jdrich
2005-10-19, 12:30 PM
Hey all. I'm looking to create one of a few things:
A paladin-based core class
A paladin variant
A 10-level paladin PrC available from fifth level, given particular roleplaying criteria.
[hr]
The background:
After travelling for weeks, the blood-stained travelers finally reach the summit of Mount Lyranil. After killing wave upon wave of imp, undead, and crazed beast, the party of wayward mercenaries has reached thier destination. Standing before them are the adamantine doors leading to Trael Ghul, ancient prison if the demon lord Kyziras. Vincentine, the priest, gasps in horror. The doors have been cracked in several places. As the party cautiously approaches, the cracks in the door begin to pulse with arcane light.
Haiden Chamrist, the evil evoker that the party has been sent to capture, appears above the gigantic doors. Laughing maniacly, he waves his arms and the mists around the doors part, revealing a gruesome portent of evil. Thousands of corpses, ranging from tiny hobbits to several large ettins lie at the base of the doors, a pool of blood slowly churning thier spent life forces, corrupting them to the very core. With a shrill cry, the evoker makes a quick motion with his hands. Suddenly, he bursts into flames, and jumps down towards the pool of now bubbling ichor, no longer blood. Loran, the ranger, gets off several shots but not are able to save the party.
The ensuing explosion wreathes the mount in a cloud of dust. Vincentine stands, trying to peer into the darkness. As he mutters the incantations for a simple spell, a fiery sword slices through the darkness, piercing his heart. As the dust clears, the form of Kyziras can be seen standing above the fallen priest, his sword still thrust deep into the bowels of Vincentine. Laughing, he turns to face the rest of the party. His fiery red eyes strike fear into thier hearts, and all but the stalwart Tadis cower in fear.
"Do you fear me?" The demon chortles, loosing the priest from his sword with the flick of his wrist.
Grinning in desperate glory, the paladin offers no answer. Pulling forth her holy symbol in one hand and her warhammer in the other, she charges at the foul beast.
Laughing, the demon slashes at the crazed paladin with his whip. Unfortunately for him, the whip disintegrates as it nears the paladin's now glowing form. Dropping her holy symbol and warhammer, the paladin leaps at the beast with startling strength, reaching for the beasts heart.
Loran looks on as a blinding flash of light etches the silouhette (sp?) of Tadis and Kyziras into her memories. As the light fades, she sees Tadis, standing alone, wielding a fiery greatsword in both hands. The magnitude of her presence is enough to leave him speechless. As Tadis wavers and falls to the ground, she can feel the trapped screams of Kyziras within her mind.
[hr]
Basically, what I'm looking for is a PrC that allows a paladin to sacrifice herself to consume a demon, trapping it within her flesh.
A few things I would like to incorporate into the PrC:
Demonic traits: Every other level, the paladin might gain a demonic trait. Glowing eyes, traces of fangs or a horn, a claw on one arm, etc.
Demonic presence: Due to the possession, the paladin is weak to the powers of demons she faces in battle, but is more hardened to the mental battles she faces with her prisoner. This could be reflected in a bonus to Will saves, but a penalty to Fortitude saves.
Demonic hold: Due to the possession, the paladin is subject to spells like Detect Evil, Protection from Evil/Chaos, etc.
Demonic Channelling: In times of great stress, the paladin can channel the energies of the demon to do her bidding. This power increases in intensity over time, but if the paladin uses the abilities too often, the demon may be able to break free, and control the paladin for a few moments, hours, weeks, or perminantly.
Precarious balance: If the paladin reaches less than 10% hit points, the demon within him tries to prey on him in his weakened state. This can involve hallucinations, fevers, pains (psychosomatic), and eventually full-on control. If the paladin reaches 0 hit points and becomes unconscious, he must make a will save to keep the demon from freeing itself from its prison, and returning to the outside world. If the paladin is resurrected or raised, there is a chance that the demon with either A: Be returned to the Abyss, B: Enter the outside world in its true form, C: Kick the paladin's soul from the body, or D: Still be stuck with the paladin. Only spells such as True Resurrection can safely raise the paladin.
The way I see it, the paladin traps the demon because at such a low level he or she is not able to kill it. Either that or by trapping it within her the demon is no longer allowed to return to The Abyss.
A paladin-based core class
A paladin variant
A 10-level paladin PrC available from fifth level, given particular roleplaying criteria.
[hr]
The background:
After travelling for weeks, the blood-stained travelers finally reach the summit of Mount Lyranil. After killing wave upon wave of imp, undead, and crazed beast, the party of wayward mercenaries has reached thier destination. Standing before them are the adamantine doors leading to Trael Ghul, ancient prison if the demon lord Kyziras. Vincentine, the priest, gasps in horror. The doors have been cracked in several places. As the party cautiously approaches, the cracks in the door begin to pulse with arcane light.
Haiden Chamrist, the evil evoker that the party has been sent to capture, appears above the gigantic doors. Laughing maniacly, he waves his arms and the mists around the doors part, revealing a gruesome portent of evil. Thousands of corpses, ranging from tiny hobbits to several large ettins lie at the base of the doors, a pool of blood slowly churning thier spent life forces, corrupting them to the very core. With a shrill cry, the evoker makes a quick motion with his hands. Suddenly, he bursts into flames, and jumps down towards the pool of now bubbling ichor, no longer blood. Loran, the ranger, gets off several shots but not are able to save the party.
The ensuing explosion wreathes the mount in a cloud of dust. Vincentine stands, trying to peer into the darkness. As he mutters the incantations for a simple spell, a fiery sword slices through the darkness, piercing his heart. As the dust clears, the form of Kyziras can be seen standing above the fallen priest, his sword still thrust deep into the bowels of Vincentine. Laughing, he turns to face the rest of the party. His fiery red eyes strike fear into thier hearts, and all but the stalwart Tadis cower in fear.
"Do you fear me?" The demon chortles, loosing the priest from his sword with the flick of his wrist.
Grinning in desperate glory, the paladin offers no answer. Pulling forth her holy symbol in one hand and her warhammer in the other, she charges at the foul beast.
Laughing, the demon slashes at the crazed paladin with his whip. Unfortunately for him, the whip disintegrates as it nears the paladin's now glowing form. Dropping her holy symbol and warhammer, the paladin leaps at the beast with startling strength, reaching for the beasts heart.
Loran looks on as a blinding flash of light etches the silouhette (sp?) of Tadis and Kyziras into her memories. As the light fades, she sees Tadis, standing alone, wielding a fiery greatsword in both hands. The magnitude of her presence is enough to leave him speechless. As Tadis wavers and falls to the ground, she can feel the trapped screams of Kyziras within her mind.
[hr]
Basically, what I'm looking for is a PrC that allows a paladin to sacrifice herself to consume a demon, trapping it within her flesh.
A few things I would like to incorporate into the PrC:
Demonic traits: Every other level, the paladin might gain a demonic trait. Glowing eyes, traces of fangs or a horn, a claw on one arm, etc.
Demonic presence: Due to the possession, the paladin is weak to the powers of demons she faces in battle, but is more hardened to the mental battles she faces with her prisoner. This could be reflected in a bonus to Will saves, but a penalty to Fortitude saves.
Demonic hold: Due to the possession, the paladin is subject to spells like Detect Evil, Protection from Evil/Chaos, etc.
Demonic Channelling: In times of great stress, the paladin can channel the energies of the demon to do her bidding. This power increases in intensity over time, but if the paladin uses the abilities too often, the demon may be able to break free, and control the paladin for a few moments, hours, weeks, or perminantly.
Precarious balance: If the paladin reaches less than 10% hit points, the demon within him tries to prey on him in his weakened state. This can involve hallucinations, fevers, pains (psychosomatic), and eventually full-on control. If the paladin reaches 0 hit points and becomes unconscious, he must make a will save to keep the demon from freeing itself from its prison, and returning to the outside world. If the paladin is resurrected or raised, there is a chance that the demon with either A: Be returned to the Abyss, B: Enter the outside world in its true form, C: Kick the paladin's soul from the body, or D: Still be stuck with the paladin. Only spells such as True Resurrection can safely raise the paladin.
The way I see it, the paladin traps the demon because at such a low level he or she is not able to kill it. Either that or by trapping it within her the demon is no longer allowed to return to The Abyss.