely, but none of us had fought on the astral before. The githyankiwere in a bit of a playful mood, however, and gave me the chance to surrender.Give myself up or be hacked to bits? Tough choice! I remember one of thegithwarriors protesting that they didn’t have a cell to throw me in, and assoon as I arrived back at their fortress, flanked by four vicious-lookingsword-brothers, I realised that he was telling the truth.

Thatdidn’t seem to upset their captain so much, though. She simply approached a fewgith who, oddly enough, were neither armed nor armoured, and in that odd speechof theirs, evidently passed on a few instructions. They ran off and withinmoments they’d returned with tools and a few stones and scraps of metal. Theygot to work and soon there was a rather cramped and squat little building withbarred windows, built right in the middle of the square. Believe me, I’ve noidea how they did it. I must have blinked, I guess.

Thegithwarriors opened the iron door and threw me in. And that’s where I’ve beenever since.

Thechief githyanki craftsmen are known as the mlar. Few encounter them;this is not because they are especially rare, but rather because they are rarelylocated outside of githyanki fortresses and cities. They fulfil many functionswithin githyanki society. Some of them are weaponsmiths and armourers, whileothers concentrate on the crafts of architecture, engineering and construction.The mlar are no mere labourers, however. They augment their significant skillswith a rather impressive array of magic spells, and can also serve something ofa scientific purpose. Any captured magical items are often brought to them foranalysis, and, if deemed necessary, destruction. Owing to their rather insularand non-combative role, this prestige class is primarily aimed at NPCs.

Spells: Mlar can cast arcane spells.They are limited to a certain number per day, according to their class level.Like wizards, their ability to cast spells of a certain level, saving throwDifficulty Classes and bonus spells granted are all based upon their Intelligencescores. Unlike wizards and other arcane spellcasters, however, they neitherrequire spellbooks, nor need they go through any process of learning spells. Ifthey are able to cast 2nd-level spells, for example, they may picktheir spell selection for that day from any of the 2nd-level mlarspells.

Decorate: 1st-level mlar arecapable of colouring and embellishing their works with a minimum of effort.Such decoration does not affect the structural quality of their works, althoughit does increase the monetary value by 10% per mlar level. The decoration ispermanent, but only works on items made by the mlar themselves.

SpeedConstruction:Mlar are particularly good builders. As such, whenever they work on largeinstallations or buildings, they know how to cut corners and manipulate astralmatter in order to speed up constriction jobs. If mlar are on the job,buildings can be erected in half the normal time.

Craftsmaster: 9th-level mlar arequite exceptional craftsmen. As such, whenever they create weapons and armour,their skill is such that all such items are of masterwork quality. They can doso without spending the extra money usually required to construct such items.

BounteousIncrease: 10th-levelmlar have mastered their creation spells to such an extent that they havebecome supremely productive in their use. As such, when casting spells thatcreate material items, whether ephemeral or permanent, they may increase thevolumes or weights of materials created by 50%.

MlarSpell List

Mlarchoose their spells from the following list:

 0 - arcane mark,detect magic, light, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, read magic.

 1st Level - alarm,animate rope, enlarge, magic weapon, reduce, shield.

 2nd Level - arcanelock, continual flame, darkness, knock, Leomund’s trap, rope trick, warp wood,wood shape.

 3rd Level - dispelmagic, keen edge, magic vestment, obscure object, shrink item, stone shape.

 4th Level - greatermagic weapon, Leomund’s secure shelter, minor creation, quench, wall of ice.

 5th Level - fabricate,major creation, wall of iron, wall of stone.