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asnys
2013-06-29, 04:22 PM
I originally came up with this for the Hybrid Theory prestige class contest, but didn't notice that submissions had already closed until after I'd written a bunch of it. So I figured I might as well finish it and post it anyway.

Marshal of the Eternal Legion

“I am Erik Theosonne, Marshal First Class of the Eternal Legion and officer of the Fourth State, and I have been ordered to bring you to justice. Surrender now and you will be treated with the respect due your station. Resist and you will join the ranks of my men.” -Marshal First Class Erik Theosonne

In the year 5 ante fundamentum, the city of Cosmopolis came under attack by shades of ice and death from the northern wastes. The small Cosmopolite militia, ill equipped to deal with the threat, fell steadily back towards the Spire and was ultimately trapped behind the walls of the city itself. It was clear that the siege would be brief – until the army of the necromancer Johan the Black, formerly a name synonymous with blasphemy and terror, marched to the city's relief, dealing such a defeat to the enemy that they have never dared to trouble humanity since.
After the victory, the rehabilitated Johan struck a deal with the city's leaders. He and his servants were pardoned for their former crimes and made officers of a new military force, subsequently dubbed the Eternal Legion. They would receive state salaries and access to the bodies of executed criminals and other ne'er-do-wells, their necromantic practices – including their worship of Morddoth – would be fully legalized, and they would be allowed to recruit new members from the officers and cadets of the city militia. They would be tasked solely with the defense of the city itself, and operate independently of the militia's command structure except in dire situations. In exchange, they would swear an oath to obey the city council in time of emergency, to never use their powers against a citizen of Cosmopolis without warrant of a citizen court, and to never bring the undead within the city itself.
That, at least, is the story. The passage of most of a millennium has obscured many details, although hints of backroom deals and politicking remain in the archives. Johan had probably struck a bargain of his own with Gyges, an ambitious politician who almost became the first Tyrant of Cosmopolis. Historians speculate that Johan had ulterior motives and ultimately intended to betray the city – although they generally do so quietly, since the modern legion dislikes criticism of its founders. If either claim is true, it did neither Gyges nor Johan much good; Gyges was executed for treason three years later, while Johan was assassinated by persons unknown a scant month before the elevation of Gyges' rival Lytas to Tyrant and the founding of the Fourth State.
Nonetheless, whatever the true circumstances of their founding, the Eternal Legion remains a critical component of the Fourth State's defense. Trained as both military officers and in the dark arts, the Marshals of the Eternal Legion stand as the ultimate safeguard of Cosmopolis's security. So long as the Legion stands, Cosmopolis shall never fall.

BECOMING A MARSHAL OF THE ETERNAL LEGION
“We are looking for the best – for arcane talent, for tactical ability, and, most of all, for the willingness to do your duty without shirking or wavering. Do you have what it takes?” -Grand Marshal Gerda Isendotter

Marshals of the Eternal Legion are primarily recruited from the children of military officers. The Legion has their own school of wizardry, and the typical career path is for a prospective recruit to receive training in spellcasting for four years, then join the main state military for several years before officially joining the Eternal Legion. The Eternal Legion does sometimes select candidates from other origins who are already trained as military officers and necromancers, but this is relatively uncommon.
Most prospective Marshals are specialist necromancer/marshals. Non-specialize wizards, sorcerers, and dread necromancers can also fulfill the arcane requirements.
Prospective candidates must be nominated by current Legion members. Nominees are taken to Fort Winter, the Legion's headquarters. There, they are put through three tests intended to demonstrate their tactical and necromantic capabilities (see below for descriptions). Successful candidates are then initiated as Marshals Third Class of the Eternal Legion in a rite invoking Morddoth, and given their sash of office.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Non-chaotic, non-good
Feats: Combat Casting
Special: Must pass the tests of the leaders of the Eternal Legion (see below)
Special: Must have access to at least one major aura
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast command undead as an arcane spell

Note: Marshals of the Eternal Legion do not have to actually worship Morddoth, although they are expected to pay formal obeisance to it.

Class Skills
The Marshal of the Eternal Legions' class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (any) (Int), Profession (any) (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + int

Hit Dice: d8

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spellcasting|Minor Auras|Major Auras

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Coordinate Undead, Code of Conduct, Rank, Tactical Intelligence|+1 level|
1|
0

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Train Undead I|+1 level|
1|
1

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Craft Wand of Command Undead|+1 level|
2|
1

4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Major Aura +1|+1 level|
2|
1

5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Train Undead II|+1 level|
3|
2[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: The Marshal of the Eternal Legion gains no new weapons or armor proficiencies.
Spellcasting: When a new Marshal of the Eternal Legion level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in an arcane 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, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a Marshal of the Eternal Legion, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Auras Known: The Marshal of the Eternal Legion continues their tactical studies and learns a new minor aura every odd level and a new major aura at 2nd and 5th level. These may be selected from the Marshal auras, or from the following list:

Minor Auras:

Coordinate Animation: Allies who cast animate dead may animate additional hit dice equal to your minor aura bonus. This does not increase the number of undead they may control; any undead created beyond the caster's control limit are uncontrolled.
Strengthen Resistance: Undead receive a circumstance bonus to their turn resistance.


Major Auras:

Motivate Potency: Undead receive a bonus to the save DCs of their natural abilities.
Terrorize: Enemies within your aura receive a morale penalty to their attack rolls and saves against fear equal to your major aura bonus.


The Marshal of the Eternal Legion's major aura bonus increases by +1 at 4th level.
Coordinate Undead (Ex): At 1st level, the Marshal of the Eternal Legion learns how to adapt his techniques and tactics for motivating and commanding living soldiers for use with the undead. Unintelligent undead may now benefit from the Marshal of the Eternal Legion's minor and major auras.
Code of Conduct: Marshals of the Eternal Legion are subject to military discipline. Although they are generally given wide freedom of action outside of time of war, they are still expected to abide by a strict set of rules both on and off the battlefield. These include:


Follow all orders passed through proper military channels.
Treat legitimate prisoners of war with the courtesy and respect due their station. Torture, in particular, is strictly prohibited. This does not apply to spies or other illegitimate combatants.
If you swear an oath to Morddoth, it must be strictly fulfilled.
Under no circumstances bring the undead or cause the undead to be brought within the boundary of Cosmopolis. Those who break this rule are subject to execution.
Under no circumstances use your magic against a citizen of Cosmopolis, unless a warrant has been issued by a legitimate court authorizing you to do so. Those who break this rule are subject to execution.
Worship Morddoth faithfully. In practice, this tenet is commonly disregarded, although active disrespect or violation of Morddoth's temples or other sacred objects is still punished.


A Marshal does not lose their Marshal of the Eternal Legion abilities if they violate the code, with the exception of Rank. However, they may not take further levels in the class while they are not in good standing with the Legion, and are subject to punishment by military authorities. A minor violation will generally result in either a formal warning, a public reprimand, and/or a fine of 5% to 20% of the Marshal's personal wealth, while a major violation will result in expulsion, confiscation of all personal wealth, and/or execution. Of course, they have to catch you before they can punish you, and it is not particularly difficult to evade detection if you're careful and don't do anything foolish in public. And those who are victorious on the battlefield often find their superiors flexible regarding trifling issues of conduct or discipline.
Rank: Marshals of the Eternal Legion are not expected to fund the state's army. A Marshal of the Eternal Legion can requisition up to 200 gp of onyx per month from the state armory for use in animating the dead. Using the gems for other purposes or keeping more than four months supply at a time is a minor violation of their code of conduct. They also receive access to bodies from the city's mortuary (generally humans, although the DM may include other types if he so wishes). If they are unable to animate their own soldiers, the Legion will provide them with access to up to 10 HD per month of uncontrolled skeletons and zombies they can cast command undead on, although this will generally be limited to human warriors. In addition, they receive 100 gp per month for personal expenses.
Their onyx supply and stipend increases with rank according to the following chart:

{table=head]Rank:|Stipend:|Onyx:

Grand Marshal|1,000 gp|1,000 gp

Marshal of the Black|600 gp|1,000 gp

Marshal of the White|400 gp|800 gp

Marshal First Class|300 gp|600 gp

Marshal Second Class|200 gp|400 gp

Marshal Third Class|100 gp|200 gp[/table]

Tactical Intelligence (Ex): At 1st level, the Marshal of the Eternal Legion may use their Intelligence modifier in place of their Charisma modifier when using minor auras.
Train Undead I (Ex): At 2nd level, the Marshal of the Eternal Legion may instill some of his own skills in his minions, even if they are unintelligent. He can spend one week training and drilling a group of unintelligent undead to allow them to use one feat on the fighter bonus feat list that the Marshal has. The minions must meet the prerequisites of the feat, except that their Intelligence is treated as 13 for the purpose of meeting prerequisites. In addition, they are treated as proficient with any weapons, armor, and shields the Marshal is proficient with. The Marshal may give them the benefit of only one feat at a time, but may give different feats to different undead, and may change the feat by spending another week training and drilling.
Craft Wand of Command Undead: At 3rd level, the Marshal of the Eternal Legion may craft wands of command undead as though they had the Craft Wand feat. If they have the Craft Wand feat, they receive a 10% discount on the cost of making a wand of command undead.
Train Undead II (Ex): At 5th level, the Marshal of the Eternal Legion may use Train Undead to give unintelligent undead the benefit of two feats.

PLAYING A MARSHAL OF THE ETERNAL LEGION
“The undead don't eat, they don't sleep, and they don't complain when their limbs are cut off. They're the best soldiers in the world, and in the Eternal Legion they are led by the best officers in the world. And that's why the Fourth State has never been and never will be defeated.” -Marshal First Class Erik Theosonne

Marshals of the Eternal Legion are generally in service to the Fourth State (or renegades therefrom). However, the Eternal Legion gives their Marshals substantial autonomy when their services are not called upon; since the task of the Legion is the defense of Cosmopolis, and the success of the regular army has pushed the Fourth State's borders well past the Spire, those calls are relatively rare.
Combat: The primary tools of a Marshal of the Eternal Legion are his undead servitors. Their usual approach is to use their servants to take and deal damage, while they hang back and cast debuffing and damage spells. Lord of the Uttercold and Arcane Disciple (Undeath) are common feat choices.
Resources: The Eternal Legion is a state-sponsored and funded entity. Although Marshals do not ordinarily receive any resources beyond what is listed in the Rank ability, for important missions or other tasks they may be assigned additional funds or assigned other Marshals or State Army troops to assist them.

MARSHALS OF THE ETERNAL LEGION IN THE WORLD
“The Legion? Best stay away from them, son. Necromancy is bad luck. But, as long as the Tyrant keeps them pointed in the right direction, they're somebody else's bad luck.” -Anonymous

Daily Life: When at Fort Winter, the typical Marshal of the Eternal Legion spends the day in some mixture of studying arcana and tactics, training exercises, restocking the Legion's reserves of undead, and field patrols.
Notables: The current commander of the Legion, Grand Marshal Gerda Isendotter (Human Nec-6/Mar-3/MEL-5), has only recently been promoted to that post. At the moment, she is primarily concerned with keeping the Legion from being involved in the political struggle over the succession to the Tyranny, a task she is so far succeeding in.

NPC Reaction
Although the populace of the Fourth State appreciates the protection provided by the Eternal Legion, they also regard them with considerable suspicion and dislike. The Marshals are unnatural and distasteful; what they do is necessary and a service to the State, but they are still necromancers who practice dark arts and worship darker gods. Most common citizens will treat them with respect and a bit of fear, but also do their best to keep their distance. The political elite regard them in much the same way, but with added interest in exploiting their abilities for their own ends.
Non-citizens, by contrast, generally regard the Eternal Legion with open loathing. The best that can be said of the Legion is that, unlike the State Army, they rarely leave the territory of the Spire.

MARSHALS OF THE ETERNAL LEGION IN THE GAME
Being a Marshal of the Eternal Legion requires sacrificing two or more spellcasting levels in exchange for buffs to your undead minions.
Adaptation: Marshals of the Eternal Legion could be used as any kind of military-minded necromancer, whether in service to a state or not. If, in your campaign, the Marshal is not part of an organization, consider replacing Rank with animate dead 1/day or some other way to get troops without shelling out for the material components yourself. The Marshal of the Eternal Legion could also be modified to use other types of minions, such as summoned creatures, or for clerics.
Encounters: Marshals of the Eternal Legion are sometimes found deep in the Unknown Lands on state missions, or on their own account. They are generally accompanied by a large coterie of undead, and (if a state mission) often by regular troops as well.

Sample Encounter
EL 9: Marshal First Class Erik Theosonne is a dashing son of the aristocracy and one of the Legion's rising stars, thanks both to his family connections and his native ability, known for his skill on the battlefield and honorable treatment of fallen foes. He cuts a dashing figure in a tailored black uniform and silver sash, and is known for cutting a wide swathe through the maritally unattached of the upper classes, both male and female.
He is also utterly ruthless in pursuit of his personal and familial ambitions, and has repeatedly violated the Legion's prohibition on the use of necromancy against citizens as part of a conspiracy to marry one of his younger sisters to the son of the current Tyrant. His well-known sense of honor applies only to aristocratic foes, who he treats with courtesy and grace; non-citizens and the commoners obviously do not count. He will gladly step on anyone who gets in his way, and use both magic and politics to cover it up.
Erik's tactics depend on circumstances. The spell load presented below is assuming he is in the field and thus does not have to worry about discretion; in this case he prefers to use a combination of uttercold fireballs, web, and scare to damage the enemy while his skeletons hold back foes. He usually has mage armor cast on himself, and if he has time before combat begins he will also cast protection from arrows and shield on himself. His undead are trained in Improved Initiative, and he generally uses Motivate Urgency and Motivate Dexterity as his auras. One of his human skeletons is assigned to be his scroll carrier. He generally keeps his two troll skeletons close at hand, having them use their reach to attack over the human skeletons, who he uses to absorb hits. The troll skeletons drop their glaives once the enemy is within 10'.

Marshal First Class Erik Theosonne
LE Male Human Necromancer-3/Marshal-2/Marshal of the Eternal Legion-3
Init +3, Senses: Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages: Cosmopolitan, Ancient Tongue, Dark Tongue
------------------------------------------------
AC: 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9
HP: 41 (4d4+2d8+3d6+10 HD)
Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +9
------------------------------------------------
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee +5
Base Attack +4, Grapple +5
Attack Options:
Crystalblade (1d8+3) +7 (17-20x2)
Dagger -MW (1d4+1) +6
Combat Gear: Wand of Frigid Ray (as scorching ray except cold, 21 charges), Wand of Command Undead (12 charges), Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds x2, Potion of Neutralize Poison, Scroll of Darkvision, Scroll of Dispel Magic, Scroll of Fly, Scroll of See Invisibility
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips: Detect Magic (x2), Light, Read Magic
1st Level: Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Obscuring Mist, Shield
2nd Level: Protection from Arrows, Scare, Web (x2)
3rd Level: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Fireball (x2) (Energy Sub (Cold), Lord of the Uttercold)
Auras Known
Minor (+2): Master of Tactics, Motivate Dexterity, Strengthen Resistance
Major (+1): Motivate Urgency, Resilient Troops
------------------------------------------------
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14
Special Qualities: ACF (Enhanced Undead), Summon Familiar
Feats: Combat Casting, Energy Substitution (Cold), Improved Initiative, Lord of the Uttercold, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
Skills: Concentration +7 (+4 while on defensive, grappled, or pinned), Diplomacy +13, Knowledge (History) +10, Knowledge (Arcana) +10, Knowledge (The Planes) +11, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +13
Prohibited Schools: Enchantment, Illusion
Possessions: Crystalblade, dagger, tailored uniform (worth 400 gp).
Crystalblade: These remnants of the Third State are weapons (a longsword in this case) made out of a single piece of a clear crystalline substance. Extremely rare and valuable, they are nonmagical but function as +2 keen.
Spellbook:
Cantrips: All core non-enchantment, non-illusion cantrips
1st Level Spells: Alarm, Cause Fear, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Obscuring Mist, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield
2nd Level Spells: Arcane Lock, Command Undead, Darkness, Darkvision, Knock, Obscure Object, Protection from Arrows, Scare, See Invisibility, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Web
3rd Level Spells: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Darkvision, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Fly, Halt Undead, Haste, Ray of Exhaustion

Undead Cohort: Two troll skeletons equipped with masterwork glaives and masterwork full plate (reach 15', attack +9, damage 1d10+9, AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 19).
6 human warrior skeletons equipped with longswords, tower steel shields, and banded mail (attack -1, damage 1d8+1, AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 24).
5 human warrior skeletons equipped with glaives and banded mail (attack +1, damage 1d10+1, AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20).
1 human warrior skeleton used as scroll carrier, equipped with banded mail (AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 20).

Bodyguard: Erik Theosonne is accompanied at all times by his long-suffering personal bodyguard, manservant, and aide Ivan, a Ftr-2/Rog-4. Ivan is an employee of the Theosonne estate, not of the Eternal Legion, a long-suffering, wisecracking henchman well aware of his employer's faults, but who is also quite willing to stick a poisoned knife in someone's back if Erik tells him to.

ENTRY TESTS
The candidate is first taken to one of the vaults of uncontrolled undead at Fort Winter and issued a wand of command undead with ten charges. This group of undead will serve as their military unit and primary tool in the ensuing tests. The vault holds 50 human warrior zombies and 50 human warrior skeletons, each armed with chainmail and a variety of shields and melee weapons; the candidate can pick whatever mix of forces he or she prefers, including using his own spells to take more than the wand would allow. There is an opportunity between each test to cast buffing and other spells, but they are not allowed to rest or replenish their forces from the vault. Outside interference, such as the casting of buffing spells, is not permitted, but candidates may use scrolls, wands, and any other magic items they care to bring.
Although the specific challenges are kept at least nominally secret, the Legion does not conceal the other facts, so thoughtful characters can make or purchase useful scrolls or other magical items beforehand. Knowledge checks or a few bribes can give at least a rough outline of what's in store.
The first test is an assault on a small fortress, about 40 feet by 40 feet, manned by six condemned criminals (treat as 2 rogue-1s and 4 commoner-1s). The player's objective is to seize the fortress; whether the criminals survive or die is immaterial. The criminals have been given slings, spears, and heavy maces and promised their freedom if they manage to kill the player character or force them from the field. The fortress's position gives them a clear shot at anyone who approaches, although there are two patches of cover due to hummocks, one 100' from the fortress walls and one 200' from the walls. The walls are 10' tall and scaleable but difficult, especially with those inside shooting at you the whole time; there are short battlements that do not prevent line of sight to those inside but do give some cover. The expectation of the test organizers is that the caster will sprint for the hummock closest to the fortress, surrounding themselves with skeletons to provide cover, then use scare or other spells to neutralize the fortress's occupants. Protection from arrows is also an option. A victorious player characer can take the weapons and equipment of the criminals, or even animate their bodies if they have the spells, but the test organizers will not suggest it if they don't ask.
The second test takes place on a more varied terrain, with a series of bumps in the ground, trees, and other vegetation providing cover. Four groups of six uncontrolled skeletons and four of zombies are scattered throughout the field, in positions that are not visible from the player character's starting point. The player character's object is to cross to the other side of the field.
In the third test, three candidates are brought together, along with their remaining forces, and expected to work together. One will be picked at random to be in command (DM's choice whether or not it's the player). Their objective is to assault and clear out a warren of tunnels holding ten zombies and eight skeletons.
The three entry tests are intended to test the candidate's arcane powers, tactical skills, and ability to function in a cohesive unit. The Eternal Legion is generally not just looking for people who fulfill the nominal objectives of the various tests – for example, someone who just batters their way through the first test, but still manages to “win” even if they lose most of their unit, will be marked as a fail. Of course, at the same time a demonstration of sufficient ability in one area may make up for failings in another.
If they pass, the candidates are treated to a banquet in their honor and sign a contract swearing in the name of Morddoth to serve the Eternal Legion for a period not to exceed ten thousand years. Senior Marshals present will point out very firmly that this is not a joke.

MORDDOTH
Intermediate Deity

{table]Symbol:|A purple rune on a black background

Home Plane:|Unknown

Alignment:|Neutral Evil

Portfolio:|Entropy, Cold, Darkness and Shadow, Death, Ghouls and other Undead, Necromancy

Clergy Alignments:|Any non-good

Domains:|Cold, Darkness, Death, Evil, Undeath

Favored Weapon:|Ray[/table]

Morddoth resembles in form a pillar or vortex of inky shadow that seems to suck in heat and light. It is worshipped by necromancers, ghouls, and other forms of undead, and has no mass following.
Morddoth, and its priesthood, demand sacrifices of the dead. It does not care from whence the dead come; it does not require blood to be spilled on its altar. Although a deity of darkness and evil, Morddoth is generally not portrayed as actively malevolent; so long as they receive their due tithe and are not disturbed in their rituals, Morddoth's priesthood cares nothing for what those outside the temple do.
The origin of Morddoth is uncertain. The tale most commonly told among scholars is that it is a being from the end of time, after the stars have burnt down to ash and all other life has ceased, formed out of the chaos of the vortex at the end of all things. Morddoth does not actually exist in our time, except as it is summoned through the eons by its priests, and sacrifices to it are sent to it through the fabric of time itself. The story comes from an untitled tome by an anonymous scholar who claimed to have heard it from a renegade ghoulish priest of Morddoth, but its veracity is uncertain, and Morddoth's followers denounce it is the worst form of fiction. If they do know the truth, they do not share it with outsiders.
Morddoth has no allies among the other deities. However, wizards who follow it often also venerate Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep.

Dogma
Death comes to all things, and in death all things go to Morddoth. Morddoth is the culmination of all entropy, of the point where all things fail and falter. Morddoth does not care if one fights against this fate, for no one can achieve true victory against it.

Clergy and Temples
Morddoth's only clerics are ghouls. Although he has human followers, they consist almost solely of necromancers and other wizards who seek to understand the mysteries of death and entropy. When in public, Morddoth's priests wear long robes of purple, silver masks shaped like skulls, and gloves to conceal their species.

FORT WINTER
Fort Winter is the Legion's main base, located close to the southeastern edge of the Steel Waste. Thanks to its distance from Cosmopolis and general reputation, no other human settlement exists within 30 miles. Above ground, the fort resembles a normal stone fortress made of basalt, surrounded out to a wide distance by parade grounds, exercise fields, and the like. Most of the fortress is actually underground, in a series of tunnels and chambers extending at least 300' below the earth. The tunnels have been steadily added to for the last 700 years, and no Marshal knows their full extent.
Fort Winter was founded 82 years after the founding of the Eternal Legion and 77 years after the founding of the Fourth State, as the Legion had grown to be too big for its original camp site, while the expanding sprawl of Cosmopolis was coming close to putting the Legion in technical violation of its code. It has remained the headquarters of the Legion ever since.
The Fort serves as a training ground, administrative and logistical center, and reserve garrison. Dozens of sealed vaults hold uncontrolled skeletons and zombies – usually 100 to a vault. Combat losses can thus be almost instantaneously made up by means of wands of command undead. One of the regular duties of those Marshals able to cast animate dead is to add to the stocks. Other vaults hold stocks of military supplies – including, according to rumor, powerful magical items that have been sequestered here against future need. Beneath the vaults lie the crypts of fallen Marshals, going all the way back to Johan the Black himself.
Besides the Legion, Fort Winter also houses the only temple to Morddoth inside the borders of the Fourth State, located below even the vaults. The ghoul clerics of Morddoth almost never visit the surface, spending most of their lives below ground. Their existence is a secret, although a poorly kept one (DC 20 on a relevant knowledge check). The ghouls are close allies of the Eternal Legion, who keep them supplied with the sustenance they need and participate in their rites.
Room and board at Fort Winter is free to any Marshal of the Eternal Legion and their servants. The food and comforts are somewhat spartan by aristocratic standards but otherwise perfectly acceptable.

Edits
Edit 1: Moved Tactical Intelligence from 5th to 1st level and added Train Undead I and II.
Edit 2: Minor changes to Train Undead, minor corrections to sample NPC.

asnys
2013-07-01, 11:25 AM
Bumpity bump.

JBPuffin
2013-07-01, 05:11 PM
That's quite good, asnys. I haven't played enough 3.5 to be much help balance-wise, so I'm not sure how the aura and spellcasting progressions continuing make up for the seemingly lacking class features. Still, the class is quite thematic, and if for no other reason than because I'd love a reason of undead running around I'd let a player who took this class not have to serve Cosmopolis or the Fourth State; free agents, after all, would be simply hilarious to throw at the PCs or, if a PC, the campaign world itself.

Is the Fourth State very expansionistic? If so, the rest of the State might send anyone eligible to Fort Winter to learn how to do this; a proper army, with all the soldiers being undead? That would be so awesome to have as a general, and the Emperor Fourth State's President would be very happy.

Also, couldn't a Dragon Shaman qualify for this? That would be fun...

Xefas
2013-07-01, 05:48 PM
Alright, first of all: super cool flavor and history going on here. Very awesome; I highly approve. Mechanically, I have a few suggestions.

1) Tactical Intelligence isn't a good 5th level ability. It's a good ability, don't get me wrong. But it's a small, static, convenience sort of thing. I feel like it should go at 1st level. Even with the other abilities there, I don't think it'll be overpowered.

2) Craft Wand of Command Undead is really specific. Have you thought about maybe extending it to a few other thematic, low level spells? I've never played a Necromancy-focused character, so none come to mind off the top of my head, but it's something to think about.

3) As it is, 2nd and 4th level are a little empty. Maybe grant bonus feats, drawn from a thematic list? For instance, stuff like the Corpsecrafter line of feats, Undead Leadership, Tomb-Tainted Soul, maybe even stuff like Daunting Presence, Dreadful Wrath, and Imperious Command.

4) Combat Casting seems like a pretty lame feat-tax. Maybe consider replacing it with some ranks in Knowledge (Religion), since that covers undead, as well as the fact that the class has a religious component.

5) The class is begging for some really awesome capstone ability at level 5 (especially if you move Tactical Intelligence, but even without doing so). I'm thinking something that lets you sacrifice prepared spells (or daily uses, if you're spontaneous) to make the undead within your auras go into a killing frenzy for a short period of time. Dunno if that's the most appropriate, though.

asnys
2013-07-01, 06:09 PM
That's quite good, asnys.

Thank you. :smallsmile:


I haven't played enough 3.5 to be much help balance-wise, so I'm not sure how the aura and spellcasting progressions continuing make up for the seemingly lacking class features. Still, the class is quite thematic, and if for no other reason than because I'd love a reason of undead running around I'd let a player who took this class not have to serve Cosmopolis or the Fourth State; free agents, after all, would be simply hilarious to throw at the PCs or, if a PC, the campaign world itself.

Going rogue is intended to be an extremely viable option. Which is why I specified that they don't lose their powers if they break the code of conduct.


Is the Fourth State very expansionistic? If so, the rest of the State might send anyone eligible to Fort Winter to learn how to do this; a proper army, with all the soldiers being undead? That would be so awesome to have as a general, and the Emperor Fourth State's President would be very happy.

The Fourth State is in that awkward position where they're ideologically committed to conquering the world to bring back the technomagic transhumanist society of the First through Third States, but where they hit the natural limits on their expansion a few decades ago because they, ya know, don't actually have that much technomagic. Trying to drastically expand the ranks of the Eternal Legion and use them in an offensive role hasn't happened yet, because a) until relatively recently the regular army's been more than enough, b) the Legion's leaders do not like the idea (they're a bit tradition-bound), and c) their current charter gives them enough operational autonomy to fight off attempts by the political leadership to force them. But the Fourth State is becoming increasingly politically unstable, and the Legion's mandate might well change in the near future.

And it's Tyrant, not President. :smallbiggrin:


Also, couldn't a Dragon Shaman qualify for this? That would be fun...

I'm afraid I don't have that book, so I don't know. :smallredface:

asnys
2013-07-01, 06:18 PM
Alright, first of all: super cool flavor and history going on here. Very awesome; I highly approve.

Thank you. :smallsmile:


Mechanically, I have a few suggestions.

1) Tactical Intelligence isn't a good 5th level ability. It's a good ability, don't get me wrong. But it's a small, static, convenience sort of thing. I feel like it should go at 1st level. Even with the other abilities there, I don't think it'll be overpowered.

Really? I was a little worried about people dipping the class as part of some horrible diplomancer build, which is the only other use I've seen the Marshal base class put to.


2) Craft Wand of Command Undead is really specific. Have you thought about maybe extending it to a few other thematic, low level spells? I've never played a Necromancy-focused character, so none come to mind off the top of my head, but it's something to think about.

I really only stuck that in to explain where they got the hundreds of wands of command undead they have stockpiled under Fort Winter so they can control all those undead they have sealed away. I'd be a little surprised if a player actually used it.


3) As it is, 2nd and 4th level are a little empty. Maybe grant bonus feats, drawn from a thematic list? For instance, stuff like the Corpsecrafter line of feats, Undead Leadership, Tomb-Tainted Soul, maybe even stuff like Daunting Presence, Dreadful Wrath, and Imperious Command.

They do get new auras at 2nd and 4th, which I was figuring would be enough to avoid a dead level. Maybe I went a little too far in trying to make sure it wasn't overpowered, though. :smallredface:


4) Combat Casting seems like a pretty lame feat-tax. Maybe consider replacing it with some ranks in Knowledge (Religion), since that covers undead, as well as the fact that the class has a religious component.

5) The class is begging for some really awesome capstone ability at level 5 (especially if you move Tactical Intelligence, but even without doing so). I'm thinking something that lets you sacrifice prepared spells (or daily uses, if you're spontaneous) to make the undead within your auras go into a killing frenzy for a short period of time. Dunno if that's the most appropriate, though.

I'd like to give them something tactical rather than magical. Hmmm, let me think about this...

asnys
2013-07-02, 10:22 PM
I made some edits: moving Tactical Intelligence to 1st level and adding a new ability, Train Undead, allowing you to give unintelligent undead the benefit of combat feats you know, one feat at 2nd level and two at 5th level. That doesn't seem overpowered to me, since they still have to meet the prereqs, but there are a lot of books I don't own so I'd appreciate it if anyone more familiar with the d20 corpus could give their opinion. I don't think that's a great capstone but I haven't thought of anything better yet - given the class's flavor, I'd want to give them something tactical and non-magical for the capstone instead of supernatural...

Thanks for everyone's help!

Blackhawk748
2013-07-20, 02:13 PM
Well as a capstone you could always give them 1/day animate dead as a SLA, but thats pretty magical, or you could give them the ability to Critical Hit undead because they've spent so much time around them.

Anyway i think im sensing a Dread Necromancer/Marshal in my future........

asnys
2013-07-21, 02:37 PM
Well as a capstone you could always give them 1/day animate dead as a SLA, but thats pretty magical, or you could give them the ability to Critical Hit undead because they've spent so much time around them.

I'm starting to think that, with some minor tweaking, Train Undead II may actually be a good enough capstone. I made a minor modification that you can treat their Intelligence as 13 for the purpose of prerequisites, and that they are also proficient with any weapons, armor, and shields that you're proficient with. Giving your undead minions Improved Trip or Improved Disarm seems like it would be, at the least, a lot of fun.


Anyway i think im sensing a Dread Necromancer/Marshal in my future........

If you do, let me know how it goes - I'd love to incorporate some feedback from actual play into the class. :smallsmile: