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View Full Version : [3.5]Evil/semi-evil organization concept: Willing drow priestess thrall?



newbDM
2009-01-09, 04:28 AM
I got this idea from what a member in the old WotC forums said in the (now long since removed Mature board): "I find many male gamers secretly desire a dominatrix, rather than a gf or DM." (or something on those lines).

This got me thinking, considering that drow are so popular due to their fluff and "theme", wouldn't it make sense that there are some people in the D&D multiverse who would want to serve under the tender mercies of a drow priestess? Especially consider that the same happens IRL?


I am thinking that perhaps one could make a class, or PrC to go with this? Maybe two (one for the "Willing Thrall", and one for the Thrall Master/Mistress)?

I also imagine it would make for an interesting twist, and unique plot for adventurers to be facing slaves/dominated minions who wanted their jobs.

Perhaps they could serve as spies, or sleeper cells in above ground settlement? Perhaps even in elven settlements?!


What are your thoughts about this?

Anyone know of any existing Classes/PrC for something like this?

Greymane
2009-01-09, 06:57 AM
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70961

There you go. Homebrew, but I like to think it's a relatively well-designed class. We have Ascension to thank for its existence.

hewhosaysfish
2009-01-09, 07:19 AM
Why would you require a Prc for being a ... ahem... Thrall? What sort of abilities do you imagine Thrallhood granting? Should it not just be a character choice, a question of motivation and allegience? For starters, this would allow Thralls to be of any class/build/skillset rather than having to make certain choices to meet PrC prereqs. If such a class was made and had, for example, Endurance as a prereq then every Thrall would, obviously, have to have Endurance and Con 13) and so the mayor's trusted advisor (a scrawny, pencil-necked wizard) can't possibly be the spy who's been selling the Town Guard's patrol routes to Drow slavers in exchange for... well, we know what he's getting in exchange.

Telonius
2009-01-09, 08:56 AM
I've never actually read it, but I would be very surprised if something like this weren't covered in BoEF.

hamishspence
2009-01-09, 09:52 AM
Mount Zogon in Dungeon magazine mentioned this- prisoner of the drow who's complaint is "I can't find my way back!"

Scourge Maiden and Maiden of Pain are PRCs for the Faerun goddess Loviatar who definitely fits this. Thrall of Malcanthet, in Dragon magazine, is very similar to the previous two.

kamikasei
2009-01-09, 10:10 AM
Should it not just be a character choice, a question of motivation and allegience?

I have to agree with this, being a submissive is a personality trait rather than a matter of class or feat choice. You could maybe make it an actual trait, granting bonuses/penalties to will and/or fortitude... though they'd be tricky to balance, and I don't know enough about BDSM dynamics to start throwing out guesses.

edit: On the other hand if you want an acutal role for willing thralls as opposed to unwilling, and a prestige class to reflect that... effectively you're looking for something like a drow-themed Thayan Knight. Mostly though I'd say even if willing thralls constituted an entire subset or caste of thralls, a secret society in their own right, they could just be statted up as rogues or fighters or whatever - the thraldom wouldn't give them any particular abilities, they'd just serve their masters however they could.

The Neoclassic
2009-01-09, 10:58 AM
I think this is a rather nifty idea. Yes, as the previous poster pointed out, submissive is a personality trait. However, here I'm imaging a very specific sort of elite slave entrusted with important missions who must have both a serious level of usefulness, unwavering loyalty, and be overall pleasing to his mistress/owner/dom/drow-lady.

Are you looking for 3.5 or 4.0 stats for this Willing Thrall? If you want 3.5, I'll try to whip something up tonight. Either way, I will be back into this discussion in more depth when I've more time...

newbDM
2009-01-13, 11:01 AM
I think this is a rather nifty idea. Yes, as the previous poster pointed out, submissive is a personality trait. However, here I'm imaging a very specific sort of elite slave entrusted with important missions who must have both a serious level of usefulness, unwavering loyalty, and be overall pleasing to his mistress/owner/dom/drow-lady.

Are you looking for 3.5 or 4.0 stats for this Willing Thrall? If you want 3.5, I'll try to whip something up tonight. Either way, I will be back into this discussion in more depth when I've more time...

Can I still be hopeful for this?

Been looking forward to it.

The Neoclassic
2009-01-13, 11:48 AM
Yeah, I have several homebrew things I need to do, but I promise this is still on my to-do list. :smallsmile:

The Neoclassic
2009-01-13, 03:14 PM
Sorry for the double post and for the initial delay, but I finally have something to show for it!


WILLING THRALL (MARTIAL SPECIALIST)
Hit Die: d8.

Requirements
To qualify to become a willing thrall, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Gender: Male.
Race: Drow, elf, half-elf, human, or tiefling.
Alignment: NE, CE, or CN.
Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Special: The character must have committed himself as a willing thrall to a drow spider-priestess of significant power and been accepted by her as such. She is hereafter referred to as the thrall’s “mistress.”

Class Skills
The willing thrall’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

WILLING THRALL (MARTIAL SPECIALIST)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Loyal Mind, As It Pleases Her

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Heart of Endurance

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Devoted Mind

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Lloth’s Blessing, Bonus Feat

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Dedicated Mind[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the willing thrall (martial specialist) prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Willing thralls gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies.
Collar of the Willing Thrall: Upon being accepted as a willing thrall, the character is collared with a special magic item crafted by his mistress which imparts its own benefits and drawbacks. See Collar of the Willing Thrall below.
Loyal Mind (Su): Willing thralls gain a +2 morale bonus against Enchantment spells.
As It Pleases Her (Ex): Willing thralls gain a permanent +2 competence bonus to one specific Perform, Craft, or Profession skill, as chosen by his mistress.
Heart of Endurance (Ex): At second level, a willing thrall gains a +2 bonus against all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects which are based in fear or pain.
Devoted Mind (Su): At level three, willing thralls gain a +4 morale bonus against Enchantment spells. This replaces the Loyal Mind ability.
Lloth’s Blessing (Sp): Once per day, a willing thrall may pray as a full-round action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. For the next minute per level of willing thrall, his weapon is treated as a if it were an unholy weapon (as the magical special ability).
Bonus Feat: At fourth level, a willing thrall selects one bonus feat off the list of fighter bonus feats.
Dedicated Mind (Su): At level five, willing thralls maintain their +4 morale bonus against Enchantment spells. Additionally, if asked to commit any act which would directly violate his mistress’s orders or would place his mistress in harm’s way, the thrall automatically gets to make another Will save to break free of the enchantment.

Former Willing Thralls
If a willing thrall leaves the service of his spider-priestess, either willing, unwittingly, or by being thrown out of service by her, he loses all his class special abilities and his Collar of the Willing Thrall bestows a curse upon him (see item description). Willing thralls may attempt to find a new mistress to serve, but such a task may be quite difficult, particularly if he has earned himself a bad reputation.


Collar of the Willing Thrall: This magic item is worn by willing thralls of drow spider-priestesses. The collar must be made and attached to the thrall by the spider-priestess; a spider-priestess cannot attach a collar made by anyone else, nor can the item be attached by the thrall himself, nor can it be placed upon an unwilling individual.

The collar of the willing thrall grants no direct benefits to its wearer, and serves primarily as a mark of ownership. However, if a thrall wearing a collar is wounded, disabled, under any specific negative condition, dying, or dead, his mistress knows instantly. This ability does not cease functioning even if they are on different planes in the multiverse.

If a willing thrall leaves the service of his mistress, the collar bestows a curse upon him. What precisely the curse does depends on the creator, but usually it drains the individual of their sense of purpose and individuality (-6 to Cha). As the thrall willingly accepted the collar in the first place, he suffers a -5 morale penalty to saves against this effect. If he wishes to return to his mistress’s service, having activated the collar through a mistake other than termination of their bond, he must willingly fail his save throw (to succeed at it ensures his mistress will never take him back) and receive an atonement spell from his mistress. A break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell can remove the collar; doing so causes it to crumble to dust.

A collar of the willing thrall is never sold, as it has no use except to its creator. Collars may not be transferred between thralls; any successful attempt to remove them from the original wearer destroys them. Creating a collar costs 13,800 plus 1,092 xp to create.

Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, status, bestow curse, creator must be a drow female; Price: See description; Weight: 2 lbs.


With this class, I went with an angle of a willing man who places a spider-priestess as his purpose in life, above and beyond all else. He may serve as a personal bodyguard or take missions far away from her, whatever she deems best. I didn’t really elaborate on the more sexual aspects of the class and relationship between the thrall and mistress since I don’t know precisely where these forums draw the line so I’d rather err on the safe side. That’s what imagination is for. :smallwink:

The gender and race requirements are what I’d assume most drow out there would accept, but I’m sure there is some spider-priestess out there who has a thing for female gnomes. Hence, DM discretion is key here. I am shaky about the alignment requirement, but I felt one of some sort was necessary. Finally, I do not find it impossible that there could be drow priestesses of another evil deity with similar allure; if that’s the case, the name of Lloth’s blessing can be changed to the correct deity. Also note that it would be extremely unlikely for a priestess to pick a thrall whose patron is different from her own!

I intend on also writing up the stats for the Collar of the Willing Thrall, a Thrall Mistress prestige class (for drow priestesses who specialize in attracting such servants), two more Willing Thrall classes (Arcane Specialist and Skills Specialist), and sample characters for all four prestige classes. Any feedback or suggestions for these would be great.

EDIT: Added in the collar! Yay.

Tempest Fennac
2009-01-14, 07:31 AM
I think the Plots and Poison 3.0 book contained a Submissive PrC which is similar to that concept.

newbDM
2009-01-15, 02:00 AM
Sorry for the double post and for the initial delay, but I finally have something to show for it!


WILLING THRALL (MARTIAL SPECIALIST)
Hit Die: d8.

Requirements
To qualify to become a willing thrall, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Gender: Male.
Race: Drow, elf, half-elf, human, or tiefling.
Alignment: NE, CE, or CN.
Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Special: The character must have committed himself as a willing thrall to a drow spider-priestess of significant power and been accepted by her as such. She is hereafter referred to as the thrall’s “mistress.”

Class Skills
The willing thrall’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

WILLING THRALL (MARTIAL SPECIALIST)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Loyal Mind, As It Pleases Her

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Heart of Endurance

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Devoted Mind

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Lloth’s Blessing, Bonus Feat

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Dedicated Mind[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the willing thrall (martial specialist) prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Willing thralls gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies.
Collar of the Willing Thrall: Upon being accepted as a willing thrall, the character is collared with a special magic item crafted by his mistress which imparts its own benefits and drawbacks. See Collar of the Willing Thrall below.
Loyal Mind (Su): Willing thralls gain a +2 morale bonus against Enchantment spells.
As It Pleases Her (Ex): Willing thralls gain a permanent +2 competence bonus to one specific Perform, Craft, or Profession skill, as chosen by his mistress.
Heart of Endurance (Ex): At second level, a willing thrall gains a +2 bonus against all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects which are based in fear or pain.
Devoted Mind (Su): At level three, willing thralls gain a +4 morale bonus against Enchantment spells. This replaces the Loyal Mind ability.
Lloth’s Blessing (Sp): Once per day, a willing thrall may pray as a full-round action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. For the next minute per level of willing thrall, his weapon is treated as a if it were an unholy weapon (as the magical special ability).
Bonus Feat: At fourth level, a willing thrall selects one bonus feat off the list of fighter bonus feats.
Dedicated Mind (Su): At level five, willing thralls maintain their +4 morale bonus against Enchantment spells. Additionally, if asked to commit any act which would directly violate his mistress’s orders or would place his mistress in harm’s way, the thrall automatically gets to make another Will save to break free of the enchantment.

Former Willing Thralls
If a willing thrall leaves the service of his spider-priestess, either willing, unwittingly, or by being thrown out of service by her, he loses all his class special abilities and his Collar of the Willing Thrall bestows a curse upon him (see item description). Willing thralls may attempt to find a new mistress to serve, but such a task may be quite difficult, particularly if he has earned himself a bad reputation.


Collar of the Willing Thrall: This magic item is worn by willing thralls of drow spider-priestesses. The collar must be made and attached to the thrall by the spider-priestess; a spider-priestess cannot attach a collar made by anyone else, nor can the item be attached by the thrall himself, nor can it be placed upon an unwilling individual.

The collar of the willing thrall grants no direct benefits to its wearer, and serves primarily as a mark of ownership. However, if a thrall wearing a collar is wounded, disabled, under any specific negative condition, dying, or dead, his mistress knows instantly. This ability does not cease functioning even if they are on different planes in the multiverse.

If a willing thrall leaves the service of his mistress, the collar bestows a curse upon him. What precisely the curse does depends on the creator, but usually it drains the individual of their sense of purpose and individuality (-6 to Cha). As the thrall willingly accepted the collar in the first place, he suffers a -5 morale penalty to saves against this effect. If he wishes to return to his mistress’s service, having activated the collar through a mistake other than termination of their bond, he must willingly fail his save throw (to succeed at it ensures his mistress will never take him back) and receive an atonement spell from his mistress. A break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell can remove the collar; doing so causes it to crumble to dust.

A collar of the willing thrall is never sold, as it has no use except to its creator. Collars may not be transferred between thralls; any successful attempt to remove them from the original wearer destroys them. Creating a collar costs 13,800 plus 1,092 xp to create.

Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, status, bestow curse, creator must be a drow female; Price: See description; Weight: 2 lbs.


With this class, I went with an angle of a willing man who places a spider-priestess as his purpose in life, above and beyond all else. He may serve as a personal bodyguard or take missions far away from her, whatever she deems best. I didn’t really elaborate on the more sexual aspects of the class and relationship between the thrall and mistress since I don’t know precisely where these forums draw the line so I’d rather err on the safe side. That’s what imagination is for. :smallwink:

The gender and race requirements are what I’d assume most drow out there would accept, but I’m sure there is some spider-priestess out there who has a thing for female gnomes. Hence, DM discretion is key here. I am shaky about the alignment requirement, but I felt one of some sort was necessary. Finally, I do not find it impossible that there could be drow priestesses of another evil deity with similar allure; if that’s the case, the name of Lloth’s blessing can be changed to the correct deity. Also note that it would be extremely unlikely for a priestess to pick a thrall whose patron is different from her own!

I intend on also writing up the stats for the Collar of the Willing Thrall, a Thrall Mistress prestige class (for drow priestesses who specialize in attracting such servants), two more Willing Thrall classes (Arcane Specialist and Skills Specialist), and sample characters for all four prestige classes. Any feedback or suggestions for these would be great.

EDIT: Added in the collar! Yay.

Thank you so much! This is awesome. :smallbiggrin:

I kind of feel it is a bi weak, though, but I am guessing that is the point of the collar?

I can't wait to write up a sleeper cell of these guys in my starting city/kingdom.


edit:

I just noticed you had updated it.

I love the theme of the collar, and especially the part about having to willingly fail the save to prove you are still worth taking back.

It seems to depend quite a bit on him (or perhaps her?) needing to be attacked with a fear affect. I was thinking, do you think that adding some damage reduction would make sense? As in, the individual is so used to his mistress' "special treatment" that they grow used to pain?

The Neoclassic
2009-01-15, 02:08 AM
Thank you so much! This is awesome. :smallbiggrin:

I kind of feel it is a bi weak, though, but I am guessing that is the point of the collar?

I can't wait to write up a sleeper cell of these guys in my starting city/kingdom.

Glad you like it! I am still working on the other prestige classes. I always have too much or too little homebrewing to do...

Anyway, feel free to add a few more abilities. My focus was loyalty rather than optimization, and I don't think it is really weaker than the fighter (Heh, maybe not best for comparison's sake, but as this willing thrall version was combat-focused, it seemed sensible). If I have time, I may think of adding in a few more things too... Particularly adding some buff options to the collar.

newbDM
2009-01-15, 02:12 AM
Oops. I did not notice you were on.

I guess I made the edit a bit late...

The Neoclassic
2009-01-15, 02:26 AM
edit:

I just noticed you had updated it.

I love the theme of the collar, and especially the part about having to willingly fail the save to prove you are still worth taking back.

It seems to depend quite a bit on him (or perhaps her?) needing to be attacked with a fear affect. I was thinking, do you think that adding some damage reduction would make sense? As in, the individual is so used to his mistress' "special treatment" that they grow used to pain?

Heh, this is what I get for checking threads too quickly? The damage reduction thing does make sense, though I think in one of the class abilities I pointed out that any fear or pain related effect they get a bonus against. The first thing that comes to mind is the spell Flensing, where one peels off the skin of one's opponent. It states in the text that it causes wracking pain, and the description makes it fairly clear that the pain is a central part of the effect. So, something like that, would qualify for something you'd get the bonus for for Heart of Endurance. But, yeah, damage reduction... not a bad idea. I'll look into that when doing the other classes and inevitably edit this first one. :smallsmile: