sirpercival
2014-06-14, 04:41 AM
First of all, not enough love for the big bads. Here's a minion. This is kind of half ur-priest, and half a combination of all those PrCs in the BoVD.
THRAWN
Image! (http://features.cgsociety.org/newgallerycrits/g46/495746/495746_1338467633_large.jpg)
"To practice black magic you have to violate every principle of science, decency, and intelligence. You must be obsessed with an insane idea of the importance of the petty object of your wretched and selfish desires." - Aleister Crowley
The undisputed rulers of the lower planes are the Demon Lords and Princes of Hell, mighty beings of pure evil about whom much lore has been written. Most of these doughty beings are not deities in their own right; nevertheless, each has a multitude of disciples and worshippers who carry out varied misdeeds on their behalf. Chief among these minions is the Thrawn, a depraved and twisted mind who wields the borrowed power of her vile master in a way similar to the clerics of true deities.
Adventures: A Thrawn adventures to further the agenda of her chosen patron, be it wanton destruction, subtle manipulation, or spreading corruption.
Characteristics: A Thrawn is primarily a divine spellcaster, with additional abilities based on her chosen patron.
Alignment: Almost every Thrawn is evil, though a few might be neutral. Like a cleric, a Thrawn's alignment must be within one step of her chosen patron's.
Religion: A Thrawn's religion would more accurately be called a cult (or possibly cabal).
Background: To become a Thrawn, a character must dedicate herself to the service of her chosen patron in a profane ritual specific to that patron's idiom. Suffice to say that it is generally very unpleasant to everyone involved.
Races: Humans are the most likely to engage in the sort of insanity qnd ambition necessary to be drawn to the lifestyle of the Thrawn; in addition, lower-planar denizens with class levels find Thrawn an attractive option.
Other Classes: Generally, only evil creatures will work with a Thrawn willingly.
Role: A Thrawn is a divine spellcaster, with all the versatility and power that entails, and a variety of other abilities depending on her chosen patron.
Adaptation: A Thrawn could be altered to fit the cosmology of any universe, with appropriate changes to the patronage abilities. In a science fiction game, a Thrawn could be the thrall of a malignant alien species.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Thrawns have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Cha = Wis > Con > Str = Dex = Int
Alignment: Any, but must be within one step of patron alignment
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As cleric
Starting Gold: As cleric
Class Skills
The Thrawn's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). In addition, a Thrawn's patron might grant her additional class skills, as described below.
Skill Points at First Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier
Table: The Thrawn
SavesSpells Per Day
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial0th1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th 8th9th
1st+0+0+0+2Patronage (supplicant), Wicked Craw +142————————
2nd+1+0+0+3Patronage (thrall)53————————
3rd+2+1+1+3Cult of Lies54————————
4th+3+1+1+4Test of Loyalty552———————
5th+3+1+1+4Patronage (initiate)553———————
6th+4+2+2+5Brutal Ecstasy5542——————
7th+5+2+2+5Cult of Fear5553——————
8th+6/+1+2+2+6Patronage (acolyte)55542—————
9th+6/+1+3+3+6Wicked Craw +255553—————
10th+7/+2+3+3+7Test of Loyalty555542————
11th+8/+3+3+3+7Cult of Pain, Patronage (cultist)555553————
12th+9/+4+4+4+8Corruption from Within5555542———
13th+9/+4+4+4+8Improved Brutal Ecstasy5555553———
14th+10/+5+4+4+9Patronage (master)55555542——
15th+11/+6/+1+5+5+9Cult of Death55555553——
16th+12/+7/+2+5+5+10Test of Loyalty555555542—
17th+12/+7/+2+5+5+10Patronage (defiler)555555553—
18th+13/+8/+3+6+6+11Wicked Craw +35555555542
19th+14/+9/+4+6+6+11Cult of Truth5555555553
20th+15/+10/+5+6+6+12Patronage (voice)5555555555
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Thrawn.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Thrawns are proficient with simple weapons, light and medium armor, and with shields. In addition, a Thrawn's patron might grant her additional proficiencies, as described below.
Spells: A Thrawn casts divine spells, which are drawn from the cleric list (the Thrawn's patron may grant her additional spells, as described below). Unlike a cleric, a Thrawn may cast spells of any alignment without restriction; however, her caster level is 2 lower when casting Good-aligned spells (if the Thrawn's caster level for a Good-aligned spell would be insufficient to cast spells of that level, she cannot cast the spell). A Thrawn must choose and prepare spells in advance (see below).
To prepare or cast a spell, a Thrawn must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Thrawn's spell is 10 + the spell level + the Thrawn's Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Thrawn can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score.
A Thrawn communes with her patron for her spells. The Thrawn's patron determines the time of day during which she must spend 1 hour meditating to regain her allotment of spells when her service is accepted; this may be different for each Thrawn and each patron. A Thrawn may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily communion.
Bonus Languages: A Thrawn's bonus language options always include Abyssal and Infernal in addition to the bonus languages available to her because of her race.
Patronage: Upon entering this class, a character chooses a patron from among the various powerful Lower-Planar denizens. The Thrawn is an agent of her patron's interests and plots, either in the mortal world or elsewhere among the Outer Planes. At each level indicated on the table above, a Thrawn's service to her patron grants her new abilities in exchange. See the individual Patron descriptions below for details. At 1st level, the Thrawn gains the Supplicant patronage ability; she gains the Thrall, Initiate, Acolyte, Cultist, Defiler, Master, and Voice abilities at 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th levels, respectively.
While there are many entities who might seek to secure the services of one or more Thrawns, only the most powerful and influential beings have the wherewithal to grant a Thrawn the necessary power in exchange. These few in the standard D&D Cosmology are described below; however, more possible patrons may be added to the list at the DM's discretion.
Wicked Craw (Su): A Thrawn knows that the best way to dispose of an enemy's power is to consume it, drawing in the essence of that power and making it her own. Whenever a Thrawn succeeds on a save against a spell cast by an enemy, she may choose to increase the save DC of a single spell that she casts within the next minute by +1. This bonus stacks with Spell Focus and similar effects. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack; if the Thrawn saves against another spell before she uses the DC increase, the previous bonus is lost.
Starting at 9th level, if the spell against which the Thrawn saved is at least 4th level, the bonus from this ability is +2 instead of +1. At 18th level, the bonus becomes +3 as long the spell against which she saves is at least 7th level.
Cult of Lies (Su): At 3rd level, a Thrawn has been steeped in the lies and deceit of her trade, to the point that they become almost second nature. She may expend a prepared spell as a swift action to gain an insight bonus to a single Bluff check equal to four times the level of the expended spell (a 0th-level spell grants a +2 bonus).
Test of Loyalty: Upon reaching 4th level, and every 6 levels after, a Thrawn's patron presents her with a test of her loyalty to its vile cause. This effect is similar to a lesser geas, with the following changes: there is no Hit Dice limit, the effect does not allow a save and is not subject to Spell Resistance, and it does not have a maximum duration, instead remaining until discharged.
The particular service required depends on the Thrawn's patron, and is subject to the DM's discretion, with guidance from the Patron descriptions below; the DM and player are encouraged to collaborate on constructing a task which satisfies the requirements. Patrons do not require tasks which are beyond the skills of a given Thrawn.
The Thrawn is aware of the details of the task laid upon her by her patron, and when the task is complete, she experiences a rush of euphoria for serving her patron, granting her a +2 morale bonus to all d20 rolls for 24 hours; in addition, the Thrawn can choose to gain a +5 morale bonus to a single d20 roll at any time until she receives her next Test of Loyalty.
A Test of Loyalty can be removed via the normal means for a lesser geas; however, doing so causes the Thrawn some discomfort, and she suffers a -3 morale penalty to all d20 rolls for 24 hours afterward.
Brutal Ecstasy (Ex): There's nothing quite like the unrighteous execution of an enemy to one's cause, and a Thrawn revels in destroying her patron's opponents with extreme prejudice. A Thrawn of 6th level or higher may perform a coup de grace against a helpless opponent as a standard action, provided that at least one component of the opponent's alignment is opposed to her patron's alignment. For example, a Thrawn of Baphomet (CE) could use this ability against an opponent who is Lawful or Good.
If the Thrawn's patron has a Neutral alignment component, she may use this ability on Neutral creatures on her patron's non-Neutral axis (e.g., a Thrawn with a NE patron could target Good or Neutral creatures on the moral axis, while a CN patron would allow targets who were Lawful or Neutral on the ethical axis). A Thrawn with a TN patron may target CE, CG, LE, or LG creatures with this ability.
Whenever the Thrawn's coup de grace successfully kills the opponent, she takes a vicious pleasure in the act, and gains a +2 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls and skill checks for the remainder of the encounter. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack.
Cult of Fear (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Thrawn recognizes that fear can be a powerful tool, manipulating friend and foe alike to her plans. The Thrawn can spontaneously convert a prepared Thrawn spell of 3rd level or higher into the fear spell, as per the Cleric's "Spontaneous Casting" class feature.
Cult of Pain (Su): Pain is a weapon when used against others, but it is also a tool when used on oneself. At 11th level, a Thrawn feeds on her own pain, using it to teach herself about her enemies' strengths and weaknesses. Whenever a Thrawn takes damage from an enemy, she gains a +1 bonus to Spell Penetration checks against that creature per 10 points of damage taken (minimum +1) until the end of her next turn.
Corruption from Within (Su): Starting at 12th level, a Thrawn learns to use her enemies' alliances and preconceptions against them. Once per day, when casting a single-target spell which successfully affects an enemy, she may expend a second prepared spell of the same level to have the spell she casts affect all of the target's allies within 10 feet per caster level. If the spell allows a save or Spell Resistance, the affected targets (other than the original target) gain a +5 bonus to their saves and/or increase their Spell Resistance against the spell by +5.
Improved Brutal Ecstasy (Ex): Upon reaching 13th level, a Thrawn may use her Brutal Ecstasy ability as a swift action instead of a standard action.
Cult of Death (Su): A Thrawn of 15th level or higher has realized that death will bring her closer to her patron, and is not to be feared as an end itself; rather, the regret is that her death would prevent her from achieving her patron's goals. To that effect, whenever the Thrawn would be dropped below 0 hit points, she may sacrifice a prepared spell as an immediate action to instantly heal 10 hit points times the level of the sacrificed spell.
However, death will not be cheated for long, and even Thrawns must eventually meet their patrons first-hand. Each time after the first in the same day that a Thrawn uses this ability, she heals two fewer hit points per sacrificed spell level (e.g., 8 per level the second time, 6 per level the third, etc.).
Cult of Truth (Su): At 19th level, a Thrawn has learned to see past deception to the harsh truths no one else will face. She may spontaneously convert a prepared Thrawn spell of 6th level or higher into the true seeing spell, as per the Cleric's Spontaneous Casting class feature.
THRAWN
Image! (http://features.cgsociety.org/newgallerycrits/g46/495746/495746_1338467633_large.jpg)
"To practice black magic you have to violate every principle of science, decency, and intelligence. You must be obsessed with an insane idea of the importance of the petty object of your wretched and selfish desires." - Aleister Crowley
The undisputed rulers of the lower planes are the Demon Lords and Princes of Hell, mighty beings of pure evil about whom much lore has been written. Most of these doughty beings are not deities in their own right; nevertheless, each has a multitude of disciples and worshippers who carry out varied misdeeds on their behalf. Chief among these minions is the Thrawn, a depraved and twisted mind who wields the borrowed power of her vile master in a way similar to the clerics of true deities.
Adventures: A Thrawn adventures to further the agenda of her chosen patron, be it wanton destruction, subtle manipulation, or spreading corruption.
Characteristics: A Thrawn is primarily a divine spellcaster, with additional abilities based on her chosen patron.
Alignment: Almost every Thrawn is evil, though a few might be neutral. Like a cleric, a Thrawn's alignment must be within one step of her chosen patron's.
Religion: A Thrawn's religion would more accurately be called a cult (or possibly cabal).
Background: To become a Thrawn, a character must dedicate herself to the service of her chosen patron in a profane ritual specific to that patron's idiom. Suffice to say that it is generally very unpleasant to everyone involved.
Races: Humans are the most likely to engage in the sort of insanity qnd ambition necessary to be drawn to the lifestyle of the Thrawn; in addition, lower-planar denizens with class levels find Thrawn an attractive option.
Other Classes: Generally, only evil creatures will work with a Thrawn willingly.
Role: A Thrawn is a divine spellcaster, with all the versatility and power that entails, and a variety of other abilities depending on her chosen patron.
Adaptation: A Thrawn could be altered to fit the cosmology of any universe, with appropriate changes to the patronage abilities. In a science fiction game, a Thrawn could be the thrall of a malignant alien species.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Thrawns have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Cha = Wis > Con > Str = Dex = Int
Alignment: Any, but must be within one step of patron alignment
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As cleric
Starting Gold: As cleric
Class Skills
The Thrawn's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). In addition, a Thrawn's patron might grant her additional class skills, as described below.
Skill Points at First Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier
Table: The Thrawn
SavesSpells Per Day
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial0th1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th 8th9th
1st+0+0+0+2Patronage (supplicant), Wicked Craw +142————————
2nd+1+0+0+3Patronage (thrall)53————————
3rd+2+1+1+3Cult of Lies54————————
4th+3+1+1+4Test of Loyalty552———————
5th+3+1+1+4Patronage (initiate)553———————
6th+4+2+2+5Brutal Ecstasy5542——————
7th+5+2+2+5Cult of Fear5553——————
8th+6/+1+2+2+6Patronage (acolyte)55542—————
9th+6/+1+3+3+6Wicked Craw +255553—————
10th+7/+2+3+3+7Test of Loyalty555542————
11th+8/+3+3+3+7Cult of Pain, Patronage (cultist)555553————
12th+9/+4+4+4+8Corruption from Within5555542———
13th+9/+4+4+4+8Improved Brutal Ecstasy5555553———
14th+10/+5+4+4+9Patronage (master)55555542——
15th+11/+6/+1+5+5+9Cult of Death55555553——
16th+12/+7/+2+5+5+10Test of Loyalty555555542—
17th+12/+7/+2+5+5+10Patronage (defiler)555555553—
18th+13/+8/+3+6+6+11Wicked Craw +35555555542
19th+14/+9/+4+6+6+11Cult of Truth5555555553
20th+15/+10/+5+6+6+12Patronage (voice)5555555555
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Thrawn.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Thrawns are proficient with simple weapons, light and medium armor, and with shields. In addition, a Thrawn's patron might grant her additional proficiencies, as described below.
Spells: A Thrawn casts divine spells, which are drawn from the cleric list (the Thrawn's patron may grant her additional spells, as described below). Unlike a cleric, a Thrawn may cast spells of any alignment without restriction; however, her caster level is 2 lower when casting Good-aligned spells (if the Thrawn's caster level for a Good-aligned spell would be insufficient to cast spells of that level, she cannot cast the spell). A Thrawn must choose and prepare spells in advance (see below).
To prepare or cast a spell, a Thrawn must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Thrawn's spell is 10 + the spell level + the Thrawn's Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a Thrawn can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score.
A Thrawn communes with her patron for her spells. The Thrawn's patron determines the time of day during which she must spend 1 hour meditating to regain her allotment of spells when her service is accepted; this may be different for each Thrawn and each patron. A Thrawn may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily communion.
Bonus Languages: A Thrawn's bonus language options always include Abyssal and Infernal in addition to the bonus languages available to her because of her race.
Patronage: Upon entering this class, a character chooses a patron from among the various powerful Lower-Planar denizens. The Thrawn is an agent of her patron's interests and plots, either in the mortal world or elsewhere among the Outer Planes. At each level indicated on the table above, a Thrawn's service to her patron grants her new abilities in exchange. See the individual Patron descriptions below for details. At 1st level, the Thrawn gains the Supplicant patronage ability; she gains the Thrall, Initiate, Acolyte, Cultist, Defiler, Master, and Voice abilities at 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th levels, respectively.
While there are many entities who might seek to secure the services of one or more Thrawns, only the most powerful and influential beings have the wherewithal to grant a Thrawn the necessary power in exchange. These few in the standard D&D Cosmology are described below; however, more possible patrons may be added to the list at the DM's discretion.
Wicked Craw (Su): A Thrawn knows that the best way to dispose of an enemy's power is to consume it, drawing in the essence of that power and making it her own. Whenever a Thrawn succeeds on a save against a spell cast by an enemy, she may choose to increase the save DC of a single spell that she casts within the next minute by +1. This bonus stacks with Spell Focus and similar effects. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack; if the Thrawn saves against another spell before she uses the DC increase, the previous bonus is lost.
Starting at 9th level, if the spell against which the Thrawn saved is at least 4th level, the bonus from this ability is +2 instead of +1. At 18th level, the bonus becomes +3 as long the spell against which she saves is at least 7th level.
Cult of Lies (Su): At 3rd level, a Thrawn has been steeped in the lies and deceit of her trade, to the point that they become almost second nature. She may expend a prepared spell as a swift action to gain an insight bonus to a single Bluff check equal to four times the level of the expended spell (a 0th-level spell grants a +2 bonus).
Test of Loyalty: Upon reaching 4th level, and every 6 levels after, a Thrawn's patron presents her with a test of her loyalty to its vile cause. This effect is similar to a lesser geas, with the following changes: there is no Hit Dice limit, the effect does not allow a save and is not subject to Spell Resistance, and it does not have a maximum duration, instead remaining until discharged.
The particular service required depends on the Thrawn's patron, and is subject to the DM's discretion, with guidance from the Patron descriptions below; the DM and player are encouraged to collaborate on constructing a task which satisfies the requirements. Patrons do not require tasks which are beyond the skills of a given Thrawn.
The Thrawn is aware of the details of the task laid upon her by her patron, and when the task is complete, she experiences a rush of euphoria for serving her patron, granting her a +2 morale bonus to all d20 rolls for 24 hours; in addition, the Thrawn can choose to gain a +5 morale bonus to a single d20 roll at any time until she receives her next Test of Loyalty.
A Test of Loyalty can be removed via the normal means for a lesser geas; however, doing so causes the Thrawn some discomfort, and she suffers a -3 morale penalty to all d20 rolls for 24 hours afterward.
Brutal Ecstasy (Ex): There's nothing quite like the unrighteous execution of an enemy to one's cause, and a Thrawn revels in destroying her patron's opponents with extreme prejudice. A Thrawn of 6th level or higher may perform a coup de grace against a helpless opponent as a standard action, provided that at least one component of the opponent's alignment is opposed to her patron's alignment. For example, a Thrawn of Baphomet (CE) could use this ability against an opponent who is Lawful or Good.
If the Thrawn's patron has a Neutral alignment component, she may use this ability on Neutral creatures on her patron's non-Neutral axis (e.g., a Thrawn with a NE patron could target Good or Neutral creatures on the moral axis, while a CN patron would allow targets who were Lawful or Neutral on the ethical axis). A Thrawn with a TN patron may target CE, CG, LE, or LG creatures with this ability.
Whenever the Thrawn's coup de grace successfully kills the opponent, she takes a vicious pleasure in the act, and gains a +2 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls and skill checks for the remainder of the encounter. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack.
Cult of Fear (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Thrawn recognizes that fear can be a powerful tool, manipulating friend and foe alike to her plans. The Thrawn can spontaneously convert a prepared Thrawn spell of 3rd level or higher into the fear spell, as per the Cleric's "Spontaneous Casting" class feature.
Cult of Pain (Su): Pain is a weapon when used against others, but it is also a tool when used on oneself. At 11th level, a Thrawn feeds on her own pain, using it to teach herself about her enemies' strengths and weaknesses. Whenever a Thrawn takes damage from an enemy, she gains a +1 bonus to Spell Penetration checks against that creature per 10 points of damage taken (minimum +1) until the end of her next turn.
Corruption from Within (Su): Starting at 12th level, a Thrawn learns to use her enemies' alliances and preconceptions against them. Once per day, when casting a single-target spell which successfully affects an enemy, she may expend a second prepared spell of the same level to have the spell she casts affect all of the target's allies within 10 feet per caster level. If the spell allows a save or Spell Resistance, the affected targets (other than the original target) gain a +5 bonus to their saves and/or increase their Spell Resistance against the spell by +5.
Improved Brutal Ecstasy (Ex): Upon reaching 13th level, a Thrawn may use her Brutal Ecstasy ability as a swift action instead of a standard action.
Cult of Death (Su): A Thrawn of 15th level or higher has realized that death will bring her closer to her patron, and is not to be feared as an end itself; rather, the regret is that her death would prevent her from achieving her patron's goals. To that effect, whenever the Thrawn would be dropped below 0 hit points, she may sacrifice a prepared spell as an immediate action to instantly heal 10 hit points times the level of the sacrificed spell.
However, death will not be cheated for long, and even Thrawns must eventually meet their patrons first-hand. Each time after the first in the same day that a Thrawn uses this ability, she heals two fewer hit points per sacrificed spell level (e.g., 8 per level the second time, 6 per level the third, etc.).
Cult of Truth (Su): At 19th level, a Thrawn has learned to see past deception to the harsh truths no one else will face. She may spontaneously convert a prepared Thrawn spell of 6th level or higher into the true seeing spell, as per the Cleric's Spontaneous Casting class feature.