The Flake
2007-08-12, 06:18 PM
The paladin backed into the clearing, his eyes searching his surroundings. His face was calm, but his senses were peaked. "Where the Hell is he..." the paladin growled through gritted teeth as he rotated around again, not wanting to be taken off-guard; he had already made that mistake once before. He backed into the center of the clearing, rotating in a circle at the center.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in one of the trees above. The paladin's gaze shot upwards, suddenly suspicious of the the trees above him. He rotated faster now, and was starting to back himself against a tree when he tripped on a rock under a pile of leaves. Swearing, he struggled to push himself up in his heavy armor; he realized too late that he had not actually tripped on a 'rock' as the pile of leaves stood up, revealing a fearsome-looking halfling. "Boo," the halfling taunted as he stabbed the paladin in the back. The man cried out, but he wasn't done yet; he turned around, and began to spar with the headhunter.
Less than a minute later into the fight, the halfling had clearly lost the advantage granted him by his sneak attack. The paladin was pushing back, and his damned weapon was cutting deep, right through the halfling's unholy protections. The headhunter swore as another blow of the paladin's struck its mark. He needed to take drastic action to win this fight. Concentrating hard, he prepared for his next move. The paladin laughed. "Shutting your eyes won't make me go away, Headhunter," the paladin taunted as he swung again, barely missing the top of the halfling's head.
"No," the halfling conceded as he opened his eyes. His blade was now glowing with an eerie purplish energy. "But this will." The spirits in his Charms screamed as they rushed up the headhunter's blade, through the paladin's armor and into his soft flesh. With a shocked gasp, the paladin stared at the gaping, already-rotting hole in his body as he fell his knees. He seemed confused; how could he have failed? The halfling laughed, a harsh and disconcerting laugh. "Ha! The arrogance of you Holy Knights," he reprimanded the paladin as he began to saw off the warrior's head. Holding it up by the hair, he smiled. "Don't worry. You're going to have plenty of time to learn from your mistake." With that, the halfling laughed again, and left the clearing to prepare the paladin's head.
Headhunter
Two Heads are better than One
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a Headhunter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Hide 6 ranks, Move Silently 6 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks
Feats: Craft Skull Charm (New Item Creation Feat)
Alignment: Any evil
Base Attack: BAB +6
Class Skills
The Headhunter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Headhunter.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1|+2|+2|+0|Camouflage, Charm Band
2nd|+2|+3|+3|+0|
3rd|+3|+3|+3|+1|Sneak Attack +1d6
4th|+4|+4|+4|+1|Improved Critical
5th|+5|+4|+4|+1|[/table]
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The Headhunter gains proficiency with simple weapons.
Camouflage (Ex): The Headhunter is an expert at hiding and ambush, and knows how to use natural substances to help hide his presence. When hiding in natural surroundings, the Headhunter gains a +1/2 (round up)/Headhunter level circumstance bonus to Hide if he is moving, and a +1 1/2 (round down)/Headhunter Level bonus to Hide if he is not moving.
Charm Band (Su): At 1st level, the Headhunter is granted an unholy Charm Band upon which to hold his Skull Charms. A Charm Band is usually just a loop of rope or cord, but it is infused with Dark Magicks that give the item an Aura of Evil equal to the wearer's Headhunter level. Due to the protection of these Dark Magicks, the Band is impossibly difficult to harm by any weapon that isn't incredibly holy and good. This means the Band has DR 15/good, +1 DR for every Headhunter level the character gains. Also, as more and more Skull Charms are placed on the Band, it thickens and becomes harder to snap, even with holy weapons; every Charm on the band grants it 3 hardness. Should anything be able to get through these formidable defences, the Band is very vulnerable, and has only 3 HP. The Band extends its protection to its Charms; once a Skull Charm has been places on a Charm Band, it cannot be removed or destroyed by any means short of destruction of the Charm Band itself.
The Headhunter has a special connection with his Band, and is always aware of its location. If anyone tries to forcefully remove the band, they must first succeed on a DC (10 + the character's Headhunter level + 3) Strength check (the Band itself resists being parted from its master), and the Headhunter is immediately aware of what is going on.
Should a Headhunter's Band be broken, or even worse, lost, it takes 1 Skull Charm and 2 days of great concentration to remake it and return it its unholy powers. The spirit within the Skull Charm used in the making of a Band is then trapped in the Band itselt, and cannot be returned to life or left to rest in the afterlife until the Band itself is destroyed again.
A Charm Band combines the powers of the individual Skull Charms to grant the Headhunter even more unholy power than they normally do, as described in the table below. A Charm Band can only hold a number of Skull Charms equal to the character's Headhunter level, +1.
The Charm Band must be worn openly in order to function; if stowed away, it and its Skull Charms cease to empower the Headhunter.
A Charm Band that is stolen from the Headhunter does not grant its special powers to anyone but another Headhunter; however, its Skull Charms still enhance the wearer. If the band is stolen by another Headhunter, the Headhunter can only utilize the powers of a number of the Skull Charms equal to the thief's Headhunter level +1.
{table=head]Number of Charms|Strength Bonus|Dexterity Bonus|Special
One|+0|+0|Uncanny Dodge
Two|+0|+0|Enhance Body Through Spirit, Minor
Three|+1|+0|Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Minor
Four|+1|+1|Improved Uncanny Dodge
Five|+2|+1|Enhance Body Through Spirit, Major
Six|+2|+1|Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Major[/table]
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Once the Headhunter has one Skull Charm on his Band, he retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-footed or is being attack by and invisible assailant. However, he does not retain his Dexterity bonus to AC when immobilized.
Enhance Body Through Spirit, Minor (Sp): This ability allows the Headhunter to harness the spirits residing within his Charm Band to enhance his physical body. This grants the Headhunter 3d8 Temporary Hit Points and a +2 to Strength for 1 minute/Headhunter level. This power can be used 1/day for every 2 Headhunter levels, rounded down.
Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Minor (Su): This ability can grant one of two different powers to the Headhunter. It can either grant unholy protection, giving the Headhunter Damage Reduction 5/Good, or turn imbue any weapon the Headhunter wields with unholy power. This gives any weapon the Headhunter uses the Vorpal characteristic, which applies whether or not it's slashing, piercing, bludgeoning; the Headhunter becomes so adept at severing heads, that he can even do so with a bow if he so chooses. Switching which ability is active takes a DC 12 Concentration check and a full-round action.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Once the Headhunter has 4 Skull Charms, his sixth sense heightens, allowing him to no longer be flanked, meaning he is no longer subject to sneak attacks when flanked by an attacker with that ability.
Enhance Body Through Spirit, Major (Sp): This ability allows the Headhunter to enhance his physical even more with the spirits of his Skull Charms. Usable once per day, it grants the Headhunter 7d8 temporary hit points, +4 to Strength, +2 to Dexterity, and +10 feet to the Headhunter's movement speed. This power lasts for 1 minute/Headhunter level. This ability can be used at the same time as Minor Enhance Body Through Spirit, but doing so takes up all daily uses for both abilities. The enhancements stack, but the duration remains at 1 minute/Headhunter level.
Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Major (Su): This ability, like its lesser, can have one of two effects. It can either grant the Headhunter protection from all but the holiest weapons, giving him Damage Reduction 10/Good, or it can bestow unholy power upon the Headhunter's weapon, allowing the Headhunter to channel the energy of the Spirits in the Skull Charm through his blade. This allows the Headhunter to deal bonus damage equal to the number of his Skull Charms, squared, divided by half of the number of his Skull Charms (rounded up) in d6's. The Headhunter can only make one attack per round, no matter what, when using this ability, and he recieved extra damage for only that one attack; however, he recieves a bonus to his attack as well, equal to the number of Skull Charms in his possession. For example, if the Headhunter were to use this ability while he had 7 Skull Charms, he would recieve a +7 to his next attack and, on a successful hit, deal 7*7 / 4 d6, rounded up, (13d6). This extra damage is treated as both evil and magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction, and is not multiplied on a critical hit. He can use this ability 1/day. Even when this massive damage-dealing power is not active, as long as the Unholy Blows ability is active, the Headhunter's weapon is so unholy that it deals 2d6 extra negative energy damage to good creatures, and 1d6 extra negative energy damage to everyone else.
This ability does not stack with it lesser, nor can it be active while its lesser is. Switching from Minor to Major requires a DC 15 Concentration check and a full-round action.
Sneak Attack: As the rogue ability of the same name. This ability stacks with sneak attack damage gained from other classes.
Improved Critical: At 4th level, a Headhunter has learned how to hit where it hurts with his chosen weapon, and gains Improved Critical as a bonus feat. If the Headhunter already has Improved Critical, he may choose another feat from the Fighter Bonus Feat list.
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Craft Skull Charm
New Item Creation Feat
A character must be of an evil alignment to take this feat, and must have an ECL of at least 4.
This feat allows a character to create a Skull Charm. In order to do this, a character needs 150 gp worth of herbs (which can be gathered over the course of a day in any jungle with a DC 15 Survival check), and the severed head of an enemy whose level is at least the crafter's ECL - 3 + the amount of Skull Charms that the crafter already possesses. The crafting/shrinking process takes 2 days. Skull Charms have no experience cost, but a crafter recieves no experience for defeating a creature whose head he uses to make a Charm.
A Skull Charm is an evil item, about 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide, that produces a variety of beneficial effects, as long as it is worn openly. If a Skull Charm is stowed away, it ceases to have any effect, although it still reads as evil under a Detect Evil spell. Skull Charms can either grant a +1 to Will Saves and Spot checks, or a +1 to Attack or Damage (whether it gives a bonus to attack or damage is decided at the time the Charm is crafted). Every three Skull Charms also give the Headhunter a +1 to Initiative, as the extra senses granted by the Skulls allow a character to react faster than normal. These bonuses are cumulative.
When a character's head is severed and made into a Skull Charm, it's spirit is trapped within the Charm, meaning that it cannot be resurrected or reborn in any way until the Charm is destroyed. Charms have Hardness 10, 5 HP, and DR 5/good.
Any non-evil character with a Skull Charm must take a DC 16 Will Save once per day for every Skull Charm in their possession or be tainted. For every three times that a character is tainted, it drops one step down to evil; this means that a Good character turns into a Neutral character, and a Neutral character turns into an Evil character. Discarding or destroying the Skull Charm does nothing to reverse this alignment change; that must be done through other methods.
Two Skull Charms may also be expended to empower the user for a short period of time. This destroys the Charms, freeing the spirits trapped within, but it also empowers the user, enlarging them one size category (with the respective penalties to attack and AC), granting them 2d10 Temporary Hit Points, a +4 to Strength and a -2 to Dexterity for 2 minutes, or 20 rounds. This is a spell-like ability that can be dispelled. This ability cannot be used by a non-Evil character.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in one of the trees above. The paladin's gaze shot upwards, suddenly suspicious of the the trees above him. He rotated faster now, and was starting to back himself against a tree when he tripped on a rock under a pile of leaves. Swearing, he struggled to push himself up in his heavy armor; he realized too late that he had not actually tripped on a 'rock' as the pile of leaves stood up, revealing a fearsome-looking halfling. "Boo," the halfling taunted as he stabbed the paladin in the back. The man cried out, but he wasn't done yet; he turned around, and began to spar with the headhunter.
Less than a minute later into the fight, the halfling had clearly lost the advantage granted him by his sneak attack. The paladin was pushing back, and his damned weapon was cutting deep, right through the halfling's unholy protections. The headhunter swore as another blow of the paladin's struck its mark. He needed to take drastic action to win this fight. Concentrating hard, he prepared for his next move. The paladin laughed. "Shutting your eyes won't make me go away, Headhunter," the paladin taunted as he swung again, barely missing the top of the halfling's head.
"No," the halfling conceded as he opened his eyes. His blade was now glowing with an eerie purplish energy. "But this will." The spirits in his Charms screamed as they rushed up the headhunter's blade, through the paladin's armor and into his soft flesh. With a shocked gasp, the paladin stared at the gaping, already-rotting hole in his body as he fell his knees. He seemed confused; how could he have failed? The halfling laughed, a harsh and disconcerting laugh. "Ha! The arrogance of you Holy Knights," he reprimanded the paladin as he began to saw off the warrior's head. Holding it up by the hair, he smiled. "Don't worry. You're going to have plenty of time to learn from your mistake." With that, the halfling laughed again, and left the clearing to prepare the paladin's head.
Headhunter
Two Heads are better than One
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a Headhunter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Hide 6 ranks, Move Silently 6 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks
Feats: Craft Skull Charm (New Item Creation Feat)
Alignment: Any evil
Base Attack: BAB +6
Class Skills
The Headhunter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Headhunter.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1|+2|+2|+0|Camouflage, Charm Band
2nd|+2|+3|+3|+0|
3rd|+3|+3|+3|+1|Sneak Attack +1d6
4th|+4|+4|+4|+1|Improved Critical
5th|+5|+4|+4|+1|[/table]
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The Headhunter gains proficiency with simple weapons.
Camouflage (Ex): The Headhunter is an expert at hiding and ambush, and knows how to use natural substances to help hide his presence. When hiding in natural surroundings, the Headhunter gains a +1/2 (round up)/Headhunter level circumstance bonus to Hide if he is moving, and a +1 1/2 (round down)/Headhunter Level bonus to Hide if he is not moving.
Charm Band (Su): At 1st level, the Headhunter is granted an unholy Charm Band upon which to hold his Skull Charms. A Charm Band is usually just a loop of rope or cord, but it is infused with Dark Magicks that give the item an Aura of Evil equal to the wearer's Headhunter level. Due to the protection of these Dark Magicks, the Band is impossibly difficult to harm by any weapon that isn't incredibly holy and good. This means the Band has DR 15/good, +1 DR for every Headhunter level the character gains. Also, as more and more Skull Charms are placed on the Band, it thickens and becomes harder to snap, even with holy weapons; every Charm on the band grants it 3 hardness. Should anything be able to get through these formidable defences, the Band is very vulnerable, and has only 3 HP. The Band extends its protection to its Charms; once a Skull Charm has been places on a Charm Band, it cannot be removed or destroyed by any means short of destruction of the Charm Band itself.
The Headhunter has a special connection with his Band, and is always aware of its location. If anyone tries to forcefully remove the band, they must first succeed on a DC (10 + the character's Headhunter level + 3) Strength check (the Band itself resists being parted from its master), and the Headhunter is immediately aware of what is going on.
Should a Headhunter's Band be broken, or even worse, lost, it takes 1 Skull Charm and 2 days of great concentration to remake it and return it its unholy powers. The spirit within the Skull Charm used in the making of a Band is then trapped in the Band itselt, and cannot be returned to life or left to rest in the afterlife until the Band itself is destroyed again.
A Charm Band combines the powers of the individual Skull Charms to grant the Headhunter even more unholy power than they normally do, as described in the table below. A Charm Band can only hold a number of Skull Charms equal to the character's Headhunter level, +1.
The Charm Band must be worn openly in order to function; if stowed away, it and its Skull Charms cease to empower the Headhunter.
A Charm Band that is stolen from the Headhunter does not grant its special powers to anyone but another Headhunter; however, its Skull Charms still enhance the wearer. If the band is stolen by another Headhunter, the Headhunter can only utilize the powers of a number of the Skull Charms equal to the thief's Headhunter level +1.
{table=head]Number of Charms|Strength Bonus|Dexterity Bonus|Special
One|+0|+0|Uncanny Dodge
Two|+0|+0|Enhance Body Through Spirit, Minor
Three|+1|+0|Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Minor
Four|+1|+1|Improved Uncanny Dodge
Five|+2|+1|Enhance Body Through Spirit, Major
Six|+2|+1|Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Major[/table]
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Once the Headhunter has one Skull Charm on his Band, he retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-footed or is being attack by and invisible assailant. However, he does not retain his Dexterity bonus to AC when immobilized.
Enhance Body Through Spirit, Minor (Sp): This ability allows the Headhunter to harness the spirits residing within his Charm Band to enhance his physical body. This grants the Headhunter 3d8 Temporary Hit Points and a +2 to Strength for 1 minute/Headhunter level. This power can be used 1/day for every 2 Headhunter levels, rounded down.
Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Minor (Su): This ability can grant one of two different powers to the Headhunter. It can either grant unholy protection, giving the Headhunter Damage Reduction 5/Good, or turn imbue any weapon the Headhunter wields with unholy power. This gives any weapon the Headhunter uses the Vorpal characteristic, which applies whether or not it's slashing, piercing, bludgeoning; the Headhunter becomes so adept at severing heads, that he can even do so with a bow if he so chooses. Switching which ability is active takes a DC 12 Concentration check and a full-round action.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Once the Headhunter has 4 Skull Charms, his sixth sense heightens, allowing him to no longer be flanked, meaning he is no longer subject to sneak attacks when flanked by an attacker with that ability.
Enhance Body Through Spirit, Major (Sp): This ability allows the Headhunter to enhance his physical even more with the spirits of his Skull Charms. Usable once per day, it grants the Headhunter 7d8 temporary hit points, +4 to Strength, +2 to Dexterity, and +10 feet to the Headhunter's movement speed. This power lasts for 1 minute/Headhunter level. This ability can be used at the same time as Minor Enhance Body Through Spirit, but doing so takes up all daily uses for both abilities. The enhancements stack, but the duration remains at 1 minute/Headhunter level.
Unholy Blows/Unholy Protection, Major (Su): This ability, like its lesser, can have one of two effects. It can either grant the Headhunter protection from all but the holiest weapons, giving him Damage Reduction 10/Good, or it can bestow unholy power upon the Headhunter's weapon, allowing the Headhunter to channel the energy of the Spirits in the Skull Charm through his blade. This allows the Headhunter to deal bonus damage equal to the number of his Skull Charms, squared, divided by half of the number of his Skull Charms (rounded up) in d6's. The Headhunter can only make one attack per round, no matter what, when using this ability, and he recieved extra damage for only that one attack; however, he recieves a bonus to his attack as well, equal to the number of Skull Charms in his possession. For example, if the Headhunter were to use this ability while he had 7 Skull Charms, he would recieve a +7 to his next attack and, on a successful hit, deal 7*7 / 4 d6, rounded up, (13d6). This extra damage is treated as both evil and magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction, and is not multiplied on a critical hit. He can use this ability 1/day. Even when this massive damage-dealing power is not active, as long as the Unholy Blows ability is active, the Headhunter's weapon is so unholy that it deals 2d6 extra negative energy damage to good creatures, and 1d6 extra negative energy damage to everyone else.
This ability does not stack with it lesser, nor can it be active while its lesser is. Switching from Minor to Major requires a DC 15 Concentration check and a full-round action.
Sneak Attack: As the rogue ability of the same name. This ability stacks with sneak attack damage gained from other classes.
Improved Critical: At 4th level, a Headhunter has learned how to hit where it hurts with his chosen weapon, and gains Improved Critical as a bonus feat. If the Headhunter already has Improved Critical, he may choose another feat from the Fighter Bonus Feat list.
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Craft Skull Charm
New Item Creation Feat
A character must be of an evil alignment to take this feat, and must have an ECL of at least 4.
This feat allows a character to create a Skull Charm. In order to do this, a character needs 150 gp worth of herbs (which can be gathered over the course of a day in any jungle with a DC 15 Survival check), and the severed head of an enemy whose level is at least the crafter's ECL - 3 + the amount of Skull Charms that the crafter already possesses. The crafting/shrinking process takes 2 days. Skull Charms have no experience cost, but a crafter recieves no experience for defeating a creature whose head he uses to make a Charm.
A Skull Charm is an evil item, about 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide, that produces a variety of beneficial effects, as long as it is worn openly. If a Skull Charm is stowed away, it ceases to have any effect, although it still reads as evil under a Detect Evil spell. Skull Charms can either grant a +1 to Will Saves and Spot checks, or a +1 to Attack or Damage (whether it gives a bonus to attack or damage is decided at the time the Charm is crafted). Every three Skull Charms also give the Headhunter a +1 to Initiative, as the extra senses granted by the Skulls allow a character to react faster than normal. These bonuses are cumulative.
When a character's head is severed and made into a Skull Charm, it's spirit is trapped within the Charm, meaning that it cannot be resurrected or reborn in any way until the Charm is destroyed. Charms have Hardness 10, 5 HP, and DR 5/good.
Any non-evil character with a Skull Charm must take a DC 16 Will Save once per day for every Skull Charm in their possession or be tainted. For every three times that a character is tainted, it drops one step down to evil; this means that a Good character turns into a Neutral character, and a Neutral character turns into an Evil character. Discarding or destroying the Skull Charm does nothing to reverse this alignment change; that must be done through other methods.
Two Skull Charms may also be expended to empower the user for a short period of time. This destroys the Charms, freeing the spirits trapped within, but it also empowers the user, enlarging them one size category (with the respective penalties to attack and AC), granting them 2d10 Temporary Hit Points, a +4 to Strength and a -2 to Dexterity for 2 minutes, or 20 rounds. This is a spell-like ability that can be dispelled. This ability cannot be used by a non-Evil character.