Samb
2009-06-01, 01:53 PM
I posted this on the PrC contest and would really like a PEACH on it. I know not everyone participates in this event so I'm hoping to hit a wider audience. Let me know what you think and thanks in advance.
THE HEARTLESS
http://www.tvscoop.tv/dex2.jpg
I didn't set out to save lives, but save lives I did. Dreter, the Bay harbor butcher
No one knows just how a heartless (often called serial killer) comes to the monstrosity that they are but one thing is certain: they are completely empty of anything that resembles a soul. These hollowed out beings feel no emotions whatsoever, they do not love those close to them, they have no hatred or resentment towards their rivals, and most of all they feel no empathy or compassion. They yearn for a normal life, and emotions to call their own by faking everything in their life. At one point or another they realize that they only feel alive when they are dealing death to their selected victims.
Many of the heartless enter law enforcement to try are calm their "dark passenger" only to be disappointed that the law prevents them from savoring the kill. They use their station to gather information on criminals that no one would miss (often other killers), stalk them and collect evidence (often illicitly), and kidnap them and kill them in a ritualistic fashion that is their calling card.
A serial killers true skill is the ability to gather information and look completely harmless. When they are finally expose (if ever) most people would never suspect that the unassuming inquisitor was a serial killer.
BECOMING A HEARTLESS
The Heartless are people who effectively fallen from the rest of their species. They have no formal organization but it is theorized that extreme psychological trauma at a young age is critical for fracturing a person so completely. All Heartless plainly state that they kill simply to kill and not to "bring justice to the world". For them the victim population is just part of the ritual and convenient since no one would miss them.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Attributes: CHR 16, INT 14
Alignment: any evil
Feats: Deceitful, Investigate (from Eberron campaign settings)
Skills: Disguise 5 ranks, Gather information 5 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks
Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (CHR), Diplomacy (CHR), Forgery (INT), Escape artist (DEX), Hide (DEX), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (DEX), Profession (Wis), Open lock (DEX), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex), Use magical/psionic device (CHR)
Skills Points at Each Level: 8 + int
Hit Dice: d8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Dark Passenger, Facade of normalcy
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+2|Favored enemy (mortal) +1, Bonus feat: Investigator
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Sneak attack +1d6, Knockout poison, Bonus feat: Persuasive
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+3|Greater Facade
5th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+4|Untraceable, Favored enemy (mortal) +2
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+4|Sneak attack +2d6, Bonus feat: Nimble fingers
7th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+5|Perfect Facade, Bonus feat: Track
8th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+5|Hide in Plain Sight (Su), Favored enemy (mortal) +3
9th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+6|Sneak Attack +3d6, Bonus feat: Negotiator
10th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+6|Complete void[/table]
Weapon Proficiencies: The Heartless are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword. The Heartless are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.
Dark passenger: The Heartless describe themselves as having a dark entity that compels them ritualistically kill one living being of their selected population. Some take prostitutes, others pedophiles, and others take other killers. A Heartless must kill at least one of the selected victims per month (30 days) or they lose their class features with the exception of knockout poison and facade of normalcy. If more than 47 days elapse before s/he has killed another victim, s/he takes a -2 on WIS and CHR. For every additional 7 days pass without a kill s/he loses another -2 WIS and CHR. All WIS and CHR are restored once he has finally killed a selected victim.
The killing rituals often involve a "kill room" that lowers the chance of the Heartless from leaving evidence and a taking of a souvenir, but from there each serial killer has his own rituals that s/he savors.
Facade of normalcy (Ex): Serial killers are surprisingly charming having effectively become a "emotion robot". They know just what to say and how to act even when they really feel nothing. They gain a +2 bonus on all skill check that are CHR based.
Favored enemy: Like the ranger (and mortal slayer) ability but the Heartless must select mortals for this ability. The Heartless gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, s/he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. This increases at 5th and 8th levels respectively.
Sneak attack: Just like the rogue's sneak attack and stacks with sneak attack damage from other sources.
Bonus feats:Over the course of always analyzing emotional reactions and evidence, a Heartless gets better at both roles and receives feats that help him blend in and become a better detective.
Knockout poison: This is the favored means of transporting a mark to the kill room. When a Heartless attacks with a sneak attack or out of hiding he can attempt to use this signature poison to render his opponent helpless. The Heartless must first observe his mark at least 30 minutes in total before he can use this attack. The target must succeed a Fort save with a DC=10 + Heartless levels + Character levels + CHR modifier.
Greater Facade (Su): A serial killer that has reached 4th level has become so adept at controlling his affect he can now take 10 on all disguise and bluff checks. In addition, he also gains +4 to all CHR based skill checks.
Untraceable (Ex): The Heartless is now so good at covering his tracks that he leaves almost no trace of his crimes. Any attempt to investigate, search or gather information on his victims suffer a -10 penalty with an additional -5 for every year that passed since the kill.
Perfect facade (Su): The Heartless can now detect when others suspect him. They now gain +8 on saves to resist any spells or powers that read thoughts (ie read thoughts, mind probe) or detect alignment as well as remote viewing. Even if they fail to resist (or deliberately fail) they can still project reassuring thoughts/emotions and images that raise little suspicion. They also gain +6 on all CHR based skill checks.
Hide in plain sight (Su):At 8th level, a serial killer can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a serial killer can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Complete Void (Su): A Heartless is now basically uncatchable. He has internalized his facade to such a degree that even magical and psionic means cannot discern his true nature. He is immune to all remote detection, read thoughts or alignment detection (he can still use perfect facade to project images to dodge guilt). All his crimes are completely devoid of evidence and anyone investigating the crimes take a -20 with a cumulative penalty of -5 per year since the kill was commited . He can now assume any alignment at will that makes him immune to the effects of spells that affect alignment like smite evil and protection from evil.
THE HEARTLESS
http://www.tvscoop.tv/dex2.jpg
I didn't set out to save lives, but save lives I did. Dreter, the Bay harbor butcher
No one knows just how a heartless (often called serial killer) comes to the monstrosity that they are but one thing is certain: they are completely empty of anything that resembles a soul. These hollowed out beings feel no emotions whatsoever, they do not love those close to them, they have no hatred or resentment towards their rivals, and most of all they feel no empathy or compassion. They yearn for a normal life, and emotions to call their own by faking everything in their life. At one point or another they realize that they only feel alive when they are dealing death to their selected victims.
Many of the heartless enter law enforcement to try are calm their "dark passenger" only to be disappointed that the law prevents them from savoring the kill. They use their station to gather information on criminals that no one would miss (often other killers), stalk them and collect evidence (often illicitly), and kidnap them and kill them in a ritualistic fashion that is their calling card.
A serial killers true skill is the ability to gather information and look completely harmless. When they are finally expose (if ever) most people would never suspect that the unassuming inquisitor was a serial killer.
BECOMING A HEARTLESS
The Heartless are people who effectively fallen from the rest of their species. They have no formal organization but it is theorized that extreme psychological trauma at a young age is critical for fracturing a person so completely. All Heartless plainly state that they kill simply to kill and not to "bring justice to the world". For them the victim population is just part of the ritual and convenient since no one would miss them.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Attributes: CHR 16, INT 14
Alignment: any evil
Feats: Deceitful, Investigate (from Eberron campaign settings)
Skills: Disguise 5 ranks, Gather information 5 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks
Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (CHR), Diplomacy (CHR), Forgery (INT), Escape artist (DEX), Hide (DEX), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (DEX), Profession (Wis), Open lock (DEX), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex), Use magical/psionic device (CHR)
Skills Points at Each Level: 8 + int
Hit Dice: d8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Dark Passenger, Facade of normalcy
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+2|Favored enemy (mortal) +1, Bonus feat: Investigator
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Sneak attack +1d6, Knockout poison, Bonus feat: Persuasive
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+3|Greater Facade
5th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+4|Untraceable, Favored enemy (mortal) +2
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+4|Sneak attack +2d6, Bonus feat: Nimble fingers
7th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+5|Perfect Facade, Bonus feat: Track
8th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+5|Hide in Plain Sight (Su), Favored enemy (mortal) +3
9th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+6|Sneak Attack +3d6, Bonus feat: Negotiator
10th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+6|Complete void[/table]
Weapon Proficiencies: The Heartless are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword. The Heartless are proficient with light armor, but not with shields.
Dark passenger: The Heartless describe themselves as having a dark entity that compels them ritualistically kill one living being of their selected population. Some take prostitutes, others pedophiles, and others take other killers. A Heartless must kill at least one of the selected victims per month (30 days) or they lose their class features with the exception of knockout poison and facade of normalcy. If more than 47 days elapse before s/he has killed another victim, s/he takes a -2 on WIS and CHR. For every additional 7 days pass without a kill s/he loses another -2 WIS and CHR. All WIS and CHR are restored once he has finally killed a selected victim.
The killing rituals often involve a "kill room" that lowers the chance of the Heartless from leaving evidence and a taking of a souvenir, but from there each serial killer has his own rituals that s/he savors.
Facade of normalcy (Ex): Serial killers are surprisingly charming having effectively become a "emotion robot". They know just what to say and how to act even when they really feel nothing. They gain a +2 bonus on all skill check that are CHR based.
Favored enemy: Like the ranger (and mortal slayer) ability but the Heartless must select mortals for this ability. The Heartless gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, s/he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. This increases at 5th and 8th levels respectively.
Sneak attack: Just like the rogue's sneak attack and stacks with sneak attack damage from other sources.
Bonus feats:Over the course of always analyzing emotional reactions and evidence, a Heartless gets better at both roles and receives feats that help him blend in and become a better detective.
Knockout poison: This is the favored means of transporting a mark to the kill room. When a Heartless attacks with a sneak attack or out of hiding he can attempt to use this signature poison to render his opponent helpless. The Heartless must first observe his mark at least 30 minutes in total before he can use this attack. The target must succeed a Fort save with a DC=10 + Heartless levels + Character levels + CHR modifier.
Greater Facade (Su): A serial killer that has reached 4th level has become so adept at controlling his affect he can now take 10 on all disguise and bluff checks. In addition, he also gains +4 to all CHR based skill checks.
Untraceable (Ex): The Heartless is now so good at covering his tracks that he leaves almost no trace of his crimes. Any attempt to investigate, search or gather information on his victims suffer a -10 penalty with an additional -5 for every year that passed since the kill.
Perfect facade (Su): The Heartless can now detect when others suspect him. They now gain +8 on saves to resist any spells or powers that read thoughts (ie read thoughts, mind probe) or detect alignment as well as remote viewing. Even if they fail to resist (or deliberately fail) they can still project reassuring thoughts/emotions and images that raise little suspicion. They also gain +6 on all CHR based skill checks.
Hide in plain sight (Su):At 8th level, a serial killer can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a serial killer can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Complete Void (Su): A Heartless is now basically uncatchable. He has internalized his facade to such a degree that even magical and psionic means cannot discern his true nature. He is immune to all remote detection, read thoughts or alignment detection (he can still use perfect facade to project images to dodge guilt). All his crimes are completely devoid of evidence and anyone investigating the crimes take a -20 with a cumulative penalty of -5 per year since the kill was commited . He can now assume any alignment at will that makes him immune to the effects of spells that affect alignment like smite evil and protection from evil.