Zeigfreid
2004-07-26, 03:35 PM
Zeigfreid (Zig)
Their eyes almost glowed with greed as they watched Thaneous pick the final lock. The search for old king Maenic III’s treasure had taken them across the breadth of the world, through dangerous dungeons, and nearly into the very pits of hell. All of that was behind them now, though, and before them lay a life or riches. The bodies of the Yuan-ti guards lay strewn across the marble floor around them, and their blood dripped from nearly every surface. Faint moonlight infiltrated the room from behind thick curtains of crimson fabric. A calm and cloudless night had preceded their arrival, and now not a sound could be heard but the faint clicking of Thaneous’ thieve-picks, and the labored breathing of poor injured Orban. With a final loud clunk and a gasp of expectation from his adventuring companions, Thaneous stood and said with a smile, “That’s it, old friends, now we can retire!”
“Or can you?”
The voice echoed off the chamber walls. The party of adventurers looked about in horror at the possibility of who, or what, might challenge them. Their lead fighter was terribly wounded and poisoned, and they knew they were in no position to hold their own. “Who’s there?” Malish asked boldly, not being in the mood for intimidating theatrics. The laughter that dogged his question was certainly the most ghastly any of them had every heard.
“It is I: Zeigfreid, master swordsman! That treasure is mine, so stand aside.” With that, the cloaked warrior revealed himself from behind a nearby curtain with a flourish of incarnadine. He wore a mask that was all too familiar, a black cloth tied around his face leaving little room for dark eyes. His clothes too, the party had seen before: the characteristic longsword dangling from his waist, not yet drawn as if to mock them, and yjr thick gray cape that seemed to catch the wind no matter where he stood.
“But… But… We killed you!” Malish, taken off guard at the apparent resurrection of their dark nemesis, took a cautious step back and reached for he scroll case.
“Flattery will get you no-where, my dear Malish.” He smiled, perhaps complimenting himself internally for his quick wit. “Now, prepare to fail in killing me again!” With that his sword escaped its sheath with a ringing akin to the most perfect violin, and he leapt after it into combat.
Zeigfreid: the man, the myth, the legend. Most adventuring parties have seen him at least once; many have lost valuable treasures to his stealth and timing. His sense of style is unparalleled, and women everywhere adore him. What is more staggering is that stories of his acts are reported around the world, many falling within days of each other. Some believe he can fly, others think he is a demon, many more herald him a masterful wizard. Very few know the truth, and those that do are generally Zeigfreid.
Zeigfreids are most often rogues or bards, because of their reliance on stealth over force or magic. Fighters, barbarians, and monks find learning Zeigfreid’s fighting style quite difficult, but a skilled warrior who became a Zeigfreid would be a powerful foe indeed. Wizards, clerics, and sorcerers benefit from the defensive abilities of this class; the ability to hide and, seeming, to return from the dead are valuable to such characters. A paladin’s code of conduct is incompatible with that of the Zeigfreid, and a druid’s prohibitions would force him to discard his natural abilities if she became a Zeigfreid.
Zeigfreids rarely come into contact with each other, since such contact would jeopardize their carefully constructed illusion. Sometimes the Zeigfreids gather to judge each other’s skills and abilities, but such meetings are done in private. These mysterious warriors frequently join parties of adventurers in order to generate wealth for themselves, become mercenaries for rich patrons, or simply strike out on their own to steal from and cheat anyone who gets in their way. Needless to say, Zeigfreids get along best with rogues, and those who hold personal gain in the highest regard.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a Zeigfreid, a character must fulfill all the criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +3.
Skills: Disguise 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 3 ranks, Open Locks 3 ranks.
Feats: Dodge, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Special: A potential Zeigfreid must vanish mysteriously from the party in order to train under a higher level Zeigfreid, and return as a Zeigfreid without any apparent ties to his former identity.
Class Skills
The Zeigfreid's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Jump (Str), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Locks (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Tumble (Dex). See chapter 4 of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +0 +0 +2 +0 Master Swordsman I, Once a Zeigfreid
2nd +1 +0 +3 +0 Hide in Plain Sight
3rd +2 +1 +3 +1 Verisimilous Confidence
4th +3 +1 +4 +1 Master Swordsman II
5th +3 +1 +4 +1 Skill Mastery
6th +4 +2 +5 +2 A Time and a Place
7th +5 +2 +5 +2 Master Swordsman III
8th +6 +2 +6 +2 Unerring Infiltrator
9th +6 +3 +6 +3 Just Another Zeigfreid
10th +7 +3 +7 +3 Always a Zeigfreid
Class Features
All of the following are features of the Zeigfreid prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Zeigfreids gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
The Zeigfreid’s code of conduct prohibits him from using any weapons or armor other than a longsword, and a chain shirt that must be concealed beneath his clothing whenever possible. If he uses any prohibited weapons or armor is unable to use any of his supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so, and for 24 hours afterwards.
Master Swordsman (Ex): At 1st level, the character learns the unique fighting style of the Zeigfreids, which favors quantity over quality. While wearing light or no armor, the Zeigfreid may strike with his longsword many more times in a round at the expense of accuracy. When doing so he may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does every other attack made this round. At 4th level, the Zeigfreid’s Master Swordsman ability grants him two extra attacks at his highest base attack bonus, but the penalty to his attacks increases to –4. At 7th level, this ability improves again, granting him three extra attacks at his highest base attack bonus, and a –6 penalty to his attacks. Because these attacks are made with little regard for accuracy the Zeigfreid cannot use any sneak attack damage he may have on any attacks made while using this ability. This penalty, and the inability to use sneak attack damage, applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the Zeigfreid might make before his next action. The Zeigfreid must use a full attack action (see page 143) to strike with the Master Swordsman ability.
Once a Zeigfreid (Su): At 1st level, the Zeigfreid gains two inherently magical abilities that aids him in keeping up the illusion of uniqueness.
The Zeigfreid can always tell when he is within 24 miles of another Zeigfreid, and knows the distance and direction to that Zeigfreid. If, heaven forbid, there are more than one other Zeigfreid in a 24 mile radius, he knows the distance and direction to each. In all other ways, this ability functions identically to the locate person spell, using his character level as its caster level.
The Zeigfreid, and all of his equipment, permanently take on the standard appearance of all Zeigfreids, as the alter self spell, using his character level as its caster level, and replacing the spells duration with permanent.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): At 2nd level, the Zeigfreid can use the Hide skill even when being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, the Zeigfreid can hide himself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Verisimilous Confidence (Ex): At 3rd level, the Zeigfreid’s confidence is augmented by the reality altering affects of correspondental multiplicity, though many Zeigfreid’s have found this ability to be as much of a curse as a blessing. The Zeigfreid is completely immune to fear, and based fear-effects, and he cannot be intimidated.
Skill Mastery (Ex): At 5th level, the Zeigfreid becomes so overconfident in his use of the skills of a scaly-wag that he can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. Upon gaining this ability, he selects a number of skills equal to his intelligence modifier. When making a skill check with one of these skills, or Hide, Move Silently, and Open Locks, he may take 10 even when stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so.
A Time and a Place (Su): At 6th level, the Zeigfreid’s incredible sense of timing allows him to meet his body’s physical needs with the power of his smug expectation alone, as long as he remains motionless. As long as he takes no movement and remains hidden he does not need to eat, breath, or sleep, and is immune to fatigue and exhaustion. This, among other things, means that the Zeigfreid can stand forever without becoming fatigued.
Up to one full day after using this ability for any period of time, the Zeigfreid must celebrate. This celebration must involve the Zeigfreid consuming enough food and water to make up for any meals that he did not eat while under the effects of this ability.
Unerring Infiltrator (Sp): At 7th level, the Zeigfreid continues to increase his mastery of the reality bending techniques manifested by his kin. He may act as though he were under the effects of the gaseous form spell for a number of minutes per day equal to his level in the Zeigfreid prestige class. The Zeigfreid does not have to use these minutes all at once, and may choose to divide them up among any number of uses per day of at least 1 minute each.
Just Another Zeigfreid (Sp): At 9th level, the Zeigfreid learns another of the society’s incredible techniques for confusing reality with duality. The order long ago realized that since people encountering two Zeigfreids an impossible distance apart are already befuddled by this apparent teleportation, it would not be entirely unreasonable to teach Zeigfreids to do just that. Once per week, the Zeigfreid can take advantage of the highly dependent relationship of reality and perception by moving instantaneously between two points, as the teleport spell cast at his character level.
Always a Zeigfreid (Su): At 10th level, the Zeigfreid becomes so in-tune with the near group-consciousness of the Zeigfreids that if he were to be replaced by another Zeigfreid, no one would notice the difference. Any amount of time after he has died, a less experienced Zeigfreid may replace him. Effectively this brings the old character back to life, as the raise dead spell cast at his character level before death, with the following exceptions. Before returning to the party, the new Zeigfreid must dispose of his predecessor’s corpse, and then resume his previous life in such a manner that no one would suspect him of being a different Zeigfreid. The new Zeigfreid is identical to the old Zeigfreid in all ways except that he will have “lost” one level, as the raise dead spell cast at the old Zeigfreid’s character level.
Example: If the old Zeigfreid had been buried in a local cemetery, the new Zeigfreid would have to arrive, dig up the old Zeigfreid, tie his corpse to a rock and throw it into a lake, and then resume his previous life. I the corpse were still with the party members deep in the underdark, the new Zeigfreid would have to wait until the party had gotten rid of the old Zeigfreid’s corpse before he could dispose of it properly and resume its previous life. In either case, if the old Zeigfreid had been a Rog 5/Zig 10, the new Zeigfreid would be a Rog 5/Zig 9, but would be in all other ways identical.
In the unlikely event that after a new Zeigfreid has arrived on the scene, the old Zeigfreid is revived (by, for instance, a true resurrection spell), the older Zeigfreid would take it as his duty to act in a manner that would preserve the illusion that the new Zeigfreid is the old Zeigfreid. In any event, the old Zeigfreid, upon the arrival of a new Zeigfreid, becomes an NPC under the control of the DM.
Code of Conduct: The Zeigfreid must be of a Chaotic Neutral alignment, and he loses all class abilities if his alignment ever becomes Lawful or non-neutral. Additionally, the Zeigfreid’s code requires that he must legitimately be named Zeigfreid (he can change his name to Zeigfreid after taking this class, but he must act as though his name had never been spelled otherwise); he must not reveal the fact that there are more than one Zeigfreid; he must satisfy his greed whenever and however it should strike; he must maintain bravado even when the chips are down.
Their eyes almost glowed with greed as they watched Thaneous pick the final lock. The search for old king Maenic III’s treasure had taken them across the breadth of the world, through dangerous dungeons, and nearly into the very pits of hell. All of that was behind them now, though, and before them lay a life or riches. The bodies of the Yuan-ti guards lay strewn across the marble floor around them, and their blood dripped from nearly every surface. Faint moonlight infiltrated the room from behind thick curtains of crimson fabric. A calm and cloudless night had preceded their arrival, and now not a sound could be heard but the faint clicking of Thaneous’ thieve-picks, and the labored breathing of poor injured Orban. With a final loud clunk and a gasp of expectation from his adventuring companions, Thaneous stood and said with a smile, “That’s it, old friends, now we can retire!”
“Or can you?”
The voice echoed off the chamber walls. The party of adventurers looked about in horror at the possibility of who, or what, might challenge them. Their lead fighter was terribly wounded and poisoned, and they knew they were in no position to hold their own. “Who’s there?” Malish asked boldly, not being in the mood for intimidating theatrics. The laughter that dogged his question was certainly the most ghastly any of them had every heard.
“It is I: Zeigfreid, master swordsman! That treasure is mine, so stand aside.” With that, the cloaked warrior revealed himself from behind a nearby curtain with a flourish of incarnadine. He wore a mask that was all too familiar, a black cloth tied around his face leaving little room for dark eyes. His clothes too, the party had seen before: the characteristic longsword dangling from his waist, not yet drawn as if to mock them, and yjr thick gray cape that seemed to catch the wind no matter where he stood.
“But… But… We killed you!” Malish, taken off guard at the apparent resurrection of their dark nemesis, took a cautious step back and reached for he scroll case.
“Flattery will get you no-where, my dear Malish.” He smiled, perhaps complimenting himself internally for his quick wit. “Now, prepare to fail in killing me again!” With that his sword escaped its sheath with a ringing akin to the most perfect violin, and he leapt after it into combat.
Zeigfreid: the man, the myth, the legend. Most adventuring parties have seen him at least once; many have lost valuable treasures to his stealth and timing. His sense of style is unparalleled, and women everywhere adore him. What is more staggering is that stories of his acts are reported around the world, many falling within days of each other. Some believe he can fly, others think he is a demon, many more herald him a masterful wizard. Very few know the truth, and those that do are generally Zeigfreid.
Zeigfreids are most often rogues or bards, because of their reliance on stealth over force or magic. Fighters, barbarians, and monks find learning Zeigfreid’s fighting style quite difficult, but a skilled warrior who became a Zeigfreid would be a powerful foe indeed. Wizards, clerics, and sorcerers benefit from the defensive abilities of this class; the ability to hide and, seeming, to return from the dead are valuable to such characters. A paladin’s code of conduct is incompatible with that of the Zeigfreid, and a druid’s prohibitions would force him to discard his natural abilities if she became a Zeigfreid.
Zeigfreids rarely come into contact with each other, since such contact would jeopardize their carefully constructed illusion. Sometimes the Zeigfreids gather to judge each other’s skills and abilities, but such meetings are done in private. These mysterious warriors frequently join parties of adventurers in order to generate wealth for themselves, become mercenaries for rich patrons, or simply strike out on their own to steal from and cheat anyone who gets in their way. Needless to say, Zeigfreids get along best with rogues, and those who hold personal gain in the highest regard.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a Zeigfreid, a character must fulfill all the criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +3.
Skills: Disguise 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 3 ranks, Open Locks 3 ranks.
Feats: Dodge, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Special: A potential Zeigfreid must vanish mysteriously from the party in order to train under a higher level Zeigfreid, and return as a Zeigfreid without any apparent ties to his former identity.
Class Skills
The Zeigfreid's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Jump (Str), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Locks (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Tumble (Dex). See chapter 4 of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +0 +0 +2 +0 Master Swordsman I, Once a Zeigfreid
2nd +1 +0 +3 +0 Hide in Plain Sight
3rd +2 +1 +3 +1 Verisimilous Confidence
4th +3 +1 +4 +1 Master Swordsman II
5th +3 +1 +4 +1 Skill Mastery
6th +4 +2 +5 +2 A Time and a Place
7th +5 +2 +5 +2 Master Swordsman III
8th +6 +2 +6 +2 Unerring Infiltrator
9th +6 +3 +6 +3 Just Another Zeigfreid
10th +7 +3 +7 +3 Always a Zeigfreid
Class Features
All of the following are features of the Zeigfreid prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Zeigfreids gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
The Zeigfreid’s code of conduct prohibits him from using any weapons or armor other than a longsword, and a chain shirt that must be concealed beneath his clothing whenever possible. If he uses any prohibited weapons or armor is unable to use any of his supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so, and for 24 hours afterwards.
Master Swordsman (Ex): At 1st level, the character learns the unique fighting style of the Zeigfreids, which favors quantity over quality. While wearing light or no armor, the Zeigfreid may strike with his longsword many more times in a round at the expense of accuracy. When doing so he may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but this attack takes a –2 penalty, as does every other attack made this round. At 4th level, the Zeigfreid’s Master Swordsman ability grants him two extra attacks at his highest base attack bonus, but the penalty to his attacks increases to –4. At 7th level, this ability improves again, granting him three extra attacks at his highest base attack bonus, and a –6 penalty to his attacks. Because these attacks are made with little regard for accuracy the Zeigfreid cannot use any sneak attack damage he may have on any attacks made while using this ability. This penalty, and the inability to use sneak attack damage, applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the Zeigfreid might make before his next action. The Zeigfreid must use a full attack action (see page 143) to strike with the Master Swordsman ability.
Once a Zeigfreid (Su): At 1st level, the Zeigfreid gains two inherently magical abilities that aids him in keeping up the illusion of uniqueness.
The Zeigfreid can always tell when he is within 24 miles of another Zeigfreid, and knows the distance and direction to that Zeigfreid. If, heaven forbid, there are more than one other Zeigfreid in a 24 mile radius, he knows the distance and direction to each. In all other ways, this ability functions identically to the locate person spell, using his character level as its caster level.
The Zeigfreid, and all of his equipment, permanently take on the standard appearance of all Zeigfreids, as the alter self spell, using his character level as its caster level, and replacing the spells duration with permanent.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): At 2nd level, the Zeigfreid can use the Hide skill even when being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, the Zeigfreid can hide himself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Verisimilous Confidence (Ex): At 3rd level, the Zeigfreid’s confidence is augmented by the reality altering affects of correspondental multiplicity, though many Zeigfreid’s have found this ability to be as much of a curse as a blessing. The Zeigfreid is completely immune to fear, and based fear-effects, and he cannot be intimidated.
Skill Mastery (Ex): At 5th level, the Zeigfreid becomes so overconfident in his use of the skills of a scaly-wag that he can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. Upon gaining this ability, he selects a number of skills equal to his intelligence modifier. When making a skill check with one of these skills, or Hide, Move Silently, and Open Locks, he may take 10 even when stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so.
A Time and a Place (Su): At 6th level, the Zeigfreid’s incredible sense of timing allows him to meet his body’s physical needs with the power of his smug expectation alone, as long as he remains motionless. As long as he takes no movement and remains hidden he does not need to eat, breath, or sleep, and is immune to fatigue and exhaustion. This, among other things, means that the Zeigfreid can stand forever without becoming fatigued.
Up to one full day after using this ability for any period of time, the Zeigfreid must celebrate. This celebration must involve the Zeigfreid consuming enough food and water to make up for any meals that he did not eat while under the effects of this ability.
Unerring Infiltrator (Sp): At 7th level, the Zeigfreid continues to increase his mastery of the reality bending techniques manifested by his kin. He may act as though he were under the effects of the gaseous form spell for a number of minutes per day equal to his level in the Zeigfreid prestige class. The Zeigfreid does not have to use these minutes all at once, and may choose to divide them up among any number of uses per day of at least 1 minute each.
Just Another Zeigfreid (Sp): At 9th level, the Zeigfreid learns another of the society’s incredible techniques for confusing reality with duality. The order long ago realized that since people encountering two Zeigfreids an impossible distance apart are already befuddled by this apparent teleportation, it would not be entirely unreasonable to teach Zeigfreids to do just that. Once per week, the Zeigfreid can take advantage of the highly dependent relationship of reality and perception by moving instantaneously between two points, as the teleport spell cast at his character level.
Always a Zeigfreid (Su): At 10th level, the Zeigfreid becomes so in-tune with the near group-consciousness of the Zeigfreids that if he were to be replaced by another Zeigfreid, no one would notice the difference. Any amount of time after he has died, a less experienced Zeigfreid may replace him. Effectively this brings the old character back to life, as the raise dead spell cast at his character level before death, with the following exceptions. Before returning to the party, the new Zeigfreid must dispose of his predecessor’s corpse, and then resume his previous life in such a manner that no one would suspect him of being a different Zeigfreid. The new Zeigfreid is identical to the old Zeigfreid in all ways except that he will have “lost” one level, as the raise dead spell cast at the old Zeigfreid’s character level.
Example: If the old Zeigfreid had been buried in a local cemetery, the new Zeigfreid would have to arrive, dig up the old Zeigfreid, tie his corpse to a rock and throw it into a lake, and then resume his previous life. I the corpse were still with the party members deep in the underdark, the new Zeigfreid would have to wait until the party had gotten rid of the old Zeigfreid’s corpse before he could dispose of it properly and resume its previous life. In either case, if the old Zeigfreid had been a Rog 5/Zig 10, the new Zeigfreid would be a Rog 5/Zig 9, but would be in all other ways identical.
In the unlikely event that after a new Zeigfreid has arrived on the scene, the old Zeigfreid is revived (by, for instance, a true resurrection spell), the older Zeigfreid would take it as his duty to act in a manner that would preserve the illusion that the new Zeigfreid is the old Zeigfreid. In any event, the old Zeigfreid, upon the arrival of a new Zeigfreid, becomes an NPC under the control of the DM.
Code of Conduct: The Zeigfreid must be of a Chaotic Neutral alignment, and he loses all class abilities if his alignment ever becomes Lawful or non-neutral. Additionally, the Zeigfreid’s code requires that he must legitimately be named Zeigfreid (he can change his name to Zeigfreid after taking this class, but he must act as though his name had never been spelled otherwise); he must not reveal the fact that there are more than one Zeigfreid; he must satisfy his greed whenever and however it should strike; he must maintain bravado even when the chips are down.