PDA

View Full Version : warlocks warlocks everywhere, and not a PrC in sight



mabriss lethe
2006-12-19, 03:10 AM
I've been toying with a Warlock specific PrC for my game. It's all very vague at the present time. It just needs some fleshing out and debugging. Suggestions are welcome.

I'm a new poster, and as such, haven't had the opportunity to comb through the pages upon pages of archived threads. Links to similar PrC's will be a tremendous help.

The GF is asleep upstair so I'm not going to drag out all my books to double check some of this stuff. There may be more than a few errors. I'm working by my notoriously bad memory here.

(The PrC in a nutshell: A teaspoon of Archmage, a dash of Chameleon, garnished with a few flecks of Bard to taste)

Here's what I've come up with so far.
Wer Loga10 level prestige class

Reqs:
Alignment: Same as Warlock (any Evil/any Chaotic)
Spells: Must be able to cast invocations as a warlock
Base will save of +6
Feats: Weapon Focus(dagger) and one feat directly related to a warlock's magical abilities (item creation, spell penetration, combat casting, etc)
Skills: knowledge Arcana, spellcraft, and Use Magical device at 5 ranks
Special:Must posess a cold iron dagger, Must survive an Eldritch Duel against an opponent who is also meets this PrC's requirements.


Progression
Hit die: d6
Same BAB/Save progression as warlock (not getting too creative here, I know)
Class Skills: roughly the same, maybe swap out Disguise for something else
Full spellcasting progression
Special:The character must slay and consume a minimum of one warlock per level in an Eldritch duel to continue progression in this class. Warlock, in this case, means anyone who qualifies for this PrC. The Character gains additional power for every soul devoured in this fashion (maybe something like +2 HP and +1 to invocation save DCs...maybe I'll turn this into a chart of some sort) (there should be a cap to this, but I haven't figured it out yet.)

Level One:
Burden of the Soul Thief (ex): The Wer Loga has fought to the death in an Eldritch Duel for the privilege of power. The result is the loser's soul and memories are absorbed by the character. The character can pilfer his stolen lives for lost knowledge and power. This ability functions indentically to Bardic Knowledge, but the character is often plagued by disturbing dreams and unwanted intrusions from these memories at the DM's discretion.

Boon of the Soul Thief(ex):The Wer Loga gains a bonus feat at first level. This feat functions like the 2nd level bonus feat in the Chameleon PrC, with a few limitations. At the beginning of each day, the Wer Loga can choose a bonus feat that he meets the prereqs for. This feat must be some form of spell-like ability feat (like the ones found in Monster Manual and BoVD), a feat that one of his consumed souls knew in life, extra invocation(least), One of the Spell like Ability feats from Complete Arcane (example:Necropolis Born, etc). As the character consumes more souls he'll gain access to the feats of his fallen foes. As the character increases in level, he'll gain access to other feats as well(examples:at increased levels, Extra invocation will gain power to Lesser, then greater) This ability lasts for 24 hours

A soul's Sacrifice: At fifth level, the Wer Loga can plunder the magical essense of his stolen souls. In moments of despiration, the character can sacrifice one of his souls to give him a powerful, but short lived boost in magical power. The wer loga loses the bonus to HP and invocation Save DC's as well as access to that soul's feats and memories when this is done. The character's wer loga level is frozen until he replaces the soul. The wer loga must retain one stolen soul or he loses access to all class abilities until such time as he can challenge another and win in an Eldritch duel. I need to flesh out exactly what bonus this power grants and for how long.

Wellspring of The eternal: At 8th level, the characters aging slows to a crawl, while not immortal, the wer loga achieves a longevity and vitality to rival the gods themselves. Aging penalties no longer apply, and aging bonuses still accrue. however, the character ages at 1/4 the rate for his race.

Well of Darkness: At tenth level, the character gains another chameleon-like bonus feat. This one, however is limited to Extra Invocation. This special invocation can be of any power level, including dark.

Now here comes the Flavor
"Wer Loga", the old english root of the work "Warlock" means "traitor"

Warlocks bargain away a piece of their soul for power. Chances are likely that when they die, they won't be rewarded with wings and a harp for the deed. Just the opposite. Whoever they sold themselves to will come to collect and they'll probably get the infernal rewards they so richly deserve. The Wer Loga seek to cheat their fates. Some of them have found a way post postpone it indefinitely. Souls bound to a Wer Loga don't go on to that final judgement. They stay contained in a warlock's mortal flesh. Wer Loga bind souls to them in a ritual of combat and self sacrifice. This ritual is the Eldritch duel.

The Eldritch duel:
Ancient and mouldering tomes describe the duel in detail for would be Wer Loga. Two warlocks agree to the terms of the duel. They step into a circle wearing only the lightest of nonmagical armors and armed with an unenchanted cold iron dagger. Foreign magics interfere with the magic of the Duel and void its power. This includes the use of invocations. The two must fight using only mundane means. The fight continues until only one warlock is left alive. The victor consumes the soul of the slain and becomes a Wer Loga. These souls are only freed to continue thier journey when the Wer Loga dies. If a contestant is forced from the dueling circle, he forfeits the duel and falls dead, his essense stripped from him to complete the ritual. If another warlock duels the wer loga and wins, then the Wer Loga's entire horde of souls (including his own) is transferred to the victor. When a Wer Loga uses his fifth level power, A Soul's Sacrifice, the soul isn't freed. Instead, it suffers total dissolution. There will be no heaven or hell for these wretches, only oblivion. (one of the reasons that this power is used in only the most dire of circumstances)

Wer Loga are loathe to risk their lives in combat outside the duel. They know what awaits them if they fall in battle. They'll be sneaky and underhanded, running when they can, and killing as quickly as possible when they can't. In those situations, overkill isn't in their vocabulary.

Notes:
There are some things I want to edit out of this, now that I look at it. probably the hp/invocation bonus per soul. It has a good flavor, but could be pretty bent. The best way I can think to cap it as it stands will be to have the DM allow only limited access to potential duels. Warlocks don't exactly seem to be a dime a dozen in most game worlds. If they are more common in a game invironment, make some other requisite to the duel, like it has to be in a ritual area prepared by some ruling body of warlocks in order for the magic to take hold.

This is a lot longer than I intended. Sorry about that folks.
Danke.