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View Full Version : [3.5]The Retooled...PrCs of specific deities (for lack of a better title)



T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 11:55 AM
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Devotees of all faiths, outsiders that follow deities!!

...I am a very bored man.

How do I quell this boredom? Sometimes, I DM. Sometimes, I play games. Sometimes, I see webcomics. And when neither of these are enough, I let inspiration flow and homebrew emerges! Hence, sometimes it is good that I'm bored.

An example of this was looking at the various classes devoted to a specific deity. Most are on Complete Divine, although there are a few that emerge on other books (namely, the "Races of..." books), and even a few that never got away from Paizo (but appeared on Dragon, however).

Most of these, if not all of these, tend to suck. Half-casting progression, weak class abilities, amongst others, make devoting to a deity in exclusion to all others a bad idea.

And, since I was bored enough and figured "well, the Warlock was last month's 'brew and I'm trying to deliver something not a base class in leap months, I figured I could just drop a lot of deity-specific PrCs and update it as I'm supposed to update a lot of other stuff. And, given that big projects seem to be appreciated more than simple projects, probably this one will take flight!

Of course, having so many deities in the game (and their equivalents on other campaign settings), it comes to mind that not ALL of the deities got their own deity-specific class. This is something that should change. Hence, at least ONE of the PrCs I'm gonna present is an entirely new, unique and never-seen-before PrC, which means this project will not only include retooled versions of some PrCs, but entirely original content.

Thus, this first page will be a simple, unassuming front page, since the idea is to fill this thread with many PrCs, at least one for each deity (even though some deities have more than one PrC; Hextor and Heironeous, I'm looking at you two...) That means you can collaborate with ideas, as well as remind me some PrCs that need justice and that could be retooled, as well as how to make original PrCs for the remaining deities.

Table of Contents
The Shining Blade of Heironeous (original on Complete Divine)
The Radiant Servant of Pelor (original on Dragon magazine, then on Complete Divine)
The Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (original on Dragon magazine, reprinted in Dragon Compendium vol. 1)
The Eye of Gruumsh (original on Complete Warrior, with parts from the Blessed of Gruumsh from Dragon magazine)
Temple Raider of Olidammara (original on Complete Divine)
The Pretender of Lolth (entirely original material)
The Ravager (from Complete Warrior)

Upcoming
Champion of Corellon Larethian, Fist of Hextor, Platinum Knight/Vassal of Bahamut, Talon of Tiamat, revisions to Doomguide, Strifelord, Techsmith; original PrCs for Wee Jas and other deities.

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 11:57 AM
The first one in the list is a classic PrC bomb, dedicated to...basically provide you with extremely limited boosts to your weapons, at the extent of basically nerfing you in all possible ways. Obviously this class is meant for clerics, paladins and favored souls following Heironeous, which is the god of valor, chivalry and oddly enough lightning. One out of three is a sorely bad idea, so I ramped up the valor and chivalry aspects, making them a class a Paladin wouldn't hesitate taking, and one that Clerics and Favored Souls with an inclination towards the martial wouldn't hesitate taking either.

Of course, there's the thing about Project Heretica (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193554); the retooling I made for divine champions (of which the Paladin is part of). This retooling wasn't made with Project Heretica on mind, but there'll be a brief addendum on how to alter some of the class features to make both compatible; then again, it shouldn't be THAT hard.

That said, without further ado, I present to you...

THE SHINING BLADE OF HEIRONEOUS
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/Blue_Knight.jpg?t=1318872196
Champion, by JasonEngle. Original can be found here (http://jasonengle.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d8kncs).

"Feel the unyielding might of the Invincible's unerring strike! I shall cut a path for my soldiers to follow, as the lightning splits the mightiest wood! - Sir Rodrick, shining blade of Heironeous, boasting against an enemy officer.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements
To qualify to become a shining blade of Heironeous, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Lawful good, neutral good or lawful neutral
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells.
Special: Turn undead ability
Special: Must have Heironeous as a patron deity.

A paladin can fulfill the requirements as easily as reaching 5th level, while a Cleric or Favored Soul might take some more time. The alignment specifications are reasonable; a devotee of a god, whom receives powers from his or her god, shouldn't be more than one step away from their deity, and being Heironeous a Lawful Good deity, it makes sense for Lawful Neutrals and Neutral Goods to enter.

Lawful Neutral may be the oddity amongst the alignments. The idea is that the Shining Blade follows the Code of Chivalry as placed by Heironeous and probably does good with faith, but might be the more cynical or pragmatic soldier in combat. If the action does not conflict with the Code but is the most effective method of serving the deity, he (or she) does it, even if it's not the good thing to do.

Now, why Turn Undead, if the PrC is a bit on the martial bent? You'll see later on.

Class Skills
The shining blade of Heironeous’ class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Essentially, the shining blade has the same skill list as the Paladin (the core Paladin, that is), except they get Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes) and Spellcraft. It's also quite similar to the skill list of a Cleric, so it's a bit of an in-between. The boost in skill points is because they definitely could use some more.

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|Special|Spells per Day
1st|+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Blessed weapon, shocking blade|-
2nd|+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Fearless|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
3rd|+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Smite evil 1/encounter|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
4th|+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Shocking smite|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
5th|+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Holy blade|-
6th|+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Aura of courage|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
7th|+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Smite evil 2/encounter|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
8th|+8|
+6|
+2|
+6|Thundering smite|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
9th|+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Aura of inspired courage|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
10th|+10|
+7|
+3|
+7|Blessing of the shining|-[/TABLE]

Alright, this may seem a bit of a stretch, having a 7/10ths spellcasting class, with each of the lost spellcasting levels whenever they get their "blades". This is intentional, and while it leaves the Favored Souls out of their 9th level spells, Clerics can still reach them before 19th level, which is a bonus. There is a catch though, since they could essentially ignore the capstone for extra spells; the Paladin could easily say otherwise.

Class Features
All of the following are features of the shining blade of Heironeous prestige class.
Weapon Proficiency: A shining blade of Heironeous gains proficiency with the longsword if it does not already has it.

Big duuuuh! Heironeous' favored weapon is a longsword, so it makes sense that they get proficiency with a longsword if they don't have it. I mean, not all clerics gain the War domain; they might have gone for Courage, or Glory. You may never know. Besides, you might be a shugenja of Heironeous (odd as it may sound), or a healer of Heironeous (an oxymoron, of course), which don't get that proficiency automatically. And what if you're using a homebrewed class that...well, you get the idea.

Spells per Day: At all levels except 1st, 5th and 10th, a shining blade of Heironeous gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a shining blade of Heironeous, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

If the shining blade of Heironeous has no levels in a divine spellcasting class, he gains no benefit. If the defender’s spellcaster levels are from paladin or ranger, the caster level for those spells is equal to their shining blade of Heironeous class levels plus half their paladin or ranger levels (including 1st, 5th and 10th level, unlike other divine spellcasters).

This is typical fare; you get improved spellcasting in all senses, but no Turn Undead or uses of Remove Disease and so forth.

One thing I have to mention, however, is that little point. As you know, the core Paladin suffers from not having full caster level for their spells, an obvious oversight that the game developers never intended to fix. Thus, when you gain spell progression, the Paladin (or the ranger, in the odd case you enter through Ranger/Cleric) gets full caster level, even if they don't get all their spells. A 5th level Paladin (or Ranger) with 10 levels in the class has a casting ability as if a 12th level member of the same class, except that their caster level is of a...well, 12th level member!

But what about Project Heretica Paladins? While I'll make a bit of explanation on the addendum, they still get the full caster level progression. That also goes with the Retooled Ranger, even if they also get full CL while progressing on their classes.

Blessed Weapon (Su): Whenever a shining blade of Heironeous wields a weapon, it becomes sheathed in an aura of purity, which drives away evil. All weapons wielded by the shining blade of Heironeous are treated as good-aligned weapons for purposes of bypassing damage reduction.

If the shining blade of Heironeous wields a longsword, the weapon is treated as if having the Weapon Focus (longsword) feat and all critical threats made with it are automatically confirmed (as per the bless weapon spell). A character with the Weapon Focus (longsword) feat gains the benefit of the Weapon Specialization (longsword) feat instead.

Finally, the shining blade of Heironeous adds the bless weapon spell to the list of spells it may cast. He may prepare and cast the spell as a paladin would. If the character already has the bless weapon spell on his class list, it may add a single 1st level spell from the cleric spell list to his own spell list, so as long as the spell does not have the chaotic, darkness, evil or fear descriptor.

This one is a nice gift for anyone who enters the class. Beginning at 6th level, you can bypass damage reduction X/good, even if you use a kick in the nads! That's value, right there!

But, if you use the favored weapon of the deity (the longsword, of course), you get more benefits. For starters, you get a free +1 to attack rolls (or a free +2 to damage rolls, if you wasted invested on the Weapon Focus feat). Then, you get the equivalent of the Bless Weapon spell for free (well, half the benefit; the weapon is not treated as if magical, it's already treated as if good, so you only get the auto-crit confirmation). Just so you know, the Holy Avenger is a longsword, so you get the benefits with it (well, if you're a Paladin).

You may wonder, though, why you need the clerics and the favored souls to have Bless Weapon if they're not gonna cast them on themselves. That is because Bless Weapon works on any touched weapon, so you could provide the benefit to others by spending one of your 1st level spell slots. The Paladin gets the lion's share of the benefit, because they already have Bless Weapon, so they get a free 1st level Cleric spell added to their spell list. The restrictions are there, but that means you can get, say, Shield of Faith, or perhaps Conviction and use those abandoned 1st level spells for something useful. Well, something else other than Lesser Restoration, or possibly Deafening Clang or Divine Sacrifice.

Shock Blade (Su): The first ability acquired by the shining blade of Heironeous is to enchant his weapon with the divine power of his deity. Just as Heironeous the Invincible wields the mighty lightning bolt, so does the shining blade wields the power of righteous thunderbolts.

By expending a daily use of turn undead as a swift action, the shining blade of Heironeous may imbue a slashing or piercing weapon with divine energy. The weapon temporarily becomes a shocking weapon, dealing an extra 1d6 points of electricity damage on a successful hit. The weapon retains the enhancement for a number of rounds equal to the shining blade’s class level plus his Charisma modifier (if any), but only so as long as the shining blade is holding the weapon. If he is disarmed, the weapon retains the charge for one round before dissipating, unless the shining blade recovers the weapon before that time (in which the duration resumes as usual). Giving the weapon to another character ends the effect.

Remember when I mentioned about the need for Turn Undead uses? This is a good example on how to pull them off.

One of the weirdest, and weakest, things about the original class was that they got such a limited amount of uses of their most important ability, such that they essentially got a single use of their ability at 1st level and it progressed way too slowly. Making them based off their uses of Turn Undead changes everything, if only because you get more uses of TU than most anything else, it makes a lot of sense (if divine feats come to mind), and you can complement the daily uses with magic items (*coughcoughNightstickcoughcough*) to provide even more daily uses.

Adding shocking to a weapon may not seem like a lot, since you get only a simple 1d6 worth of damage, but you get even fewer things from most divine feats, which is what this ability compares to (the exceptions are Divine Might, for example, which can add a lot more). However, you do get to stack those things, and the ability eventually upgrades into something better, so it's not a bad start.

Fearless (Ex): At 2nd level, a shining blade of Heironeous is blessed with divine courage from his deity. A shining blade becomes immune to fear, magical or otherwise.

A core Paladin may not gain anything from this, but a cleric, a favored soul, a ranger, or a Project Heretica Paladin (or Justiciar) get something interesting out of this. One thing I must indicate, however, is that users of the Project Heretica Paladin may not hold this benefit, considering that they have a different way to face fear; this is dealt with in the addendum.

Smite Evil (Su): At 3rd level, and again at 8th level, a shining blade of Heironeous gains the ability to smite evil with a normal melee attack. Treat this as the paladin smite evil ability, except you deal an amount of damage equal to your shining blade class level plus your levels in cleric or paladin, if any. You may use this ability once per encounter (twice per encounter at 8th level).

This is your typical smite evil, except if you're going with the core Paladin, they get more uses based on how many battles they face. The fact that you can stack cleric levels on top of it makes it even more useful.

Do note, however, that if you use the Project Heretica Paladin, some of the things there supersede those here (namely, that the smite can be activated as part of any melee action). You only gain the extra uses and the increased damage, but you don't progress the rider effects (and keep the ones you have), mostly because you gain new rider effects while in this PrC.

Shocking Smite (Su): Whenever a shining blade of Heironeous smites an evil creature, the creature is punished with divine lightning from the deity itself. Any evil creature successfully affected by a smite attack takes an amount of electricity damage equal to the shining blade’s class level, and must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC equal to 10 + the shining blade’s class level + the shining blade’s Charisma modifier) or become dazed for one round. The electricity damage stacks with the damage from the shock blade class ability.

Right after you get your first use of smite evil, it automatically gets better. The smite damage increases almost exponentially, and being static damage, it gets multiplied on a critical (and if the enemy is weak against electricity, it gets even more damage). The daze effect is also pretty potent.

Something that you may notice from this benefit is that it's basically the same thing I did for the Project Heretica Paladin; add rider effects to smites to make them more interesting. This is the rough equivalent of the Stunning Smite, except that it starts far slower than usual. I've gotten a lot of flak on how Stunning Smite is far more powerful than the norm, so this may serve as a method of powering down Stunning Smite; start as a mere daze, then stun, then paralysis. There's more explanations down at the addendum, but I wanted to make this part clear here because I'm still thinking on how to deal exactly with Stunning Smite to make it useful without being overpowering.

Holy Blade (Su): At 5th level, a shining blade of Heironeous gains the ability to enchant his weapon with the power of pure good. When using the shock blade class ability, the shining blade may instead enchant his weapon with the holy special property, dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage against evil creatures. The ability lasts for the same number of rounds and has the same restrictions as the shock blade class ability. A shining blade of Heironeous may expend two daily uses of his turn undead ability to imbue the weapon with both the shocking and the holy special properties with the same action.

Alright, so shocking may not seem that brutal, but how about Holy? Holy is universally revered as one of the best weapon special qualities you could add to any weapon, if only because of the extra damage and the sheer amount of enemies it affects (since most monsters are evil). Turning your weapon into a temporary holy weapon can be done with a divine feat, but the property lasts for one attack; this one lasts for far, far longer (5+Charisma modifier rounds, actually). And, for two daily uses of Turn Undead (you may have a higher Charisma than that, especially if you're a Favored Soul, perhaps with a dip on Cleric for the Turn Undead uses or Sacred Exorcist), you can get both shocking AND holy on the same weapon, without increasing the effect (so you can stack even more damage on it!)

Aura of Courage (Ex): At 6th level, a shining blade of Heironeous extends his deity’s courage upon his allies, allowing them to vanquish their fears. All allies within 10 feet of the shining blade of Heironeous gain a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects.

A paladin that reaches 6th level in the class (or a character with the aura of courage class ability) gains instead the aura of inspired courage special ability (see below).

So, whom else has the aura of courage class ability aside from a Paladin? Well, if you consider that the Courage domain power is basically aura of Courage, and that Heironeous MAY offer that domain if the DM agrees, then the Cleric also has this ability, so both can get the Aura of Inspired Courage.

Aside from that, the aura of courage is a minor, yet respectable, benefit closely related to the deity (whom is a deity of valor). This trait allows you to treat the domain granted power as an actual aura of courage, so you can qualify for the same feats that empower auras, as well as the spells that do so.

Project Heretica Paladins benefit a bit different from the norm, just in case.

Thundering Smite (Su): At 8th level, a shining blade’s smite echoes upon evildoers, much as the thunder after a lightning bolt. On a successful smite attempt, the target is stunned for 1d6 rounds instead of dazed on a failed saving throw. Any evil creature within 30 feet of the target takes an amount of sonic damage equal to the shining blade’s class level (plus levels on cleric or paladin), and must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC equal to the shocking smite daze effect) or become dazed for one round.

This is the Shocking Smite's big brother, and even Project Heretica Paladins don't get this nifty benefit. It's comparable, so to speak, with the Fist of Raziel's smite upgrades, in that it makes the smite a dangerous attack. The smite essentially becomes an area of effect attack that damages evil creatures, aims for the least-resisted type of energy, and delivers a nasty effect to boot.

Why go for daze (and stun) instead of, say, deafen? Being a thundering attack, it would have made more sense to go deafen instead of daze; however, daze IS weak, and then there's Sound Burst which provides a slightly stronger benefit. If you're gonna spend a few levels getting into this prestige class and you get only a slightly improved smite, you'll probably feel cheated; this is just so you know you won't get cheated. The damage is comparable to a maximized, empowered Sound Burst and then more, even though the effect is weaker, but the individual on the epicenter of the attack suffers even more.

As usual, Project Heretica Paladins get a different benefit, mostly because it's essentially combining Stunning with Resounding, so it bears to mention that it plays differently.

Aura of Inspired Courage (Ex): At 9th level, a shining blade becomes a beacon of courage, inspiring allies to strive forth and battle evil with renewed strength. Any ally within the range of the shining blade’s aura of courage gains a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls and weapon damage rolls as well as the morale bonus on saving throws against fear.

A paladin that reaches 9th level in the class (or a character with the aura of courage class ability obtained outside this class) increases the morale bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls to +4. A character with bard levels (or levels in an ability that grants the inspire courage class ability) use their bonus with this aura or the bonus provided by the inspire courage ability, whichever is highest.

One thing to clear out, of course, is that the aura of inspired courage isn't the inspire courage bardic music, so most of the benefits won't stack. That said, if you consider they should stack as if they were inspire courage, be my guest. A core paladin/shining blade of Heironeous is delivering, even if within 10 feet, a morale bonus higher than what a Greater Heroism or bard's inspire courage would (the latter at least earlier), but Greater Heroism delivers even better benefits and you can stack Inspire Courage modifiers to deliver even more boons, and at a larger area. The idea, of course, was to make the Aura of Courage actually worthwhile, and thus a bit better tactically to group closer to the meatshield...erm, shining blade.

As mentioned above, Project Heretica Paladins may not get this ability, and since they already get a slightly similar aura of courage, they get something different instead.

Blessing of the Shining Blade (Su): At 10th level, a shining blade of Heironeous becomes a partial conduit of his deity’s power. Whenever he wields a slashing or piercing weapon, the weapon is treated as if having either the shocking or the holy special ability. The shining blade chooses which property to apply whenever he draws, grabs or otherwise first holds the weapon, and may change the property of the weapon as a standard action. A shining blade holding a shocking, shocking burst, holy or holy burst weapon automatically adds the other property (thus, a shocking weapon is treated as having the holy weapon special property).

Furthermore, the constant conduit makes the original abilities of the shining blade to imbue a weapon with special properties become much stronger. A shining blade of Heironeous may expend a daily use of turn undead to imbue his weapon with the shocking burst, heavenly burst (see Magic Item Compendium, page 36), thundering or brilliant energy special properties. These last for the same number of rounds and have the same restrictions as the shock blade class ability. A shining blade of Heironeous may expend up to 4 daily uses of his turn undead ability with the same action to imbue his weapon with a number of the weapon special properties mentioned earlier equal to the number of daily uses of turn undead expended (thus, a shining blade that expends two daily uses may decide to imbue his weapon with the shocking burst and heavenly burst, the shocking burst and thundering, the shocking burst and brilliant energy, the heavenly burst and thundering, the heavenly burst and brilliant energy, or the thundering and brilliant energy special properties).

This ability was the attempt to make a worthwhile capstone, considering that the original original PrC (the one on Dragon Magazine) made your character gain a free template out of the blue, and the Complete Divine version makes Heironeous cry tears of shame (brilliant energy and nothing else!? Really!? REALLY!?). The idea was that, if you were to go 10 levels getting into the prestige class AND you're losing the last spellcasting slot, it should be something worthwhile.

That, of course, reminded me of the Fist of Raziel. It really is a great PrC, and the capstone even more so; any weapon you held in your hand gained the Holy property for free. That means you could use Doritos TM brand tortilla chips as improvised shurikens, and they would deal 1 point of non-lethal damage +2d6 points of holy damage against an evil creature. I tend to joke about it as "holy Doritos" to my pals. Since the main ability of the shining blade was to make a "shining blade", it was fitting to add this ability for free, given that you qualified for the actual weapons the earlier two abilities had as a requirement (slashing or piercing weapons; this makes the humble heavy mace a big no-no, but it DOES make the morningstar a bit more useful because it qualifies). Shocking is when you need to add damage but you don't know whether you'll be facing evil creatures or neutral obstacles, so you could safely hold a weapon that could deal damage in a wider variety of circumstances.

However, while good, it still doesn't make the ability worthwhile. Thus, to further the benefits of this ability, you can provide the weapon with the shocking burst, heavenly burst, thundering or brilliant energy special qualities, highly increasing the potential damage of the weapon. This also plays quite well with the weapon choice, as three of the four work best with high critical threat or high critical multiplier weapons (either more damage or more chances of higher damage), while the latter works intermittently and saves you the harsh +4 cost of a brilliant energy weapon. This also makes your weapons deal damage rolling as if melee touches (in most cases, that is), so it makes you hit much better in the few cases you need them.

Of course, requiring FOUR uses of Turn Undead to activate all abilities may sound a bit harsh, but considering you're adding 3d6 worth of damage against evil creatures not immune or resistant to electricity, plus around 3d6+1d10+1d8 on evil creatures not immune or resistant to electricity and sonic on a critical hit (with a chance for extra electricity damage on a high crit multiplier weapon) on every attack serves as an immense damage multiplier, which coupled with the chance for melee touch attacks means you suddenly contribute effectively in combat, does justify the rough expenditure (especially if you have many uses of TU to fuel it up).

Multiclass Note: A paladin who becomes a shining blade of Heironeous may continue advancing as a paladin.

Ignore this if you're using a Project Heretica Paladin, but if you're using the core Paladin, obviously you want to continue advancing in the earlier class once you reach 10th level, no?

ALTERNATE DEITIES
If a character decides to take this prestige class but does not have Heironeous as a deity, the following changes apply:

Special (entry requirement): Replace the patron deity for a deity of law, good and courage. Characters from the FORGOTTEN REALMS ™ Campaign Setting may use either Ilmater, Torm or Tyr as a patron deity. Characters from the EBERRON ™ Campaign Setting may use either Dol Arrah or the Silver Flame as a patron deity.

Weapon Proficiency: The character gains proficiency with the deity’s favored weapon if it does not have already.

Blessed Weapon: If the shining blade wields his deity’s preferred weapon, it is treated as if having the Weapon Focus feat and all critical threats made with it are automatically confirmed (as per the bless weapon spell). A character with the Weapon Focus feat with the deity’s preferred weapon gains the benefit of the Weapon Specialization feat with the same weapon instead.

The following is a list of preferred weapons of the mentioned deities.
Dol Arrah: halberd
Ilmater: unarmed strike. A “bloodied fist of Ilmater” gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat if it does not have it already.
Silver Flame: longbow (treat composite longbow as longbow for purposes of this ability)
Torm: greatsword
Tyr: longsword (same as Heironeous)

Shock Blade, Holy Blade, Blessing of the Shining Blade: The shocking weapon property is unique to Heironeous, given that it is part of his domain. Other deities grant their shining blades the following abilities:

Dol Arrah: Replace the shocking weapon property with the sacred weapon property (see Magic Item Compendium). Replace the shocking burst and brilliant energy weapon properties with the sacred burst (see Magic Item Compendium) and disrupting weapon properties. In the case of disrupting, the benefit only applies to bludgeoning weapons and the deity’s favored weapon.

Ilmater: Ilmater only provides his benefit with bludgeoning weapons, not piercing or slashing. Replace the shocking weapon property with the merciful weapon property. Replace the shocking burst and brilliant energy weapon properties with the defending and implacable special properties. The implacable special property only works against evil creatures.

When using this ability to enchant unarmed strikes, a “bloodied fist” can expend one daily use of turn undead to treat the unarmed strike as a magic weapon, and grant an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to half the character’s class level, rounded up. This ability can be used separately, or alongside any of the aforementioned abilities.

Silver Flame: Replace the shocking weapon property with the flaming weapon property and the holy weapon property with the sacred weapon property (see Magic Item Compendium). Replace the shocking burst, holy burst, and brilliant energy weapon properties with the flaming burst, sacred burst (see Magic Item Compendium) and banishing (see Magic Item Compendium) special properties. If using a longbow or composite longbow, the weapon bestows the ability on the projectile instead.

Torm and Tyr: Replace the shocking weapon property with the lawful weapon property. A character may imbue a weapon with the holy special property at 1st level instead of 5th level, and imbue his weapon with the lawful weapon special property at 5th level. Replace shocking burst with axiomatic burst (as axiomatic, except it deals 1d10 extra points of damage per critical multiplier against chaotic creatures on a critical hit). If the patron deity is Tyr, replace brilliant energy with blindsighted (see Magic Item Compendium; in the case of the blindsighted special ability, the effect is activated with the expenditure of the turn undead daily attempt, lasts for the same time as the other temporary properties, and has no limit on activations).

Because Heironeous is not the only deity of valor and courage, and Heironeous won't exist on other campaigns, these are alternates you may consider to allow the PrC with pre-existing deities. Namely, these are Dol Arrah, Ilmater, the Silver Flame, Torm and Tyr (two thirds of the Triad). The replacements, of course, are meant to fit the deities' portfolios, but they still work as usual.

If you have a deity of courage homebrewed into your campaign, you can use these guidelines to provide the changes. Most of the times, shocking will have to be gone for a suitable replacement, one that preferably suits your homebrewed deity's portfolio. Holy is usually kosher for most good-aligned deities, but deities specialized into facing other creatures may find using Sacred (great for undead and evil outsiders) or [creature] bane a fitter choice. You should play carefully with the changes, but you can plausibly ignore their effective enhancement bonuses.

For example, how to deal with Valkar, the Chaotic Good deity of Courage from Complete Warrior? He can't be left behind, because he represents a deity in some campaigns. Thus, it is reasonable to keep the holy properties around, but replace shocking (and shocking burst) with Anarchic (and Anarchic Burst), and the class would be open to all chaotic good, chaotic neutral and neutral good characters. Altua, another honorable deity (while not one of courage) and another LG deity, may hold different traits (perhaps not an aura of courage, but an "aura of nobility" that provides bonuses to Diplomacy and probably a sanctuary effect (or a duplication and improvement of the Nobility domain granted power).

ADDENDUM: THE SHINING BLADE OF HEIRONEOUS AND OTHER VERSIONS OF PALADINS
The prestige class presented above was made focused on the core 3.5 paladin, which gains various benefits and enters quite easily. However, there are many homebrewed versions of paladins, as well as another "official" version with the Pathfinder Paladin. These classes provide some changes to the official Paladin, which may not be fully compatible with those of the presented PrC. The two options I'll present here will deal with the Pathfinder Paladin and the Project Heretica Paladin; afterwards, there'll be a brief explanation on how to adapt certain class features if there are things that other homebrewed Paladins lack.

PATHFINDER
The changes between 3.5 and Pathfinder are varied, but for the most part both classes are pretty similar. The following would be the most notable changes:
Being that Heironeous doesn't exist, the Shining Blade would be exclusive to Iomedae. Other deities barely fit: Apsu is the equivalent to Bahamut, and Ragathiel is the equivalent to Raziel and thus fit better with other PrCs.
Turn Undead would be changed for Channel Positive Energy as a class requirement.
When a Pathfinder Paladin gains the Smite Evil class feature, it gains the ability as the Pathfinder Paladin.
Shocking Smite requires two uses of Smite Evil and provides the benefit of extra shocking damage (but no daze effect, except when first activated) every attack.
Thundering Smite requires expending two uses of Smite Evil. The extra damage to all evil creatures and the daze effect work as usual, but otherwise it acts like the Pathfinder Paladin's Smite Evil.
For purposes of Shocking Blade and Holy Blade, treat Iomedae as if she were Dol Arrah for purposes of replacements. Rename accordingly.

PROJECT HERETICA
The classes from Project Heretica (the Paladin and the Justiciar, mostly) are built using the same chassis, but play quite differently from the core Paladin. The following are the necessary changes:
A Justiciar may enter by using his Censure/Rebuke Outsider ability as if it were Turn Undead.
The Paladin only progresses Smite Evil damage, and levels in the Shining Blade prestige class stack with levels in Paladin to detemine the DC of the smites' rider effects. The Paladin gains no improvements or new rider effects, except from those acquired by this prestige class.
The Justiciar gains extra uses of Verdict instead of Smite Evil, and may use his Verdict abilities in either chaotic creatures or evil creatures. Only extra damage from Verdict and save DC improve.
Instead of Aura of Courage and Aura of Improved Courage, the Paladin (and Justiciar) gain the Divine Aura of Courage (as the Paladin). If the Paladin already has the Divine Aura of Courage, she automatically gains a new divine aura at the same level. At 9th level, the Paladin (or Justiciar) gain the benefit of a new Divine Aura or Sanction. If the auras depend on class level, levels in the prestige class stack.
Shocking Smite and Thundering Smite are considered part of a single, separate smite method. Thus, a Paladin with levels in this class may use the Shocking/Thundering Smite or one of its chosen smite methods, but not combine both. The Shocking/Thundering Smite also counts as a separate form of Verdict in the case of the Justiciar.
A Paladin or a Justiciar gains a different benefit regarding Blessed Blade; they learn a new 1st level spell instead of adding a Cleric spell to their list. Paladins and Justiciar with the Serenity ACF may instead cast an extra 1st level spell.
Paladins do not gain the Fearless class feature at 2nd level. If they have the Standing upon Adversity class feature, these abilities activate whenever the Paladin is under a fear effect instead. Other Paladins without the Standing upon Adversity class feature gain a bonus feat instead.

OTHER HOMEBREW
Given the extensive list of changes, it is difficult to pin down potential changes. Most homebrewed paladins play quite similar, except for some changes. These few points address some of the changes:
Paladins without Turn Undead as a class feature cannot enter unless they have a reasonable equivalent.
The Smite Evil class feature is dependent on the type of smite they possess. If the Paladin has no Smite Evil, treat as the core version.
Paladins that have replaced their spellcasting progression with martial maneuvers, psionics or incarnum progress their abilities at the same rate as if they were spells, but progress no other features.
Paladins without Aura of Courage gain the ability as mentioned. Paladins whose Aura of Courage provides a bonus to attack and damage rolls increase said bonuses by 1 at 6th and 9th levels.
The Paladin must still comply with the alignment prerequisites, in case the alignment restriction has been waivered.
In the case of d20 Rebirth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=181496), they get 4 Prowess every level, they stack their levels in Shining Blade with levels in Paladin for purposes of daily uses of Resolve, gain the Aura of Courage ability at 6th level and gain an increase of 1 in their Inspire Courage ability at 6th and 9th level. They may enter by means of their Resolve ability (instead of Turn Undead), but any class ability that requires uses of Turn Undead require two Resolve instead.

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 11:59 AM
The second PrC in the list is not that bad of a PrC on its own, but one that fails on part of its purpose. The Radiant Servant of Pelor is a class meant to exalt the two main qualities of the clerics of Pelor; healing and vanquishing the undead. It also includes light, but that's pretty minor.

However, when you see the results, they are sub-par. When battling undead, Radiant Servants of Pelor work fine; they get their entire uses of Turn Undead transformed into Greater Turn Undead, which means they can destroy most undead very easily. With some work, -they can destroy very powerful undead in one blow. Furthermore, the positive energy burst ability deals a weak, but sizable, amount of damage for the cost of two turning attempts. Combined with full spellcasting (which means they get access to all their spells), they can easily work with the undead. So, their main purpose works decently...if only because Turn Undead isn't exactly overpowering. But, if you can make Turn Undead work decently, you can use it to its fullest extent.

However, let's talk about healing. If you have Pelor's healing domain, formidable; those spells get boosted with Empower, Maximize and finally both at once. However, if you don't have the Healing domain...three of the best abilities the Radiant Servant EVER could have suddenly become worthless. Luckily, you get a third domain, in case you need the Healing domain.

Once you compare the rest of the abilities, they're sorta weak. Well, except Divine Health; that is decent. But, the ability to double the radius of light? A weak morale bonus on Will saving throws? Really? REALLY!?

But of course, that changes now. The idea, of course, is to focus on the two main qualities of the Radiant Servant; healing, and undead-turning. However, we're gonna make the light spells work even better (I mean, the class is called RADIANT Servant for one thing, no?), and we're gonna deal with many problems with healing, one-half of the focus of the PrC itself.

Thus, I am proud and glad to present the new, the improved, the retooled...!


RADIANT SERVANT OF PELOR
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/Jin-Xin_Radiant_Servant_of_Losi_The_Pure.jpg?t=1318990 516
Jin-Xin, Radiant Servant of Losi the Pure. Artist Unknown.

"The light of the Shining One touches all corners of the surface world. It grants life to the living, and dispels the darkness, purges the wicked. Rejoice for the light of life and the light of justice brought by Pelor!" -- rally spoken by a Radiant Servant of Pelor before facing the depths of the Necropolis.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements
To qualify to become a radiant servant of Pelor, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any good
Feats: Extra Turning, Disciple of the Sun
Skills: Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells and must have chosen the Sun domain.
Special: Turn undead ability
Special: Must have Pelor as a patron deity.

As you may have noticed, the requirements are essentially the same as before, except the weak requirement of Will +5 (which is preposterous) is replaced for a more appropriate set of requirements (such as having both Heal and Knowledge [religion] require 8 ranks).

One notable change is the requirement for Disciple of the Sun. This feat essentially allows you to duplicate the effect of the Sun domain by expending double the uses of Turn Undead. As you'll notice, the existence of the feat sorta invalidates the Greater Turning ability, more so when you already have Extra Turning AND the possibility of Nightsticks (you do remember they exist, no?). Thus, there's a need to make the Turning ability stronger than before, as you'll see.

Class Skills
The radiant servant of Pelor’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

No changes on the skill list, but the Radiant Servant gets more skill points. This is because, as you might figure, most Clerics won't place their attention on Intelligence, so it makes sense.

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|Special|Spells per Day
1st|+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Positive energy burst (damage undead), radiance, turn undead|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
2nd|+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Bonus domain, healing hands|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
3rd|+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|Blinding radiance, positive energy burst (damage evil outsiders)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
4th|+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Reach healing, divine health|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
5th|+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Positive energy burst (healing), superior turning|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
6th|+4|
+5|
+2|
+5|Empower healing, divine body|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
7th|+5|
+5|
+2|
+5|Deadly radiance, positive energy aura|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
8th|+6|
+6|
+2|
+6|Maximize healing|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
9th|+6|
+6|
+3|
+6|Heighten radiance, positive energy burst (damage evil creatures)|+1 of existing spellcasting ability
10th|+7|
+7|
+3|
+7|Quicken healing, superior healing|+1 of divine spellcasting ability[/TABLE]

As you can see, the PrC is chock-full of class abilities at every level, and various abilities have been exchanged. For starters, the positive energy burst ability has been expanded quite a bit, and there's a new addendum to the positive energy manipulation ability through the use of positive energy aura, taken pretty much straight from DDO.

Which leads to a slight explanation; although not going straight into how the developers at Turbine reworked the Radiant Servant into a must-have for essentially any cleric (especially since there are no other prestige enhancements, the in-game equivalent of prestige classes), many ideas were drawn from the developers, specifically the positive energy aura ability (a very nice ability, actually, which IIRC exists as a spell in the Spell Compendium).

Class Features
All of the following are features of the radiant servant of Pelor prestige class.
Weapon Familiarity: A radiant servant of Pelor is a powerful healer and warrior against evil, but sometimes the task is made harder because of obstacles on his way. Sometimes, those obstacles cannot be solved by proselytizing, needing a much stronger form of conviction. A radiant servant of Pelor that wields a mace (light or heavy) gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and deals an extra 2 points of damage on a successful hit (as if it had the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats).

Yup, the first thing a Pelorite gets isn't necessarily better turning or healing from the get-go, but the very mundane ability to whack a bad guy on the noggin'. Sure, a +1 on attack rolls and a +2 on damage rolls isn't really important on the long run, but if the Pelorite needs to get into combat, it will be useful. Of course, this is to reinforce the idea of Pelor's favored weapon, which is the heavy mace (though he allows for light maces, because lets face it, very few weapons are ever treated as favored weapons, and those that do are pretty weak).

Spells per Day: When a new radiant servant of Pelor is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a radiant servant of Pelor, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Not much, except this is one of the rare occasions where you'll see a retooled PrC with full spellcasting. But, being a primarily Cleric-centric PrC, it needs full spellcasting. Or maybe it doesn't, but who am I to protest? The focus is intentionally narrow (healing and undead-vanquishing), so they need all the bonuses they can get.

Radiance: When a radiant servant of Pelor casts any spell with the light descriptor, the radius of illumination is doubled and the spell is treated as if it were one level higher for all purposes, including determining whether it can counter or dispel a spell with the darkness descriptor. For purposes of this ability and others, the searing light spell is treated as if having the [light] descriptor.

So yeah, they still keep their weak Radiance ability, except that light becomes harder to dispel. However, one key point is that, as you'll notice in the table, there are MORE parts to radiance, which make light a real offensive option (well, the earlier ones that is). Pelor is the god of the sun, so why wait until very late to have actual good light spells, when darkness spells kick so many fleshy behinds?

UPDATE: Whatever were the developers thinking about not giving the Searing Light spell its proper description!?!?!? OUTRAGE!!!

...thus, a proper fix.

Turn Undead: A radiant servant of Pelor adds his radiant servant levels to his class levels for all purposes related to turn undead.

Not much to say. They ARE vanquishers of the undead, after all.

Positive Energy Burst (Su): As a standard action, a radiant servant of Pelor can create a positive energy burst that deals 1d6 points of damage per class level to all undead creatures within 100 ft. of the character. Undead are allowed a Will save (DC equal to 10 + the class level of the radiant servant + the radiant servant’s Charisma modifier) to avoid half the damage. This supernatural ability uses up two turning attempts, and a radiant servant cannot use this ability if he has fewer than two turning attempts left for the day.

As a radiant servant of Pelor increases in class levels, the positive energy burst gains additional qualities. At 3rd level, the damage from the positive energy burst is also damaging to evil outsiders, which take 1d6 points of damage per two class levels, and are allowed a Reflex save for half damage. Damage dealt to undead increases to 1d8 per class level.

At 5th level, a radiant servant of Pelor grants the positive energy burst the ability to heal allies within the range of the burst an amount of damage equal to 1d8 per two class levels.

At 9th level, the damage from the positive energy burst is damaging to any evil creature. These take 1d6 points of damage per two class levels, and are allowed a Reflex save for half damage. Damage dealt to evil outsiders increases to 1d8 per two class levels, and damage dealt to undead creatures increases to 2d6 per class level.

As you can see, this is a clue taken from the Radiant Servant prestige enhancement from DDO; positive energy burst is a 1st level ability. However, instead of making it almighty from the get-go, it becomes progressively better as you...well, progress within the class. The first part of the ability is the classic version of PEB as presented on the Complete Divine supplement; damage undead on area with the expenditure of two uses of Turn Undead. As you progress, the radiance becomes harmful to evil outsiders (because they are the sources of all misery on the land, of course), and finally to all evil creatures (because the light of the sun punishes all evil, obviously). Some may consider this hypocritical (holler back at ya, conspiracy theorists investigators of the Burning Light!), but it makes PEB all the more powerful.

However, one odd ability given to the DDO version was the ability to heal allies within the area of effect of the spell, and given that the Radiant Servant is not only the scourge of all undead (and eventually all darkness) but also a source of life, it makes perfect sense. Hence, it not only provides a reasonable source of damage, it also provides a source of healing, and it only takes two daily uses of Turn Undead to activate all that! I foresee tactical uses of Positive Energy Burst when the situation becomes dire, as it can turn the tide of the battle in a pinch.

Bonus Domain: A radiant servant of Pelor who reaches 2nd level is granted another of Pelor’s domains as a bonus cleric domain, or he can choose between the Glory or Purification domains. He can use the granted power of the new domain, and he can choose from the spell lists of all his domains when selecting his domain spells for the day.

Nothing different here, except that it seems that the Radiant Servant gets a load of stuff at 1st level, no? Still, this is pretty basic; since they're forced to take one domain which eventually turns pointless, why not prize that forced choice with the ability to choose a different domain later on? Glory works phenomenally on Turn Undead, and Purification adds a lot of zealous spells (come on, Deific Vengeance? Castigate? Righteous Wrath of The Faithful? That sounds like songs for a religious heavy metal band, right there! Well, perhaps not, but at least a Fundie one; maybe the Burning Light IS the Fundie sect of Pelor?)

Healing Hands (Su): At 2nd level, a radiant servant of Pelor develops a greater skill with his healing abilities. Any time he casts a conjuration (healing) spell from one of his divine spellcasting slots, he adds an amount to the healing equal to his Wisdom modifier, plus 1 point per four Heal ranks above 3. This ability does not stack with similar class features, if any (but class features from this class apply)

When it says "it doesn't stack with similar class features", look no further than the Healer. Or at least, the Retooled Healer; it also has Healing Hands as a class feature. In fact, it is strictly better than the Healing Hands class feature of the Miniatures Handbook Healer, which only adds only Charisma. Hence, even while strictly better, they don't stack. Sorry guys...

On the other hand, this makes the Heal skill all the more important. How to justify this boon? Well, when you're healing, you're focusing the positive energy in a way it reinforces the body's natural healing processes, or something like that. You are well-versed in the healing arts (both mundane and magical), so why not power that up?

Note that this method of increased healing works on any conjuration (healing) spell, not just the Cure Wounds line. Hence, it technically works on Lesser Restoration, and other such spells.

Blinding Radiance (Su): At 3rd level, a radiant servant of Pelor casts spells of light with such intensity that they burst forth and blind their opponent. Whenever a radiant servant of Pelor casts a spell with the light descriptor, the target (or opponents within the range of the spell) must make a Reflex saving throw (DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell used + the radiant servant’s Wisdom modifier) or become blinded for 1 round per two class levels; a successful save merely dazzles the opponent for 1 round. Creatures with light sensitivity treat any light spell as the equivalent of a daylight spell (if the intensity is not already brighter).

Didn't I mention that the Radiant Servant was a Radiant servant of Pelor? Then, why the light spells are so weak? Hence, any spell with the light descriptor (even the humble Light orison) becomes a potential debuffer. Because blind hurts, quite a lot; making it based on Reflex hurts casters and melees in equal regard. Clever little tactic, no? And, it's a save or suck, since a successful save makes you dazzled (hence, you can essentially use a Flare spell to effectively dazzle an enemy, save or not).

Now, consider the spells that actually cause light damage. Using Searing Light, Sunbeam or Sunburst suddenly becomes a dangerous debuffing and damaging tactic.

Oh, did I mention most of these spells are Evocation spells? Yay for making Evocation rock!

Reach Healing (Su): At 4th level, a radiant servant of Pelor can cast healing spells within a small range. Any time a radiant servant of Pelor casts a conjuration (healing) spell with a range of touch, he may apply this spell to any creature within close range (25 ft. plus 5 feet per two class levels). Treat this as if applying the Reach Spell, except it is automatically applied as a free action and it does not require a higher-level spell slot.

One of the constant protests of in-combat healing being inefficient is that you need to touch your target in order to use the spell, which makes you waste a turn. You're still wasting a turn, but at least this allows you to help an ally in a pinch without moving, which may allow you to...use your move action tactically. That helps a bit with action economy, the currency that applies in battles with higher-level creatures.

Note that this applies to ALL conjuration (healing) spells, unlike the original Radiant Servant which, while not having this ability, limited similar abilities to spells from the Healing domain. Abilities such as Empower Healing and Maximize Healing WILL come eventually, and will work in a similar way (applying to all conjuration [healing] spells, not just those from the Healing domain spell slots). This is also a freebie, since let's face it, most games have you healing from a distance.

Note this also applies to ALL conjuration (healing) spells, including split-second resurrection spells such as Last Breath, or the actual Resurrection spell. With latter abilities, you'll suddenly realize you can resurrect in the midst of combat. That alone makes the Radiant Servant extremely good...and we still have 6 levels to go.

Divine Health (Su): At 4th level, a radiant servant of Pelor is immune to all diseases, including magical diseases such as mummy rot and lycanthropy.

The original has Divine Health, so why not the retooling? Makes sense, no?

Superior Turning (Su): At 5th level, a radiant servant of Pelor destroys any enemy that it would have otherwise turned by expending only a single turn undead attempt.

As well, by expending two daily uses of turn undead, or expending the daily use of the Sun domain, a radiant servant of Pelor further improves his turning. He applies the benefit of the Empower Turning feat, and he deals maximum turning damage (but he still must roll to determine the added turning damage from Empower Turning).

As you may have noticed, the Greater Turning ability is long gone. Superior Turning makes the Greater Turning ability have better sense; you're effectively having as many uses of Greater Turning as uses of Turn Undead, so why not take it one step further? That also makes Disciple of the Sun irrelevant; still, for the first four levels of the class it made quite a lot of sense.

Thus, as a salvo, the combination of Greater Turning and Disciple of the Sun makes you turn even better! Thus, you effectively get Empower Turning and you also "maximize" your turning (but you still need to roll; using the same tactic of Empower Spell and Maximize Spell, as you may know) whenever you would have used greater turning OR the Disciple of the Sun feat. So...that's the equivalent of two feats for the price of one? More than fair trade, if I may say so myself.

Empower Healing (Su): At 6th level, whenever a radiant servant of Pelor casts a conjuration (healing) spell, he may apply the benefit of the Empower Spell as a free action without increasing or expending a higher-level spell slot by expending a daily use of his turn undead attempt. If the radiant servant casts a spell of the Healing domain from his domain spell slot, the spell is automatically empowered without the need to expend a daily use of his turning ability.

Basically, I added the ability to empower ALL conjuration (healing) spells by expending uses of Turn Undead, in the rare case that you don't use the ability that much. However, it works exactly as intended for spells of the Healing domain, if you were crazy enough to take it. Since you have a free domain, you might have taken Healing after all, so why not make it better? And if you don't, well...the ability still has utility after all.

Divine Body (Su): At 6th level, a radiant servant of Pelor is immune to all poisons, both magical and mundane.

Explain me this; a Radiant Servant of Pelor is meant to be a beacon of purity and light against the forces of darkness. So, why it can be tainted so easily with poison? That's another immunity thrown in, just in case. Though, by this level, you're pretty much immune to poisons because of the uber-high Fortitude save you're expected to have, so it's essentially a formality.

Deadly Radiance (Su): At 7th level, a radiant servant of Pelor imbues his light spells with the power of the sun, causing great harm to evildoers and specifically against undead. Whenever a radiant servant of Pelor casts a spell with the light descriptor, the spell deals 2 points of damage per spell level (even if the spell already deals damage) to the target or targets of the spell (or any opponent within the spell’s area) at the moment of casting. This spell only affects evil creatures, evil outsiders and undead; in the case of undead, the damage is instead 4 points per spell level. The benefit of radiance applies for purposes of this ability. Treat this damage as positive energy damage for purposes of determining resistance.

Now using Daylight becomes fully offensive! It's a shame that Aasimar can't use their Daylight spell in this way...

Since you're applying this extra damage to offensive light spells (Searing Light, Nimbus of Light, Sunbeam, Sunburst), that means light spells suddenly become your main source of damage. The creatures that the extra damage applies to are restricted, but you'll be facing many evil creatures nonetheless, so they get harmed even more.

Now tell me; isn't this the mark of a true Radiant Servant? So pure and bright, that it can make an orison deal 2 points of damage against evil creatures just because? On an area (yes: cast Light, it gets treated as a 1st level spell, so that means 2 points of damage while on the area of effect)? That's...badass...

Positive Energy Aura (Su): At 7th level, a radiant servant of Pelor can distribute the power of his energy burst as a less powerful, but longer lasting, aura. Allies within 100 feet of the radiant servant gains fast healing equal to 1 per two class levels, and undead creatures take damage per round equal to 1 per two class levels. This benefit lasts for a number of rounds equal to the radiant servant’s class level plus his Charisma modifier. This supernatural ability uses up two turning attempts, and a radiant servant cannot use this ability if he has fewer than two turning attempts left for the day.

As mentioned, this is an alternate version of the Positive Energy Aura spell, turned into a supernatural ability, taken straight from the Radiant Servant re-imagining from DDO (but treated a bit differently, because of the conceptualization). The Radiant Servant can turn two daily uses of Turn Undead into a user-friendly aura of fast healing, which just happens to harm undead within the area; by now, your allies will be buying Nightsticks by the bucketloads! This redefines out-of-combat healing, simple and easy, and might just make your DM ban either the class or the Nightsticks forever. Don't blame me if that happens; that's what happens when PrCs get into T.G. Oskar's Retools' Boot Camp. They get all mighty and stuff.

Maximize Healing (Su): At 8th level, whenever a radiant servant of Pelor casts a conjuration (healing) spell, he may apply the benefit of the Maximize Spell as a free action without increasing or expending a higher-level spell slot by expending a daily use of his turn undead attempt. A radiant servant of Pelor may not use this ability and Empower Healing on the same spell. If the radiant servant casts a spell of the Healing domain from his domain spell slot, the spell is automatically maximized without the need to expend a daily use of his turning ability; this particular application of the ability supersedes the benefit of Empower Healing until 10th level.

Just when you thought Empowering healing spells wasn't enough, here comes Maximize. Now, all your spells heal for maximum damage, AND they can be done at a distance AND they get the Healing Hands bonus. Any more, and let's face it; you'll be healing more than a Mass Heal would ever heal with a lower level spell slot. Since it's switchable (you can either Maximize OR Empower), you can determine which of the two you're most willing to apply.

As before, the trait of Maximize Healing that applies to the Healing domain has been left essentially intact. And, as before, at 10th level, healing just gets better and better.

Heighten Radiance (Su): At 9th level, a radiant servant of Pelor may attempt to apply divine energy into his light spells to increase their overall power. By expending a daily use of turn undead as a free action when casting a spell with the light descriptor, a radiant servant may make a special turning check. Treat the result of this turning check as an effective increase in the spell’s level. For example, a radiant servant that rolls a 13 on his turning check treats his daylight spell as one level higher for all purposes, including the effects of deadly radiance (see above). A result of 9 or lower does not lower your spell level, but still expends a daily use of your turning ability. This ability stacks with the radiance ability (see above).

Alright, so: your light spells are treated as 1 spell level higher, they blind enemies, AND they deal damage? Why, then, you're making them even MORE AWESOME!?

The answer is: they're Radiant Servants, for Pelor's sake! Note that this requires a daily use of Turn Undead, so that makes your daily uses a veritable font of immeasurable power. This is what makes your Daylights, your...well, your Light spells extreme powerhouses. And that's without speaking of Sunburst; the LAST thing you want is to draw over 22 on the turning check with Sunburst. That makes the spell the rough equivalent of a 13th level spell, which means near-unbeatable blindness capabilities and about 26 extra points of damage, right there! Of course, lowering your spell level would be abusive, so if you roll lower than 9, you don't get penalized.

This can be called a Radiant Servant on their own right; even light spells are pumped up. So, why this isn't the frickin' capstone!? Because...

Quicken Healing (Su): At 10th level, whenever a radiant servant of Pelor casts a conjuration (healing) spell, he may apply the benefit of the Quicken Spell without increasing or expending a higher-level spell slot by expending a daily use of his turn undead attempt. A radiant servant of Pelor may not use this ability and either Empower Healing or Maximize Healing on the same spell (but see Superior Healing, below). If the radiant servant casts a spell of the Healing domain from his domain spell slot, the spell is automatically quickened without the need to expend a daily use of his turning ability.

...this makes for a more fitting capstone, right? Kinda makes having full spellcasting a crime.

The reward for spending 10 grueling levels in this class is that you redeem healing forever. Reach + Quicken essentially for free (so as long as you have daily uses of Turn Undead) redefines healing, as it makes it worthwhile to use in combat; given the level in which you take it, that means you can quicken Heal spells and keep your people alive while Pelor delivers the smackdown. Of course, you can't Quicken, Empower AND Maximize your healing spells...wait, what's that below?

Superior Healing (Su): At 10th level, a radiant servant of Pelor gains the ability to permanently modify any of his healing spells, but he must choose which path to follow. A radiant servant must choose between empowering his spells or maximizing his spells, and may not change his decision once it is made. From now on, any conjuration (healing) spell cast by the radiant servant is treated as either empowered or maximized (depending on the choice). As well, a radiant servant may apply the benefit of Empower Healing, Maximize Healing or Quicken Healing as usual (although applying Empower Healing to an already empowered spell or Maximize Healing to an already maximized spell provides no results).

Oh, no... You JUST didn't do that, did you?

FREE EMPOWERED, OR MAXIMIZED, HEALS!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?!?!

Yes, yes I assume so.

So you get free reach, maximized spells, and with a simple use of Turn Undead you can just quicken them. Or the same thing but empowered instead of maximized. This is so criminal, it seems just a bit unfair to have a double capstone.

However, a brief and cursory check on these forums, Brilliant Gameologists and other 3.5-centric forums allow you to realize that nothing short of this redeems healing. This may seem overboard, but it's essentially the only way to make in-combat healing attractive. The built-in limiter of daily uses of Turn Undead (barring Nightsticks, if applicable) makes the multiple uses of Turn Undead a dangerous resource. Spend the daily use of Turn Undead on actually turning, or spend two for the Positive Energy Burst (or Aura), or for enhancing my healing? Considering that Clerics focus on Wisdom, not Charisma, that means they get very few uses of Turn Undead, and Extra Turning can only take you so far. And if you consider Divine Metamagic at all, you'll definitely lose your daily uses of Turn Undead on a single fight. But then again, that's nova-ing for you.

...Unless, of course, you use Nightsticks. Cheater.

ALTERNATE DEITIES
If a character decides to take this prestige class but does not have Pelor as a deity, the following changes apply:

Alignment: Radiant servants of Dol Arrah or Horus-Re must be non-chaotic.
Special (entry requirement): Replace the patron deity for a deity of the sun. Characters from the FORGOTTEN REALMS ™ Campaign Setting may use Lathander or Horus-Re (if a Mulhorandi, also known as Re-Horakhty) as a patron deity. Characters from the EBERRON ™ Campaign Setting may use Dol Arrah as a patron deity.
Weapon Familiarity: Radiant servants of Lathander keep their familiarity with maces. Radiant servants of Horus-Re gain proficiency with the khopesh and apply their familiarity to khopesh exclusively. Radiant servants of Dol Arrah gain proficiency with halberds (if they don’t have it already) and apply their familiarity exclusively to halberds.
Bonus Domain: Although none of the deities offer the domain, radiant servants of Dol Arrah or Horus-Re may choose the Healing domain. Lathander offers the Renewal domain, which is similar.
Positive Energy Burst: Since neither Dol Arrah, Horus-Re or Lathander are primarily deities of healing (Lathander is a deity of births, however), the 5th level ability of the radiant servant changes. This does not affect the positive energy aura ability gained at a later level, even if the ability no longer has a link to healing.
Dol Arrah, Horus-Re: When using a positive energy burst, 5th level radiant servants of Dol Arrah or Horus-Re deal damage to evil creatures equal to 1d6 per two class levels (as per the 9th level class ability). At 9th level, this damage increases to 1d8 per two class levels.
Lathander: When using a positive energy burst, radiant servants of Lathander heal 1 point of ability damage per two class levels and removes 1 negative level per three class levels to all allies within 100 ft.

And of course, if you're not playing in Greyhawk, these are the pertinent replacements in case you want to be a Radiant Servant.

As I mentioned on the Shining Blade above, the idea is that the Radiant Servant can exist outside of a specific deity, outside of a campaign setting. Dol Arrah, being both a deity of justice AND a deity of the sun, holds the dubious distinction of having both Shining Blade and Radiant Servant apply to her.

In case you're trying to apply the Radiant Servant on homebrewed deities, the most important thing to consider would be to apply the PrC only to deities of sun, or at least deities of light that oppose the undead. This means that, based on Complete Divine, you can make a good point about allowing Radiant Servants to Pholtus, the LG god that hates Pelor's guts, or even more bizarre gods such as Annam, Hiatea, Iallanis (all three giant goddesses), or Skerrit for the centaurs. The Silver Flame in EBERRON could easily hold Radiant Servants as well, except that they would have to refocus their bonus with fire spells (though they have no problems with light, it would make little sense that they can't use their powers on flames, especially if they use the additive that makes a regular flame turn silver; in fact, the Radiance ability would manifest with regular flames turning into silvery flames. Of course, you have Silver Pyromancer for that (I'd recall it Silver Pyrologist, but -mancy has gained a new meaning these days, so...) Not all will be deities of healing, so you need to consider what to apply to the 5th level property of Positive Energy Burst, and if other alterations are in play. The core concept of a Radiant Servant is mostly the vanquishing of undead (and evil), the improvements in healing AND the improvements in light spells, so if it were necessary, you can shift one of the three foci and refluff the PrC into your own tastes. Consider this your "Adaptation" section.

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 12:02 PM
The third prestige class I'll present was never released for a 1st party sourcebook.

Well, depending on your definition of "1st party".

The Fleet Runner of Ehlonna was part of the quintufecta of prestige classes released on one of the many issues of Dragon magazine, particularly issue #283 (alongside the original versions of the Shining Blade of Heironeous and the Radiant Servant of Pelor), and made by James Wyatt (just so there's some recognition there). However, while the Shining Blade and the Radiant Servant were kinda weak, the Fleet Runner wasn't really so bad after all. It was one of the few classes that granted high mobility AND pounce eventually, albeit on a medium BAB build. It had 5/10ths spellcasting, but you wouldn't have entered it as a druid; it was obviously made for rangers, after all.

However, considering how the game progressed, the PrC was downgraded badly by other options. First, Swift Hunter; since skirmish didn't exist by that moment, that made the PrC unable to take advantage of this tactic. Second was the realization that half spellcasting PrCs were a brutal loss of time; they wouldn't dent the power of spellcasters but they would dent what little power the half-casters had. Lion's Charge, a 2nd level Ranger spell, made one of the worthwhile abilities* of the Fleet Hunter pointless...and Swift Haste made the other one equally so. Thus, you were left with a class that had horrible requirements (three bad feats! Oh, goodness!), and only gave you...more bad feats and some minor benefits.

*Just in case: the three worthwhile abilities of the class were the ability to be hasted for up to 10 rounds a day (essentially a free Boots of Speed as a class feature), pounce, and Dim Door 1/day.

Thus, this had to be rectified. Most people might not have heard of this unless they got the Dragon Compendium; the revision, however, I expect people to use constantly. It plays VERY nicely with Swift Hunter builds, and even nicer with Swift Hunter Mystic Ranger builds (perhaps even with SHMWR builds!), but it's not half-bad for other casting classes that might wish some extra mobility. Druids will definitely get a solid hit if they decide to enter, though, but it's mostly to grant a different playstyle.

Thus, without further ado, I present to you...

THE FLEET RUNNER OF EHLONNA
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/wl_15-1.jpg
Laird Jon Hawthorne, by Michael Komarck. 2005. Commissioned for Warlord CCG. Original found here (http://www.komarckart.com/ccg_wl15.html).

"I am no prey. I am no hunter. I am both, and at the same time none. What I truly am, however, is the protector of this land. What you decide to do in this moment will decide what I am. Will you be the one that finally ends my stay in this world, or will you be but one more of my trophies?" -- Stavros the Stalker, human fleet runner of Ehlonna, threatening the leader of an orc marauder band planning to create a new camp in the Dawn Grove.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements
To qualify to become a fleet runner, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any good
Feats: Dodge, Endurance, Mobility
Skills: Climb 8 ranks, Jump 8 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells.
Special: Must have Ehlonna as a patron deity.

So, I was speaking about the fleet runner having three pointless feats, and what's the first thing I do?

Put three pointless feats. Isn't it ironic?

BUT! Before you reach 2nd level, one of the three feats will be actually useful. Endurance is really a feat tax to prevent most classes from entering unless they spend some effort, while making it easy for Rangers to qualify (after all, 1st level divine spells, the skills, and the feat requirements means that the core Ranger enters the class at 6th level while the other classes might be capable of entering at 7th, unless you're a human or dip Fighter). Likewise, Scouts who dip on Druid are also capable of entering at 5th level and get extra Skirmish to boot, so they were also thought with them in mind (a Scout 4/Druid 1 gets all three feats, the necessary skills and the spellcasting requirement to enter, as well). Rangers who wish to enter through Swift Hunter might have some trouble, since they get their 1st level spells at 4th level (Mystic Rangers fulfill that earlier, but they get Endurance for free at 4th, so it's mostly the same) but they qualify for the feat at Scout 3, but they get essentially full Skirmish and near-full Ranger spellcasting. Then there's oddities such as Cleric/Scout, which works similarly to Druid/Scout but without Knowledge (nature).

Also, remember that you can choose the not-suck versions of Dodge, such as Midnight Dodge (if you're a user or dabbler of Incarnum), Expeditious Dodge or Desert Wind Dodge, so at least one of the feats doesn't has to be useless.

Class Skills
The fleet runner of Ehlonna’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

One thing you'll notice is that they have a pretty small amount of skill points, considering that their easiest entry point has 6+Int skill points. This is normal, since the fleet runner is slightly more focused at spellcasting and combat (to an extent) than on skill points, and the skill list is pretty small. You can notice that there are very few skill lists, no Search, and mostly mobility and stealth options, which fits with the theme. Thus, you won't need that many skill points.

Though, if you feel that a skill is strictly necessary, be my guest and speak your mind out.

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|Special|Spells per Day
1st|+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Bonus domain (Celerity), mobile defense|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
2nd|+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Skirmish (1d6), Spring Attack|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
3rd|+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Evasion, leap of the hart|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
4th|+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Skirmish (1d6, +1), Shot on the Run|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
5th|+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Bonus domain (Travel), greater mobility|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
6th|+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Skirmish (2d6, +1), woodland stride|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
7th|+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Improved evasion|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
8th|+6|
+2|
+6|
+6|Skirmish (2d6, +2), leopard's pounce|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
9th|+6|
+3|
+6|
+6|Swiftness of the huntress|+1 of existing spellcasting ability
10th|+7|
+3|
+7|
+7|Skirmish (3d6, +2)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability[/TABLE]

This is quite probably the most bizarre chassis around, but here goes: medium BAB, good Reflex and Will (but no Fortitude), full spellcasting. Thus, Rangers lose something (their full BAB and their Fortitude), Druids lose something (their full Fortitude, wild shape and their animal companion progression) and scouts...well, the latter gain a lot (good Will, +10 levels of spellcasting because they need a class for it)

You'll also notice that the class has lots of stuff, but no capstone. Why no capstone? The actual fleet runner of Ehlonna's capstone sucks as you can't imagine. How awesome you'd consider once per hour running at ten times your base speed, even if you could move 70 ft. or more per round? Certainly something along the lines of 600 ft. in a single round might seem more than enough (it basically permanently duplicates a Dimension Door spell if you have the right speed), but you still need to move, and anything that prevents you from running prevents you from using this ability.

You'll ALSO notice that the class offers yet more useless feats. Really, Spring Attack and Shot on the Run? But, there are some treats to it, which you'll see once you reach Shot on the Run.

Class Features
All of the following are features of the fleet runner of Ehlonna prestige class.
Weapon Familiarity: A fleet runner of Ehlonna gains proficiency with the longbow and the composite longbow if she does not already has it. Furthermore, when attacking with a longbow or composite longbow, she gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and deals 2 extra points of damage (as if she had the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for the longbow and the composite longbow).

Much as with the Shining Blade and the Radiant Servant, you become slightly better with the longbow, which as you know lacks quite a lot of damage modifiers, so this is a pretty nice boon. If you're stronger than the norm, you can add your damage to composite longbows as well.

Also, excuses if the picture and the terminology don't mix. It's rather hard to find a really evocative picture of a huntress, so I settled for a man. Let's not dwell on the grammar or the syntax or the accuracy of the term, shall we?

Spells per Day: When a new fleet runner of Ehlonna level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a fleet runner of Ehlonna, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Self-explanatory. Not much to say here, except that they get full spellcasting, which is sort of a bash to the Shining Blade which only gets part of it. Still, the fact they get only a portion of BAB should balance that somewhat, considering the class has a definite skirmisher feel.

Bonus Domain (Celerity): A fleet runner of Ehlonna devotes herself to traverse the woodlands in pursuit of her quarry. Her deity provides her with great celerity, enhancing her magical powers with spells of velocity and granting her the speed to catch her prey in an instant.

A fleet runner of Ehlonna gains the Celerity domain as a bonus domain. Unlike a cleric that gains the Celerity domain, she may keep her fast movement even if she wears medium armor or holds a medium load. See the rules for extra domains in Complete Divine, page 20. If the fleet runner already has the Celerity domain, she may choose amongst any of the other domains that Ehlonna offers.

The original class had the ability to acquire an additional domain aside from those the goddess offers, and fast movement that stacked with other bonuses to speed (as demonstrated with "your land speed is faster than the norm...". This shoots two birds with one stone, even though the choice of domain is fixed. However, you get some seriously good spells around (Expeditious Retreat for more speed, Blur as a defensive measure, Haste as a buff), so Druids and Rangers gain a massive benefit from it.

Regarding Retooled Rangers; these guys already get three out of four of the domain spells and the benefit from the Celerity domain, so you may wish to allow Retooled Rangers to choose from another of Ehlonna's domains if you wish, so that they may add other spells to their list.

Mobile Defense (Ex): A fleet runner of Ehlonna keeps the defensive dodging abilities she applies through her use of the Mobility feat. She may apply the benefit of her Mobility feat at any time she moves more than 10 feet in a given round, up until the start of her next turn.

Remember I told you I'd make one of the requirement feats useful? Here it is: Mobility is now a permanent buff as long as you move. And, since you'll be using Skirmish, that's essentially always. A +4 bonus to AC is nothing to scoff off, particularly after considering it stacks with Skirmish AND the Dodge feat (and also with Expeditious Dodge, which is clearly the feat you're planning to get as Dodge sucks!), so that's essentially a +5 to AC while moving for just about anything. That really racks up the defense, and since it applies to just about anything...

What, you thought I made Endurance useful? Ha, you surely jest!

Skirmish (Ex): Training in the swift pursuit techniques of Ehlonna, a fleet runner is capable of better protecting herself from damage and deal precise hits after moving. Beginning at 2nd level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks she makes during any round in which she moves at least 10 feet. The extra damage applies only to attacks dealt during the scout’s turn. This extra damage increases by 1d6 at 6th level and again at 10th level. The extra damage applies only against living creatures with a discernible anatomy. Undead, constructs, oozes, plants, incorporeal creatures and creatures immune to critical hits (or sneak attacks) are not vulnerable to this additional damage. The fleet runner must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot (in other words, the fleet runner must have line of sight and line of effect to the enemy). A fleet runner may apply this extra damage to ranged attacks made while skirmishing, but only if the target is within 30 feet.

At 4th level, a fleet runner gains a +1 competence bonus to AC during any round in which she moves at least 10 feet. The bonus applies as soon as she moves at least 10 feet, and lasts until the start of her next turn. This bonus increases to +2 at level 8.

A fleet runner loses this ability when wearing heavy armor or when carrying a heavy load. If she gains the skirmish ability from another class (such as scout), the bonuses stack.

If you entered through means of Scout, you'll get a delayed acquisition of Skirmish, but nonetheless you get up to 3d6 worth of skirmish and +2 competence bonus to AC as well, which translates to a bit of extra damage in the very end, unless you reach 7th level in which you basically get the normal amount of skirmish (as usual).

When I thought about the fleet runner of Ehlonna and how it was a mobile combatant, skirmish immediately came to mind. It definitely made sense, since you'd be on the move more often than not, and the idea was to motivate you moving like a gazelle while shooting or striking (or charging), so what better idea than to use something that exists already to enhance your damage? Thus, they get skirmish. It's also a great way for Rangers to get skirmish and not lose that much without going Swift Hunter, if that's your thing.

Spring Attack: At 2nd level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna gains Spring Attack as a bonus feat. If she already has the Spring Attack feat, she may choose another feat to which she meets the prerequisites.

So yeah, you must be asking "why Spring Attack, which sucks so much?"

Well, the answer is simple; it's a feat that motivates you to move out and use skirmish without problems, you already have the qualifying feats, so why not make good use of it?

Evasion (Ex): At 3rd level, a fleet can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the fleet runner is wearing armor no heavier than medium. A helpless fleet runner does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Unless you dipped in Rogue or Monk, scouts and rangers (the most likely ways to attempt entering this class) don't get Evasion until 5th or 9th level, so an early entry will cause them to lose on this ability. This is a way for them to recover this useful treat, and since they'll get both this version and the improved one, you can safely replace their acquired evasion for something else. Spell Reflection is pretty nice, in case you get Complete Mage...

Leap of the Hart (Ex): At 3rd level and higher, a fleet runner makes Jump checks as if she made a running jump regardless of how far she moves (if at all) before leaping.

You might ask "what's the use of having this ability if the fleet runner is always on the move?"

Unless your focus is on "you spelled hart wrong!!!" (which I obviously didn't, "hart" is a paleologism for deer), the reason is that it's a legacy ability. It was one of the abilities the original fleet runner got, so it's not really something I'd remove, since it CAN be useful (essentially because you can activate skirmish on a jump).

Which leads to Sudden Leap. Yes, the 1st level Tiger Claw boost that allows you to use Jump as a swift action. You don't need a running jump, of course, but you could easily combine Sudden Leap and a Jump check for a long jump and essentially fly in the air (like...hey, like a hart!) Well, so as long as you land on it. That, or you could basically evade the need for Tumble and bypass difficult terrain altogether. Or something. Go ahead and surprise me with creative uses of this ability.

Shot on the Run: At 4th level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna gains Shot on the Run as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. If she already has the Spring Attack feat, she may choose another feat to which she meets the prerequisites.

As well, whenever she takes a feat that has Spring Attack as a prerequisite and that activates by means of Spring Attack, she may use these feats when using the Shot on the Run feat.

Now here's the reason why I make you take two silly feats such as Spring Attack and Shot on the Run. Remember Bounding Assault, from the Player's Handbook II? How about Rapid Blitz, for that matter? Well, those abilities could only be used with Spring Attack, so they weren't really fit for some of the tactical uses of skirmish; with this, you can use Bounding Assault (if you can get it, since you basically have ALL the necessary requirements and you might get the right amount of BAB in the end with the right class) to activate skirmish on up to two attacks, which you could use against the same character or against different characters. While not a full attack per se, what this allows is for mobile arrow firing, which can be useful for, say, moments in which Wind Wall is a problem (with your speed, you just move behind and bypass the Wind Wall, getting a clear shot, then remaining at a particularly good distance for a second shot). There might be a problem with Rapid Blitz since not even Rangers will get the desired BAB, but at least you can make more attacks than you would have done with Shot on the Run. Do blame that on the insane requirements for Rapid Blitz, that force you to have a BAB of 18, which means Rapid Blitz is acquired hauntingly late, not me for suggesting something to do with this idea.

Bonus Domain (Travel): A fleet runner of Ehlonna manifests a very unique aspect of her deity, that of the relentless hunter that traverses the forest without rest. Thus, albeit Ehlonna herself does not deal with extended travels, a fleet runner evokes that power. Some say it is Fharlanghn, the god of travels, whom grants his blessing towards followers of Ehlonna given their penchant for traveling and moving; others claim otherwise.

At 5th level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna gains the Travel domain as a bonus domain. She may use her domain’s granted power, as usual, and she may choose to prepare spells from the domain on her domain spell slot. Her effective cleric level for the Travel domain’s granted power is equal to her fleet runner class level, plus levels in cleric (if any). See the rules for extra domains in Complete Divine, page 20.

See that I think of you, guys? Ehlonna doesn't have the Travel domain, so she finds out someone that can grant it for her. Thus, because of this sacrifice, you can nicely ask your DM to use this as justification for Travel Devotion, so you can move up to your speed as a swift action for 1 minute (basically one battle, unless you have uses of Turn Undead). Not only that, Rangers and Druids get those nice spells, such as Fly, and also...Dimension Door!

The idea of adding the Travel domain was as much of a stroke of genius as was adding Celerity; essentially, this replaced the ability to use Dimension Door once per day with the ability to use the spell as from being part of a domain and thus added to your spell list, meaning that you could use scrolls out of them (giving them greater utility). And, in the rare case you're a spontaneous spellcaster, that means you can use Dim Door more than once per day! Druids also get Teleport (which they wouldn't normally have), so that's another plus (and Mystic Rangers, as well).

Greater Mobility (Ex): A 5th level fleet runner of Ehlonna gains a greater dodging ability while moving. Her dodge bonus to AC when using the Mobility feat increases by 4. This increase does not apply to her mobile defense class feature.

So why I made this apply only to attacks of opportunity and not against all attacks, as I did with Mobility? The reason is because a class that gives a +8 to Armor Class is just asking for trouble. Coupled with skirmish, when you move, you gain more AC than you'd have levels on the class, and not even d20 Modern gave you that much AC based on classes. Thus, something got to give, and this was a legacy ability, so...

On the other hand, you don't have to worry about attacks of opportunity anymore (and quite probably not worry about Tumble, for that matter). You could easily run your way out of the battle straight into the enemy lines and never get hit.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 6th level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.

Same rationale as Evasion; if you get to fleet runner of Ehlonna ASAP, there's a big chance you don't get to acquire this ability either as a scout or as a ranger. Thus, you get it for free. It's a shame you can't replace it, though...as far as I know, that is. Unless you're an Urban Ranger, that is, in which case you're definitely a walking oxymoron.

Improved Evasion (Ex): At 7th level, a fleet runner’s evasion ability improves. She still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth she takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless fleet runner does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

It's quite odd that neither Rangers nor Scouts get Improved Evasion (retooled Rangers do, but that's an exception), so why not give this for free as well?

Leopard’s Pounce (Ex): At 8th level, a fleet runner may make a full attack at the end of a charge.

If you use skirmish and you're a melee combatant, you're in for a treat. This is what you were probably waiting for; the ability to make a full attack on a charge. This alone justifies why you're a medium BAB character; if you're a Ranger or a Ranger/Scout with Swift Hunter, chances are that you'll have enough BAB to make all attack on a charge (albeit late), while a Druid or a pure scout won't have that joy unless they multiclass into a full BAB class for 5 straight levels (and even then, there may not be a chance for them to achieve it). But, you nonetheless get what you always wanted; pouncing, and with rangers getting Two-Weapon Fighting for free (and a pure ranger can, by skipping the last feat, get all TWF feats for free), that means you can use Skirmish to your leisure! That, or at least qualify for Greater TWF as a Swift Hunter so that you can use Skirmish to your fullest potential.

Of course, that only applies to melee characters. Non-melee characters don't get the same bonus, but you get Greater Manyshot and other ways to make a full attack if that's your worry.

Swiftness of the Huntress (Ex): At 9th level, a fleet runner of Ehlonna becomes extraordinarily swift, to the point that her attacks and her movement boost to speeds no mortal may keep up with. When she reaches 9th level, a fleet runner can act as if under the effects of a haste spell for a total of 1 round per class level per day. These rounds need not be consecutive.

And...this is essentially the fleet runner's "capstone". You get the effect of a Boots of Speed, for free, something you could have gotten quite early ago...

...or you would have said that, until you noticed the little thing on the parentheses. Yes, in case you still haven't noticed, Swiftness of the Huntress is extraordinary. That's about 1 minute worth of Haste that can't be dispelled and that works in an antimagic field. And, if you go epic levels, it stacks. And, since it works as a Boots of Speed and you can activate/deactivate them pretty easily, you can stretch that for about 3 battles. So that's about 3 battles worth of hastening, which with the free Haste you get from the Celerity domain spell means you'll be hasted just about every moment. This really deserves to be at 10th level, but the original PrC had it at 9th level. Yes, I kid you not; if you enter the fleet runner class at 6th level, you get this ability at 14th level. Only a Swiftblade is better, but then again Swiftblade doesn't grant you full spellcasting, right? Plus, it doesn't work on divine classes, so that is one heck of a mighty plus.

ALTERNATE DEITIES
(Coming soon)

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 12:07 PM
(reserved for Pretender of Lolth)

You're free to post once the first of the PrCs has been uploaded.

ZardozSpeaks
2011-10-17, 12:55 PM
Many of those prcs are indeed subpar. Alot come out of early 3.5 material, converted from 3.0. While it would be nice to see them redone, I've always hoped for more deity specific prcs. One way in which DoVD, BoED and Complete Champion dissapointed me, is in the way they shirked the standard D&D pantheon. Forgotten Realms does a good job of giving prcs for many of its deities, but there are few core deities I'd like prcs for. Vecna, Erythnul, St.Cuthbert, Weejas, Fharlghan to name a few.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with here.

Morph Bark
2011-10-17, 02:12 PM
(reserved for Pretender of Lolth)

Ohboyohboyohboy!

(You can tell by the ohboys that I am full of anticipation.)

Mulletmanalive
2011-10-17, 03:01 PM
Any chance you could add the Reaver [of Ethuryal] to the list? I've often wondered what that might look like...y'know...if it was good...

Complete Warrior btw

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 03:17 PM
Finished with the Shining Blade, so you may feel free to debate. I added Alternate Deities, and expanded the Addendum to cover most popular tweaks of Paladins (Pathfinder, d20 Rebirth [cursory glance only], and of course Project Heretica). If you feel there might be something worthwhile to deal with, please do so, since aside from Core, Project Heretica and Pathfinder I don't have much experience with other Paladin tweaks. I might expand a bit the addendum eventually, to address other popular yet untouched Paladin tweaks (such as, say, Knight-Paladin ;) )


Many of those prcs are indeed subpar. Alot come out of early 3.5 material, converted from 3.0. While it would be nice to see them redone, I've always hoped for more deity specific prcs. One way in which DoVD, BoED and Complete Champion dissapointed me, is in the way they shirked the standard D&D pantheon. Forgotten Realms does a good job of giving prcs for many of its deities, but there are few core deities I'd like prcs for. Vecna, Erythnul, St.Cuthbert, Weejas, Fharlghan to name a few.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with here.

Well, the idea is at least to address all core deities, as well as a few popular ones. Bahamut and Tiamat already have deity-specific classes (Platinum Knight/Vassal of Bahamut and Talon of Tiamat, to be precise), and some are just waiting to be rescued from obscurity (Hextor, for example). Lolth is already addressed. Having said that, I would like to see other deities; I may be willing to address Pathfinder if a need for a deity-specific, system-specific PrC arises, but I generally don't touch Pathfinder.


Ohboyohboyohboy!

(You can tell by the ohboys that I am full of anticipation.)

I'd...not dwell on that anticipation. The "Pretender" title is very descriptive, but the meaning is quite hidden. I could tell, in case you're too desperate; a hint I can drop is...it's gender specific.


Any chance you could add the Reaver [of Ethuryal] to the list? I've often wondered what that might look like...y'know...if it was good...

Complete Warrior btw

You mean the Ravager (of Erythnul)? Hmm...good one. I really wasn't so sure how to deal with the Ravager, but I might work something out that combines most of the deity's traits (mutability, slaughter) and probably rescue some of the class' abilities.

Elfstone
2011-10-17, 04:28 PM
Nice. The Shining Blade needed some love. I especially like how its main ability doesn't completely suck now. Im thinking the number of d6s in extra damage from the shocking power could be increased by one to 2d6 at 4th and at 8th the holy power to 3d6 8th. After all, the holy power only works against evil creatures(Neutral BBEGs exist!). Beyond that, its quite nice.


Also, some how I missed the warlock retool. I had been checking your homebrewers sig for updates. Its not there.

demidracolich
2011-10-17, 05:33 PM
On the capstone for the shining blade, it says whenever he wields a shocking or piercing weapon... Shouldn't it be slashing or piercing?

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-17, 06:39 PM
Nice. The Shining Blade needed some love. I especially like how its main ability doesn't completely suck now. Im thinking the number of d6s in extra damage from the shocking power could be increased by one to 2d6 at 4th and at 8th the holy power to 3d6 8th. After all, the holy power only works against evil creatures(Neutral BBEGs exist!). Beyond that, its quite nice.

...Oooor I could say that the d6s stack. Thus, if you have a shocking holy longsword, you could have between 2d6-6d6 extra points of damage.

But, I find the damage ratio is pretty nice, considering you can just do a thundering smite and deal your smite damage plus your extra shocking damage, both of which multiply on a critical hit. There is enough love in that case.


Also, some how I missed the warlock retool. I had been checking your homebrewers sig for updates. Its not there.

That's because I've forgotten completely about updating that one. Should do it alongside the new PrCs. I mean, I think I also need to update the alternate rules for magic, meaning I've left my extended sig un-updated.


On the capstone for the shining blade, it says whenever he wields a shocking or piercing weapon... Shouldn't it be slashing or piercing?

...Yeah, it should be slashing or piercing. But then again, that's why I have you folks to check my stuff; sometimes they're pretty similar to ignore when I do copy-pasta from the original document.

Shadow Lord
2011-10-17, 07:23 PM
I noticed that you added a Pathfinder conversion section. Does this mean that from now on you will have said area for all of your homebrew? Is it possible that you could go back and add Pathfinder conversions to any of your old 'brews.

In other news, this is, to put it simply, Totally. Explativing. Awesome!

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-18, 11:56 PM
I noticed that you added a Pathfinder conversion section. Does this mean that from now on you will have said area for all of your homebrew? Is it possible that you could go back and add Pathfinder conversions to any of your old 'brews.

Not really; the quip about Shining Blade of Heironeous is because most people prefer the Pathfinder Paladin to the core Paladin (or homebrewed fixes, retools or revampings of Paladins), so it was more of an exception to the rule than the norm. There MAY be other chances to add a section that may make my 'brews Pathfinder-compatible, but for the most part I remain firmly in the 3.5 improvement camp.


In other news, this is, to put it simply, Totally. Explativing. Awesome!

Thanks a lot much!

Having said that; I added the Radiant Servant of Pelor for your consideration. I will be frank; I don't mind how it resulted, but I have a slight impression that I jumped the gun a Fine bit. It's up to you to consider that, but I'm quite pleased with the new abilities they get (and the jokes to be had; there is a reference to a famous theory actually).

I'll be releasing more of the PrCs during the week, but that reminds me: Nerull lacks a PrC! And the Radiant Servant makes for a nice template, so...I'll be working on that.

Elfstone
2011-10-19, 02:16 PM
I like it. I see potential abuse from nightsticks, so adding a clause about the same item granting bonus turn attempts not counting for that class feature(go use them on DMM persist!) might be called for.

Other than that, I have a minor typo under the spoiler in the Divine Body ability.


[So, why it can be tainted so easily with poison?

Oh, and I have a round of applause for you. *clap clap*

TravelLog
2011-10-19, 03:15 PM
Would you consider making PrCs for Kelemvor, Cyric, and Deneir or Gond (or both!)?

In any case, bravo so far.

Tanuki Tales
2011-10-19, 03:27 PM
Weejas

Isn't that the Ruby Knight Vindicator?

Elfstone
2011-10-19, 03:56 PM
You mean the Ruby Knight Windicator?

Othesemo
2011-10-19, 05:15 PM
Would you consider making PrCs for Kelemvor, Cyric, and Deneir or Gond (or both!)?

In any case, bravo so far.

I second both the praise and the suggestion. You've done an excellent job thus far, and I'd love to see more.

demidracolich
2011-10-20, 04:31 PM
Another thing I noticed: for the spells per day on the radiant servant, you put "when a new radiant servant of pelor is gained..." I'm pretty sure it should be whenever a new radiant servant of pelor level is gained.

T.G. Oskar
2011-10-21, 12:30 AM
I delayed the responses until I could load the Fleet Runner, so you can check it up. The Fleet Runner is the opposite in terms of how much I retooled the class since while the Radiant Servant is a huge retool, the Fleet Runner is quite light (in fact, it retains many of the class features of the original incarnation), so I doubt there's gonna be a problem on how powerful it might be.

Also, Mulletman: the Ravager is now done. I'm writing up the adaptations for other deities, but I'm quite pleased with the results. It's not a casting-progression class, but the abilities it gets more than make up for the lack of spells. Well, they don't fly and stuff, but they do get some abilities that make them extremely dangerous in combat. Particularly the last class abilities. One warning, though; the Ravager is rated R. For Retarded. Cookies on whomever gets the reference ;)


I like it. I see potential abuse from nightsticks, so adding a clause about the same item granting bonus turn attempts not counting for that class feature(go use them on DMM persist!) might be called for.

Perhaps, but since that's basically dependent on the level of cheese tolerated on the table, I leave that as a recommendation for DMs. Good DMs never give away Nightsticks, and are very careful with Reliquary Holy Symbols, which limits the abuse somewhat.


Other than that, I have a minor typo under the spoiler in the Divine Body ability.


Another thing I noticed: for the spells per day on the radiant servant, you put "when a new radiant servant of pelor is gained..." I'm pretty sure it should be whenever a new radiant servant of pelor level is gained.

Thanks for pointing that out, though it's odd that someone missed a typo on a spoiler. That goes to show people actually read the spoilers (it's, quite frankly, the funniest part of the 'brews, because I like to use comedy to explain as it gets digested easier).

As for the spells per day typo, it was something that also reflected on the Fleet Runner writeup, so I took wing of it and made the change on the FR. Will make the fix on the Radiant Servant, tho.


Would you consider making PrCs for Kelemvor, Cyric, and Deneir or Gond (or both!)?

In any case, bravo so far.

I'm thus far planning to work on the core deities, and allow adaptations for deities of other places, so not working on FR thus far.

However, there ARE already PrCs for some of them, in Faiths and Pantheons. Kelemvor has the Doomguides, Cyric has the Strifeleaders, and Gond has the Techsmiths. In time, they may be revised and updated, since Faiths and Pantheons is a transition 3.x supplement (or a 3.0 supplement, not entirely sure), so they may be outdated. The Stormlord (which is on Complete Divine) and the Dweomerkeeper (aka the Dweomercheater) had a home there. Torm, Tyr and IIRC Ilmater (or Helm) have the Knights of the Triad, as well. And there's also the bunch of PrCs on Faiths and Pantheons, all of which might have some revisions. But, I might dabble on Eberron first.


Isn't that the Ruby Knight Vindicator?


You mean the Ruby Knight Windicator?

No, it's actually the Sanctified One of Wee Jas. The Ruby Knight (V)Vindicator is only fluffed that way, but it's meant to be a martial adept/divine caster hybrid PrC. I mean, I distinctively recall Ereth Nazbek being a devotee of St. Cuthbert, much like the Storm Disciple Dante is a Chaotic Good Storm Disciple of St. Cuthbert, whom is a Lawful Neutral deity (which holds at least one clear opposition).

And the Ruby Knight (V)Vindicator really doesn't represent her. The Ruby Sorceress isn't interested in melee combat (her focus is in death magic, particularly arcane), so it makes no sense whatsoever to claim the Knight (V)Vindicator is the Jasite faith specific PrC. The Sanctified One PrC isn't faith exclusive, either, so Wee Jas gets a PrC for her faithful that actually works with death magic, the arcane and the divine. Probably a necromancy-related PrC that allows non-evil casters to manipulate the undead, ste...erm, release undead from indentured service, enlighten the undead and then destroy them (as the Jasite faith commands), which fits like a ring.


I second both the praise and the suggestion. You've done an excellent job thus far, and I'd love to see more.

Thanks muchly. There will be more, for sure. Particularly some original content, since most of what I do is retools and I want to change that perspective.

Elfstone
2011-10-21, 04:32 PM
I love the spoilers, they are the best part. When/if I ever post homebrew on GitP I am totally and unashamedly going to steal your style of spoilers after abilities.

I like the new and improved Fleet Runner of Ehlonna. While the changes were minor, they were very nice. Still very playable for a ranger/cleric type. Not on the same tier as the RSoP, but if it was im not sure it would be as much fun. Or as fitting.

Cieyrin
2011-10-22, 12:24 PM
A Hammer of Moradin (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040305a) redux would be neat. :3

drakir_nosslin
2011-10-22, 02:02 PM
FYI: The shining blade of Heironeous picture is made by JasonEngle, original here. (http://jasonengle.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d8kncs) :smallwink:

Nice work!

Cieyrin
2011-10-24, 12:31 PM
The Shining Blade's key ability of expending Turn uses for weapon specials on their weapons doesn't have an action cost. By default it's a standard, which I think is less than desirable if you want to keep up with Divine Might. Either a free or swift action would probably be best.

T.G. Oskar
2011-11-02, 01:19 AM
Before starting: thanks for looking at my errors, I usually tend to forget about adding the intended actions for most abilities, and I noticed something else as well. Also, thanks for mentioning the artist that made the Champion pic that adorns the Shining Blade of Heironeous; I would have loved to use it for something else, but I find it pretty good. Finally: YES, I will consider the Hammer of Moradin, but it'll be in cue while the other PrCs are done; rest assured it'll be amongst the first I'll work at, probably after dealing with Corellon, Bahamut, Hextor and Tiamat. It'll certainly be before the FRCS PrCs or the Eberron PrCs.

That said..
--

The fourth prestige class I'll present will deviate quite a bit from my usual norm. For starters, it is a prestige class that eschews spellcasting ability, so balancing it should be a challenge.

The second is that it's also a race-restricted class, because the original WAS a race-restricted class. Working around that restriction would be a bit of a challenge.

Aside from those two things, the rest will be similar to what I did with earlier classes. Orcs devoted to Gruumsh had one prestige class meant for them, which didn't advance spellcasting at all and was meant more for the physical members of the party: the Eye of Gruumsh. The fluff behind it was pretty awesome; a fanatical warrior who plucks his own eye in order to gain unspeakable power. Particularly, it was aimed at barbarians, because most orcs apparently aim to be barbarians (just as how most Japanese aim to be office workers), or so stereotype claims. However, getting into the class provided very little compared to...say, the brutal Frenzied Berserker.

Looking for other classes I could use, I met upon the Blessed of Gruumsh, which is the fourth leg of the prestige classes presented on Dragon magazine (which is why you see them in this order...well, sort of). The Blessed PrC was even MORE of a mess than the Eye (the abilities granted were better than those of the Eye, but with far more limited uses), and mixing both classes as they were would be disrespectful for all of you guys, BUT it brought some nice ideas. Thus, I made a combination of both classes' abilities, reworked some of the traits, and reinforced a great deal of both classes abilities to work well with high-level combat. You'll still depend on magic items to cover all other spots, but you'll need less of them.

Thus, without further ado, I introduce to you...

THE EYE OF GRUUMSH
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/orcgroup-1.jpg

"Foolish elves! I can see more in my lost eye than what a thousand of your greatest seers can! And I see...the end of your pitiful race!!" -- Thurgrom Grommish, Eye of Gruumsh, demoralizing an Elvish army with the head of a fallen Elf hero in his hands while leading his horde.

Requirements
To qualify to become an eye of Gruumsh, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Orc or half-orc
Alignment: Any evil or chaotic neutral
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Survival 8 ranks
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave
Special: The character must be a worshipper of Gruumsh and must gouge his own right eye as part of a ritual.

Yet another big list of feats, but aside from the Knowledge (religion) ranks, they can be achieved by an orc barbarian or fighter at 6th level (well, mostly the barbarian, since the Fighter might need a way to get Survival as a class skill). If you multiclass as a Barbarian/Fighter, though, you may get before 6th level.

Blind-Fight was originally granted as a bonus feat as part of the class, but I figured it would be better if you gained it as part of your progression. While you eventually gain blindsight, which makes it null, you still need to cover yourself for those specific moments where enemies are out of your range, while you still have blindsense, and so on. If you get Power Attack, you probably get Cleave as well. So it's no big deal, really.

Hit Die: d12

Class Skills
The eye of Gruumsh’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Blindsense 10 ft., rage, unholy wrath of Gruumsh (ability boost)
2nd|+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Blinding spittle 1/encounter, evil eye (despair)
3rd|+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Blindsense 20 ft., unholy wrath of Gruumsh (natural armor)
4th|+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Blinding spittle 2/encounter, incite rage, sweeping strike
5th|+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Blindsense 30 ft., blindsight 15 ft., unholy wrath of Gruumsh (ability boost, size)
6th|+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Blinding spittle 3/encounter, evil eye (fear)
7th|+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|Blindsense 45 ft., foresight of the lost eye, unholy wrath of Gruumsh (damage reduction)
8th|+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|Blinding spittle 4/encounter, hand of the One-Eye
9th|+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Blindsense 60 ft., unholy wrath of Gruumsh (mind-blank)
10th|+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Blinding spittle 5/encounter, blindsight 30 ft., evil eye (curse), paragon of orcishness[/TABLE]

As you can see, in lieu of spellcasting abilities I need to fill the class chock-full of class features, some which upgrade with levels and some that appear later on their own.

As you can see, the PrC is built on the barbarian's chassis, getting pretty much all you'd get from them: mostly rage uses per day and extra DR, but you also get newer stuff that's thematically fitting (such as all the eye-related things). The plethora of class features makes it unable to add bonus feats to the class, so there will be a degree of feat starvation; this can be dealt with a small dip in Fighter (which is more than just recommended to get as early as possible), but the build should be pretty easy to work with.

Because most of the good stuff for barbarians remains on the first few levels, you can go for some popular choices regarding ACFs. As you can see, the amount of levels and abilities make Spirit Lion Totem a definite go, and perhaps Whirling Frenzy as you recover part of your lost raging abilities. Fighters provide the feat slots the build needs for ease in combat.

Class Features
All of the following are features of the eye of Gruumsh prestige class. To use most of the abilities granted by the class, the eye of Gruumsh must have only one eye working.
Weapon Proficiency: Eyes of Gruumsh gain proficiency with the spear and the orc double axe (if they don’t have this ability already). If the eye of Gruumsh has proficiency with the spear and/or the orc double axe, he gains the Weapon Focus feat for either (or both) of the weapons.

As with Pelor and Ehlonna, wielding Gruumsh's favored weapon and the orc's racial weapon grants you benefits. The benefits are smaller (you gain Weapon Focus but not Weapon Specialization), but you get the orc double axe proficiency for free. I might work adding some other spear-based weapons, such as the longspear, in order to cover a bit more (for example lockdown builds, if you actually plan to build for it).

Rage (Ex): At 1st level, an eye of Gruumsh can fly into a rage much like a barbarian does. He gains the ability to rage as that of a barbarian whose level is equal to his eye of Gruumsh class level, plus levels in barbarian or any other class that grants the rage class ability. He also gains the greater rage and mighty rage abilities if his level is high enough, but not any other abilities a barbarian may gain.

This ability appeared with the Eye of Gruumsh, but I decided to polish it a bit more. The original only stacked for purposes of granting extra uses of rage, but this one also stacks for improvements to rage. While you don't get Indomitable Will or Tireless Rage, you do get mighty rage for sure at or before 10th level, depending on your levels in barbarian.

So what happens if you eventually return to barbarian? Consider yourself as a character of a level equal to your barbarian level PLUS your eye of Gruumsh level for that purpose. Thus, a barbarian 6/eye of Gruumsh 10 that takes another level of barbarian gains all class abilities of 7th level (essentially, damage reduction); gaining another level (and thus going 8th level) doesn't grant an extra use of rage per day, since you'd be treated in that case as an 18th level barbarian. That means entering the class for more than 3 levels will make you lose Tireless Rage (as you require being an actual 17th level barbarian); you may figure that the exchange is worthy enough to lose the ability to no longer be fatigued.

Blindsense (Su): The loss of his right eye is no true loss for the one whom has entered service towards the One-Eye. Even if he only has one eye, he has unparalleled clarity of vision. A 1st level eye of Gruumsh gains blindsense up to 10 ft.; at every even level, the range of his blindsense increases as indicated on the table above, up to 60 ft. at 9th level.

Blindsight too early would be devastating, even at 5 ft. The Eye of Gruumsh, however, delivers Blindsight far too late. To compensate, since you already have Blind-Fight, you gain the ability to sense the general location of enemies and gain an improved chance of striking them, hence getting poor man's blindsight up to 60 ft. while you get the real deal. And of course, you WILL get the real deal eventually.

Unholy Wrath of Gruumsh (Su): Most barbarians are capable of unstoppable rages, but orc barbarians are truly a sight to behold. An eye of Gruumsh has reached a point of understanding regarding his deity that he can manifest a tiny amount of Gruumsh’s unholy power when he abandons himself into the heat of battle, eventually becoming truly unstoppable.

At 1st level, whenever an eye of Gruumsh rages, he gains a +2 bonus to Strength. This bonus stacks with any other type of increase to Strength, including that granted by the rage ability; thus, a 10th level barbarian/1st level eye of Gruumsh has a +8 bonus to Strength whenever he rages.

At 3rd level, the skin of the eye of Gruumsh hardens, becoming more resilient and capable of resisting blows while flying on a rage. He gains an enhancement bonus to natural armor equal to half his class level plus 2 while raging; this allows to effectively cancel the penalty to Armor Class while raging and still gain a bonus.

At 5th level, the eye of Gruumsh increases in size, gaining all the benefits and penalties of increased size while raging, except as follows; the size bonus to Strength he gains from raging is +4, and he also gains a +2 size bonus to Constitution.

At 7th level, the eye of Gruumsh gains damage reduction 5 while raging, bypassed only by good-aligned weapons. If the eye of Gruumsh has the damage reduction ability gained by a barbarian, he adds twice the amount of damage reduction he gained through means of said ability to this damage reduction.

At 9th level, the eye of Gruumsh has entered such a mental state that no attack to his mind can progress. Whenever he is raging, he is treated as if under the effect of a mind blank spell, except he may be affected by spells that grant morale bonuses and other mind-affecting effects that provide positive benefits.

In order to retain this benefit, the eye of Gruumsh must remain only with his left eye. If he ever regains his right eye by any means (such as by means of the regeneration spell), he loses the benefits of this ability unless he removes his right eye (which causes 5 points of damage). If the eye of Gruumsh has a constant ability that allows regenerating body parts (such as the regeneration special ability or a ring of regeneration), such ability does not allow him to recover his right eye.

This is meant to be one-half of the key ability granted to all eyes of Gruumsh; a veritable rage on steroids (as if barbarians weren't walking meatbags full of testosterone already...) The size increase, the bonuses to Strength (and Constitution) as well as the improved damage reduction AND Mind Blank that discerns between helpful morale spells and offensive mind-affecting effects all work with key aspects of raging.

For example: the bonus to Strength and the size increase correlate directly with the increase in Strength and Constitution gained by raging, the natural armor bonus was an ability granted by BOTH the Eye of Gruumsh (as a natural armor bonus) and by the Blessed of Gruumsh (as a luck bonus, which was much better, since it eventually granted a +10 bonus to AC); the acquired effect remains right between, but you eventually "recover" that lost luck bonus if only for a while. The damage reduction correlates to the damage reduction gained by the barbarian, but improved; a 7th level barbarian/7th level eye of Gruumsh would have damage reduction 7/good and damage reduction 1/-, ending roughly at DR 9/good and growing stronger with extra barbarian levels. The Mind Blank effect correlates, of course, to the increased bonus to Will saves, covering one of your only flaws (poor Will saves, hence vulnerability to mental assault).

Of course, this all depends on whether you're raging or not, but do consider you're not going on a frenzy, just a rage, which allows you to hold some control over your actions.

Blinding Spittle (Ex): At 2nd level, an eye of Gruumsh fights in the dirtiest and bloodiest of ways. Although he uses intimidation and brute force, he also learns ways to hinder his enemies, both magical and supernatural. As a swift action, an eye of Gruumsh may unleash a spittle of bile and stomach acid to a single creature within 20 ft. that causes damage and potentially blinds the enemy. The eye of Gruumsh must make a successful ranged touch attack against the target (even if within 5 ft., which would normally produce attacks of opportunity but not in the case of this ability); if successful, the spittle causes 1d4 points of acid damage per two eye of Gruumsh class levels and forces the creature to make a successful Reflex save (with a DC equal to 10 + the eye of Gruumsh class level + the eye of Gruumsh’s Constitution modifier) or become blinded until the spittle can be rinsed. If the creature fails the save, it also takes 1 point of acid damage per two eye of Gruumsh class levels until the spittle can be rinsed (by emptying the contents of a water jug, for example). An eye of Gruumsh may unleash this attack while raging, in which case the range increases to 30 ft. An eye of Gruumsh may use his blinding spittle once per encounter per every two class levels. An eye of Gruumsh does not need to remain with a single eye in order to use this ability.

Blinding Spittle probably is one of the cooler abilities granted by the original Eye of Gruumsh, but its ability as a per-day attack left it quite lacking. The damage was non-existent, the required action was a waste, and the effect was very nice but not enough to save the ability.

Enter the new and improved Blinding Spittle. For starters, you deal extra damage, no matter what happens; 5d4 is a joke compared to what a barbarian can dish, but having a swift-action ranged touch attack dealing that damage really isn't. Then, if the enemy fails its save, it's not just blinded, but also takes damage over time (just a little, but it's just to make the enemy get really annoyed). Since removing the effect requires spending actions, it has a hidden third effect: the blindness AND the damage will make the ability annoying enough to force the enemy to lose an action, whether a move or a standard action, meaning you have a swift-action attack that deals damage, has the potential to blind, AND the potential to force the enemy to spend an action to remove the effect, thus it becomes a solid save or lose.

Then you see it's per encounter, and that it grows real fast, and things get quite hectic. The fact that rage makes it WORSE (because you increase your Constitution via the rage effect AND the eventual size increase) means you'll be using this ability nearly every round, probably as part of a pounce attack (if you have Spirit Lion Totem).

Evil Eye (Su): At 2nd level, the empty eye socket that an eye of Gruumsh sacrifices becomes a receptacle for Gruumsh’s divine power, effectively serving as his eyes. Aside from the spectacular abilities of vision granted by his deity, the eye of Gruumsh gains the ability to weaken or demoralize enemies by unleashing some of his deity’s power, at the expense of his visual acuity.

As a standard action that does not produce attacks of opportunity, an eye of Gruumsh may direct a gaze attack upon a 30 ft. cone. All creatures within the range of the cone are affected as if a crushing despair spell has been cast upon them by a sorcerer of twice the eye of Gruumsh’s class level, unless they succeed on a Will saving throw (with a DC of 10 + the eye of Gruumsh’s class level + the eye of Gruumsh’s Constitution modifier; if raging, add the bonus to Will saves as a bonus to the save DC). After using this ability, the eye of Gruumsh loses his blindsense ability for a number of rounds equal to his class level and may not use this ability until he recovers this ability (or receives the benefit of a remove blindness spell), but otherwise has his normal sight.

At 5th level, the eye of Gruumsh may unleash a cone of terror instead of a cone of despair, as if using a fear spell with a caster level equal to twice his class level. At 8th level, the eye of Gruumsh may focus all of his deity’s wrath into a single creature instead, allowing him to duplicate the effect of a bestow curse spell (his choice of curse).

To use this ability, the eye of Gruumsh must remain only with his left eye.

This is the second half of the eye of Gruumsh's key abiliites, taken from the blessed of Gruumsh instead. These are pretty decent abilities to have, even though they eventually become a bit pointless (the first two, in any case). A standard action means you'll be neglecting to do your best thing (attacking), but the penalties and the panic effect are nonetheless excellent. Fear, particularly, was chosen because it's a "save or not, you still suck" effect, and since it stacks with some other forms of fear (such as...say, demoralization? You do remember you have a phenomenally high Intimidate score, right...well, sorta), you can use it to lock enemies out. Eventually you'll lose the benefit of those two effects on just about every creature, but then you get Bestow Curse, and its whole effect.

Now, if you noticed, you can use these three abilities while raging, and they actually get better with a rage. For starters, they depend on your Constitution modifier (because, let's be frank; a barbarian has use for Charisma for what!?), and then adds your modifier to Will saves on top. That means a free +2 to +4 on top of your huge save DC, meaning most enemies will be afflicted by it, even spellcasters. The fact that it can be done at a distance, at-will, makes it even more useful. The 50% chance of negating an enemy's actions or the -6 to a single ability score, permanently, definitely has its uses, allowing it to be a phenomenal starting act against a spellcaster (if they make the mistake of allowing you to go first, that is).

Considering each of these abilities originally had a once per day limit, the improvement is vast.

There's a catch, though: if you use this ability, you're sacrificing some of the potential of the eye. Waiting for 1 minute at 10th level hurts quite a bit, but that's what you get for having Bestow Curse at will. I might consider reducing the recharge duration to half class level to make it less painful, or start from 5 levels and ending with a 1-round recharge time, taking a cue from dragon's breath weapons and binders' vestige powers.

Incite Rage (Ex): At 4th level, an eye of Gruumsh invites all other orcs to fly into a rage (even if not barbarians), losing themselves in the heat of battle with astonishing ease. All allied orcs (and non-orcs that worship Gruumsh) within 30 feet that see the eye of Gruumsh raging may also fly into a rage, lasting for an equal number of rounds as the eye of Gruumsh’s rage; however, at the end of the rage, they are exhausted (instead of fatigued). By spending two daily uses of his rage ability while raging, he may extend the benefits of his rage to other non-orc allied creatures within 30 feet.

Incite Rage, of course, was an ability stolenborrowed from the PrC that's on the page next to the eye of Gruumsh; of course, I refer to the Frenzied Berserker. The FB has this nice ability called "Inspire Frenzy" which causes everyone within 10 feet of her to fly into a frenzy. Being that the fluff of the eye of Gruumsh is that he's the best warrior and the leader of a horde (most of the time, with a cleric of Gruumsh serving as counselor), this is basically a leadership ability. Granting many allies a +4 to their Strength and Constitution scores can be quite frightening, more if it's done as a free action or even as an immediate action, as it activates on the same action the eye activates its rage. This makes it a very potent buff, since you can activate it before your turn even goes, providing allies with a solid buff which essentially works as his own.

Because...you did see that last part, right? You know, spending two daily uses of rage to allow every ally of the eye to gain the benefits of his rage. Lemme be clear on that one; you don't get unholy wrath of Gruumsh abilities (so no mass Enlarge Person, natch), but you do get greater rage AND mighty rage if you get them. Allow me to add, then, that incite rage used normally provides your rage to all orc allies, just as the two-use benefit extends it to all non-orc allies. Feats and enhancements don't count, but the raw benefit of the rage ability does.

There's also the question with the "may". If you're a spellcaster, you don't want to fly into a rage (unless you're a...Spell Rager, which...hmm, just another project on the making! Gonna get to work on that one...), so you can choose not to fly into a rage. This is crucial, because that means only the allies that may benefit from a rage WILL get the benefit. They'll get exhausted, of course, but if the battle ends sooner, that means they won't be exhausted for very long.

Blindsight (Su): At 5th level, the eye of Gruumsh observes in his missing eye more about the battlefield than he may see with his functioning eye. He gains the blindsight ability up to 15 ft. At 9th level, his blindsight extends to 30 ft. instead. This benefit applies as long as the eye of Gruumsh has the blindsense active (hence, he must lack his left eye, and the ability ceases functioning if the eye of Gruumsh uses his evil eye abilities).

And yes, eventually you get Blindsight.

Blindsight is beautiful, because it negates many of the most common forms of concealment: Blur, Displacement, Mirror Image, Darkness, the fogs, etc. Instead of a mere 5 ft., it begins at a reasonable 15 ft., and at 9th level it allows you to use that face slot for something better than a Blindfold of True Darkness. With the Blindsense ability extending beyond that range AND Blind-Fight, you have 60 ft. worth of senses, which makes you great at sensing danger and even striking from afar if necessary.

Foresight of the Lost Eye (Su): At 7th level, the eye of Gruumsh receives a glimpse of the many ways he may die, alerting him to danger before it happens. The eye of Gruumsh gains an +2 insight bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Furthermore, once per day, if the life of the eye of Gruumsh is threatened (an attack that may reduce the eye of Gruumsh’s hit points to negative, or suffers an effect that might kill him but that allows a save), he gains the benefit of a moment of prescience spell with a caster level equal to his eye of Gruumsh class level. Once he receives this benefit, he is treated as if he had used the evil eye ability and loses his blindsense (and blindsight) abilities for the remainder of the encounter. This benefit activates automatically, but the eye of Gruumsh may decide to negate the benefit of this ability.

The ability "Foresight of the Lost Eye" is basically taking the capstone of the original eye of Gruumsh and lowering it down a few levels. You see, gaining a +2 bonus at max level really doesn't work, and getting it WITH Diehard doesn't really work either. You need something that makes the ability worthwhile, and that's when the Moment of Prescience effect kicks in. Certainly, limiting it to once per day means you'll have to be stingy with it, but having the effect of an 8th level spell activated as an immediate action certainly warrants it. The payment is harsh (you lose the effect of your evil eyes, blindsight and blindsense), but a +8 to a single saving throw or AC can mean the difference between dead or alive, so use it well.

Still...while a very high benefit, I might consider boosting it a bit so it works on twice the eye's class level. That's a +14 insight bonus right from the start, up to the maximum of +25, as an immediate action, to save your skin from certain death. It's definitely a "get free from jail" card which can give you one more chance to annihilate the biggest threat around, so it SHOULD count.

Hand of the One-Eye (Ex): At 8th level, whenever an eye of Gruumsh is raging, he feels his deity guiding his hand, and granting an unusual degree of strength and balance with his weapons that he can use weapons he would require his two hands to wield. For the duration of the rage, the eye of Gruumsh may wield any one-handed weapon as if he was holding it on both hands, and he may wield any two-handed weapon on one hand. In both circumstances, the eye of Gruumsh is treated as if wielding the weapon with two hands, hence increasing the Strength bonus to his damage rolls and increasing the damage of Power Attack (if any). This allows the eye of Gruumsh to wield two-handed weapons on both hands and deal damage as if striking with each weapon held in two hands, but subject to the usual penalties for two-handed weapons (and their reductions, if he has the Two-Weapon Fighting feat and similar feats). However, at the moment his rage subsumes, he becomes exhausted instead of fatigued for the remainder of the encounter and for one minute per point of Constitution bonus thereafter.

This ability will seem odd to many of you guys, and for many reasons. Obviously, the biggest winner will be the oddball build that somehow has Two-Weapon Fighting alongside other feats, and given the feat starvation, you really won't afford having even the first (though Gloves of the Balanced Hand work real well *hint hint*). It allows you to wield a shield on one hand and lose nothing of your attack power on the other one, which is another plus. However, the fact that you can dual-wield greataxes (or greatswords, if you want to go for crits) and deal obscene amounts of damage with a full attack coming from a pounce is just priceless. Damage, after all, IS the bread-and-butter of a barbarian, so you'll want the highest amount of damage available at all times. Since by that moment you'll be raging like nobody's business, that means every attack you'll be dishing unholy amounts of damage, from your rage AND your Power Attack AND maybe Leap Attack AND quite probably Pounce AND who knows if you add Whirling Frenzy to the mix AND the two greataxes you're wielding. By that moment, you're probably killing enemies from the first blow.

So why this isn't a capstone? It works extremely well as a capstone, but there's little reason why not aim for a better one.

The last question should be "where did you got this idea"? The effective capstone for Blessed of Gruumsh (which is NOT that weak True Orc ability) allowed the character to once per day double his attacks. That's basically Time Stands Still as a per-day ability, so that means it could be a 17th level ability, so waiting for level 20 to get it (or at least until 15th level once per day, if you're so desperate to get into the class) was really a bad idea. Then, considering you can do the same with a Belt of Battle, or another means to get an extra action, the capstone seemed a bit weak. Thus, I had to play with a clever way to exploit the main ability of the barbarian, and what better to address one of the many problems melee classes have; that is, to do any significant damage, you need to use all your hands? Thus, this is the result.

Paragon of Orcishness (Ex): At 10th level, an eye of Gruumsh becomes the embodiment of his deity’s might. He is forevermore treated as an outsider with the chaotic, evil and native subtypes (even if the orc is lawful evil or neutral evil). Furthermore, he gains a permanent +2 increase in Strength and Constitution, a permanent +5 increase in Intimidate checks, and may rage two additional times per day. An eye of Gruumsh’s right eye becomes a small void, and thus any attempts to replace his right eye automatically miss, thus denying his enemies any chance of weakening his powers.

This is yet another "you turn into something else" capstone, but the rewards are much better. A permanent +2 Str and Con works far better than any form of DR, and the extra uses of rage per day means you'll never run out of rages (since you'll basically be able to rage twice per encounter, and since you need only one, you'll have enough rages for your daily needs, even inciting rage in some of your allies once or twice). The bonus on Intimidate checks is also nice if you're making a build for it.

The main trait, however, is that you won't be capable of losing your abilities by means of healing spells such as regenerate, so enemies can't use this offensively against you.

--
So, as usual: comments? Questions?

Unlike the other classes, since the class is far too tied to a specific deity, there will be no alternate deities section for eyes of Gruumsh. Gruumsh exists in Faerun, and the focus of orcs in Eberron doesn't really meet the needs of the eye PrC. Perhaps other places may have a deity that fits well, but the fact is that the class is tied to the conception of the brutish, savage orc that gains his powers from a vengeful one-eyed racial god, so it's pointless to try anything else. You may pitch ideas in order to provide some needed replacements, but consider that there won't be an Eberron replacement as most of the orcs there might have their own perception of "Gruumsh" or are Gatekeepers.

nonsi
2011-11-02, 04:59 AM
Specifically for THE EYE OF GRUUMSH, I'd make Blindsense & blindsight extraordinary abilities.
A character that stands as the right hand of the One Eyed shouldn't be crippled by A-M.

Elfstone
2011-11-02, 04:34 PM
Niiceee. I like it. I also agree with the (Ex) suggestion. A great class for an Orc Barbarian.

Cieyrin
2011-11-02, 07:42 PM
Eye of Gruumsh has an alternative path of entry via Half-Orc Paragon into Human Paragon via Divided Ancestry (cuz, face it, Orc Paragon kinda sucks). Just a thought for those prospective Orcish Fighters out there. Monstrous Mien and the Rage doesn't hurt, either.

The size increase of Unholy Wrath's ability boost is a bit confusing. Are you saying the boost from size are as stated? It's kinda worded like Rage is supposed to have it already or something...

Can you activate Foresight if you're on the Evil Eye cooldown timer? It seems odd to go into cooldown when you're already there... Also, I think you should have the cooldown of Evil Eye decrease with level, rather than increase. A CL increase shouldn't balance with making it harder to use and gimping yourself. Also, you specify CL for both Despair and Fear versions but not Curse.

Hand works wonderfully for Orcish Double Axe users, which is awesome, as the D&D Mini of the Eye of Gruumsh can then be used as-is, which is a plus in my book. Plus support for combat styles other than THF is always a good thing.

Finally, I think the Paragon of Orcishness losing the Orc subtype is just strange. Items and effects that key off of that stop working for you, which makes you not so Paragon, y'know?

Otherwise, it looks much improved and worth more than just a dip for more Strength in Rage. Good work!

T.G. Oskar
2011-11-04, 05:13 AM
Specifically for THE EYE OF GRUUMSH, I'd make Blindsense & blindsight extraordinary abilities.
A character that stands as the right hand of the One Eyed shouldn't be crippled by A-M.


Niiceee. I like it. I also agree with the (Ex) suggestion. A great class for an Orc Barbarian.

There's a slight problem with that idea, though I can at least agree that Blindsense could easily be Extraordinary.

As you can see, the sight abilities of the Eye of Gruumsh are all tied up. The fact that you lose both your blindsense and your blindsight when using Evil Eye or Foresight of the Lost Eye reference this link. While mostly a fluff thing, what it means is that all abilities MUST be Supernatural in origin, so as to indicate all come from the same source (divinity, if you wish to refer to it).

Blindsense makes...well, sense as an Extraordinary ability by using the concept of "the loss, partial or otherwise, of one sense tends to improve the other senses". You can claim it's enhanced hearing, smell, or a combination of factors that makes them extraordinary. Blindsight is a different monster in that regard, because the way the Eye of Gruumsh sees within its lost eye can't be explained any other way than supernaturally.

However, if I were to make blindsense extraordinary, I can't remove that ability if the Eye uses Evil Eye or Foresight of the Lost Eye, since you can't cancel an extraordinary ability by the use of a supernatural ability. So, either I make blindsense extraordinary and capable of existing on its own, or I have to keep it as-is. While I understand why blindsight SHOULD be Extraordinary (and the rules tend to provide Blindsight as extraordinary, to boot), the way the fluff is done precludes making Blindsight extraordinary (the Eye of Gruumsh is literally seeing the battlefield from both his functional eye and his missing eye, not "emitting high-frequency sounds" as most forms of blindsight tend to work), so I really have to decline that one.


The size increase of Unholy Wrath's ability boost is a bit confusing. Are you saying the boost from size are as stated? It's kinda worded like Rage is supposed to have it already or something...

Mostly. The best way to indicate how it works would be as if you gained the benefit of Enlarge Person, except the size bonus to Strength is +4 instead of +2, you still get the penalty to Dex, but you also get a size bonus of +2 to Constitution. I don't intend to go with the size increase parameters from the Monster Manual (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#increasingHitDice), since that size increase is, IIRC, applicable only to HD-based size increases; plus, a +8 bonus to Strength and a +4 bonus to Constitution really screams broken.

And the intention is that the Eye gains the ability to increase in size (with the specified boons and the increased dimensions) when it rages, not like if the orc already increased size when raging. So it's probably a semantic confusion.


Can you activate Foresight if you're on the Evil Eye cooldown timer? It seems odd to go into cooldown when you're already there...

Actually, yes. Yes you can. Think of it as follows: each time you use your Evil Eye, you need to have the eye recharge its Phlebotinum, but with Foresight, you use an emergency charge of Phlebotinum which shorts the eye until danger passes. In other terms; the effect of Foresight surpasses the recharge timer of the Evil Eye, but at a cost of deactivating all those abilities until battle ends.


Also, I think you should have the cooldown of Evil Eye decrease with level, rather than increase. A CL increase shouldn't balance with making it harder to use and gimping yourself.

I suggested the "start from 5 rounds and then reduce that to 1", which is mostly the same idea.


Also, you specify CL for both Despair and Fear versions but not Curse.

Didn't add it because it's only used to counter Remove Curse and Break Enchantment, but if really necessary, it'd be like Despair and Fear (CL = twice your class level).


Finally, I think the Paragon of Orcishness losing the Orc subtype is just strange. Items and effects that key off of that stop working for you, which makes you not so Paragon, y'know?

I seem to have forgotten that. Obviously you should have kept your old subtype of orc, though technically you'd be an Outsider (augmented humanoid, chaotic, evil, native and orc) by default. As a point to consider: aside from Bahamut, Tiamat, Vecna and other non-outsider deities, Gruumsh is the ONLY deity that has its humanoid subtype. Neither Corellon, nor Garl, nor Kurtulmak, nor Moradin nor Yondalla have their respective subtypes (elf, gnome, reptilian, dwarf, halfling). So yes, it would make the Eye less of a Paragon, but that's because Gruumsh is the only actual deity that keeps its subtype. If I were to make a Champion of Corellon or a Hammer of Moradin, I could go with the loss since they are supposed to be the embodiments of their races and they lack their subtypes.

That's a quite odd thing to point out, no?

T.G. Oskar
2011-12-14, 11:25 PM
For the fifth prestige class (and the first update in almost a month), I decided to move one of the upcoming attractions to the top spot. It's meant to be a theurge-ish class to some extent, advancing skills and sneak attack but allowing divine spellcasting as well.

The Temple Raider of Olidammara is a pretty interesting class for a variety of aspects. One of the principal aspects is the flavor: they rob stuff from temples, they get the enmity of the temples, and Olidammara agrees with the daring so he grants special boons to those who follow him. Crunch-wise, it was a bit underwhelming, although not as much as other classes specific to deities. Particularly, it didn't have stuff such as relying on sheer luck (aside from granting the Luck domain as a capstone) and how to deal with the undead (which while Olidammara's evil followers might abuse of, the deity itself isn't particularly fond of them). It was great as a dungeon delver, but outside of it, its abilities were a bit lackluster.

As you'll see, unlike most other classes, the Temple Raider has its own spellcasting capability (or progresses existing spellcasting) but will make Rogue fans quite interested in delving into the divine. It also has some support for luck feats (from Complete Scoundrel), and a capstone that would make Olidammara chuckle.

Thus, without further ado, I present upon you...

THE TEMPLE RAIDER OF OLIDAMMARA
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88238.jpg
Original by Francis Tsai. Appears in Races of Eberron supplement by Wizards of the Coast

"Woo-hoo!! About time there was a fun thing to run away! I was getting bored of the traps, but this makes it more than worthwhile!" - Alanna Craftsmann, halfling temple raider of Olidammara, after stealing a relic from a secret chapel devoted to Juiblex and being followed by the cult's "pet"

Requirements:
To become a temple raider of Olidammara, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Alignment: Any chaotic, or neutral
Skills: Disable Device 6 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Open Lock 6 ranks, Search 6 ranks, Sleight of Hand 6 ranks, Use Magic Device 4 ranks
Special: Must have taken a relic or important item from a temple and earned the enmity of its clergy
Special: Trapfinding class feature or Trickery domain
Special: Must have Olidammara as a patron deity

As you'll see, the rogue has the easiest way to deal with the prerequisites, but the class isn't particularly devoted only to them. Scouts may get a great deal of the skills as well, and even the odd Ninja. A cleric could easily get the Trickery domain with one level and take advantage of turn/rebuke undead for a latter ability, but for the most part, you don't need to be a cleric to become a temple raider.

Class Skills
The temple raider of Olidammara's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Disable Device (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha) and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at each Level: 6+Int modifier

Sure, it's 6+Int, but you have a few less skills than the Rogue would. However, you'll notice this is a very large list, and pretty similar to the original incarnation of the PrC. Except for a Rogue, this will be a great boon for anyone who manages to get in through other ways. You'll notice Architecture and Engineering, as well as Dungeoneering, as two of the options offered for the Knowledge skill, which makes for a pretty weird collection of skills.

Hit Dice: d6
{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells per Day
1st|+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Olidammara's fortune, trap sense +1|-
2nd|+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Sneak attack +1d6, pierce the unliving|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd|+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Divine sense|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
4th|+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Sneak attack +2d6, trap sense +2, evasion|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
5th|+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Bonus domain (Luck)|-
6th|+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Sneak attack +3d6, divine defense|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
7th|+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Tingling senses, trap sense +3|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
8th|+6|
+2|
+6|
+6|Sneak attack +4d6, divine fortune|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
9th|+6|
+3|
+6|
+6|Divine resistance|+1 of existing divine spellcasting class
10th|+7|
+3|
+7|
+7|Sneak attack +5d6, trap sense +4, steal deity's favor|-[/TABLE]

I really feel comfortable with how the abilities are organized. As a bare minimum, a temple raider requires at least 2 levels to see a big difference, since the 2nd level grants the sneak attack and spellcasting advancements proper. Being a 7/10th progression, this ensures a Cleric with a level in Rogue (the optimal entry point) to have a neat advancement in power, even if running short of 9th level spellcasting, whereas a Rogue will get a massive boost just by going alone (even if it'll never get as much spellcasting as a Cleric entry).

As you can see, the three no-spellcasting levels have useful traits. The first, of course, is to avoid having a 1 level dip grant too much, justified as well because of what Olidammara's Fortune and the weapon proficiency grants. 6th level adds a new domain, which is a slight boost in power to Clerics but a huge boost in power to people who choose the default entry. 10th level, of course, would be too powerful if it had an extra level of spellcasting alongside Steal Deity's Favor, since 9th level spells (if measured correctly) would make a slight dip into Rogue and worshipping Olidammara a huge boost in power.

Class Features
All of the following are features of the temple raider of Olidammara prestige class.
Weapon Familiarity: A temple raider of Olidammara gains proficiency with the rapier if he does not already has it. Furthermore, when attacking with a rapier, he gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and deals 2 extra points of damage (as if he had the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for the rapier).

I've grown fond of this slight, yet reasonable boost to power when wielding the deity's favored weapon. Rapiers are formidable choices because they're open to Weapon Finesse (thus allowing you to negate Strength to an extent), have a very nice crit range (18-20, tasty!) and deal decent damage (1d6 is nothing to chafe at), so the free Weapon Specialization feat is definitely going to be exploited, even if a bit.

Spells per Day: At all levels except 1st, 5th and 10th, a temple raider gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a temple raider of Olidammara, he must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

If the temple raider of Olidammara has no divine spellcasting ability (including if he has some form of arcane spellcasting ability), he gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. He prepares spells as a cleric does (including the inability to cast spells of an alignment opposed to yours), except he requires a high Intelligence (not Wisdom) score to cast spells, gains no domain slots and cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. He can cast a number of spells per day based on the following list, and gains bonus spells per day based on his Intelligence score.

{TABLE=head]Class Level|1st|2nd|3rd|4th
1st|0|-|-|-
2nd|1|-|-|-
3rd|1|0|-|-
4th|1|1|-|-
5th|1|1|0|-
6th|2|1|1|-
7th|2|1|1|0
8th|2|2|1|1
9th|3|2|2|1
10th|3|3|2|1[/TABLE]

A temple raider of Olidammara casts spells from its own spell list, which is presented below.

As you can see, a very elegant way to attract a wide number of builds to a PrC is to provide advancement to spellcasting, but also a parallel acquisition of spellcasting to a lesser extent, making sure that you don't really depend on a specific class to enter. A Rogue could easily enter at 6th level and take advantage of various spells right from the get-go.

One thing I want you to notice, of course, is the parallel spellcasting option. If it seems a bit confusing, the idea is as follows: the table mentions the spells per day you get, so a 4th level temple raider can cast 1 1st level spell and 1 2nd level spell, plus any bonus spells granted by Intelligence. They prepare spells as a cleric, so they can shift their spells each day to prepare for what they need, sort of what a Wizard would do. And, of course, since they gain spells every level (unlike those who progress an earlier method of spellcasting), they also advance CL every level, so instead of CL 7, they get CL 10th.

Now, pay close attention to something. Notice I said "Intelligence"? Technically, they steal that from Archivists, for one reason: Rogues with high Intelligence could make a dip in Swashbuckler and add their Int to damage, maybe dip Duelist or Invisible Blade for Int to AC, and finally get Int-based divine spellcasting, so it makes Int a very useful choice for Rogues. Coupled with the high amount of skill points you get, and how some of the most important skills for a Rogue depend on Int (particularly Search and Disable Device), you can make a strong Dex/Int build for a Rogue, which is further reinforced by spellcasting. Of course, if you advance your spellcasting by other means, you still can advance by means of Wisdom, so it doesn't force you to have a decent Wisdom score to cast spells, and makes your existing spells pretty powerful.

Trap Sense (Ex): Temple raiders have an intuitive sense that alerts them to danger from traps, giving them a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise by an additional +1 every three levels above 1st.

IIRC, the original has trap sense, and it makes perfect sense for a "temple raider" to have a preternatural sense regarding traps. Of course, if you enter via Rogue, you'll see those extra points in trap sense become all the more useful in terms of other things.

Olidammara's Fortune (Su): A temple raider's task certainly earns the enmity of various deities, both deities that offend Olidammara's clergy as those deities that may hold some degree of alliance with the Laughing Rogue. However, Olidammara is the god of luck, and because of it, his most devoted warriors hold some of his fantastic luck.

If the temple raider of Olidammara has the Trickery domain, he gains a luck bonus on Bluff, Disguise, Hide and Move Silently checks (the latter even if not a skill normally provided by the Trickery domain) equal to half his class level, rounded down. Thus, he gains a +1 luck bonus on all skills at 1st level, a +2 at 3rd level, and so on.

If the temple raider of Olidammara lacks the trapfinding special quality, he is treated as having the ability in order to detect magic traps and hazards, but he cannot use this ability to leave the trap armed (as with the actual trapfinding class feature).

If the temple raider of Olidammara has the Luck domain or a single luck feat (see Complete Scoundrel for more details on luck feats), he gains an extra luck reroll, which may be applied as part of the Luck domain's granted power or any of the luck feats he possesses.

Olidammara is the god of luck, so it's important to realize how you can exploit that luck. That, and also trickery. This is tied to the entry method for the class, which originally was comprised of either the Trickery domain, the trapfinding class feature, or a few luck feats. Since the class is pretty much tied up to rogues and clerics, requiring some luck feats wouldn't have made much sense, but they still get a boon if they're present. And, believe me, you'll probably want to have luck rerolls present.

Sneak Attack (Ex): At 2nd level, a temple raider gains the ability to strike his enemies when caught unaware. This functions identically to the rogue's sneak attack ability. If the temple raider of Olidammara had the sudden strike or skirmish class features (see the ninja and scout classes, respectively, in Complete Adventurer), he may choose to advance said ability or gain sneak attack dice at 2nd level; once the choice is made, it is permanent and may not be changed while taking levels in this class.

The class supports other forms of precision damage instead of sneak attack, so a Swift Hunter could get a fast spellcasting progression based on Int instead of Wisdom, and get Skirmish to advance (even if only five levels). Those rare few that got as cleric/ninjas could advance sudden strike if they desire, and make for a very nice Dex/Wis build (Wis to AC, spellcasting, then Dex for attack rolls), but it's pretty much sure that you'll choose sneak attack instead.

Pierce the Unliving (Su): One of the most fearsome enemies of the temple raiders are the undead; relentless in their pursuit, doggedly defending their haunting place, and invulnerable to underhanded tactics. While some of Olidammara's clergy finds value in using the undead, the Laughing Rogue blesses all of his clerics with the ability to strike the unliving in areas that would be vulnerable to their living counterparts. At 2nd level, a temple raider of Olidammara gains the ability to sneak attack undead creatures (this includes sudden strike, skirmish, and other forms of precision damage) if it catches them unaware (such as by denying their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class). This ability may be used with any weapon, but if using a rapier, the attack deals an extra point of damage per bonus damage dice (thus, a temple raider with five sneak attack damage dice deals 5d6+5 points of damage with a rapier). This ability does not allow the temple raider to deal critical hits against undead. If a temple raider has an ability based on expending sneak attack dice (such as ambush feats from Complete Scoundrel, or the theft abilities of the spellthief from Complete Adventurer), these also apply as they normally would.

While the class wasn't designed to be dip-tastic, it's pretty obvious that any decent drop point would be 2nd level, if only because of what it grants. Pierce the Unliving goes further than what Grave Strike or other abilities would, supporting sudden strike, skirmish, other precision damage abilities (but not critical hits) and rider effects from ambush feats and class abilities. If you hunt for sneak attack damage dice, playing with a rapier suddenly becomes more dangerous; you get damage as if you had the Craven feat, but since it stacks with the Craven feat, you can deal insane amounts of damage to what would otherwise be the bane of skillful classes.

Divine Sense (Su): At 3rd level, a temple raider of Olidammara enhances his senses (natural and supernatural) to sense divine magic, both that from his deity as from those anathema to his beliefs. At will as a standard action, a temple raider of Olidammara may detect the presence of divine magic, as if using the detect magic spell, but only regarding sources of divine magic or divine power. This allows them to detect undead creatures created by divine means (such as those created by a cleric's magic), divine auras (such as the auras of clerics and paladins), and magic items created by divine power (such as divine scrolls).

Even if not using this ability, a temple raider of Olidammara gains a +5 competence bonus on all Appraisal checks made towards items with a divine connection, on Decipher Script checks to read divine magic, Search traps to find traps created by divine magic (such as a glyph of warding cast by a cleric), and Spellcraft and Use Magic Device checks related to divine magic (such as recognizing a divine spell or using a wand or scroll with a divine spell). Furthermore, if the temple raider spends one minute concentrating on a divine magic item (using his detect divine magic ability mentioned as part of this ability), a successful DC 25 Appraise check allows him to identify an object as if using the identify spell.

If you had questions why this ability had to be alone, here's a good reason why.

Divine Sense is a very complex, flavorful ability comprised of three main abilities. The first is Detect Magic at will, but limited only to divine magic. However, it can also detect undead (making it a semi Detect Undead at-will), so it's like two spells cast at once, but with half the effectiveness. Second, its a massive bonus to many skills, but particularly to UMD, even if limited to divine magic exclusively. The third is an extension to the Detect Magic ability that eventually turns into a free Identify spell.

Certainly, a clever character can take great advantage of these loads of skills, but the idea is to reinforce the feel of a temple raider's mastery on detecting divine stuff. By adding some divine detection abilities alongside a bunch of bonuses to various skills that would make Dr. Jones or Dr. Croft cringe, you'll definitely want the temple raider to check up everything in the temple; chances are, you'll be right most of the time someone asks "is this thing cursed? Is this valuable?" or even "to whose god does this belong?"

Evasion (Ex): At 4th level, a temple raider can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. Treat this as the rogue's evasion class feature. If a temple raider already had evasion, he gains improved evasion instead.

Pretty straightforward. Unless you're a rogue or a monk, chances are you lack evasion, and since you'll be dealing with lots of traps, chances are you'll need that protection. Estimating the moment in which you'd get improved evasion, it's earlier than a rogue would but just at the moment a monk would, so it's no biggie.

Bonus Domain (Luck): At 5th level, the temple raider of Olidammara gains access to the Luck domain. He may prepare spells from this domain as if they were part of his spell list (if not a cleric), and gains the Luck domain's granted power. If the temple raider already had access to the Luck domain, he may choose another domain which Olidammara grants access to.

It may have been a bit odd to see a temple raider lacking Freedom of Movement even as a 4th level spell, but this is the best explanation.

It's pretty natural to add the Luck domain, for various reasons. For starters, it was the earlier capstone, and here you receive it FIVE levels earlier. The luck reroll is fascinating, and the spells are pretty nice to have, so it's a win-win in any case. If you already had the Luck domain, that means you gain access to a third domain, so it's also a nice win.

Divine Defense (Ex): At 6th level, the temple raider's dodging skills expand towards divine magic. He adds his trap sense bonuses to Armor Class and Reflex saves to all divine spells, powers from mantles and divine-related abilities (such as the smite ability from a paladin or a cleric with the Destruction domain).

Remember what I mentioned about making Trap Sense a bit more useful? This is basically an advanced version of Spell Sense which applies to half of the spells it would usually apply, which stacks with Trap Sense. Now you can see why having Trap Sense was appropriate.

However, as you can see, the effects apply to more stuff than just spells. Smite is one thing; depending on what your DM interprets, it means you eventually get a +5 bonus to AC and saves against Devoted Spirit maneuvers, which severely hinders crusaders, as well as against psi-like abilities coming from mantles (so, it affects Ardents and Divine Minds as well). It makes for a very complete defense against the divine.

Tingling Senses (Ex): At 7th level, the temple raider gains a preternatural awareness of things gone wrong, and may use his incredible fortune or his divinely granted abilities to react. By spending a daily use of turn (or rebuke) undead or a luck reroll (such as that from the Luck domain or luck feats) as an immediate action, the temple raider gains the effect of a foresight spell, except the bonus is equal to half his class level and lasts until the beginning of his next turn.

If you're a thief and a scoundrel that exists to steal from the clergy of the most powerful things in existence, you NEED some help. While the class provides a great deal of help, sometimes the best help is that lingering feeling of "something's watching" or "I feel something odd coming our way".

As you can see, those few temple raiders that began their path as clerics have an edge, as they can turn their daily uses of turning or rebuking into hunches and nice bonuses. The bonus isn't bad either, since it's far better than what Foresight grants, but for a shorter amount of time. If not, every time you get a luck feat you gain an extra use of this ability, which advances the conception of "having good fortune".

Divine Fortune (Su): At 8th level, the temple raider can turn the divine energy coursing through him as supernatural luck. If the temple raider has the turn (or rebuke) undead class feature, he may spend a daily use of this ability as an immediate action to activate the benefit of a luck feat or the Luck domain's granted power. A character that lacks this ability gains a different benefit: once per encounter, when making a luck reroll (by means of a luck feat or using the Luck domain's granted power), the temple raider gains a +2 bonus to the result of said roll. Outside of battle, this benefit may only be used once every five minutes.

A two-prong ability, which helps in equal ways those who have turn/rebuke undead and those who lack it.

Those with daily uses of turn/rebuke undead can turn that divine energy into good fortune, forcing many rerolls. Technically, there's a feat that allows the same benefit, but this one also affects the Luck domain granted power and relies on a 1-on-1 transference.

If you don't, you still can use this ability, but in a different way. It's more limited on short term, but in long term it can be easily exploited. A +2 bonus may seem like an unfair trade, but you're maximizing the effect of that reroll; since you usually expend this ability when you roll low, there's a chance you can roll high AND not need the bonus, or roll just one or two points shy of reaching the score and thus succeeding because of the mild bonus. A small bonus is better than no bonus, and if you can exploit it outside of battle every five minutes, it shouldn't be that terrible. Certainly you'll feel a bit cheated considering that the clerics get a better ability, but you'll be probably relying on luck feats to carry you through. That, OR the capstone, which is just dandy.

Divine Resistance (Su): At 9th level, the temple raider learns how to protect better from the wrath of divine spellcasters and their deity's powers. He gains spell resistance equal to 15 plus his character level, but only against divine spells. If the spell has the harmless descriptor and is cast by an ally, the spell ignores the resistance (but if an ally uses an offensive spell or stops being friendly towards the temple raider, the effect applies).

A powerful, discerning form of Spell Resistance, but limited by divine spells. With all the defenses you have, bringing a temple raider into a battle against high priests definitely will seem unfair. What's better, though, is that you don't have to lower it, ever, because it allows buffs to pass through with little difficulty.

Steal Deity's Favor (Su): At 10th level, the temple raider does the ultimate act of theft; he becomes capable of disrupting the link between a divine spellcaster or divine champion and its deity. When making a sneak attack, the temple raider may sacrifice part or all of his sneak attack bonus damage dice to temporarily sever the connection between a creature that can use divine spells, divinely granted powers, psionic powers via mantles (and specifically regarding those mantle-related powers), as well as creatures bound to vestiges (see the soul binding class feature of the binder in Tome of Magic) for 1 round, plus 1 round for every sneak attack damage dice expended beyond the first. The creature is allowed a Will save with a DC equal to 10 + the temple raider's class level + the amount of sneak attack damage dice expended to activate this ability. If successful, the temple raider may expend part of this energy as follows:
Expend the stolen favor as a luck reroll, as part of the Luck domain granted power or as part of luck feats.
Cast a single spell prepared by the temple raider without expending a spell slot. The creature afflicted loses a spell slot of the indicated level if it has spellcasting ability, or higher if it lacks a spell slot of the indicated level.
Use a divinely-related class feature (such as turn or rebuke undead, smite evil and similar abilities) once, as a character of the same level as the afflicted creature's class level. The creature afflicted loses one of the uses of this ability as if it had used it himself or herself.
Expend the stolen favor as a luck bonus on a single attack roll, saving throw, skill check or ability check equal to half the creature's level.
Once the stolen favor is used, the afflicted creature immediately regains its link. If a temple raider uses this ability on more than one round or as part of a full attack in the same round (such as sacrificing sneak attack damage dice on the first attack and succeeding on the first two attacks), the amount of rounds the target's link with his or her deity is severed does not stack in a successful save, but the temple raider may attempt to sever this connection on as many attack as he can during the round (thus, if he succeeds on two attacks, the temple raider may sever the target's connection with both successful attacks, but he does not worsen the effect after the first failed save; thus, if the target makes the save once, he may still fail the second save, but if he fails the first save, he needs not make subsequent saves on the next successful attack during the round). The target may be afflicted by this ability even if it normally has immunity to critical hits or sneak attacks, the fortification armor special quality or racial feature, or a similar trait. This ability automatically fails if used against other faithful to Olidammara, although if the devotee has lost Olidammara's favor, the temple raider may use this ability (thus, the temple raider may use this ability against an ex-cleric of Olidammara, or against a spellcasting creature posing as a cleric of Olidammara).

This capstone will make you feel like you're cheating. But, you follow Olidammara; cheating comes naturally to you.

Essentially, this allows you to act like a divine-flavored spellthief, but with the effect of basically driving a divine spellcaster out of its power. Of course, the effect is limited by three factors (landing the hit, being affected by the sneak attack and the enemy failing the save), but if it DOES happen...you basically block a Tier 1 character out of its power, just enough to turn the tide of the battle in your favor (now, wouldn't you wish to have a PrC that does the same with Wizards?) Since I want to blend the support, I also decided that vestiges were a fine target, and thus the ability to sever the connection of binders with their vestiges, albeit somewhat odd for a temple raider that dabbles in negating divines their power, still holds enough flavor to exist.

The secondary effect, however, is the real boon. The luck bonus might be nice, but basically stealing not only their energy but their spells and supernatural abilities feels downright insulting to the enemy, particularly as you only need to negate the enemy's Dexterity bonus to AC to pull off that trick again (though, you can easily forget about dealing extra damage, but if you spend your SA damage dice wisely, you can easily get that rhythm going on). Extra luck rerolls are also phenomenal.

Quite frankly, I feel this ability is just the right type of capstone; it focuses on one of the things that the PrC devotes to (confronting followers of deities that may be angry with you), its pretty powerful, but it has enough measures to make it not so overwhelming. Certainly better than getting a bonus domain, no?

TEMPLE RAIDER OF OLIDAMMARA SPELL LIST
The following spell list indicates all spells accessible to temple raiders of Olidammara if they gain spellcasting ability as part of this class. A creature that already has divine spellcasting ability may add these spells to its spell list (only if he does not have them already; hence, a temple raider that casts spells as a cleric cannot prepare dispel magic as a 1st level spell), but if the temple raider is a spontaneous spellcaster, he still needs to learn the spells as usual.

1st--charm person, comprehend languages, detect evil/good/law, detect magic, detect poison, detect secret doors, detect snares and pits, disguise self, dispel magic, divine favor, faerie fire, feather fall, hide from undead, hypnotism, jump, longstrider, magic weapon, message, obscuring mist, pass without trace, produce flame, protection from evil/good/law, reduce person, silent image, unseen servant, ventriloquism

2nd--aid, augury, blur, cat's grace, darkvision, delay poison, enthrall, find traps, fox's cunning, glitterdust, heroism, hold person, hypnotic pattern, invisibility, lesser restoration, minor image, owl's wisdom, prayer, resist energy, silence, undetectable alignment, web, whispering wind

3rd--alter self, blink, charm monster, crushing despair, deeper darkness, glibness, good hope, greater dispel magic, greater magic weapon, invisibility purge, locate object, magic circle against evil/good/law, major image, mirror image, nondetection, obscure object, remove curse, remove disease, sculpt sound, secret page, see invisibility

4th--air walk, break enchantment, confusion, death ward, dimension door, dimensional anchor, divination, greater invisibility, hold monster, neutralize poison, restoration, sending, solid fog, spell immunity, zone of silence

If using other supplements such as Spell Compendium, it is advisable to restrict the access of such spells into the temple raider's spell list. If the DM allows, a temple raider may choose to replace spells from his spell list with spells of a given supplement (such as replacing whispering wind or the 2nd level bard spell speak with allies or the 2nd level spell shroud of undeath) on a per spell basis. Speak with the DM to determine whether the spells in the list may be replaced, and which spells may be replaced. As a rule of thumb, spell preference should be spells of the divination, enchantment and illusion schools, preferably from the cleric or bard spell lists but some assassin, ranger and sorcerer/wizard spells are also available. Spells that cause direct damage, have the law or light descriptor, spells of the evocation and necromancy schools, and mostly spells that don't fill the concept of a temple raider should be prohibited, aside from exceptions mentioned above. A DM may rule that creatures that already hold divine spellcasting ability may also replace such spells on a per-spell basis. All such changes are permanent, and may not be changed afterwards (but this does not prevent prevalent spellcasters such as clerics or favored souls to investigate the spells independently).

Toying with a thematic spell list for a PrC can be hard, specifically when you're not using the trick of "work with an already established spell list". The original PrC's spell list was pretty good, but still lacked some oomph that this spell list should provide.

Now, I should mention my concern over the last paragraph. The idea I wish to express is that temple raiders should have a customized spell list, but only if their only spellcasting ability is the one provided by the PrC. I want to be pretty specific, because the last thing I want is to have "I can use Dispel Magic at 1st level because RAW states I can get it from Temple Raider" or "I can get Divine Power/Righteous Might on my spell list as a 4th level spell by replacing Sending" kind of thing. If you're a player, I can only exercise the idea that you're on your honor, but you're submit to the whims of your DM, and you need to work with him (or her; more power to girl DMs!) to see if the exchange is fitting. Remember; the spell list was built to deal with most of the problems you can face when trying to make a daring escape from a temple filled with traps, as that's the intention of the spellcasting in first instance, so while Divine Power may help you fight well in the case you DO fight, the fact that you'll best want to run and fight dirty than act as a warrior should be prevalent in both your minds. The exchange should be reasonable, and preferably meeting the rules of thumb given (though I do allow Shroud of Undeath, if only to provide Word of God to the RAW deal, while blocking other possible forms of RAWsploitation).

That said, the spell list is pretty huge and robust, even if it's only based off Core spells.

T.G. Oskar
2011-12-14, 11:37 PM
ALTERNATE DEITIES
If a character decides to take this prestige class but does not have Olidammara as a deity, the following changes apply:
Special (entry requirement): Replace the patron deity for a deity of trickery and luck. Halflings may choose Dallah Thaun as their deity. Characters from the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting may use either Abbathor (dwarves only), Beshaba, Erevan Ilesere (elves only), Oghma, Tymora (particularly Tymora) and Vergadain (dwarves only). Characters from the EBERRON Campaign Setting may choose Olladra or the Traveler.

Weapon Proficiency: The character gains proficiency with the deity's chosen weapon if it does not have already. Temple raiders gain the bonus on attack and damage rolls with their deity's favored weapon.

In case you need them:
Dallah Thaun: Dagger (booo-oooring!)

Abbathor: Dagger (ugh...really? REALLY!?)
Beshaba: Scourge (as a whip, but more dangerous. Nice)
Erevan Ilesere: Short sword (somewhat decent)
Oghma: Longsword (ooh, nice!)
Tymora: Shuriken (that's pretty odd///)
Vergadain: Longsword (say what!?)

Olladra: Sickle (not as good as a dagger in terms of critical hits, but hits harder)
The Traveler: Scimitar (I kid you not; this is probably the best weapon after the rapier)

Domains: Olladra lacks the Trickery domain, thus she acquires this ability at 1st level but the bonuses to skill checks do not apply (this replaces Olidammara's Fortune, renamed Olladra's Fortune).

Other Abilities: Some deities may have abilities that differ from those of the prestige class. The changes are as follows:

Dallah Thaun
Tingling Senses: If the temple raider of Dallah Thaun has the feat Dallah Thaun's luck, he may expend the use of this feat, but gains the penalties as if using the feat itself.

Divine Fortune: The temple raider of Dallah Thaun may expend a daily use of turn or rebuke undead (if it has the ability) to gain the benefit of the feat Dallah Thaun's Luck (if he has the feat), taking the penalties as if using the feat itself.

Steal Deity's Favor: Temple raiders of Dallah Thaun may use the absorbed favor to activate the feat Dallah Thaun's Luck one more time per day, without penalty. However, the ability automatically fails against other halflings.

So yeah, the effect is a bit meh (and the penalty is just abusive!), but Dallah Thaun's Luck is as much a luck feat as all the other luck feats, so it might be considered.

Oghma
Utterances: At every level except 1st, 6th and 10th, a temple raider of Oghma with levels in the truenamer class may advance his skill at truenaming as if he had taken a level in the class. This grants him the ability to learn new utterances and access to new Lexicons, as well as an effective truenamer level for purposes of effective caster level and save DCs. A temple raider of Oghma does not gain any other abilities related to the class.

Oghma's Knowledge: The temple raider of Oghma gains all Knowledge skills and Truespeak as class skills. Furthermore, the temple raider of Oghma gains a bonus to all Knowledge checks and Truespeak equal to half his class level. (Replaces Olidammara's Fortune)

Divine Sense (Su): When using divine sense, temple raiders of Oghma also detect people skilled in the True Speech. They also detect and may identify effects coming from utterances. (Addition to Divine Sense)

Bonus Utterance: At 6th level, a temple raider of Oghma gains access to an utterance from the Lexicon of the Perfected Map. (Replaces bonus domain if the temple raider of Oghma chooses to advance utterances)

Divine Fortune: Temple raiders of Oghma that advance truenaming skills may expend a daily use of a luck reroll to ignore the effect of the Law of Resistance or the Law of Sequence when using a single utterance. Thus, they may use two utterances at the same time, or negate the penalty by using the same utterance more than once. If the temple raider of Oghma does not have luck rerolls, he may use this ability once per encounter.

Steal Deity's Favor: Temple raiders of Oghma may use the stolen favor to ignore the effect of the Law of Resistance or the Law of Sequence as part of speaking an utterance.

While the Sorcerer and the Monk have a lot of history for being the red-headed stepchildren of the class systems, the Truenamer definitely proved what happens when Wizards gets LAAAAZY. The lack of proper support is just astonishing, if not irresponsible, the system itself a terrible wreck.

But, Oghma is a god of trickery and knowledge, and has the ceremony of Naming, so it makes him the perfect way to deal with Truespeak. The abilities granted should make truenaming less of a hassle, even if you're limited only to single-target utterances. A particular boon they get is the ability to have their deity bypass the hard-coded restrictions of the Laws, allowing you to negate the penalty or, of course, allow more than one utterance at the same time. With the bonus to Truespeak checks and the Int synergy, there's a huge chance that you'll do more with Truenaming than the Truenaming itself. I'm a sucker for the underdogs (if Project Heretica is an example of it), which is why I needed to provide support for them

Vergadain
Steal Deity's Favor: Temple raiders of Vergadain cannot use this ability against other dwarves; the ability automatically fails

Erevan Ilesere
Minor Change Shape (Su): Temple raiders of Erevan Ilesere have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as though using a disguise self spell that affects their bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of a temple raider's facial features, skin color and texture, and size, within the limits described for the spell. A temple raider can use this ability at will, and the alteration lasts until he changes shape again. A temple raider reverts to his natural form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals his natural form. When using this ability to create a disguise, a temple raider receives a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. Using this ability is a full-round action. (Replaces the bonus domain at 6th level)

Steal Deity's Favor: Temple raiders of Erevan Ilesere cannot use this ability against other elves; the ability automatically fails.

Erevan is an oddball deity, whose biggest claim to fame is basically doing the same exact thing as the Traveler, except the "beware the gifts..." schtick. Still, he's a valid deity of Faerun, so he's in, and he has a nice, fluffy ability for his temple raiders.

Olladra
Share My Fortune (Su): At 10th level, a temple raider of Olladra shares her luck with her allies. As a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, a temple raider of Olladra may expend the luck reroll from the Luck domain, luck rerolls from luck feats, daily uses of her turn undead ability (if she has them) or action points to provide an ally with unnatural fortune. Upon doing so, an ally may gain one of the following benefits:
Expend the boon of fortune as a luck reroll, as part of the Luck domain granted power or as part of luck feats.
Cast a single spell without expending a spell slot. The temple raider of Olladra loses a spell slot of the same level or higher than the spell cast by the ally (up to 4th level spells).
Expend a prepared spell slot to cast a spell from the temple raider of Olladra's list. The temple raider of Olladra loses a spell slot of the same level or higher than the spell cast by the ally (up to 4th level spells).
Use a divinely-related class feature (such as turn or rebuke undead, smite evil and similar abilities) once, as a character of the same level as the afflicted creature's class level.
Expend the stolen favor as a luck bonus on a single attack roll, saving throw, skill check or ability check equal to half the temple raider of Olladra's character level.
Whenever the temple raider of Olladra uses this ability, there is a chance that she does not expend a luck reroll, daily use of turn undead or action point. The chance is equal to 10%, plus 1% for every time she expends a luck reroll, daily use of turn undead or action point. Once this benefit is acquired, the temple raider's chance returns to 10%. If the ally decides to improve its spellcasting ability, it does not expend the temple raider's spell slots to do so. For example, assume a temple raider of Olladra has used this ability five times in two days. The sixth time she uses it, she has a 15% that her ability may be activated freely. If she succeeds on this chance, a chance for this to repeat again becomes 10% once again; else, the next time she uses this ability the chance becomes 16%.

Olladra, as you know, is a goddess of fortune and plays very well the theme of Olidammara in the world of Eberron, but for some reason she's not a trickster deity. Because of this, the ability to steal the fortune of people doesn't really fit Olladra's schtick, even if her temple raiders gain access to the Trickery domain anyways. Furthermore, she's odd in being a good deity, in comparison to most others whom are neutral. Because of this, her capstone is different in that it's a party buff rather than a single target debuff & self-buff. By expending her resources, the temple raider grants her allies a variety of buffs, including but not limited to the ability to cast spells on themselves (even personal spells). This may seem like a harsh drain to temple raiders of Olladra, but if used carefully, that bonus can save someone's life.

Then there's the slight chance Olladra herself (if Olladra does exist...Eberron puts that in doubt) may share of her own fortune and help the temple raider help others. This has a big fluff meaning, but the idea is to allow the temple raider to share her abilities with lessened risk; by helping others, the temple raider builds karma, which may provide later on. There's little to explain as the example should be clear, but if you have any doubts, feel free to ask.

The Traveler
Traveler's Shroud: At 1st level, a temple raider of the Traveler may choose to make his form more mutable. The temple raider of the Traveler may choose to make a Disguise check with a sacred bonus equal to his class level. However, for every two points of bonus, the temple raider gains a -1 penalty to all Fortitude saving throws against transmutation spells that alter his form (such as the flesh to stone spell). (Replaces Olidammara's Fortune)

Minor Change Shape (Su): Temple raiders of the Traveler have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as though using a disguise self spell that affects their bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of a temple raider's facial features, skin color and texture, and size, within the limits described for the spell. A temple raider can use this ability at will, and the alteration lasts until he changes shape again. A temple raider reverts to his natural form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals his natural form. When using this ability to create a disguise, a temple raider receives a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. Using this ability is a full-round action. (Replaces the bonus domain at 6th level)

Traveler's Gift: At 10th level, the temple raider of the Traveler becomes as fickle as his master, embodying the maxim that defines him: "beware the gift of the Traveler". To use this ability, the temple raider must give an item of no apparent worth (such as a stone), which he must have imbued previously with a measure of his deity's power in a ritual that takes one minute per object. So as long as the creature (which may be an ally of the temple raider, but not the temple raider itself) has this object in its possession, it gains a luck bonus to one of the following: attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks or ability checks, chosen by the temple raider when imbuing the object. The temple raider determines the amount of bonus the object provides, which may not exceed a +5 bonus. Once the object is imbued, its effect may not be changed and remains for as long as the temple raider desires. The temple raider may create as many such objects as he desires, but the total bonus provided by all stones at once must not exceed his class level. Once the object is given, the creature finds the object may not be dropped by any means.

As part of an action, a temple raider of the Traveler may choose to draw luck from the possessor of such an object, cursing the creature that owns it. Treat as if the creature had been the target of a bestow curse spell, except as follows: the saving throw to avoid the effect is equal to 10 + the temple raider's class level + the temple raider's Charisma modifier + the amount of luck bonus provided by the object. If the creature succeeds, the temple raider does not siphon its luck; else, the creature takes a penalty to the same rolls from which it once benefit from for 24 hours. Once the effect expires, the object becomes inert and may be dropped. A remove curse effect ends the effect, as usual, but the creature must succeed on a caster level check against a DC equal to 10 + the temple raider's class level + the luck bonus provided by the object. The temple raider may use the stolen fortune in one of the following ways:
Expend the stolen favor as a luck reroll, as part of the Luck domain granted power or as part of luck feats.
Cast a single spell prepared by the temple raider without expending a spell slot. The creature afflicted loses a spell slot of the indicated level if it has spellcasting ability, or higher if it lacks a spell slot of the indicated level.
Expend a prepared spell slot to cast a spell prepared by the afflicted spellcaster of the same level or lower. The creature afflicted loses a spell slot of the indicated level if it has spellcasting ability, or higiher if it lacks a spell slot of the indicated level.
Use a divinely-related class feature (such as turn or rebuke undead, smite evil and similar abilities) once, as a character of the same level as the afflicted creature's class level. The creature afflicted loses one of the uses of this ability as if it had used it himself or herself.
Expend the stolen favor as a luck bonus on a single attack roll, saving throw, skill check or ability check equal to half the target's level (or racial Hit Dice).
The temple raider of the Traveler has no control over which creature is affected; the afflicted creature is chosen at random (which can be a problem if the stone is given to an ally). To use this ability, the owner of the object must be on the same plane as the temple raider; if the possessor of the object travels to another plane, the luck bonuses provided by the object are lost until the temple raider is on the same plane.

If I were to mention one of the most fun deities around, I must mention the Traveler. Even amongst the gods of Eberron, he is the most mysterious of all. He's lumped with the Dark Six, but while the other five are fickle, cruel and definitely evil, the Traveler simply doesn't belong with them. All the others are siblings of the Sovereign Host; this guy is related to none, and how he got as part of the original sixteen is a definite mystery. His schtick is an odd one: he's equal parts Fhlarlanghn and Erevan Ilesere, and could be anyone or everyone. All you know about him is: he can be anyone, he wanders the world, and he likes to give gifts, but you should beware of them somehow.

Thus, the abilities granted by the Traveler should reflect that, particularly his mutability of form and his unpredicable gifts. Because he lacks the Luck domain on his spell list, it makes a lot of sense that the capstone changes, and this one still has a bind to fortune, but not to the extent of how it would be for other deities. Granting the enemy a bonus of +5 to attack rolls can be abusive if you for some reason (and dangerous, if given in midst of battle), but the end result can be downright hilarious.

As you can see, whereas with the Steal Deity's Fortune ability the most important thing was to land the strike and disable the enemy, in this case the most important thing is the bonus. You may give ten such stones to random passersby and get ten uses of fortune (ten luck rerolls, or maybe ten luck bonuses), while the afflicted creature might just suffer something weak like, say, a -1 bonus to attack rolls just at the moment in which fight isn't even necessary. Thus, it may seem somewhat bizarre, particularly since the DM has to make some extra book-keeping, but in the end, it gives the DM some control over the action. For example, a temple raider that becomes a bit abusive with the ability may suddenly see most of the people bypassing their Will saves, but when things get real harsh, the DM may just allow that floating luck reroll that will save your day.

The other benefit, which can be both a boon and a curse (pretty much literally) is that you can grant the bonus to your allies. So as long as you're careful not to drain their fortune (and this is chosen entirely at random, or as random as the DM wants to), an ally can gain a very potent luck bonus to attack rolls or skill checks, which can mean a world of difference. Of course, the ally is in constant fear that the temple raider drains his fortune for one day, even with Remove Curse on the way, in a very important battle.

Hence, why it's so nice to have as a capstone. It reflects the unpredictability of the deity, and for the most part it'll be much more beneficial than dangerous. However, when it backfires...

As usual: questions? Comments? Excuses for the delay, but between all the new stuff I'm brewing, I almost forgot about this. I expect a few more releases in the next days, as the Pretender, the Ravager and the Fist are complete.

NineThePuma
2012-01-12, 10:31 PM
Missed this brew!

I'ma look deeper, but the first thing that pops out is "There is no Shocking Blade class feature, and Shock Blade is not listed on the table" but that's just a minor edit mistake. Eye of grummish is cool looking.

I look forward to more; I'm not heavy on gods, but I really like the idea behind this project.

Can I see this tying into your "Deities of the Absurd and Awesome" some?

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-12, 07:01 AM
I swear, one of these days, I'm going to make a dump of homebrew that will last an entire week! I churn more homebrew than I post, and that has to change!

...In any case, before the Pretender appears, I decided to post another PrC, and one that's sadly forgotten. Another Complete Warrior PrC, this class is meant to be linked, though not devoted, to the deity of wanton slaughter, Erythnul the Many. It's, unlike many of the other classes, a PrC that does not progress spellcasting, and that's good...but makes it more challenging to work with.

After a while, my computer began to suffer incessantly, and roughly a month ago (five days from now, actually), it stopped working. This meant the purchase of a new one, which I was paying little by little (yay for the lay...away!!), and after some rigorous testing, I'm ready to post again!

...Then I realized I hadn't really finished it. What the class needed was one or two things to finish out, so I made a quick check-up and finished it for you guys. The class retains its fear-related martial roots, but it's now far, far more dangerous than before, what with some really ugly and nasty tricks. It is a warrior that revels in slaughter, and also fights disgustingly dirty, all the while holding a massive weapon.

So, without further ado, I present to you...

THE RAVAGER (of Erythnul)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cw_ag/75470.jpg
Samurai vs. Ragers, by Joel Thomas. Originally appearing in Complete Warrior. All rights Wizards of the Coast.

"We will ride with death on our backs, or back we will return dead!!" -- Ravagers motto

Requirements
To qualify to become a ravager, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Chaotic evil, chaotic neutral or neutral evil
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Survival 8 ranks
Feats: Power Attack
Special: The character must be a worshipper of Erythnul and must survive the ravager initiation rites.

Simple, yet fitting at the same time. Any barbarian with an Int of 8 can get in by 6th level, with fighters and rangers very close by. A dip in barbarian is phenomenal for entry. If anything, the main problem is the requirement of Knowledge (religion), which albeit easily fulfilled with cross-class ranks by 5th level, can be a problem if you lack many skill points.

Class Skills
The ravager’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Short, but to the point. This is what I went for the Ravager's skill list. Bluff for dirty fighting, Intimidate for demoralization, a combination of perception, athletic and stealth abilities, and Knowledge (religion) so they know who the heck they're dealing with. With 4+Int skill points, you should get a decent lot of skills to use.

Hit Die: d12
{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Cruelest cut +1d4, pain touch (damage)
2nd|+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|Disfiguration, brutal slaughter
3rd|+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|Cruelest cut +2d4 (bleeding), disheartening sneer
4th|+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|Bonus feat, pain touch (weakening), vicious slaughter
5th|+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|Cruelest cut +3d4 (+1), scrape deep
6th|+6|
+5|
+5|
+2|Disfiguration, aura of terror, sadistic slaughter
7th|+7|
+5|
+5|
+2|Cruelest cut +4d4 (vile), pain touch (nauseating)
8th|+8|
+6|
+6|
+2|Bonus feat, wolf in sheep's clothing, maiming slaughter
9th|+9|
+6|
+6|
+3|Cruelest cut +5d4 (disabling), deepest fears
10th|+10|
+7|
+7|
+3|Cruelest cut (+2), disfiguration, pain touch (slaughter), visage of terror[/TABLE]

d12, full BAB, good Fort and Will saves, and chock-full of goodies at every level. We're starting good, no?

As you can see, instead of treating cruelest cut and pain touch as separate abilities that had weight on their own, I made them progressive abilities with various other abilities every levle. Thus, you always get something at every level, with the exception of 7th level (which only has progression of cruelest cut and pain touch, but hey, a nauseating pain touch can be a devastating attack...

The focus of the Ravager consists on damage, damage, more damage, fear, status effects, and dirty tricks. Oh, and damage. With the bonus feats spread around, the class is fit for a no-nonsense fighter who lives only to kill, maim and slaughter. However, it also has some protective abilities, because nothing can be more disheartening to a slaughterer that his abilities don't work as intended.

By the way, did I mention damage?

Class Features
All of the following are features of the ravager prestige class.
Weapon Proficiency: Ravagers gain proficiency with morningstars, flails and heavy flails (if they don’t have this ability already). If the ravager has proficiency with the morningstar, the flail and/or the heavy flail, he gains the Weapon Focus feat for either (or all) of the weapons.

As with all other deity-based PrCs, ravagers get much better with their deity's favored weapon and some similar others, such as the flails. Weapon Focus is mostly cheap change at this rate, but consider it's a class that thrives on melee combat, and that such a point can be turned, easily, into 1-2 points of extra damage with Power Attack without costing you a feat slot. That's pretty decent, actually.

Cruelest Cut (Ex): The defining point of a ravager's fighting style isn't rooted on finesse or technique, but on simple and brutal effectiveness. Once the blade has landed, what matters is the wound itself; the more vicious the wound is, the more effective was the attack. Ravagers specialize in unleashing their aggression in a single strike, but causing such a lethal wound that the opponent may not easily recover.

As a full-round action, a ravager may make a cruelest cut. To make a cruelest cut, the ravager must be wielding a slashing or piercing weapon, a flail, or a morningstar, and must be capable of holding the weapon in two hands. If the attack is successful, the ravager deals an extra 1d4 points of damage as the weapon lodges deep into the opponent's body. Unlike other such methods of extra damage, cruelest cut multiplies on a critical hit. At 3rd level, and every two levels afterwards, the damage from cruelest cut increases by an extra 1d4. If a creature is flat-footed, the ravager may use cruelest cut as part of a melee attack, but the opponent immediately loses the flat-footed condition. Creatures immune to critical hits or sneak attacks are not immune to cruelest cut, but constructs are immune to the extra damage, and fortification applies against all traits of the attack.

At 3rd level, the wound bleeds after the weapon is dislodged. The target of a cruelest cut takes 1 point of damage for every bonus damage dice of cruelest cut, unless the opponent receives mundane or magical healing, or a Heal check equal to 15 + one and a half times the ravager's Strength modifier (at the moment of the attack).

At 5th level, whenever the ravager makes a cruelest cut attack, the target also takes 1 point of Constitution damage, as if it were part of the cruelest cut attack (thus, the same immunities apply). At 10th level, the ravager deals 2 points of Constitution damage instead.

At 7th level, damage dealt by a cruelest cut attack refuses to heal, tainted by the vile power of the god of slaughter. All extra damage dealt by the cruelest cut attack is considered vile damage (see Book of Vile Darkness, page 34 for more details), and thus may not be healed unless a healing spell is cast upon the target on a consecrated or hallowed area, or a spell is powerful enough to heal vile damage.

At 9th level, the damage dealt by a cruelest cut is so vicious the enemy cannot fight properly. If the target of a ravager's cruelest cut fails a Will saving throw (DC equal to 10 + the ravager's class level + the ravager's Strength modifier), it is treated as if disabled (except it does not lose damage when executing an action, unless the creature is at 0 hp; if under 0 hp, it falls unconscious as usual unless a spell or feat prevents it) until it receives healing of any source.

The original cruelest cut ability was...decent, to say the least about it. Constitution damage is brutal, since it means a penalty to all Fortitude saves AND the lost of hit points (no questions asked), but it had the big problem of daily limitations. This is an ability that should be used at every moment.

Thus, cruelest cut behaves in many ways as sneak attack or any other kind of precision damage, with a caveat: since it's just the ravager knowing how to deliver maximum slaughter in the best possible area, it's not hard to think a full-round action single attack can't deliver it. Getting the enemy flat-footed is more devastating as you can land the cruelest cut AND still keep the full attack running, but the idea is that cruelest cut works well even with one attack.

That said, you may notice that some piddling extra damage is never enough. Thus, cruelest cut becomes more and more deadly as the ravager progresses. For starters, the damage is so brutal, it causes the enemy to bleed; just one attack causes repercussions in latter rounds, so if you don't kill it in one blow, you kill it in subsequent rounds. Then, you get less, but meaningful, Constitution damage: at level 10, that's (enemy HD) worth of hit point damage plus -1 to all Fort saves, PLUS all the damage, PLUS the consecutive damage every level.

Yet, why stop there? 7th level makes the damage vile, so you can't really heal the attack; since the wounds refuse to heal, you're effectively taking their HP little by little, even with only one blow. 9th level, however, is the crowning achievement as the enemy becomes disabled. Yes, you heard right: disabled. That means limiting the enemy to one single attack until it gets healed... Now, while you can't heal vile damage, you can heal other forms of damage, so it's not like the enemy will be disabled forever (going with that, bleeding damage can be stopped even if cruelest cut deals vile damage, as the bleeding is not consequently vile); however, and let's be frank...who heals in mid-battle? That's using metagame knowledge on your favor, though in this case it's probably the DM using it against the players. In any case, cruelest cut is now deadlier than ever, and given justice.

UPDATE: THe 7th level ability only applies to extra damage dice. Thus, only the d4's of damage, not the rest.

Pain Touch (Su): As a symbol of Erythnul's favor upon his favored disciples, even the touch of a ravager brings pain and suffering. This is a show of the nature of the god himself; the ravager is the bringer of pain and suffering through wanton, needless slaughter. Whenever the ravager makes a melee touch attack, the target takes 1d8 points of damage plus 1 point per class level. The ravager may make pain touches instead of melee attacks, thus allowing the ravager to make multiple pain touches on a single round. This damage results from divine power, and thus may not be blocked by damage reduction or resistance of any kind, but mindless creatures, undead, constructs and creatures immune to pain suffer none of the effects of the pain touch.

At 4th level, the pain inflicted by the ravager's touch weakens the enemy. If the target of a pain touch fails a Fortitude save against a DC of 10 + the ravager's class level + the ravager's Strength modifier, the target takes a penalty of -4 to all attacks, skill checks and ability checks for 1 hour (as if affected by a symbol of pain spell). A pain touch may impose the weakening effect on a creature once per round, but it may be applied to different creatures in the same round.

At 7th level, if the ravager chooses to extend the amount of time it touches a target, it wracks the creature with unbearable pain. As a standard action, a ravager making a pain touch causes the target to make a Fortitude save (with the same DC as above) or become nauseated for 1 round for every two class levels of the ravager (rounded down). Multiple uses of pain touch on the same target as a standard action do not stack, but a creature may be weakened as usual.

At 10th level, the ravager's grip on the target becomes potentially lethal. Once per encounter, as a full-round action, a ravager making a pain touch attack forces the creature to make a Fortitude save (with the same DC as above) or die from the unbearable pain. If the creature does not die from the attack, the ravager may attempt a pain touch with the same effect on a subsequent round against the same target or a different target.

Unlike cruelest cut, pain touch was a joke, and not a funny one either. It was bad. Real, real bad. I mean, 1d8+ravager level damage a few times per day? Seriously, that's meant to be a worthy attack? I mean, the Dread Necromancer gets this ability at-will, just as powerful, can heal with it (if the DN is undead or has Tomb-Tainted Soul, that is)...so why pain touch has to be so weak?

Fear not, for I have made it deadlier. Literally...at least at 10th level it IS deadly.

At first, pain touch allows the ravager to deal melee touch attacks that deal some decent damage, even if it's not a LOT. It is mostly irresistible (no DR for it), so it's pretty safe damage. At 5th level, you're looking at 9-10 points of damage per hit, and being touch attacks means that their chances of hitting are pretty solid. Now, these are not attacks in the strictest sense of the word, so while you can use your iteratives on it, you really can't deal sneak attack damage, cruelest cut damage or any damage that depends on melee attacks with it.

What you CAN do with it, though, is debuffing. Pain touch, at 4th level, becomes a pretty brutal debuff, as a -4 to attack rolls can be annoying to just about everyone. 7th level, though, is more than just awesome: nausea is a pretty effective lockdown ability, as you can't do pretty much anything, and it lasts for quite a few rounds. Open with cruelest cut, then touch the enemy after movement, lock him down, finish him. In one-on-one battles, the ravager can be devastating.

However, I mentioned that pain touch was lethal. Enter 10th level: once per encounter, the ravager can essentially kill whomever it touches. Sure, it's a full-round action (good luck locking him down...oh wait, trip + nausea. Hardy har har!), but if it doesn't die, you can use it again and again. Once you use it, though, it's exhausted, but hey, one less! In any case, pain touch is pretty brutal no matter how you see it.

Disfiguration: A ravager generally makes no notice about its appearance; it usually wears the rough skins of slain creatures, caring not for personal hygiene for it takes time away from slaughter (unless it's a blood bath, which they take delightfully). However, if one part of their appearance they do care about, is how to resemble the Many, ritually disfiguring themselves to gain an edge in combat. Ravagers consider disfiguring their bodies in the name of Erythnul a sacred duty, and their god prizes them by granting them an edge in combat. At 2nd level, a ravager gains the Willing Deformity feat (see Book of Vile Darkness or Exemplars of Evil for details on the feat) as a bonus feat, and also gains a deformity feat of their choice (from those presented on Book of Vile Darkness or Exemplars of Evil). At 6th level, the ravager gains another deformity feat as a bonus feat.

You guys already know I'm a fan of bonus feats. It's one of the ways to ease the choice of feats for every martial character, while not having to adopt the Pathfinder feat rules (or the Pathfinder rules, period.) However, here's a nice curve: Willing Deformity for free, plus a free deformity feat. Deformities can be pretty awesome, but the most interesting one is the one that grants you reach. Yes, I think of you...you're pretty good to me, so I need to be pretty good to you, and how better than to give free reach to melee? Of course, those are not the only deformities, and 6th level gives you another one for free. And, since you're unspeakably evil, why not choose more than one with your actual feat slots?

This is also an application of non-general feats fitting for a specific theme. The original Ravager underwent ritual scarification, so the use of deformity feats seemed like a given. It was just too good not to be considered, so I considered it for the class.

Brutal Slaughter (Su): Believers of Erythnul believe that, when they slaughter an enemy, their god gains a measure of power from the act. Indeed, Erythnul draws power from the souls of the slaughtered, but only those fallen in combat (what he draws from the souls of the weak is gleeful pleasure). At 2nd level, the ravager learns how to harness part of the power released from slaughter to further his own ends. Whenever a creature reaches -1 hit points or lower by means of a ravager's attack, the ravager may, as a swift action, immediately slay the creature in order to harness part of its power. Treat the effect as if a death knell spell had been cast upon the target, except as follows: the creature to be slaughtered must not have a Challenge Rating lower than the ravager's Hit Dice -2, the effect lasts for 1 round per Hit Dice of the slaughtered creature, and the ravager gains 1d8 temporary hit points plus 1 per Hit Dice of the slain creature, a +2 profane bonus to Strength, and a +1 profane bonus to Intimidate checks. The temporary hit points granted by the effect do not stack, but overlap, and only the highest amount applies. A ravager may not have a profane bonus to Strength by means of this ability higher than 2 points, plus 2 points for every three class levels after the first, rounded down (thus, a 2nd level ravager may only gain a +2 profane bonus to Strength, while a 10th level ravager that has slain 4 creatures gains a +8 profane bonus to Strength). The profane bonus to Intimidate checks, on the other hand, applies for every slain creature (regardless of the ravager's Hit Dice), and stacks.

Another fitting ability, Brutal Slaughter is essentially what happens when a ravager goes the extra mile and pushes the enemy beyond the threshold of death. We've seen (and if you don't, make sure you read Exemplars of Evil to see what I mean) attempts to make instantaneous, flourishing finishing strikes which mostly take the target to -10, but do nothing else. No bonus (or an insignificant bonus), no reward, no anything: after all, if having the target at -5 and bleeding away to death is just as effective as -10 and dead (with the rare example of a cleric stopping the fight to heal its comrade), then there's no point on going the extra mile.

Brutal Slaughter, on the other hand, is intended for ravagers that want to revel in slaughter. A Death Knell-esque effect is not exactly a weak option, considering the benefits you get for going through with the kill. Particularly, the bonuses to Intimidate and Strength are nothing to scoff off, as ravagers thrive on high Intimidate and high Strength, the cornerstones of their task. Thus, when they kill someone, they become literally and figuratively stronger, as many of their abilities depend on high Intimidate and high Strength.

In other words: you don't want a ravager killing one of your buddies. Seriously, no.

Disheartening Sneer (Ex): The sneer of a mass murderer has the psychological effect of disheartening its victim. Erythnul, who delights in the faces of those whom his devotees slaughter, teaches his ravagers to extend that effect to more than one creature. Beginning at 3rd level, whenever the ravager makes an Intimidate check, it may choose to apply the effect to all creatures within a 10 ft. radius instead of a single creature.

We all know about Never Outnumbered. It's a nice skill trick: actually, a pretty awesome ability. Demoralize at 10 ft. radius at the cost of a single standard action is nice, and with Imperious Command, a tool for locking the enemy into cowering stasis. This is its bigger brother: applies to ALL Intimidate checks (not just demoralization, so you can convince everyone within 10 ft. that they better be your pals or you'll slaughter them!!...and then you slaughter them anyways. For the lulz, you know...), and applies every single time (not just once per encounter as the skill trick). You also get it pretty early (8th level at most), so you can start thinking about mass Intimidation (just like a Chaotic Evil Takahashi no Onisan...and if you don't know about it, PM ShneekeyTheLost or Google it!) right at 9th level. Works wonders with Zhentarim Fighter, if you can stretch it.

Bonus Feat: At 4th level, and again at 8th level, a ravager gains a bonus feat in addition to those he obtains by means of class levels. These bonus feats may come from the list of fighter bonus feats. A ravager must still comply with the prerequisites for the bonus feat, as usual. A ravager stacks his levels in the prestige class with his effective Fighter level for purposes of fighter level prerequisites.

So yeah, you get bonus deformity feats, and then you get bonus fighter feats. You're a darned warrior, so why not take advantage of getting some nice and juicy bonus feats ripe for slaughter, and leave your precious level-based feats for other abilities. I mean, by now the ravager is probably a devotee of Erythnul, so why not add the Death or Destruction Devotion feats? Or Incarnum, or maybe dabble in soul binding...whatever pleases you. With these bonus feats, you can make bolder choices for better builds. This is the T.G. Oskar build badassery guarantee!!

Oh, and it comes with free effective Fighter levels. Another trademark from my part. I swear, when you see my feat retooling, you'll understand why I insist so much in mentioning this...

Vicious Slaughter (Su): A ravager draws from the power of his god to cause brutal damage to his enemies, even if he takes a portion of the damage itself. For ravagers, experiencing the pain of their deity is a pleasure, albeit a grim and disgusting one, that motivates them into combat. Beginning at 4th level, whenever a ravager holds a slashing or piercing weapon or a flail in two hands, or wields a morningstar, the weapon is treated as if it had the vicious special quality. This ability may not be deactivated (thus, the ravager always takes damage when attacking).

So, not only do you get free bonus feats, a free at-will melee touch attack that deals no-DR damage, and an awesome attack with cruelest cut, you also get the Vicious property for free? Why, this is extremely fitting for the wanton slaughterer! 2d6 points of damage for free with every attack (with you taking 1d6, but hey, eventually your temporary HP will soak part of it, and you can hang up with a potion or two), which further increases your damage potential.

Scrape Deep (Ex): Whenever a ravager abandons himself in the act of slaughter, no defense can truly overcome its deadly strikes. At 5th level, whenever a ravager makes a cruelest cut attack, wields a morningstar, or uses the Power Attack feat with a weapon in two hands and expends at least 5 points of its base attack bonus, the ravager may choose to ignore a single source of damage reduction. Thus, if the ravager wields a masterwork flail in two hands and makes a cruelest cut with Power Attack against a creature that has damage reduction bypassed by magic adamantine weapons, the ravager is treated as if holding a magic adamantine weapon for purposes of bypassing the damage reduction. However, if the same creature had two sources of damage reduction (such as DR against magic adamantine weapons and DR against good weapons, which would normally overlap), only one source is negated.

So, as we know, one of the biggest, cruelest things to do to a warrior is adding DR to its opponent. DR always soaks damage, even if only a measly few points. However, if you can't keep up with the damage, you'll eventually feel that DR. What about a lucky source of DR negating part of the damage needed to kill the enemy in a single blow, so you can take advantage of Brutal Slaughter and then get better Strength? Bummer, I know, so ravagers have a way to bypass DR as an extraordinary action.

Now, as you can see, the definition for "source of DR" is pretty clear: when you use this ability, you negate one, and specifically ONE source of DR, as in "DR X/Y". Sometimes, you may get differing sources of DR: one can be "DR X/Y" and another be "DR XX/YY", with X and XX being different numbers (always one lower than the other, obviously) and Y and YY being different ways of beating it (or not, as they can be defeated by the same source of DR or not beaten at all, such as DR X/-). This ignores ONE single source, so in case you get DR X/magic and DR XX/magic, you can ignore DR X or DR XX, but NOT the other. Likewise, if it's DR X/magic and DR X/cold iron, you can ignore DR X/magic or DR X/cold iron, but not the other. This is to prevent the idea of just ignoring all sources of DR altogether, in the rare and unusual case that two sources of DR overlap. By all means, it should be pretty rare, but if it happens, then we shouldn't penalize the one who prepares for just about everything, no?

Aura of Terror (Su): The sole presence of a ravager in the battlefield, the mere uttering of his name brings terror upon his opponents. This reputation becomes a lingering aura of fear that always surrounds the ravager, demoralizing his enemies whenever they draw too close. At 6th level, all creatures within 30 feet of the ravager at the beginning of its turn must make a Will saving throw (against a DC of 10 + the ravager's class level + the ravager's Strength modifier) or become shaken until the end of the encounter. This fear effect stacks with any other fear effects and allows other fear effects to stack; thus, if a ravager makes an Intimidating Strike (a feat from the Player's Handbook II supplement), he can turn a single enemy from shaken to frightened, even if the Intimidating Strike feat normally wouldn't allow it (however, it wouldn't make the creature panicked unless a third, stacking source applied). This effect lasts for as long as the creature remains within the aura. If the creature makes its saving throw against the ravager's aura of terror, it becomes immune to the ability for 24 hours thereafter.

Aura of Terror, in the original, wasn't really that hot. It was limited per day (as with the other abilities), and it only limited you to shaken, not enabling other forms of stacking fear. Proper locking requires the ability to stack fear effects so the enemy gets panicked, so it's a bad idea that you can mostly reach shaken as a warrior, while the cheating spellcaster gets hundreds of different ways to stack fear effects. Fear no longer, as "specific trumps general" strikes with unholy might to allow sadistic slaughterers the ability to bypass fear stacking restrictions. So, if you get a ravager with Intimidating Strike AND demoralize, you can send him right into the panic zone, and with some clever applications of lockdown you can keep him cowering, hence flat-footed and ready for your cruelest cut. Or, you know, just give him the hit of grace and kill him already: more Strength for you, less allies for them. Now THIS is what Aura of Terror should be. As you can see, the debuffing abilities of the Ravager are nothing to scoff off, as weakening, fear and nausea can be pretty devastating (considering that a few of them are to an extent extraordinary, so...)

Sadistic Slaughter (Su): Beginning at 6th level, the ravager's attacks innately strike the most vulnerable parts of one's body. Whenever a ravager holds a slashing or piercing weapon or a flail in two hands, or wields a morningstar, the weapon is treated as if it had the keen special quality. As usual, this benefit does not stack with Improved Critical, but if the ravager has this feat, it gains a +4 profane bonus on attack rolls to confirm critical hits and on critical hit damage (which gets multiplied, as usual).

Wait a sec...so not only do I get free Vicious, but I also get free Keen? And Improved Critical still grants a benefit? NIIIICE!!!

...that's what I expect to hear from you. We all know that the best way to deliver as much damage as possible is with a critical hit, so why not raise the stakes? Furthermore, why not make the critical hit better and hit HARDER (I mean, a greataxe with the Sadistic Slaughter-based keen weapon property and Improved Critical deals an extra 12 points of damage on a critical...

Maiming Slaughter (Su): Beginning at 8th level, the ravager's attacks cause more damage than the norm. Whenever a ravager holds a slashing or piercing weapon or a flail in two hands, or wields a morningstar, the weapon is treated as if it had the maiming special quality.

...scrap that, 2d6+12 points of damage.

So yes, not only do I think about Vicious and Keen, but also Maiming. Critical hits will hurt like nobody's business. By the way, have I mentioned that a heavy flail is 19-20/x2, so while not exactly deadly in terms of critical damage, it's brutal for fishing crits? Add Blood in the Water and you can just rely on the raw damage.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Sp): Although ravagers are savage in their methods of combat, they are not devoid of intellect. Their deity, Erythnul, has traits of all savage creatures, and is fond of trickery in combat. Ravagers, already disfigured, learn how to assume the visage of innocent creatures, or the images of beloved ones, to lure their enemies into a sense of safety before enabling their brutal task. Nothing can be more terrifying than having your loved ones betray you, and the scar of the survivors causes great despair upon them; a victory for a ravager, even if not ending in slaughter.

Beginning at 8th level, a ravager gains a limited form of the change shape ability. A ravager may only assume the form of humanoids, monstrous humanoids and their own type and subtype, but the effect is merely cosmetic and does not provide the target's racial, extraordinary or supernatural qualities (but it does provide a +10 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks). However, the ravager may only assume the form of creatures it has slaughtered. Alternatively, by spending 1 round in concentration and studying the enemy, the ravager gains a glimpse of a creature dear to the target. If the creature is a humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or member of the ravager's type and subtype, the ravager may assume the form of the creature as a standard action. In order to use this ability, the ravager must not be wielding a weapon in its hand (natural weapons are allowed, however).

While transformed, the ravager may make Bluff checks (against the target's sense motive) to lull the enemy into a sense of safety. Treat this as feint checks, except the ravager needs not feign an attack in order to succeed (the effect is different, such as an amorous advance or a simple request for a handshake). A successful Bluff check causes the enemy to become flat-footed against the ravager for as long as it does not attack the target or any of its allies. If the ravager decides to attack the enemy, the ravager acts as if making a cruelest cut attack (with all relevant abilities), and may remain on the form or resume its own. While transformed, the ravager loses all benefits of its aura of terror and deformity feats; however, if the ravager makes a successful cruelest cut attack, he gains a +10 bonus on Intimidate checks against the target for as long as it remains transformed. If the target succeeds by 5 or more on a single Sense Motive check, the target notices the ruse of the ravager and is no longer treated as flat-footed; the target may choose to keep this information and Bluff the ravager or immediately reveal it.

This may seem like the oddball within the group. Remember I mentioned that ravagers fight dirty? Well, this represents all of their "dirty fighting" maneuvers: playing the wolf in sheep's clothing card.

I mean, nothing can be as utterly frightening as disguising as someone the enemy cares and loves, and then sticking a cold steel blade of death on their guts as you grin sadistically.

...yes, while I am a fan of Paladins, I can have a twisted, sick mind sometimes.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing represents the trickery of Erythnul (as you may remember, since Erythnul has Trickery amongst its domains) applied to mass slaughter. When fighting against a ravager, you're not just fighting a skilled warrior; you're fighting someone who knows how to use fear as a weapon, and who won't hesitate to use your own fears against you, or the love you hold for others. Compared to this, throwing sand in someone's face or stealing their weapon after a flashy disarm is child's play: it's a dirty trick on the enemy's mind, as if the ravager survives, there is nothing that prevents another ravager from pulling the same trick on you. Paranoia, delusions, seeing enemies everywhere...that's really a low blow, and ravagers delight on using this.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing can be used for OTHER things, though. Spying, for example. Or just walking around, hiding in plain sight. Creativity is the name of this ability.

Deepest Fears (Ex): At 9th level, the ravager has studied the many ways to frighten an opponent, and knows the right words to unnerve even the boldest of creatures. As a prize for such studies, Erythnul grants his disciples the ability to overcome the mental blocks and immunities against fear of many creatures, allowing them to experience utter terror by preying on their deepest fears. Whenever a ravager uses a fear effect against a target, he ignores all immunities against fear and mind-affecting effects that the target may possess; however, the target gains a +10 bonus on Will saves instead (in the case of Intimidate, they get a +10 on their level checks). Mindless creatures are not affected by this ability (and thus retain their immunities).

What's the worst thing a fearmonger can face? If your response is "his opponent's just too damn courageous", then you struck gold. Immunity to fear is just TOO overrated, and aside from Dread Witch, there is NO OTHER WAY to ignore it. Particularly for martial characters, who suddenly lose the very useful demoralization ability at very high levels, something that's really unfair for them.

That is why Deepest Fears is here. As I mentioned on Project Heretica, and once again paraphrasing President John F. Kennedy, "courage is resistance of fear, mastery of fear...not the absence of it". Knowing no fear doesn't make you courageous (so the above answer is sorta wrong), but rather fearless. But, everyone has its fears. Not knowing what fear is doesn't mean that you can't feel fear; you just know it as something else. You know, maybe the butterflies on your stomach (or the gutworms in your stomach) going haywire, or that chill that happens on a sunny, warm day. Eventually, the ravager will know what makes you fear, and prey on it, until you start to KNOW fear. Those who are truly courageous will overcome it, and those who are merely immune may find themselves falling prey to it. The high bonus to Will saves against fear effects makes sure the task is inhumanely hard, but doable. And that's just enough for the ravager.

Visage of Terror (Sp):At 10th level, the ravager has seen the mighty and terrible visage of Erythnul in his dreams, and has overcome his own fears. By preying upon their targets' deepest fears, the ravager may literally kill his opponents out of sheer terror. Once per encounter, the ravager may duplicate the effect of a weird spell, as if cast by a sorcerer of the ravager's character level, except as follows: the saving throw for the fear effect is equal to the ravager's Intimidate check (only ranks and bonus from Charisma applies, not other bonuses), and if a target fails its Will save but succeeds on its Fortitude save, it takes hit point damage as if struck by a cruelest cut attack (instead of the normal damage) and takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage instead of Strength damage (but still remains stunned for 1 round). The shadowy images manifest as the deepest fears of each individual. The ravager's brutal slaughter ability applies to all creatures slain by this ability.

And, for the capstone...a true retooling of their signature ability. Visage of Fear was meant to be a powerful ability, as while limited to once per day, it had the chance of outright killing your enemy. However, as you may know, it has three problems.
One, it's a fear effect. With so many enemies immune to fear, their greatest ability didn't work on those you may want to use it the most.
Two, it's based on Phantasmal Killer, so you have the problem of affecting only a SINGLE enemy, and the DC was so low that the enemy had a good chance of succeeding.
Three, the effect was limited to only ONCE per day. So, if you failed, you lost your best ability, the one you spent 10 levels training for.

Isn't that a bummer? Fortunately, the new visage of terror works differently.

For starters, Deepest Fears works with it, so the range of enemies it can affect just multiplied. Or at least, expanded to essentially everyone. Second, its DC is unusual, as it's based on your INTIMIDATE bonus, which can be potentially unbeatable (though you get no aid from Brutal Slaughter on this one, and if you have poor Charisma, it CAN be beatable. It's just that a DC based on a d20 check can be potentially devastating). Third, it's based on Weird, so it affects a great deal of enemies, not just one. Fourth, even if the enemy succeeds on the Fortitude save against the unbeatable Intimidate-based DC, the enemy takes damage from Cruelest Cut, and takes a massive hit to Constitution. So that's 5d4 points of HP damage plus 5 points bleeding damage plus 1d4 Constitution damage, of which the HP damage is vile and potentially leaves you disabled, AND you still get stunned for 1 round. By 10th level, you'll always start using this ability, and then finish with the rest. And finally, whomever dies from Visage of Terror empowers you. You lose nothing for using this as an opening salvo, considering that it's usable once per encounter.

RAVAGER INITIATION RITES
One of the prerequisites of entering the ravagers involves surviving their initiation rites. All of the rites involve ritualistic murder and end up with a pledge to devote their lives to slaughter, but not all ravagers execute the rites in the same way. Some ravagers favor subtlety (as much as the ravager can muster before indulging in slaughter), others favor gore and gruesome deaths, and yet others favor ritualistic combat to the death. Each band of ravagers has its own method, which may differ only slightly in some cases, but more often than not the rite will be distinctive from the rest. This methodology defines their usual tactics: those who favor subtlety tend to work as hunters, while those who favor gruesome deaths work as a barely organized horde, and those who favor ritualistic combat tend to work as slavemasters (for those few people they neglect to slaughter). Other types of ravagers may exist, but all are bound in their devotion to Erythnul; that doesn't mean being on a band of ravagers protects the member from the other bands. Slaying a ravager supposedly pleases Erythnul the most, and one common rite is to slaughter a ravager and bring proof of its demise (or have at least three witnesses to the slaughter).

Common forms of initiation are as follows:
Subtlety: the following work for ravagers that focus on hunting
mark a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2, pursue and lead the prey into a prospective area, and slaughter. The creature must be intelligent and aware that it is being pursued, but must not have agreed to sacrifice its life for the prospective ravager.
lure a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2 towards a specified area and deliver a foul blow in the name of Erythnul. The creature must be intelligent and unaware of the act.
torment a creature (regardless of CR) for no less than one month, then at the end of the period slaughter and sacrifice to Erythnul. The creature must, at least once per day, feel the prospective ravager's threat lingering in the distance, which slowly forms fear of the unknown. If the creature, by the end of the period, has developed a great psychological trauma, it becomes fit for the sacrifice. The method in which it becomes intimidated does not matter, but the creature must feel fear.
lure a creature (regardless of CR) to hold enough despair to take its own life, stop the creature from executing the act, then take advantage of the safety in order to execute the kill and the sacrifice to Erythnul. The amount of time does not matter (usually one week to one month), but the creature must have held some significance to the prospective ravager (such as a family member or a spouse).

Gore: the following work for ravagers that seek to join a "slaughterhorde"
defeat a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2 and finish by devouring its visceras. The prospective ravager must show no hesitation in any part of the act, or else the ravagers end his life. A prospective ravager devouring viscera must succeed on a Fortitude save of DC 15 (+5 if the creature's visceras are particularly gruesome) and suffer any effect related to the creature (for example, if the creature had a form of contact or ingestion poison, the ravager must succeed on the Fortitude save to negate the effect).
slay several creatures. Creatures slain throughout the adventuring career do not count; a prospective ravager must engage in battle with any number of creatures whose combined CR would exceed twice the ravager's class level and slay them in the most gruesome manner. Some ravagers are exempt from the act, such as those whom have committed genocide for no other reason than enjoying the slaughter, or engaged in a skirmish where the prospective ravager slew many combatants on his own.
defeat a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2 and despoil the corpse in at least three ways.
cause a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice to become incapacitated in the presence of the entire band of ravagers and then execute a coup-de-grace with a morningstar or a weapon in such a way that mauls the creature's body in the most gruesome way possible. Usually, a two-handed weapon with a critical threat multiplier of x3 or higher is chosen.


Ritualistic Combat: the following work for ravagers that focus on specific forms of combat.
engage an intelligent humanoid (or monstrous humanoid) of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2 to a death match. The match must have at least three restrictions (such as not wielding a weapon in two hands, or not using Power Attack). At the end of the combat, the losing creature is viciously annihilated in the presence of the band of ravagers as a sacrifice for Erythnul.
engage in a gauntlet match. The match may be a deathmatch or hold another restriction (such as the prospective ravager be the last man standing, a one-on-one first blood match, or similar restrictions). If the prospective ravager wins the match, it succeeds on the ritual
engage an intelligent humanoid (or monstrous humanoid) of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2 to an unusual form of combat. These types of matches may involve spitting curses to their opponent (with a weak curse becoming grounds to forfeit the match), fighting in an unusual arena, or similar oddities. The outcome of the combat is decided by the warband; if the warband is entertained by the newcomer, it is allowed to remain and succeds on the ritual.
engage in a handicap match against a creature of a CR no less than the prospective ravager's Hit Dice minus 2. The handicap and the victory condition is chosen by the prospective ravager; if the victory condition involves survival, the amount of rounds that a prospective ravager must survive are determined by the type of handicap (thus, fighting with one hand tied behind may require surviving for 2 minutes, while fighting bloodied, unarmed and unarmored may involve surviving only 5 rounds).

Once the ritual is successfully completed, the second part of the initiation rites begins; the pledge. Unlike the initiation rituals, the pledge is generally the same for all ravagers. The Fire Sacrifice involves bloodletting and fire, but some ravagers change the sacrifice to be used. Generally, the prospective ravager spends time in prayer while the sacrifice is enabled; then, the sacrifice is punctured to initiate bloodletting (through an unusual method of cruelest cut or using a weapon that causes bleeding) and then the sacrifice is burned alive. The method in which the sacrifice happens varies:
Some bands force the newcomer to enact the sacrifice, but the sacrificial victim is left to their own desires. It is the task of the entrant to subdue the sacrifice, but it must always be on the altar of sacrifice
Some bands execute the sacrifice on their own, but bind the newcomer in a specific way; some bands allow the dripping blood to "baptize" the entrant, while others force the newcomer to experience the pain of the sacrificial creature (such as by forcing the entrant to touch the creature)
Some bands use the newcomer as the sacrifice; the newcomer is wounded to cause bloodletting, followed by burning them alive. If the newcomer survives for an amount of time or does not hesitate during the ritual, the entrant succeeds on the rite. Some bands force the entrant to die, but if the ritual is done correctly, the entrant is revived by Erythnul (or one of his followers) moments after death (for example, a successful rite causes the creature to remain whole and not consume).

The end of the Fire Sacrifice uses the flames of the sacrificial pyre to mark the ravager forever. Once a ravager is marked, the individual is forevermore a ravager and may not abandon his oath. A few ravagers have managed to escape their oath (generally by seeking the favor of other deities and engaging in adventures while denying the Ravagers' way of life), but once a ravager dies, his or her soul forevermore belongs to Erythnul. The life of a ravager determines its utility in the future; a ravager who was weak in slaughter is used to fuel the power of a magic weapon, while a particularly successful ravager may become an agent of Erythnul in the afterlife, potentially even sponsoring a band of ravagers of its own with unholy power.

The original Ravager PrC had a very unique way of entering aside from the requirements: a fluff requirement that was meant to be pretty shocking. As you can imagine, it's...mildly shocking, but not enough. Just...not enough.

So, yours truly went to the task of expanding that fluff, so that you could build your own band of ravagers exactly as you want. While this is mostly for DMs who wish to add flavor to their campaigns, or players that fully enjoy the deep roleplaying aspect of being a member of a band of ravagers, this serves to understand how the ravagers work in the world. Not all are bloodthirsty savages who live to kill: some do it out of a sense of pride, others as a game, others just for the evulz, and yet others find a grotesque form of honor in ritual combat. Of course, this isn't the ONLY way to deal with the ravager initiation rites, but if you like fluff, this section's for you.

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-12, 07:03 AM
ALTERNATE DEITIES AND INITIATION RITES
If a character decides to take this prestige class but does not have Erythnul as a deity, the following changes apply:
Special (entry requirement): Replace the patron deity for a deity known for their violence, particularly gods of fear, slaughter, pain, or that hold particular trends of racist genocide. Characters from the FORGOTTEN REALMS ™ Campaign Setting may follow Bane, Loviatar, Malar or Talos (in the case of Bane or Loviatar, change the alignment requirement to lawful evil, lawful neutral or neutral evil), while characters from the EBERRON ™ Campaign Setting may use The Fury and The Mockery as a patron deity (with the alignment requirement changed to chaotic evil, lawful evil, neutral or neutral evil). Some warforged ravagers may follow the Lord of Blades as a patron deity, but the Lord of Blades does not accept non-warforged ravagers; these have extremely different initiation rites.

The following are appropriate initiation rites for each of the deities:
Bane: Bane is a god of tyranny, and thus his ravagers are a highly disciplined, brutally effective warband. Most engage in ritualistic combat, but are quite specific with the rules. Other warbands play on the militaristic aspect of Bane, and thus favor ravagers with leadership skills; thus, a prospective ravager may have as an initiation rite to lead a band of experienced ravagers in combat, with the casualties and feelings of the warband members weighing against the ravager. The entry rite of Bane is the Conflagration, where the prospect is buried alive and must escape by any means possible, surviving the punishment of the warband as he escapes (mimicking the revival of their lord)

The Fury: the Fury is relatively similar to Erythnul in that both are deities that are passionate about their goals, but the Fury is strikingly distant from Erythnul. Ravagers devoted to the Fury are drawn more by passion and anger rather than the desire for utter slaughter, and tests to initiate newcomers usually involve the downfall of a particular part of civilization. Prospective ravagers are asked to topple the walls of cities with nothing but a single weapon, or destabilize the order of an entire city. The entry rite of the Fury is the Passionate Sacrifice, similar to the Fire Sacrifice except that the newcomer ritualistically kills the sacrifice in a wild frenzy, until the corpse is maimed beyond recognition.

Lord of Blades: the Lord of Blades is a god of warforged, and hence only warforged are allowed to join the ranks. The rites of the warforged generally serve to advance the precepts of warforged supremacy, and thus initiation rituals tend to focus on racial violence. Prospective ravagers may seek to defeat non-construct creatures of a CR no less than their Hit Dice minus 2 on various of the aforementioned challenges, or by hunting warforged that don't serve the Lord of Blades and force their submission or their death. A warforged that seeks to be a ravager cannot, by any circumstances, slay another ravager unless the Lord of Blades commands to, and such an act is considered a sin by the Blades. The entry rite of the Lord of Blades is the Great Peregrination, where the prospective ravager is to survive the travel within the Mournlands on his own, showing proof of having slaughtered everything in its path before kneeling upon the Lord of Blades himself.

Loviatar: the ravagers of the Maiden of Pain are subtler than most, preferring trickery over wanton slaughter, but their true nature revels in delivering (and receiving) exquisite pain. Initiation rites of Loviatar tend to focus on the concept of pain, and thus prospective ravagers may have to endure weeks of torture with increasingly painful devices while showing no hint of remorse, or causing unbearable physical and mental pain upon a creature for weeks or months, until the edge of despair. Most ravagers of Loviatar are female, and dress in unusual attire that resemble those of their deity. The entry rite of Loviatar is the Path of Pain and Pleasure, where the entire warband flagellates the initiate with increasingly painful scourges, usually causing the newcomer to bleed profusely, while the initiate seeks to block the sensation of pain with the illusion of pleasure, until the initiate seeks satisfaction from the rite itself.

Malar: the ravagers of Malar indulge in wanton slaughter and brutality, so they are extremely similar to Erythnul in that aspect. No changes required.

The Mockery: the ravagers of the Mockery behave like a twisted monastery, where they mutilate themselves and drape in the skins of their enemies while plotting and learning arts to foil their opponents. Prospective ravagers of the Mockery are sought from the ranks of betrayers, and usually involve brutally slaughtering someone unexpectedly, particularly after crafting bonds of companionship or breaking already existing bonds. The entry ritual of the Mockery is the Draping, where the initiate flays his or her own skin and covers his bare flesh with the cured skin of his sacrifice, wearing it as if a robe or suit; the rite is particularly disgusting and elaborate.

Talos: the ravagers of the Stormlord are brutal, petty and vengeful, and are within their domain while under the fiercest storm. Most of the rites of the ravagers of Talos involve the power of lightning, such as binding a creature into a metal spear in order to attract the bolts of Talos, or slaughtering a creature while a storm rages. The entry rite of Talos is the Lightning Sacrifice, which replaces the immolation of Erythnul's fire sacrifice with impaling, expecting the lightning bolts to annihilate the sacrifice and empower the ravager initiate.

Weapon Proficiency: The ravager gains proficiency with the deity's favored weapon, if not already. In the case of Malar, the creature gains no proficiency with weapons. In the case of the Mockery, they also gain Improved Unarmed Strike and Versatile Unarmed Strike as bonus feats

Cruelest Cut: Special restrictions apply based on the deity:
Bane: bludgeoning weapons or morningstar

The Fury: slashing or piercing weapons, or rapier

Lord of Blades: slashing weapons, armor spikes and slam attack. Battlefists also count. A follower of the Lord of Blades may make a cruelest cut attack with a successful grapple check as a full-round action.

Loviatar: slashing or piercing weapons, whip, whip-dagger (see Arms and Equipment Guide), scourges, spiked chains and similar weapons.

Malar: slashing or piercing weapons, natural weapons that deal piercing or slashing damage.

The Mockery: slashing or piercing weapons, unarmed strikes, kama. A ravager of the Mockery using unarmed strikes must deal slashing or piercing damage in order to use cruelest cut.

Talos: piercing weapons, particularly throwing weapons.

Bonus Feats and Other Abilities: Ravagers that gain their 2nd and 6th level gain a different ability instead of disfiguration, based on their deities:
Bane: gain a bonus feat as those of 4th and 8th level

The Fury: gain the ability to rage as a barbarian once per day (twice per day at 8th level). Levels in barbarian stack with levels in ravager for purposes of this ability. At 8th level, a ravager with at least 1 level of barbarian gains greater rage (or mighty rage if the ravager has greater rage already).

Lord of Blades: gain the Spiked Body feat, except the armor spikes are instead blades and deal 1d6 slashing damage. At 8th level the armor spikes are treated as magical weapons and deal 1d8 points of damage.

Loviatar: for every 15 points of damage dealt in one round, the ravager gains a +1 to all attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks for the next round. At 8th level, the bonus applies for every 10 points of damage.

Malar: gain a pair of claws that deal 1d4 points of damage (for a Medium creature) or a bite attack that deals 1d6 points of damage (for a Medium creature). Creatures with claws or bites may choose to increase the damage of their natural weapons as if they were a size category larger. At 8th level, ravagers with claws gain the rake ability, while ravagers with bite attacks deal 1 point of Constitution damage with each attack.

The Mockery: ravagers of the Mockery retain their disfigurement feats, but also gain a +1 natural armor bonus per deformity feat that stacks with existing natural armor bonuses.

Talos: gain Far Shot as a bonus feat when using shortspears, spears or javelins (or a bonus feat if the ravager already has Far Shot). At 8th level, all thrown spears gain the returning property.

Vicious, Sadistic and Maiming Slaughter: Some of the special qualities granted to weapons change based on the deity.
Bane: replace Vicious with Domineering, Keen with Impact, Maiming with Unholy. Only works with bludgeoning weapons.

The Fury: replace Vicious with Brash, Maiming with Berserker

Lord of Blades: replace Vicious with Profane (but ignore Constitution damage as if having no Constitution score). Armor spikes gain the same benefit.

Loviatar: replace Vicious with Weakening, Maiming with Implacable

Malar: replace Vicious with Bane (creature chosen is based on the ravager's warband), Keen with Hunting (treat target of Bane as favored enemy), Maiming with Fiercebane

The Mockery: replace Vicious with Keen and weapon is always treated as magical; Keen at 6th level with Maiming and weapon is always treated as lawful-aligned, Maiming at 8th level with Implacable. Unarmed strikes gain a +1 enhancement bonus at 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th level.

Talos: replace Vicious with Shocking, Keen with Precise, Maiming with Shocking Burst. Effects only apply with polearms capable of being thrown.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Ravagers that gain their 8th level may gain a different ability based on their deities.
Bane: once per encounter, a ravager of Bane may make an Intimidate check (at a -10 penalty) against an opposed level check. Creatures that fail their saves are treated as if the dominate monster spell had been cast against them, except the creatures are allowed a Will saving throw every round.

The Fury: ravagers of the Fury gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls every round they make the same attack against the same opponent, or a +1 to a specific skill or ability check if they repeat the same ability in subsequent rounds. Changing the action removes the bonuses.

Lord of Blades: as the ravager of Erythnul, except that when transformed, the warforged loses all benefits of living constructs and gains the ability to heal completely from conjuration (healing) spells.

Loviatar: as the ravager of Erythnul.

The Mockery: ravagers of the Mockery gain the ability to make a death attack. Treat as the assassin’s death attack, except as follows: the attack may only be done with slashing weapons, and the DC for the ability is equal to that of the pain touch ability.

Talos: once per encounter, if the ravager of Talos wields no weapon and makes no attacks in the first round of combat, he may make a Bluff check (against his enemies’ Sense Motive checks) to convince his enemies that he is no threat. Then, in any subsequent round, as a free action the ravager may unleash a violent lightning strike against all creatures that failed their Sense Motive checks: the ravager deals up to 2d6 points of damage per ravager level to all creatures, spread evenly amongst all (any remnant dice are lost; for example, an 8th level ravager of Talos can deal 16d6 points of damage to a single creature, 8d6 points of damage to two creatures, or 5d6 points of damage to three creatures [with the last 1d6 lost]). The ravager may choose to concentrate the damage on specific creatures instead of all. If any of his enemies succeeds on the Sense Motive check, all creatures are entitled to a Reflex save for half damage against a DC equal to that of the ravager’s pain touch, -1 for every opponent that succeeded on the check.

Here is a list of the most brutal, vicious, trigger-happy deities that the class could have ever fit. They're also some of the most diverse, which is a first.

Talos is an unusual choice in that he already has a PrC devoted to him (namely, the Stormlord), but his fluff is just too good to let it pass. Ravagers, unlike other deity-specific PrCs, are only loosely related to their deity, and while this PrC retooling makes them closer to their intended purpose, they are still pretty distant than, say, an Eye of Gruumsh or a Shining Blade of Heironeous. Thus, Talos is so far the one and only deity...oh, wait, the Silver Flame has the Exorcist of the Silver Flame AND the Silver Pyromancer. Move along, then, there's nothing to see here.

An interesting point to consider lies on how each deity's ravager is different from its peers. Bane is pretty similar to Hextor in regards on how he wages war, so his ravagers are lawful and dominant. The Fury and Erythnul are both slaughterers, but while the latter is almost mindlessly deadly, the former is passionately so; thus, her ravagers are just as passionate into causing the wrong kind of anarchy. The Lord of Blades delves pretty closely into genocide and racial purity, and since the Ravagers are never meant to be good (the closest thing is neutral, really), this is somewhat acceptable in terms of what the PrC can do (of course, it's NOT acceptable by any means in real life, as history almost constantly points out). Loviatar's followers...well, while all other ravagers go straight into the slaughter, her ravagers go into violent erotic pleasure, as befitting their deity (remember, fellas: Loviatar is definitely NOT for kids...) Malar is a violent animalistic deity, and while it shares the closest tie with Erythnul's ravagers, their methods differ vastly; Malar's ravagers really don't need weapons AT ALL. The Mockery's followers are...interesting at the very least: they are more inclined into the "dirty fighting" aspect of combat rather than the mindless slaughter, and thus not exactly INTO the slaughter aspect, though they're no less gory. Ravagers of the Mockery lose the key ability of Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (the ability to deliver a cheap spot while transformed), but they have a different concept of betrayal (betray them as yourself, not as someone else!), so they instead get a sure kill attack that runs on their monstrous Strength (death attack + Brutal Slaughter = kill spree!). Finally, Talos' ravagers have the distinction of being the only ones who slaughter at a distance, what with all the proliferation of throwing weapons, the Far Shot and similar abilities, and their awesome lightning strike ability as a free action.

Now, there may be other deities that might have appeared (Gruumsh itself fits well, but he trusts more in his Eyes) but haven't, and that's because their penchant for slaughter and/or gruesome death is not as poignant, nor their wrath as deep, as these guys. It's not just wanton slaughter, it's really pure, unadulterated hatred for the world and all that comprises it that forms bands of ravagers, so not all killers manage to get here.

Cieyrin
2012-04-12, 12:47 PM
The new Ravager will certainly breathe life back into a Halfling Barbarian 5/Ravager 4 of mine named "Bloody" Beau, who tore his victims apart with his bare hands and teeth and left naught by gnawed bones sucked of their marrow, hence his nickname of 'The Ghoul'. Though, therein lies the rub, as now Ravagers aren't compatible with unarmed strikes without spending another feat on Versatile Unarmed Strike or Toothed Blow. :smallfrown: I'd've thunk the Many would enjoy such devotion to extending the slaughter as long as possible...

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-12, 04:41 PM
The new Ravager will certainly breathe life back into a Halfling Barbarian 5/Ravager 4 of mine named "Bloody" Beau, who tore his victims apart with his bare hands and teeth and left naught by gnawed bones sucked of their marrow, hence his nickname of 'The Ghoul'. Though, therein lies the rub, as now Ravagers aren't compatible with unarmed strikes without spending another feat on Versatile Unarmed Strike or Toothed Blow. :smallfrown: I'd've thunk the Many would enjoy such devotion to extending the slaughter as long as possible...

The problem lies in that, in a way, you've provided a solution to your own problem: feats can certainly expand the weapon list to unarmed strikes, so making the base class allow unarmed strikes seems a bit off. Now, that doesn't mean one of the alternate deities doesn't allow this (in fact, while the Many prefers a stout weapon, the Mockery actually grants Versatile Unarmed Strike as a free feat), if you're willing to stretch the beliefs of the particular band. It would make for an awesome Eberron character, as you'd essentially be a Talenta halfling who turns into a bloodseeking cannibal.

That goes without mentioning deformities, which IIRC one grants claw attacks. That's a slashing natural weapon, and hence fit for Cruelest Cut.

Mulletmanalive
2012-04-15, 06:08 PM
The vile damage seems excessive, even for that level [i've been on the receiving end of a 10th of what's being proposed here and it was almost unsurvivable every time]. I'd suggest limiting it to either 1/10 of the damage dealt or just the bonus dice.

Once you have Willing Deformity, you can take actual claws, if you want. Can't remember what the feat is called but i know its there. Bite is also an option...oh, you mentioned that...

If you're playing on a world with symbionts, try to track down a Psionic Psymbiote. Hilariously awesome.

LordofBones
2012-04-15, 11:45 PM
Bane is no longer the god of strife; his portfolio was errata'ed to tyranny, hatred and fear. Strife is now held by Cyric.

Tacitus
2012-04-17, 01:02 AM
This is just a minor note, as I love your Radiant Servant retool to death, but Searing Light does not have the [Light] descriptor and thus doesn't apply to any of those class features its mentioned in. XP

>.> Though, its not really your fault that a spell called Searing Light in the Sun domain lacks the [Light] descriptor.

Cieyrin
2012-04-17, 02:29 PM
The Fury's feat replacement is confused at 8th level, as it confuses Greater and Mighty Rage, as Mighty is the capstone, Greater the improvement.

Talos' Lightning Fury's example has a slight faux pas in that it refers to three targets twice.

Otherwise, looks rather neat. :smallsmile:

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-30, 01:57 AM
The vile damage seems excessive, even for that level [i've been on the receiving end of a 10th of what's being proposed here and it was almost unsurvivable every time]. I'd suggest limiting it to either 1/10 of the damage dealt or just the bonus dice.

Perhaps, but 1/10th of the average result of 3d4 is still 1. Heck...one-tenth of the average of 5d4 is still pretty close to 1, unless you pull all 4s in which case you deal a 2.

Bonus dice, though, is absolutely no problem at all. In fact, it's...somewhat implied.


Bane is no longer the god of strife; his portfolio was errata'ed to tyranny, hatred and fear. Strife is now held by Cyric.

Thing is, Cyric isn't a fitting deity for a Ravager. Cyric, IIRC, is subtler than Bane, who uses Intimidation and Fear to make its work. Note that the Hatred and Fear domains fit very well what Bane represents. Bane is closer to Hextor in regards to exactly HOW he works, and one could say Bane and Hextor are expies of each other (much like Heironeous and...Tyr, maybe), but while Hextorite ravagers make little sense, Bane ravagers seem to hit the nail.

Though...what is Bane now, if he's no longer the god of Strife? God of Tyranny, perhaps?


This is just a minor note, as I love your Radiant Servant retool to death, but Searing Light does not have the [Light] descriptor and thus doesn't apply to any of those class features its mentioned in. XP

>.> Though, its not really your fault that a spell called Searing Light in the Sun domain lacks the [Light] descriptor.

Bizarre, sure, but maybe something I could clear up. I feel tempted to allow the Radiant Servant to treat Searing Light as if having the [Light] descriptor whenever beneficial. I mean, it's...odd that a spell whose description is basically "you shoot a beam of light" lacks that descriptor, when even its name suggests it.

Maybe a 7th level special treat for them?


The Fury's feat replacement is confused at 8th level, as it confuses Greater and Mighty Rage, as Mighty is the capstone, Greater the improvement.

I...don't seem to recall why I did that. For a moment, the Ravager basically outperformed a 20th level Barbarian. That...says a lot about the Barbarian itself, tho.


Talos' Lightning Fury's example has a slight faux pas in that it refers to three targets twice.

Will attempt to fix whenever possible. It's almost imperceptible, actually...

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-30, 04:19 AM
So yeah...a double post. Bear with me: this is necessary, for cleanliness reasons. One was meant to answer questions, the other is to introduce a new PrC.

So, as I was promising some time ago, there's a PrC fit for the Spider Goddess. Fittingly enough, Wizards of the Coast is heavily promoting Lolth, because...she wants to become the Goddess of Magic or something.

Bleh. At least we know probably HOW the next Edition change will happen.

Double bleh. Lolth is so overrated, anyways.

So, this PrC is a very funny one, while still entirely serious. It is...to put it succinctly, a class that topples that one thing that Lolth despises the most: gender equality. It does it in a most unusual way, of course.

In layman's terms: this is a class for crossdressers. Yeah...

So, a bit deeper: this is a class for male Drow to gain cleric powers from Lolth herself, bypassing the slight, itty-bitty requirement of "being born a woman", thus ensuring the male gets to be someone REALLY important. It plays on everything the Drow believe; subterfuge, growing in position from the backs of others, and Lolth as the supreme goddess over all. Yet, beyond the mechanical aspects of it, this PrC plays really deeply with Drow society. Now, you can play a male Drow without having to be a dual-scimitar-wielding Ranger/Fighter/Barbarian outcast with a magic figurine that turns into a panther and that has so many clones around, with thousands upon thousands more to come (thanks, DDO, for making the Drow Lolth's b****es once again...!).

In my honest opinion, tho? Never trust a scorpion. Hail Vulkoor!!


The Pretender of Lolth
"My child, it is time you learn your place in this world. You will not be here where I stand, not in a million years..." Urlvam Ziley, pretender of Lolth, posing as the priestess Brilau Ma'quelaste, speaking the last words a foolish young priestess will ever hear.

Requirements
To qualify to become a pretender of Lolth, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Gender: Male
Race: Drow or half-elf with drow ancestry
Alignment: Chaotic evil, chaotic neutral or neutral evil
Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Disguise 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks
Special: Must have Lolth as a patron deity.
Special: Must have assassinated a drow priestess and assumed her identity

A hard method of entry, no matter what, but a Rogue should get by with Knowledge Devotion or Education.

Of course, the hardest part will be to murder a drow priestess and impersonate her. Essentially, by 5th level, you must have a really high Disguise modifier to bypass the...minor penalty of disguising as a different gender (-2, by the way) or get a Hat of Disguise. Both are really nice. The second is fooling people enough so that the dreaded Sense Motive modifier by being close friends or intimates doesn't kick in (again, Hat of Disguise). Rogue/Wizards make a rather interesting play, as you can get a few things such as Disguise Self cast on you, or even Alter Self so that the illusion is essentially better.

Now, it shouldn't be surprising that, because of the flavor, the class is only limited to male Drow, but let's see it from the inverse point. A female Drow could easily assume the identity of another and act like a priestess. This is pointless since she can be a Cleric on her own right, succeed on the Tests of the Spider Queen, and just avoid this altogether; this class would then be essentially a mechanical construct. However, for males, it's essentially impossible for them to cast divine magic (unless Lolth feels particularly kind and grants a male the ability to become a Favored Soul...), so this is the ONLY way for them to do so. Thus, the restriction applies.

Now, the thing is: Lolth knows that the imposter is a male, so why should she give him powers? That's the idea; whereas the female will get them because she's a fine representative of her gender, a male will probably steal that power from the Spider Goddess, or perhaps the Spider Goddess finds it so frickin' hilarious that she decided to just wing it. I mean, what better way to cause mayhem and thin the ranks of losers than to suddenly reveal "hey, that priestess over there? She's got a mighty big thing between her legs, mind you..." and see how the priestesses basically murder each other. That, and no male has ever succeeded on tests made for females, so...

Hilarious enough?

Class Skills
The pretender of Lolth’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

The class skill list combines all the stuff a Cleric must know with some additions. Bluff and Disguise are a must, if you're to act and behave like a Drow girl. Now, why Handle Animal? Well, eventually, you'll have to handle vermin, and based on Drow of the Underdark, you pull that off via Handle Animal, and since you're the worshipper of a Spider Goddess and thus you revere spiders as sacred creatures...

Hit Dice: d6

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th
1st|+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Veil of the matriarch, weapon familiarity|
2+1|
—|
—|
—|
—|
—|
2nd|+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Spell ward, virulence|
2+1|
1+1|
—|
—|
—|
—|
3rd|+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|Arts of pretension (disguise self)|
3+1|
2+1|
—|
—|
—|
—|
4th|+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Improved spell ward, senses of the spider (mundane)|
3+1|
3+1|
1+1|
—|
—|
—|
5th|+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Rebuke spiders, vermin’s friend|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1|
1+1|
—|
—|
6th|+4|
+5|
+2|
+5|Arts of pretension (dominate person)|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1|
2+1|
—|
—|
7th|+5|
+5|
+2|
+5|Senses of the spider (tremorsense)|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1|
1+1|
—|
8th|+6|
+6|
+2|
+6|Greater spell ward|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1|
1+1|
9th|+6|
+6|
+3|
+6|Arts of pretension (polymorph)|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1|
10th|+7|
+7|
+3|
+7|Lolth’s approval|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
3+1|
2+1[/TABLE]

So, at its core, the Pretender is a fast-access spellcasting ability that grants up to 6th level divine spells with little effort. The Ur-Priest does this much, much better, but the idea is to provide something else to the Drow male that attempts to impersonate a female than 9th level spells and a goddess ordering every single priestess of hers to kill him because he dares to steal her spells. Granting 9th level spells is just TOO much, so his spellcasting is limited, but he has access to a few spells that you'd not get otherwise. It's mostly a flavor class, so don't expect something as broken (though, to be fair, I did something with the Apostle of Peace for those good guys who wish to have a full suite of 9th level spells, but this isn't the forum thread for that.

Class Features
All of the following are features of the pretender of Lolth prestige class.
Weapon Familiarity: A pretender of Lolth wields his deity’s weapon with deft mastery, to the extent that he can overcome any of the weaknesses of the weapon. The pretender of Lolth gains proficiency with the whip if he doesn't already. A pretender of Lolth that attacks with a whip gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and deals 2 points of damage, as if he had the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats; if he has any of these feats already, he gains no further benefit. Furthermore, a pretender of Lolth using a whip may elect to deal lethal damage instead of non-lethal damage, cause damage to any creature with an Armor Class over 12, and threatens all squares within reach of him.

Question: whom of you knew that the Spider Queen's favored weapon was a whip? If you do...well, kudos for knowing a lot about D&D 3.5?

However, let's go with specifics. The whip isn't a particularly powerful weapon, mostly because it deals non-lethal damage and doesn't work with creatures sporting high AC. Thus, it's only natural that, aside from a free Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialization treat, that the whip can actually be used as a weapon. The biggest treat is the ability to threaten all squares the whip reaches, which means you have an excellent weapon for attacks of opportunity, not to mention trip builds. So you have a trip build that can also cast 6th level spells, with the caveat that you must wear a bustier at all times. Seems kinda fair...

Spells: A pretender of Lolth casts divine spells, which are drawn from the pretender of Lolth spell list below. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time.

To cast a spell, a pretender of Lolth must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a pretender of Lolth spell is 10 + the spell level + the pretender of Lolth Wisdom modifier. Like other spellcasters, a pretender of Lolth can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A pretender of Lolth may use a higher level slot to cast a lower level slot if he so desires. A pretender of Lolth also gets one domain spell of each spell level he can cast, starting from 1st level. When a cleric prepares a spell in a domain spell slot, it must come from one of his two domains (see Domains, below)

Pretenders of Lolth cast spells exactly as a cleric does, except they do not gain the ability to “lose” spells to spontaneously cast inflict spells. A pretender of Lolth has a caster level equal to his class level, plus levels in any one spellcasting class to which he has access.

Domains: A pretender of Lolth may choose from any two domains that Lolth offers. The domains that Lolth offers are Chaos, Destruction, Drow*, Evil, Spider* and Trickery. Spells with an asterisk appear in the Spell Compendium.

This is the meat of the class; the ability to cast divine spells as a Drow male. Even if only up to 6th level spells, the ability to cast them with domain spell slots more than makes it worthwhile.

...Ok, maybe not (thank you, Ur-Priest!), but it's nonetheless a pretty good selection. 6th level spells are nothing to scoff off. You do lack 0-level spells, but by that moment you either have another way to cast them (maybe a level in Wizard for some cantrips) or simply won't need them.

One thing you don't get is the innate ability to manipulate negative energy, so you need to prepare Inflict X Wounds as usual. You can get that ability via a feat, of course, but the thing is that you get something else to replace that. Don't worry, it's pretty decent actually.

Veil of the Matriarch (Ex): Having assassinated a drow priestess and assumed her identity, a pretender of Lolth must have incredible skill at projecting a female appearance at all times, as well as learn all of the traits of being a priest. Thus, a pretender of Lolth constantly hones his skills at disguising, to the extent that the highest-ranking pretenders are never suspected over their true gender, and behave closer to a female than an actual priestess would (but never acting so perfectly so as to arouse suspicions). The pretender of Lolth gains a bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks equal to half his class level; furthermore, he may ignore the penalty on Disguise checks in terms of gender and age if disguising as a female drow. Finally, any divination spell cast upon the pretender reveals him as his assumed identity, unless the caster level of the spellcaster is higher than the pretender of Lolth’s character level plus his Wisdom modifier.

Obviously, if you're going deep undercover, you train so that no one finds you. This makes you the consummate master of acting and disguise, particularly because of the other bonuses you get.

However, one key point is to fool divinations. One thing is to have the perfect mundane disguise and be found through careful observation, another is to have a magic eye saying "I detect a Y chromosome here; she must be a man!" So, pretenders of Lolth get to fool even magical sensors. Right at 1st level, and based off their character level to boot.

Spell Ward (Ex): At 2nd level, a pretender of Lolth uses his wealth of knowledge about magic to protect himself against the mind-affecting spells of other drow priestesses and even drow magicians. He adds his Wisdom modifier to his racial bonus on Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities (this implies a pretender of Lolth adds his Wisdom score to Will twice against such spells).

Hmm...why twice your Wisdom, when Charisma could be better? Well, as you can see, while you can have a very good Charisma, you probably want to have an equally high Wisdom.

The truth, however, is fluff. You're not better at avoiding spells because of personal power; you do it out of paranoia. You perceive that something's going wrong with a priestess, you redouble your mental wards. Hence, why Wisdom is the perfect, if not the ONLY, fit around. It also works against other Drow spellcasters, though. It helps further if you don't come from a high Will class, since that way you'll get a decent amount of Will to resist those spells.

Virulence (Ex): One of the key traits of drow is how they deal with poison. A pretender of Lolth knows the utility of poison, and how to make it much more virulent against his enemies, particularly against other priestesses. He adds his Wisdom modifier to the saving throw DC of any kind of poison (except poisons generated through spells, although spells that enhance poisons stack with this ability). Furthermore, he is never in risk of becoming poisoned when applying poison to his weapon.

If you're a Drow, chances are you deal with poisons almost every time. I mean, who hasn't heard of a Drow that dabbles in poison?...oh, yeah, Drizzt. But, Drizzt is the exception, not the rule, so...

In any case, being someone who needs to watch his back, the pretender uses the best tool Drow have around: poisons. Adding your Wisdom to the DC means you can draw more power from low DC poisons, while making high DC poisons entirely lethal, and that grows even more with extra boosts to Wisdom. Now, since you have Craft, chances are you might have Craft (poisonmaking), meaning you can make your own poisons and increase their virulence to such a degree that you can save even MORE money using them.

Oh, and you also get the equivalent of Poison Use, so add them to whips if you like.

Arts of Pretension (Sp): In order to hide his façade as a priestess, a pretender of Lolth learns simple yet effective ways to enhance his disguise and even demand the absolute command of whomever he seeks. At 3rd level, a pretender of Lolth may sacrifice any 1st level spell slot to cast disguise self as a sorcerer of the pretender’s caster level. At 6th level, he may sacrifice any 4th level or higher spell slot to cast dominate monster as a sorcerer of the pretender’s caster level, with one exception: the spell is treated as if heightened if cast on a higher level spell slot (thus, a pretender that sacrifices a 6th level spell for dominate monster treats the spell as a 6th level spell for purposes of determining saving throw DC and others, but not to determine eligibility for prestige classes or feats). At 9th level, a pretender of Lolth may sacrifice any 6th level spell slot (or higher, if he has access to them) to cast polymorph as a sorcerer of the pretender's caster level; his caster level is treated as one higher if he transforms into a drow or a Lolth-related monster.

This is the meat I was speaking of. You don't get the ability to spontaneously cast Inflict spells, but you get a decent replacement for a Hat of Disguise, one of the best Enchantment spells around, and one of the best Transmutation spells around. You need to waste spells for them, but that's not so bad after all because you can get Pearls of Power to fuel them (in a way, of course). Still, the ability to dominate any creature that's not immune to mind-affecting abilities is pretty brutal, and the ability to transform in anything from a female Drow to a yochlol (those demon servitors of Lolth)...very nice for a pretender. Kinda plays a bit on what the pretender does (if he can pretend to be a woman, why not pretend to be a dragon for once?)

Improved Spell Ward (Ex): At 4th level, a pretender of Lolth learns to apply his resilience against mind-affecting spells on spells that affect the body, or spells that affect an area. He adds his racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like abilities that require a Fortitude or Reflex save (including adding his Wisdom bonus by means of the spell ward ability).

So yeah: now he has the equivalent of Divine Grace, except it uses Wisdom instead of Charisma. He still can't apply that to ALL Will saves, but he can apply them to the most dangerous saves around (death, poison, paralysis, petrifaction, the works). So, you have a class with extraordinarily good saving throws.

Senses of the Spider (Ex): At 4th level, a pretender of Lolth seems to have eyes on his back, and on the walls. This is important, as one never knows when a rival priestess (a real one or another pretender) may seek to undermine him by revealing his secret. He gains a bonus on all Gather Information, Listen, Sense Motive and Spot checks equal to half his class level. At 7th level, his affinity with spiders grants him tremorsense up to 60 feet.

So, not only you have awesome disguising skills, but your perception and social skills (well, two of the four/five) improve as well! Spot is particularly important because you need to watch for other pretenders, and while you lack Spot as a class skill (it's not hard to get, tho), you still nonetheless have a pretty decent one. Couple that with high Wisdom, and you can safely ignore most ambushes.

Tremorsense, however, is something I need to explain. As you may know, spiders sense the vibration in their webs in order to strike their prey. This ability reflects that idea; the pretender has woven his web so well and has attuned so well to spiders, that he can feel others by means of movement. Of course, he can't catch flying people, or people not in contact with the ground, but neither does a spider (e.g.: wasps).

Rebuke Spiders (Su): At 5th level, the pretender of Lolth gains the ability to manipulate spiders and spider-like creatures much like a cleric turns or rebukes undead (even if he has such ability by means of the Spider domain). Unlike the Spider domain’s ability to rebuke spiders, a pretender of Lolth may use this ability in order to power divine feats, as if he had the ability to turn undead. His effective turning level is equal to his pretender of Lolth level, plus levels in any class that advances the rebuke undead ability.

Well, you must have wondered why you were going to take a class that didn't grant the full traits of a cleric. Well, here's a great way to handle it.

Rebuke spiders may seem a weak ability, if only because undead are more numerous, but as you know you don't use rebuke undead to actually rebuke undead, unless you're a dedicated necromancer. Hence, you use this ability to power up divine feats; thus, you get the ability to power divine feats using an alternate way. This is twice as better, as you have two sources from which you can power up divine feats instead of one.

Still, rebuke spiders isn't so bad at all. Monstrous spiders can be pretty decent mooks to control, and eventually you might get to manipulate chwidenchas and fiendish monstrous spiders, which aren't THAT bad.

In any case, you get your rebuking ability, and better fitting than the ability to rebuke undead. Enjoy.

Vermin’s Friend (Ex and Su): At 5th level, a pretender of Lolth is well acquainted with the traits of vermin, including and not limited to their venom. A pretender of Lolth gains a bonus equal to his class level on Handle Animal checks to deal with vermin, and becomes immune to poisons of all kinds. If he expends one daily use of his rebuke spiders ability, he may attempt to rebuke or control any swarm (not just spiders, but he gains a +4 on the turning check when dealing with spider-based swarms). The pretender may use this ability with the rebuke spiders ability, if he so desires. The bonus on Handle Animal checks and the immunity to poisons are considered extraordinary abilities, while the ability to rebuke swarms is a supernatural ability.

...ah, but you didn't expect this, didn't you!?

Yes, you can rebuke swarms as you rebuke spiders. Swarms are nasty, particularly if they are some of those Divine Wrath swarms in...Book of Exalted Deeds!? Sure, you get the Apocalypse Frogs and the Bronze Locusts under your control, and they're easier to manipulate (but harder to kill). Heck, you can manipulate cranium rat swarms.

However, of course, the idea is to befriend vermin a lot more. Thus, you get a minor bonus to Handle Animal checks (you know, the same skill you have as a class skill, the one that allows you to tame spiders and other such vermin) AND immunity to poison.

That last one is good considering other pretenders have Virulence (and there's spells and abilities that improve poisoning). That's definitely ONE less worry to...erm, worry about. Or deal with.

Greater Spell Ward (Su): At 8th level, a pretender of Lolth further reinforces his natural resilience to magic powers. He adds his Wisdom modifier to his spell resistance (hence, he gains spell resistance equal to 11 + his character level + his Wisdom modifier).

This ability is both a bane and a boon, but considering just how brutal is the Underdark, it's mostly a boon. This makes spell resistance quite worthy, as while you still get a base of 11, you can boost your Wisdom to "can't touch this" levels. Add a Drazzix's Vest so that your spell resistance goes even higher, and...

The bane comes, of course, by having such a high spell resistance that even beneficial spells will be negated. This is a bad idea, but remember you can deactivate your spell resistance as a standard action while you buff. Now, use something like Persistent Spell with Nightsticks, persist a few spells, and reactivate them; aside from Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic, any dispel ability or Mordenkainen's Disjunction, you shouldn't worry about spells at all. Just what you need to fire at the other guy (or gal).

Lolth’s Approval (Su): A pretender of Lolth knows one simple maxim; while he may fool priestesses and matron mothers, he may not fool the Queen of Spiders. His service towards the goddess of the drow is tolerated, however, so as long as he isn’t caught (and the Spider Queen is fickle on her tests with the pretender). At 10th level, however, the pretender has reached such mastery with his impersonation that Lolth has no choice but to approve; while a great boon to have his goddess approve of his grim work, some claim it is a cunning punishment because the pretender now has to prove himself furthermore.

Upon reaching this level, the pretender of Lolth gains a series of abilities regarding his position and his relationship with the goddess.
First, his Wisdom and Charisma scores increase by 2.
Second, anyone familiar with the identity of the pretender gains no benefit to his Spot check whenever he meets them.
Third, whenever he uses his arts of pretension to replace his spells for a disguise self spell in order to assume the identity of another drow (not just a drow female), the pretender instead transforms into the subject for an unlimited amount of time (as if he had the change shape racial ability), which may not be dispelled or suppressed, nor removed until he dismisses the action.
Fourth, he adds his class level on all Diplomacy and Intimidate checks when dealing with drow.
Fifth, as a font of Lolth’s power, the pretender may provide all drow allies within 30 ft. with a +4 bonus to their Strength and Constitution scores (if a male) or a +4 bonus to their Intelligence and Wisdom scores (if a female), but they gain a penalty on their Will saving throws equal to your class level while they gain this benefit.
Finally, the pretender’s uses of his spell-like abilities double and intensify: his faerie fire spell-like ability becomes glitterdust, his darkness spell-like becomes deeper darkness, and his dancing lights spell-like ability becomes searing light.

However, this series of benefits have a cost. If the pretender of Lolth is ever revealed as a male, or angers Lolth, he loses all supernatural abilities from the class (and potentially his spellcasting) unless he rectifies the position (such as assassinating the offending priestess and potentially assuming her identity, or rectifying himself in the eyes of Lolth). The DM determines which is the rightful method of rectification, and if he succeeds, he is treated as if receiving the benefit of an atonement spell.

This is it. The mother of all capstones. Basically, in exchange to be Lolth's male bizkuit, you get a motherload of powers.

What, you thought I'd give the pretender of Lolth all the levels (All of them!)? Of course not! I mean, you're not named Marquise Spinneret Mindfang, nor you speak on a weird accent with that lots of 8's and whatnot. You're a pretender of Lolth, and that merits a reward for 10 grueling levels of deception and disguising your way to priesthood.

You get SIX great abilities at the cost of one. Getting a free, permanent +2 bonus to Wisdom (and Charisma) is formidable, because it boosts your spells, your spell slots, your saves, your spell resistance, your uses of Rebuke Spiders and your main skills. That's a load of bonuses there.

Then, you get the ability to assume a female form in a semi-permanent way. If you're clever and you entered at 5th level, that means about [S]5 4 levels of Warshaper, which is just dandy, just by sacrificing a 1st level spell.

Not just that, you make most Drow more powerful than before, but they will take care not to kill you, as you are the font of that power. However, if they dare to capture you, a simple Dominate Monster will make short work of the enemy and grant you a pretty reliable ally (up until Protection from X kicks in, in which case you get screwed).

But, the big bonus, of course, is the boost to your SLAs. Note, of course, that the feats that grant extra uses of those SLAs are there just to add to the fun. Glitterdust is particularly brutal as you can prepare it as a spell OR use it as an SLA, so that means two ways to use your best scores around.

The trick, of course, is not letting anyone catch who you really are. As you can see, you're basically under constant vigilance by the Spider Goddess (which rightfully finds hilarious that you have to wear a really heavily padded corset and strangle your...ahem, jewels every time, and thus just threw you a bone), and she doesn't accept a minor mistake. The Tests of Lolth are great ways to test the mettle of the pretender, and the Test of Doubt in particular, since you'll never know what went wrong, and if you need to Atone for something or just getting tested. Once you finish that test, you'll probably start doubting of everyone and anyone, perhaps assuming female form at all times, which Lolth will rightfully find hilarious even more.

In short: enjoy your mechanical application of fluff. But then again, this PrC is VERY fluff-heavy. Though, if you consider it, you can be pretty lax. The "code" is pretty lax, and you've been essentially following it all the time.

Note: After taking the first level in this class, the pretender of Lolth may multiclass into cleric, or any other divine spellcasting class. A pretender of Lolth treats all divine spellcasting classes (except paladin because of alignment issues, as well as ranger) as favored classes, and thus gains no experience penalty by doing so.

Oh, and just because: dip 1 level in pretender of Lolth, and you can become a cleric for free. It would be unfair to not allow this, but you've gone and did all that effort to get there, so it's your choice; wanna get 13 levels worth of spellcasting, or just get the same thing with 9 levels and let those other 4 remaining ones count for something else?

Of course, if you DO get to dip in a divine spellcasting class, you can get those 0-level spells and more lower-level spells to fuel your Disguise Self ability. Your call. (Oh, and maybe Rebuke Undead).

By the way, if you're using the UA rules, a Drow can become a Paladin of Tyranny or Paladin of Slaughter without any problems. In fact, since you're only forbidden to enter Cleric and perhaps Favored Soul, you can technically get divine spellcasting as a male, no?

Pretender of Lolth Spell List
A pretender of Lolth may cast all spells that appear on the cleric spell list (up to level 6), with a few exceptions. A pretender of Lolth may not cast spells with a good or lawful descriptor, nor any spell that a drow cleric wouldn’t be capable of casting. The pretender of Lolth also adds the following spells to the spell list:

1st—charm person, silent image, spider climb, ventriloquism
2nd—alter self, minor image, glitterdust, web
3rd—charm monster, major image
4th—dominate person, persistent image
5th—mass suggestion, permanent image
6th—programmed image, project image

Ah, and just for knacks, pretenders of Lolth get a slightly expanded spell list. While they don't get one of the better Image spells around (Mirror Image, obviously), they get quite a lot of stuff lying around, such as all single-target Charm and Dominate spells (with Dominate Monster as a spontaneous spell), pretty much ALL Image spells, and some spider-themed spells (Spider Climb and Web). Ventriloquism is pretty interesting because it allows you to keep your cover even when not disguised, as you can throw your carefully-researched voice and then prepare an image of the disguise so you can provide a cover for your own cover (or, in case someone begins to suspect, you can combine Bluff, Ventriloquism and one of the Image spells to explain why you're there). Creativity is the name of this game.

Oh, and Glitterdust? Just because...you need some serious protection, and what better than blindness combined with revealing invisibility?

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-30, 04:21 AM
A VARIANT SPELL PROGRESSION ON THE PRETENDER OF LOLTH
The pretender of Lolth is meant to be a class that allows a drow male to progress into divine spellcasting. A DM may rule that a male drow may, for some reason, be capable of casting spells (perhaps Lolth allows paladins of slaughter to be male, or background issues). In this case, the pretender of Lolth may merely progress spellcasting, instead of granting spells.

Requirements
To qualify to become a pretender of Lolth, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Gender: Male
Race: Drow or half-elf with drow ancestry
Alignment: Chaotic evil, chaotic neutral or neutral evil
Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Disguise 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells
Special: Rebuke undead ability
Special: Must have Lolth as a patron deity.
Special: Must have assassinated a drow priestess and assumed her identity

{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|Special|Spells per Day
1st|+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Veil of the matriarch, weapon familiarity|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
2nd|+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Spell ward, virulence|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
3rd|+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Arts of pretension (disguise self)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
4th|+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Improved spell ward, senses of the spider (mundane)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
5th|+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Vermin's friend|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
6th|+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Arts of pretension (dominate person)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
7th|+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Senses of the spider (tremorsense)|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
8th|+8|
+6|
+2|
+6|Greater spell ward|+1 of divine spellcasting ability
9th|+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Arts of pretension (polymorph)|-
10th|+10|
+7|
+3|
+7|Lolth's approval|+1 of existing spellcasting ability[/TABLE]

Class features
All class features work exactly as those of the prestige class, with the following changes.
Spells per Day: When a new pretender of Lolth is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a pretender of Lolth, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Instead of getting their own spells, the pretender advances spellcasting. Note that this allows Death Delvers, Archivists with some way to rebuke undead, and other such classes to advance as well, alongside Favored Souls and even Shugenja.

PRETENDERS OF LOLTH AND EBERRON
The pretender of Lolth prestige class serves as a way to provide a drow male the ability to become a cleric, generally by fooling other drow into resembling a female priestess. The prestige class is strongly rooted in the drow society described in the Drow of the Underdark supplement, reflecting some of the keen traits of drow and its cruel, matriarchal culture.

The EBERRON Campaign Setting does a radical change to drow, turning them from spider-worshippers to scorpion-worshippers, answering to none but Vulkoor. One of the key aspects of this exchange is that male drow may become priests, something drow from other worlds may not do. Thus, the main motivation behind the prestige class (allowing male drow to justify becoming priests of Lolth’s faith and advance within it, even if the drow must be a cleric in the first place) is lost, alongside most of the abilities that the class would bring.

Generally, it is not recommended to adapt this prestige class into the EBERRON Campaign Setting, because of the great changes within the setting. However, if the Dungeon Master desires, he may adopt another take on the prestige class, which would change some of the fluff and the abilities of the class to fit a different archetype: that of the cultist infiltrating in the main faith. Thus, the following changes would be fitting in order to adapt (and alter) the prestige class in order to reflect the nature of drow in EBERRON:

Requirements
To qualify to become a pretender of Lolth, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Drow or half-elf with drow ancestry
Alignment: Chaotic evil, chaotic neutral or neutral evil
Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Disguise 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells
Special: Rebuke undead ability
Special: Must have Lolth as a patron deity.
Special: Must have assassinated a priest of Vulkoor and assumed its identity

Class Features
All of the following are features of the pretender of Lolth prestige class (when adapted into the EBERRON Campaign Setting).
Weapon Familiarity: A pretender of Lolth also gains proficiency with the drow scorpion chain. A drow scorpion chain behaves exactly as a spiked chain except it deals 1d6 points of slashing damage (1d4 slashing damage for Small creatures) and has a critical threat range of 19-20. (This expands the weapon familiarity benefit)

Vulkoor has a pretty sick favored weapon, which is essentially a spiked chain with a different damage type. With the whip acting as a reach weapon rather than a ranged one, and with the drow scorpion chain being a proper melee weapon, the pretender is a solid melee combatant and a decent tripper.

Veil of the Matriarch (Su): Having assassinated a priest of Vulkoor and assuming its identity, a pretender of Lolth carefully hones its relationship with the fiend and with the ties the slain priest had with Vulkoor. A pretender of Lolth adds his class level to all Disguise checks, as well as to one ability based on the aspect of Vulkoor the former priest worshipped.

Hunter: Survival
Wrathful: Intimidate
Cunning: Bluff

As well, the pretender of Lolth automatically gains the War domain as a bonus domain, even if Lolth normally wouldn’t provide for such domain. Finally, any divination spell cast upon the pretender reveals him as his assumed identity, unless the caster level of the spellcaster is higher than the pretender of Lolth’s character level plus his Wisdom modifier. (This replaces the Veil of the Matriarch class ability)

This version of the Veil of the Matriarch is slightly stronger, as it's based on one of the three main aspects of Vulkoor, and it grants an extra domain. The War domain is a great domain, though weapon familiarity makes its granted power quite redundant. Still, getting the Power Word spells and access to Holy Warrior isn't that bad.

Vermin’s Friend (Ex and Su): The +4 bonus on rebuking attempts applies to any arachnid, not just spiders (naturally, this includes scorpions; this expands the vermin’s friend ability).

Not much to say: it recognizes that scorpions are arachnids, so it's pretty self-explanatory.

Lolth’s Ward: At 10th level, a pretender of Lolth has reached such a position in the faith of Vulkoor, enough to cause concerns and provide potential threats. Lolth, interested in having her agents infiltrate Vulkoor’s faith, provides her pretenders with a series of abilities partly based on Vulkoor’s traits, and some of her own.
Upon reaching this level, a pretender of Lolth is considered to be a worshipper of both Vulkoor and Lolth for purposes of spells and magic items that may be restricted to the faithful of any race (and thus, a pretender of Lolth may receive an atonement spell from a priest of Vulkoor as if it was another faithful). Furthermore, the pretender gains a special ability based on the aspect of Vulkoor worshipped by its assumed identity:

Hunter: the pretender becomes self-sufficient, and apt as a hunter would. The pretender no longer needs to eat or drink (but must still breathe and sleep, as usual), and gains a bonus on weapon damage rolls, as well as a bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot and Survival checks, equal to his class level against animals, giants, magical beasts and elves (including drow).
Wrathful: the pretender becomes a conduit of Vulkoor’s wrath (although this is mostly Lolth augmenting her pretender with profane power). By expending a 4th level or higher spell slot, the pretender may fly into a rage as if a barbarian of the pretender’s class level, with one exception: the pretender may cast spells as usual. By expending a higher level spell slot, the pretender is treated as if having a higher class level for purposes of this ability, at a rate of 2 levels per level of spell slot expended beyond 4th (thus, a 10th level pretender of Lolth that gains this ability and expends a 7th level spell slot is treated as a 16th level barbarian for purposes of its rage ability), and the rage lasts for one more round per level of spell expended beyond the fourth.
Cunning: the pretender becomes dominant and obsessed into unifying the drow race as a single, powerful race (of course, under Lolth’s rule). The pretender may provide all drow allies within 30 ft. with a +4 bonus to their Strength and Constitution scores (if a male) or a +4 bonus to their Intelligence and Wisdom scores (if a female), but they gain a penalty on their Will saving throws equal to the pretender’s class level while they gain this benefit.

Finally, the innate spell-like abilities of the drow are altered to resemble that of scorpions. A drow gains a number of extra daily uses of his spell-like abilities equal to half his class level, and he may expend some of these daily uses to activate other spell-like abilities. A pretender of Lolth may expend one daily use of his dancing lights ability to use either detect poison or acid splash, one daily use of his faerie fire ability to use hold person, and one daily use of his darkness ability to use poison.
However, this comes with a price. If the pretender of Lolth is revealed as a worshipper of Lolth, or angers Lolth, it loses all supernatural abilities from the class (and potentially its spellcasting) unless it rectifies the situation (such as assassinating the offender, or rectifying in the eyes of Lolth). The DM determines which is the rightful method of rectification, and if he succeeds, he is treated as if receiving the benefit of an atonement spell. (This replaces the Lolth’s Approval class ability).

This variant capstone changes two aspects. One, it grants pretenders two choices other than "buffs all over", and the other is how it changes the granted spell-like abilities to ones fitting for scorpions. Sure, Acid Splash is kinda meh, but replacing Darkness with Poison (which deals Con damage) and Faerie Fire with Hold Poison (i.e. spend the equivalent of a 1st level spell to gain the benefit of a pretty solid 2nd level spell) turns the tide in its favor. Honestly, I would have liked Eberron drow to have these innate powers instead of the same abilities as vanilla drow, but...irony insists that the pretender of Vulkoor gets the powers that should be the birthright of the scorpion-worshipping Xen'drik drow.

As for the other aspects, the Hunter aspect is, by all means, a super-powered version of Favored Enemy. Animals are so-so at later levels, but giants and magical beasts are pretty solid choices. The Wrathful aspect is, likewise, a super-powered version of Spell Rage, because it explicitly allows spellcasting. Getting the equivalent of Greater Rage by spending a 9th level spell is a bit of an overkill, but considering it still allows you to cast your remaining spells... 10th level lets you spend your 4th level spells for Mighty Rage, though, which is a pretty solid buff.

Cieyrin
2012-04-30, 11:46 AM
Your double post double-posted. :smalltongue:

Now, I'll get to actually reading the Pretender...

EDIT: Just finished reading and it is rather interesting. I would point out there's a typo in Vermin Friend about Rebuke Undead as opposed to Rebuke Vermin and Greater Spell Ward's insistence on SR 5+character level+Wis mod is lower than the normal Drow's 11+character level till past Wis 22, with SR 11+CL being pretty standard (PF went to the 5+CL model, much to my chagrin :smallmad:)

T.G. Oskar
2012-04-30, 03:18 PM
Your double post double-posted. :smalltongue:

Now, I'll get to actually reading the Pretender...

Ha! Oddly enough, it was originally triple-posted. The third post I edited it so that it could house the addendums. It's the server thing that always causes errors, which make posting large things a problem.

I guess it's maybe time that Homebrew Design has its own server... Most of the time I find problems there. That is, IF HD doesn't already has its own server.


EDIT: Just finished reading and it is rather interesting. I would point out there's a typo in Vermin Friend about Rebuke Undead as opposed to Rebuke Vermin and Greater Spell Ward's insistence on SR 5+character level+Wis mod is lower than the normal Drow's 11+character level till past Wis 22, with SR 11+CL being pretty standard (PF went to the 5+CL model, much to my chagrin :smallmad:)

The Vermin Friend thing isn't a typo. In fact, the "alternate progression" for Pretender of Lolth allows progressing an existing divine class (in the rare case that Lolth allows male clergy, but that's kinda going against the idea of the class). The idea was that the "alternate" progression was going to be the main class and viceversa, but I found that the idea of using the class as a way to become a priest(ess) of Lolth WAS the schtick of it all, and switched the progressions. Since that was done at the moment of posting...you get the idea.

As for Greater Spell Ward...must have been that I slipped into the PF SRD or something. For some reason I saw "5+CL" and added it. Still; 11+CL+Wis is a pretty high SR, one that even Assay Spell Resistance will have troubles beating up.

T.G. Oskar
2013-09-08, 06:42 PM
It's been a while, I presume, but several distractions (such as trying to get a job, a combination of DMing a side-story for my friends and testing Shadowrun while playing d20 Modern with one of my friends being the GM, a Let's Play AND then getting into FreeCiv...) basically ate a lot of my time. However, I recall someone requesting a retooling of this PrC about a year ago, and regardless of being late, I'm a man of my word. Thus, after several months of distractions, I managed to take a second look at the PrC, and managed to succeed on handling the snag I hit the first time I attempted to handle it.

Thus, without further ado, and going for a simpler format (though no less verbose), I present to you the...


HAMMER OF MORADIN

Requirements
To qualify to become a hammer of Moradin, a character must fulfill the following criteria:
Race: Dwarf
Alignment: Lawful good, lawful neutral or neutral good
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: Craft (weaponsmithing) 10 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks
Feats: Brutal Throw, Iron Will
Spells: Able to cast 2nd level spells
Special: The character must be a worshipper of Moradin.
Special: A character that initiates maneuvers (see Tome of Battle: the Book of Nine Swords for more details) may qualify to enter the class if able to initiate 3rd level maneuvers of the Stone Dragon discipline. This replaces the spellcasting requirement.

The original requirements are pretty strict, and these ones are pretty lax in comparison.

For starters, the base attack bonus requirement has been reduced by 1. This allows for entry with at least 3 levels of Fighter and 4 of Cleric (or Favored Soul), at most. Entry before 7th level (which is the intended entry requirement for the original, BTW) is difficult because of the Craft (weaponsmithing) requirement, aside from skill tricks.

Then, Weapon Focus was exchanged for Brutal Throw. The former is essentially replaced by Weapon Familiarity, so its existence would be redundant. On the other hand, Brutal Throw blends well with some of the class features, namely Hammer Throw and Hammer Return. The bonus feats granted to the class can reinforce throwing.

Finally, the class also allows for martial adepts (particularly Crusaders) to enter. Since it requires only Stone Dragon maneuvers, that means every class (even Swordsages!) can enter, but the PrC fits Crusaders better because of their faith requirement. Hammers of Moradin sound quite a lot like a Crusader organization, no?

Class Skills
The hammer of Moradin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis) and Spellcraft (Int)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int mod.

Pretty odd skill list, but it's essentially the same as the original. It's essentially the same spell list as a cleric, except without Diplomacy. Since the class was expanded to more settings, Knowledge (local) is set as its PHB counterpart instead of the region-locked versions of FR. Finally, Intimidate was added because the PrC is supposed to represent the figurative "hammer" of the principal dwarven god against its racial enemies; might as well make them scared right from the beginning.

Hit Dice: d10
{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|Special|Class features
1st|+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Hammer throw, power of the earth, weapon familiarity|-
2nd|+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Favored enemy +2, powerful grip|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
3rd|+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Bonus feat, hammer return|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
4th|+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Thunder strike|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
5th|+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Hammer of law, hammer smite 1/encounter|-
6th|+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Bonus feat, favored enemy +4|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
7th|+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Earth-trembling strike|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
8th|+8|
+6|
+2|
+6|Power strike, stalwart|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability
9th|+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Bonus feat, baneful hammer|-
10th|+10|
+7|
+3|
+7|Favored enemy +6, hammer smite 2/encounter, hammer of vengeance|+1 of spellcasting/initiating ability[/TABLE]

Full BAB, good Fort and Will, 7/10ths spellcasting...a good combination of combat skills and spellcasting ability. It's very similar to the chassis from the Shining Blade of Heironeous, and for good measure.

Class Features
All of the following are class features for the hammer of Moradin.
Weapon Familiarity: Hammers of Moradin gain proficiency with the light hammer and the warhammer (if they don't have it already). Furthermore, when attacking with a light hammer, warhammer or maul, she gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and deals 2 extra points of damage (as if she had the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for these weapons).

Three weapons, but a good spread of them. The light hammer can be used as a melee weapon or thrown, so it's versatile. The warhammer is a pretty straightforward weapon: 1d8 bludgeoning, x3 critical, and as recognizable as a longsword, greatsword or greataxe. The maul is to the warhammer what the bastard sword is to the longsword, preferably used in two hands (or in one, if you have Exotic Weapon Proficiency with it). Thus, you get a bonus with one light weapon, a one-handed weapon, and a two-handed weapon that can be used in one hand with a specific proficiency.

Hammer Throw: Hammers of Moradin are capable of throwing weapons at large distances, particularly the favored weapons of their deity. A hammer of Moradin can throw warhammers and mauls as if they were light hammers, with a range increment of 20 ft. When throwing light hammers, the range increment of these weapons is 40 ft. This increase in range applies before other modifications, such as the Far Shot feat.

This is what makes these weapons more interesting. Now, you can launch warhammers and mauls a short but reasonable distance. Light hammers, on the other hand, extend farther away, reaching essentially anything within close range proper.

The fun part, though, is how this benefit applies before any increments. This makes warhammers and mauls have a reach increment of 40 ft., and light hammers one of 80 ft., which is pretty much all the distance you need (almost as large as a shortbow, and with Brutal Throw you get Strength to damage, which compensates for the low damage die).

However, throwing all those weapons costs a while. How to solve this? Well, read on.

Power of the Earth (Su): The hammer of Moradin treats its class levels as effective Cleric levels for purposes of turning air creatures or rebuking Earth creatures, if it has the granted power of the Earth domain.

Many PrCs advance your ability to turn or rebuke undead creatures, but few allow you to advance other kinds of turning or rebuking. This one works for the Earth domain, if you have it.

Class Features: At all levels except 1st, 5th and 9th, the hammer of Moradin advances spellcasting ability or initiator ability as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting or martial adept class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class, initiator class, or a combination of both before becoming a hammer of Moradin, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day or maneuver advancement.

If the hammer of Moradin has no levels in a divine spellcasting or martial adept, he gains no benefit. If the defender’s spellcaster levels are from paladin or ranger, the caster level for those spells is equal to their hammer of Moradin class levels plus half their paladin or ranger levels (including 1st, 5th and 10th level, unlike other divine spellcasters).

Hammers of Moradin with the ability to initiate maneuvers advance initiator levels as if the class was a martial adept class. This benefit applies to individuals with the ability to execute maneuvers, whether they acquired the ability by means of a martial adept class, or by the Martial Study feat.

While the spellcasting progression isn't particularly radical, the progression of martial maneuvers is.

Choosing to provide a delayed progression of maneuvers and stances (and readied maneuvers) based on its original class rather than on a given progression is manifold. Warblades and Crusaders have a similar progression, and this one delays it a bit; Swordsages, on the other hand, gain more maneuvers with this exchange, alongside full BAB, good Fort and Will (but, on the other hand, class features that don't support them that much). All classes grant Stone Dragon maneuvers, but aside from Devoted Spirit (which is thematically fitting) there's no other maneuver that truly seems essential. Thus, instead of figuring which maneuvers would be good (and screwing Warblades and Swordsages on the way), or restricting maneuvers only to one discipline (screwing everyone equally), it's best to let each class progress on its own.

On the other hand, both the half-casters (paladins, the occasional ranger) and non-adepts gain a boon from the class. Half-casters get full spellcasting progression, while non-adepts count all classes as progressing their initiator level. The latter allows boosting initiator level to 15 (10 from the PrC and 5 from other classes. With some push, you might even reach IL 17th (and thus, 9th level maneuvers), but this will most likely involve a bloodline.

Favored Enemy: At 2nd level, the hammer of Moradin furthers its training in the weaknesses of its ancestral enemies. The hammer of Moradin gains the benefit of the favored enemy class feature of the ranger, but must choose between one of the following: humanoid (elf, goblinoid, orc, reptilian), giant or vermin. At 6th level, and again at 10th level, the hammer of Moradin may choose a new favored enemy, and increase the bonus granted to one of the chosen creatures.

If the hammer of Moradin already has one of these creatures as favored enemies, it gains the ability to choose a new favored enemy at 2nd level, but also increases the bonus on this existing class by 2.

Favored enemy?

The original class has the ability to temporarily grant the bane property to three specific creatures: goblinoids, giants and drow. This represents the three most common opponents dwarves in the Forgotten Realms face. It's not much of a mental stretch to figure that favored enemy can be a reasonable addition, and adds a lot of flavor to the PrC. It's a key aspect of many of the latter class features, and an elegant way to handle this (instead of granting three class features which are essentially improvements on a same class).

You'll get the Bane property eventually. Don't worry.

Powerful Grip (Ex): A 2nd level hammer of Moradin wields its weapon with a mighty grip, refusing to drop its weapon unless taken from his cold, dead hands. When wielding a warhammer or maul in melee, the hammer of Moradin gains a +10 bonus on the opposed check against a disarm attempt, and adds half its Strength modifier as a bonus to damage rolls. Thus, a hammer of Moradin deals damage equal to 1.5 times its Strength modifier when wielding a warhammer in one hand, and twice its Strength modifier when wielding it in two hands. This benefit also applies if the hammer of Moradin uses the Power Attack feat; the hammer of Moradin deals double damage if wielding the weapon in one hand, or triple damage if wielding it in two hands.

This alone is a great reason why a dwarf should dip in this class, even if limited only to two weapons. First, you get the benefit of a locked gauntlet, a little-used item that provides superior protection against disarm attempts (and if you're focusing in one or two weapons, might as well get protection from the one method that disables you without screwing you over). The second is the one reason you want to enter: basically, if you're wielding a maul in two hands, you add twice your Strength modifier, and further boost your Power Attack damage without the need for Leap Attack (though it doesn't mean this ability doesn't stack with the feat). It's far, FAR better with TWF, because if you have Oversized TWF, you can deal double damage with each weapon while standing still (and with Leap Attack, you deal double the amount of damage you'd normally deal with PA with a two-handed weapon).

This is a vastly improved version of the original, which only worked with warhammers, and only applied to the Strength modifier, and one level earlier. I usually don't leave tasty fruits at such a low level, but this one simply works wonders.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and again at 6th and 9th level, the hammer of Moradin gains a bonus feat in addition to those he obtains by means of class levels. These bonus feats may come from the list of fighter bonus feats, any of the domain feats related to his deity’s domains, or divine feats. The hammer of Moradin must still comply with the prerequisites for the bonus feat, as usual. The hammer of Moradin stacks his levels in the prestige class with his effective Fighter level for purposes of fighter level prerequisites.

Typical martial-inclined retool response. The three feats allow you to specialize on TWF, throwing (Hurling Charge is awesome in this set-up) or plain PA, or even specialize further in the weapon.

Hammer Return (Ex): Whenever a 3rd level hammer of Moradin throws a light hammer, warhammer or maul, it treats the weapon as if it had the returning weapon special quality.

Yep, now the weapons you can throw at large distances have the Returning quality. Focus only on a few weapons and save money!

Thunder Strike (Ex): The blows of a 4th level hammer of Moradin resonate against the armor of their opponents. When attacking with a light hammer, warhammer or maul, the hammer of Moradin deals extra damage based on its armor bonus to AC. Thus, the hammer of Moradin deals an extra 4 points of damage against a character wielding a scale mail, a +1 studded leather armor, a bracers of armor +4 or is under the benefit of the mage armor spell.

Can you believe this ability actually exists on the original version? Honest to goodness, and almost quoted verbatim from the original. In fact, the original mentions armor bonus to AC, which means Bracers of Armor and spells that grant armor bonuses to AC also apply. Enhancement bonuses to AC don't count on the original, on the other hand; this one does. Also, light hammers and mauls gain the benefit of this feature. This is a phenomenal weapon against high AC, high HP characters, though not necessarily against monsters. Because of this, it was dropped 4 levels earlier.

Hammer of Law (Su): At 5th level, a hammer of Moradin treats any light hammer, warhammer or maul as a lawful-aligned weapon for purposes of bypassing damage reduction. Once per day per two levels, the hammer of Moradin can imbue one of these weapons it currently wields with the axiomatic weapon special quality as a swift action for a number of rounds equal to its class level. If the character has the ability to turn undead, it can choose to activate this ability by spending two daily uses of turn undead.

This move should be somewhat familiar to you people, as it's the lawful equivalent of the Shining Blade of Heironeous' Holy Blade class feature (the retooled version, BTW), but with its own uses rather than spending uses of Turn Undead. This is necessary, because the class is open to non-Clerics and non-Paladins (and non-Shaman, if you use Oriental Adventures material), so that they may partake of the bonus. Clerics and paladins (and shamans, as well) get an extra benefit where they can spend uses of Turn Undead to extend their daily uses of this feature, particularly as it fuels two other class features.

Hammer Smite (Su): Once per encounter, a hammer of Moradin gains the ability to smite one of its favored enemies with its hammer as a swift action. When wielding a light hammer, warhammer or maul, the hammer of Moradin adds its Constitution or Charisma modifier (whichever is higher) and adds 1 point of damage per hammer of Moradin level. This benefit only applies against goblinoids, orcs, reptilians, giants, vermin or servants of Lolth (such as the drow), regardless of alignment. At 10th level, the hammer of Moradin may make a hammer smite twice per level.

If the hammer of Moradin has levels in a class that grants the smite ability and access to this ability (such as a paladin, a soulborn, or a 7th level crusader), levels in this class stack with levels in those classes to determine the damage dealt by any of its smite abilities. Likewise, any ability that would improve smite evil also improves this ability.

Definitely another inclusion that's out of the blue.

This is a pretty rare ability, as it essentially works much like a smite, but with a completely different set of limitations: it affects creatures of all alignments, but only of five specific races, and only if you wield a specific weapon. So, in the end, it's slightly more restrictive.

There's two main reasons why it exists at all. The first is closely linked with Power Strike. The second is because of fluff reasons; if you're a member of an organization that essentially brings the wrath of your deity with your hammer, what better way than to smite the creature into oblivion with it? With the favored attack bonus, the bane effect, and Powerful Grip on top of your smite, you're looking at potentially one-shotting most of your ancestral enemies.

The first reason, however, is slightly more important, and we'll see exactly why as we progress.

Earth-trembling Strike (Su): At 7th level, the hammer of Moradin can strike the earth as a standard action. This duplicates the effect of the stomp psionic power, except as follows: the DC for the saving throw is equal to 10 + the hammer of Moradin level + hammer of Moradin’s Strength bonus.

This is essentially the Quake class feature of the original, but appearing later on the progression and slightly nerfed, because it follows the effect of a psionic power (as a supernatural ability, though). Note that you can deal non-lethal damage with it, even if it's a measle 1d4 points of damage, and affects everybody.

Not sure how to handle the rest, so it's semi-incomplete. Better yet; it's functional, but not exactly up to standards.

Power Strike (Ex or Su): At 8th level, a hammer of Moradin can deliver a strong strike that halts an enemy in its tracks. When making a hammer smite, the hammer of Moradin also stuns the target for 1 round per hammer of Moradin level if it fails a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + hammer of Moradin level + hammer of Moradin’s Strength modifier). This use of the ability is considered a supernatural ability.

If the hammer of Moradin has the Brutal Strike feat (Player’s Handbook II), it can replace the effect of that feat with the ability to daze the opponent, but the daze lasts for 1 round and the target gains a +4 bonus on the save. Using Power Strike in this way is considered an extraordinary ability.

As I promised, here's the main explanation for why a class feature such as Hammer Smite exists.

The original version of Power Strike was essentially a smite, at 4th level, usable only once per day and only offering a daze effect on top of the attack. This is pretty weak, and unacceptable when you can have a class that provides a much better benefit.

As you can see, making it a rider effect of Hammer Smite makes it slightly more elegant, because you get more uses per day out of it (if not more uses per encounter, until 10th level, or if you apply Sapphire Smite or any of the items that increase daily uses of smite, such as the Mighty Smiting weapon). What's better is that daze shifts into stun, which is twice as good.

However, while that solution on its own is fair, I really wanted to exploit another possibility: the idea of using the Brutal Strike feat from PHBII more effectively. Thus, if you happen to have the ability (and I figure, why not?), you get a potentially lethal combination of sicken and daze with your melee attacks, which fits really with what I wanted for Power Strike; the ability to daze an opponent almost at any moment, but with some strings attached.

Stalwart (Su): At 8th level, the hammer of Moradin ignores the pain of multiple blows when its life is threatened. When the hammer of Moradin is under 50% of its maximum hit points, it gains immunity to pain (such as the effects of the symbol of pain spell) and applies its base Will save bonus to its Armor Class. The bonus to Armor Class does not apply to touch attacks, however.

This is another legacy ability of the class, and one that also got a serious improvement. The original only allowed you to apply your base Will save (which by taking 10 levels means you have at least a +7 to your AC, free of cost), but for a limited duration. This isn't really friendly, so it had to be redone almost entirely.

The new version enables when your hit points are at critical condition, or as 4e players know it, when "bloodied". While bloodied, you have a very nice defense (considering that you'll get a minimum of +10 to your AC), which stacks with everything, and you get protection from pain while at it (Symbol of Pain is one, but there's some other effects that cause pain in the Book of Vile Darkness, if you're wondering).

Making it vulnerable to touch attacks is less of a balancing issue and more of a sense issue. Essentially, you're feeling no pain from your attacks, but you're still struck by the weapon (it's not like, as with Int/Wis to AC, you know when to parry, or with Cha to AC which is almost universally declared as a deflection bonus, or Con to AC which...I honestly have no idea how it's explained, but there!), so you're still liable to touch attacks. Otherwise, this combined with Touch of Healing + Inflict Minor Wounds makes you a hard-to-beat character.

Baneful Hammer (Su): At 9th level, a hammer of Moradin that imbues his weapon with the axiomatic special quality (see Hammer of Law, above) also grants the bane special quality. The bane effect applies to all favored enemies the hammer of Moradin has chosen by virtue of this class (thus, it only qualifies against goblinoids, orcs, reptilians, giants, vermin or servants of Lolth, the latter being a unique exception).

As I promised, you'll get the Bane enhancements by this level (one later than the original), but you get customized versions of it, where the customization is "it applies to all favored enemies you gain from this class". Thus, you get verminbane, orcbane, reptilianbane and even "servant-of-Lolth"-bane, which is pretty specific. You still get three instances of Bane, but applying to the creatures you find convenient, which is a huge change from the original.

Hammer of Vengeance (Su): At 10th level, the hammer of Moradin focuses the wrath of his deity against his ancestral enemies. By spending two daily uses of his hammer of law ability (or three daily uses of his turn undead ability) as a standard action, the hammer of Moradin may make a melee attack (as part of the same standard action). If the attack succeeds, any goblinoid, orc, reptilian, giant, vermin or servant of Lolth must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + the hammer of Moradin’s class level + the hammer of Moradin’s Strength modifier) or die instantly, as per the effect of a destruction spell. A successful saving throw deals an extra 10d6 points of damage (as per the effect of a destruction spell) and dazes the opponent for 1 round.

This is the most brutal curve of them all; the capstone is entirely different.

Bones of the Earth is a cool ability, but it's 1/day limitation and its effect really made no sense, at least regarding the theme of the class. The Hammer of Moradin is definitely a blessed warrior(-priest?), but giving it an ability that best suits an infiltrator...erm... Particularly if the original has Aura of Courage, an ability fit for a class that plays by the rules.

Thus, how to really make a fitting capstone that brings the image of a dwarf that's the living incarnation of his deity's wrath? Well, how about with an attack that completely and utterly destroys its opponent? Thus, Hammer of Vengeance and its effect. The fact that it works pretty much like the Destruction spell, including "destroying the body but not its possessions" and the damage you deal even if your opponent succeds on the save (with the added daze effect, just to top it off), makes it a very useful attack to save in case of emergencies, and one that's effective no matter what.

I wish I could justify Bones of the Earth, but it would really fit another kind of PrC rather than this one. Infiltration is not this class' forte; utterly crushing the bodies and bones of his opponents more than definitely IS.

ALTERNATE DEITIES
If a character decides to take this prestige class but does not have Moradin as a deity, the following changes apply:
Special (entry requirement): Replace the patron deity for a patron deity of dwarves. Characters from the FORGOTTEN REALMS ™ Campaign Setting have the additional requirement of “Region: Spine of the World”. Characters from the Dragonlance ™ Campaign Setting may use Reorx as a patron deity. Characters from the EBERRON ™ Campaign Setting may use Onatar as a patron deity, but must still comply with the racial prerequisite, and also comply with one of the following prerequisites:
Region: Mror Holds
Feat: Least Dragonmark (Warding).

Alignment: Hammers of Reorx may be chaotic neutral, lawful neutral, neutral, neutral evil or neutral good. Hammers of Onatar may be from any nonevil alignment.

Power of the Earth: Hammers of Onatar (those who follow Onatar as a patron deity) advance their ability to turn water creatures and rebuke fire creatures. Likewise, hammers of Onatar with the Least Dragonmark of Warding treat levels in this class as levels in the dragonmark heir class for purposes of determining the caster level of all dragonmarks.

Favored Enemy: Hammers of Reorx treat monstrous humanoids, giants, dragons and dragonblooded creatures as favored enemies. Hammers of Onatar treat orcs and giants as favored enemies; additionally, they can choose followers of a single deity of the Dark Six as a “favored organization”, with the same benefits.

And, as a departing touch, here's which other deities got their own hammers. Surprisingly enough, this is the first time I recognize a Dragonlance deity, something the others don't have.

However, while Reorx was pretty easy (he's the deity dwarves follow, he's an expy of Moradin and has only some differences in the enemies its faithful face), Onatar was harder. As you know, Eberron has no racial deities; the dwarves mostly follow the Sovereign Host (though nothing says Moradin doesn't exist; it's just that nobody knows and nobody has figured out if praying to Moradin actually works), and the elves are ancestor worshippers; the gnomes are somewhat agnostic and the orcs are followers of a very important druidic sect, the Gatekeepers. So, how to justify a hammer in Eberron?

The original version (which is somewhat reflected in the FR adaptation) is also region-specific, so I figured only a dwarf from the Mror Holds would actually have the skills to become a hammer. But then, it kicked; which is the only recognized dwarven super-clan, one that might benefit from having a hammer on its ranks? House Kundarak, the house of Warding. Thus, while they still follow (and require following) Onatar, the hammers of Onatar can work for any of the clans, including the surface clan Kundarak and its house. Onatar doesn't have the Earth domain, so its "Power of the Earth" turns into "Power of the Flame"...but I figured Kundarak might feel left behind, so Power of the Earth/Flame also advances dragonmark CL.

Thus, you can say that the hammers of Onatar have the Power of the Dragonflame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_WnyOPF04) with them...

*beat*

...

Darn lack of drumroll...

Anyways, hammers of Onatar are almost distinct from the hammers of Moradin, as their favored enemies are pretty bizarre. Orcs are in, because orcs of the Hammerspire Mountains are pretty close to the stereotype, and giants do as well because of their racial defense. Goblinoids are out, as dwarves don't have that much hassle with Darguun (the goblinoid country), and reptilians...well, they're close to Q'barra, home of the lizardfolk, but not enough to justify the enmity. Thus, hammers of Onatar would be deprived of more options and therefore would be somewhat weaker, despite the Power of the Dragonflame joke and whatnot. Thus, in attempting to figure out what to do with them, the bulb began to shine, and the end result is...

Favored organizations. Particularly, against the faithful of the Dark Six. This makes hammers of Onatar somewhat nasty, and thus seasoned almost perfectly for an Eberron game; Vassals, the followers of the Sovereign Host, accept the existence but don't recognize the worth of the Dark Six, and some are pretty fanatical to attempt and pull a damnatio ex memoria (tarnishing the memory, or in this case removing entirely) on the followers of the "evil" gods (and the Traveler (https://www.google.com/url?q=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MyFriendsAndZoidberg&sa=U&ei=NQstUqK9FdKAygGZkIHgCA&ved=0CAcQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFFOjZGHVpBcvN5_LrdsRc9Qujg-A)). Exactly the kind of ambiguity you'd expect from Eberron.