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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class Servant of the Great Old Ones - Mask of Nyarlathotep (PrC)



Zaydos
2015-10-09, 11:42 AM
Mask of Nyarlathotep
Like with Disciple of Yog-Sothoth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448256-Servant-of-the-Great-Old-One-Disciple-of-Yog-Sothoth-%28PrC%29) this class is based as much on agglomerated pop culture Nyarlathotep with my own spin on the concept as Lovecraft’s Crawling Chaos. In fact it veers further from Lovecraft in my opinion than Disciple of Yog-Sothoth. It is meant to represent one of the many forms that a thrall of Nyarlathotep can take, emphasizing his “masks” as presented in Arkham Horror which are themselves an extension of his tendency to appear in a variety of forms. This mixes in self-mutilation themed body horror, and serial killer tropes, with abilities drawn from a few of Nyarlathoteps more famous forms (Lurker in the Darkness, the Dark Pharaoh, and just nebulous chaos) with abilities representing his ability to be anything. It does miss the Black Man though that form’s ability would be mechanically interchangeable with the Dark Pharaoh’s. It strives to be a versatile PrC with a definite role. Mask of the Dark Pharaoh allows you to fill a variety of roles with the spellcasting it grants you, and Mask of the Assumed Form gives you a substantially nerfed mini-shapechange which can allow you to pick up a variety of forms for raw power or utility, while other masks primarily aid you in your focused role of an assassin allowing you improved stealth and disguises, sneak attack, or the strange collection of defensive and movement abilities which is formless chaos.

A Mask of Nyarlathotep is an assassin sworn heart and soul to the Herald of the Outer Gods. They have performed ghastly rituals pledging their soul to this dark lord in exchange for power, and seen him in their dreams promising them reward. A Mask of Nyarlathotep is a being willing to mutilate themselves and others in the name of this power, creating a variety of masks from the faces of the slain to wear and assume their form and substance. They work to serve the dark will of their patron from the shadows, donning a thousand identities as they don their masks.


Becoming a Mask of Nyarlathotep

To become a Mask of Nyarlathotep one must show themselves to be an expert in the art of impersonation. They must also swear themselves to Nyarlathotep and mutilate their body in a sign of devotion. Finally they must have the knowledge of religious rituals and leatherworking to perform the Ritual of the Removed Mask, ritualistically skinning their own face and after making the flesh into a crude mask, burning it in offering to Nyarlathotep giving him their face and symbolically their soul.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Bluff 10 ranks, Disguise 10 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 5 ranks, Craft (leatherwork) 5 ranks.
Feats: Servant of the Old Ones, Willing Deformity
Special: Must find knowledge of the Ritual of the Removed Mask and perform it peeling the skin from your own face (traditionally with the aid of cure spells) and curing it to make it into a mask which you then burn in a fire made of rare reagents (costing 100 GP).

Class Skills: The class skills for a Mask of Nyarlathotep (and their key ability scores) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (wind instrument) (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill points per level: 6 + Int modifier.

Hit Dice: d6.


LevelBABFortRefWillSpecial
1+0+0+2+0Mask of Faultless Disguise, Removed Mask
2+1+0+3+0Deformity, Mask of the Dark Pharoah
3+2+1+3+1Mask of the Formless Chaos, Poison Use
4+3+1+4+1Deformity, Mask of the Dwelling Darkness
5+3+1+4+1Mask of the Assumed Form

The following are class features of the Mask of Nyarlathotep.

Weapons and Armor Proficiencies: A Mask of Nyarlathotep gains proficiency in Dagger, Hand Crossbow, Punching Dagger, Sap, and Sling if they did not already have proficiency in these weapons.

Mask of Faultless Disguise: A Mask of Nyarlathotep may skin a recently killed creature of their type and general body plan (same number and distribution of limbs) and make a mask from its face (costing 25 GP). When they make the mask the Mask of Nyarlathotep learns which skills the creature had 5 or more ranks in and which (if any) they had 13 or more ranks in, and may select one skill. That Mask of Nyarlathotep may then meld the mask into their own face by placing it against their flesh (or more correctly lack thereof) as a standard action. This transforms them to look exactly like the creature, granting the Mask a +20 on any disguise check to disguise themselves as that creature (this does not stack with the bonus from Disguise Self or Polymorph), in addition this disguise is so perfect and the Mask is wrapped in the creature’s soul when wearing the mask causing True Seeing to have a 20 times class level percent chance to fail to reveal their true form. In addition if magic is used to attempt to force you to tell the truth about your identity it registers the individual whom the mask was made from as your personal truth as to your identity. In addition if the creature had 5 or more ranks in the skill chosen when the mask was made the Mask of Nyarlathotep gains Skill Focus in that skill as a bonus feat while the mask is worn, if the creature had 13 or more ranks the Mask also gains Skill Mastery (may take 10 when rushed or threatened). While wearing the mask the Mask can ask the creature 1 question per class level each day as if with the Speak with Dead spell (except there is no need for an intact corpse). Removing this mask is a move action. A Mask of Nyarlathotep may only wear one “mask” granted by this class at a time, when worn the mask is fully melded with their body remaining worn through polymorph or alternate form effects and cannot be damaged separately. When not worn a mask made with this ability has hardness 15 plus class level and 20 hp per class level despite being relatively pliant “leather”.

Removed Mask (Su) You have removed your “mask” ritualistically cutting off your own face and burning it to the dark outer god whom you worship. Despite this you do not appear to the world to be as raw faced and deformed as one would suspect. When not wearing one of the masks granted by this class you are able to alter your appearance as if with Thousand Faces or a Changeling’s Minor Shapeshift ability, however you cannot appear as specific individuals with this ability instead always appearing as a non-descript member of the selected race. Your most distinct feature is how non-descript and easily forgettable you are making it hard for witnesses to give a useful description of you. In addition while in the state of the Removed Mask you become a faceless killer and gain Sneak Attack as a rogue of your Mask of Nyarlathotep level, DR equal to your Mask of Nyarlathotep level (not overcome by anything), and gain the Track feat as a bonus feat and are able to use either Search or Survival with a bonus to checks made to track creatures equal to twice your Mask of Nyarlathotep level.

Deformity: At 2nd and 4th level you further deform yourself in the name of your dark Outer God an gain a bonus Deformity feat.

Mask of the Dark Pharaoh (Su) At 2nd level a mask of a pharaonic death mask of black stone appears somewhere amongst your carried possessions, a gift from your master. This mask has hardness 20 and 20 hp per class level. Should it be destroyed it reforms 1d4 minutes later. Should it be lost, stolen, or otherwise separated from you then you may find it again simply by trying to find it amongst the possessions you carry. As a standard action you may don this mask fusing it into your face, turning your face into an obsidian pharaonic mask. When this mask is donned you gain the ability to cast spells as shown on the table below, these spells are cast as a sorcerer but are divine spells. You cast these spells spontaneously from your spells known and may change your spells known by engaging in 1 hour of prayer at midnight on the night of the new moon while wearing the Mask of the Dark Pharaoh. Once you have reached 5th level in this class your spells known and spells per day continue to slowly increase with character level. If a PrC would increase your spellcasting from this class beyond 5th then you gain the next character level tier (at effectively 6th level you would have 14th-16th casting, at 7th 18-20) to a maximum of 20th level at “8th level” if it is better than what is granted by your character level.
You may select your Mask of Nyarlathotep spells known from both the Cleric and Sorcerer spell lists.
Level
Spells per Day
Spells Known
01st2nd3rd4th5th6th 01st2nd3rd4th5th6th
2nd221---- 421----
3rd2221--- 5221---
4th32221-- 62221--
5th/12th-13th332221- 732221-
14th-16th3332221 8332221
17th-19th3333222 9433222
20th4333322 10443322

Mask of the Formless Chaos (Su) At 3rd level a mask of a strange alien material, reflective and lustrous black appears somewhere amongst your carried possessions, a gift from your master. This mask has hardness 20 and 20 hp per class level. Should it be destroyed it reforms 1d4 minutes later. Should it be lost, stolen, or otherwise separated from you then you may find it again simply by trying to find it amongst the possessions you carry. As a standard action you may don this mask fusing it into your face, turning your face into a shifting, lustrous black mass and causing your body to soon follow; removing the mask is a move action. When you wear this mask you gain the Amorphous quality gaining immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning effects. You are not subject to critical hits and, having no clear front or back, cannot be flanked. While in this state you gain the ability to split either or both of your hands into 2 tentacles (each). You may make natural tentacle attacks (primary by default) which deal 1d6 + Str damage and have +5 ft reach. You may not make a weapon attack with a weapon wielded in a hand and also use that hand’s tentacle attacks in the same full attack action. In this form your shifting form grants you a Swim speed equal to your land speed, and a Climb speed equal to ½ your land speed.
In addition while wearing this mask you may turn incorporeal as a standard action, returning to corporealness as a free action. You may remain incorporeal for a total of 10 rounds each day per Mask of Nyarlathotep level. While incorporeal you may use your tentacles to make incorporeal touch attacks dealing their normal damage but substituting either your Dexterity or Charisma for attack and damage.

Poison Use (Ex): A Mask of Nyarlathotep is trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

Mask of the Dwelling Darkness (Su): At 4th level a mask of a strange black material which seems to absolutely consume light which touches it appears somewhere amongst your carried possessions, a gift from your master. This mask has hardness 20 and 20 hp per class level. Should it be destroyed it reforms 1d4 minutes later. Should it be lost, stolen, or otherwise separated from you then you may find it again simply by trying to find it amongst the possessions you carry. As a standard action you may don this mask fusing it into your face, turning your face into a featureless black void and causing your body to soon follow suit. When you wear this mask you gain the ability to Hide in Plain Sight, allowing you to hide without cover or concealment as long as you are not in direct sunlight or the bright light of a daylight spell (or superior light effect) even if observed. You gain the ability to see in darkness, even magical darkness, as if it were full sunlight. Finally if you are in an area of total darkness you may teleport 200 ft per class level as a standard action 1/day per class level. If the area you attempt to teleport to is brightly illuminated then you appear in the nearest area in shadowy or no illumination.

Mask of the Assumed Form (Su): A Mask of Nyarlathotep may skin any recently killed creature which has a face to make a Mask of the Assumed Form. The materials involved in making this mask cost 25 GP per racial hit die the creature possessed. You may then meld the mask into their own face by placing it against their flesh (or more correctly lack thereof) as a standard action. Doing so causes you to transform into a creature of the same species as if with a Shapechange spell; if the creature has more hit dice than you do this fails. Masks of the Assumed Form are powerful magic granted by the Outer God and do not easily mesh with humanity. You may only wear Masks of the Assumed Form for 10 rounds (1 minute) per class level each day, no matter how many different Masks of the Assumed Form you possess. Due to the Masks’ desire to leap from your face you may remove one as a free action causing it to fall into your hand (if it is open and ready to catch it) or to the ground.