PDA

View Full Version : The Faceless [A horrific base class]



Realms of Chaos
2008-12-08, 10:35 AM
See Below in post 15 for a less powerful version


The Faceless

A single figure walked through the snow that day. He wore a heavy coat and a scarf concealed his face, leaving only his deep green eyes visible. A fine darkwood bow and quiver of arrows hung from his back. He took a left turn down a back alley and walked into the shadows. He soon found himself in front of a wooden cellar, behind the popular Pub “The Dragon’s Tooth”. He knocked on the cellar door.
A small slit slid open, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes. “password!” commanded the deep, guttural voice. “The shadow runs from dawn,” came the reply, smooth as silk. After a short grunt of approval, the slit was shut once more. The door opened outwards, almost hitting the newcomer.
The bloodshot eyes belonged to human, wait, no, a half-orc. His nose and jaw were far to pronounced to be human. The newcomer removed his ungloved hand from his pocket and unraveled the scarf. The newcomer appeared mostly elven, though some slight rounding of the ears and short red hair revealed a bit of human blood.
The orc gaped a bit at the newcomer, opening and closing his mouth without words. “Dominic,” he said at last, lowering into an awkward bow, “havn’ seen ya lately.” The half-elf smiled and nodded, “I’ve been a bit under the weather.” Without further words, the half-orc stood aside to let Dominic pass by.
As Dominic lowered the steps, he became aware of a loud boastful voice among the ruckus below. When he reached the ground, he saw Dolmich the dwarf standing on a table, mug of ale in hand, finishing the story of his greatest heist. “and when the dust cleared, the dragon didn’t want his horde anymore.” A round of laughter filled the small cellar. At least ten people, including Dominic, Dolmich, and the half-orc, were assembled.
As Dolmich rose up from a deep bow, he saw Dominic and waved to him. “Hey, boss. We thought you’d be a no show again tonight. Had to keep the crowd occupied, yea?” “Understood, old friend,” replied the half-elf, “but before we start, would you do us the honor of one more story.”
The Dwarves face alighted at the suggestion, “But o’ course. Anything in mind?”. The entire crowd turned their heads to Dominic as he seemed to puzzle over the question. “How about that ambush a good year back, off on old pine road?” Dolmich’s smile dropped a bit. He remembered the story, of course, but there was nothing spectacular about it. Oh well. Any story’s spectacular when you add enough ale to the mix.
“Sure thing. Bout a year back, you all remember, the city watch mobilized. We were caught off guard and things were lookin’ bad for our coffers. To help ends meet, we started watching the roads. Just as luck would have it, one dark night, I found some people sleeping on the side of old pine road, a tough looking human, an elf with a spellbook, and a gnome. I have a bit of magic training, you know, so believe me when I say it was a smorgasbord of goodies. Hell, they was lightin up like a second sun.” Dolmich stood back to let the image sink. “After that, well, I did just what any of us would. I tore up the spellbook before tearing the human’s throat.” Dolmich made a slicing motion with his empty hand. The halfling sitting on the cellar’s floor burst into laughter at this line while the two human guild members nervously ran their hands over their necks.
Dominic nodded for the dwarf to continue. “The human died straightaway but then there were the elf and the gnome. The elf cried when she saw what I did to her spellbook, she did. A couple thumps ended her,” a couple more cheers went up, “and then I turned to the gnome.”
For the first time in the story, Dominic was leaning forward, hanging on Dolmich’s every word. Better play this out all dramatic-like then. “Well, lads, the gnome hadn’t done anything to me so far. No magic, no weapons, no nothing. I had nothing against that gnome. I feel a certain kinship with the height deprived. I was puzzling over what to do when the gnome gives me an offer. He offers to give me everything but his life and the clothes on his back. Well, this seemed to me a very one-sided offer. After all, why should I let him keep anything?” a few guild members burst into laughter at this point. “But,” said Dolmich before pausing for dramatic effect, “let it never be said that I have no decency. I took him up on his offer.” Even though they had heard it all before, the crowd feigned total shock.
Dominic spoke up, “but you killed him, of course.” Dolmich took a swig of ale. “weren’t my intention, but aye. The gnome promised me his magic items, you see, but he tried to take off with a pair of magic boots. He broke his word, I broke his spine, and the horde I brought back held us over till spring.” The room was filled in cheers.
Dolmich frowned a bit. He was going for a far more climactic finish. Even so, best to give the crowd what they want. He rose both arms to prepare for another bow when he felt a pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw an arrow piercing through it.
Dolmich fell to his knees and coughed up a bit of blood. Even good old dwarven resilience wouldn’t get him through this one. The arrow had hit his heart. He feebly looked around for his assailant. “Dominic?”
Dominic was standing up with his bow pointed to the dwarf. Quietly, he stowed away before walking up to Dolmich. Nobody else dared move, to block his path or oppose him in any way. The old dwarf wasn’t angry, merely confused. “Why, Dominic?” he squeaked. Dominic bent down to whisper in the dying dwarf’s ear…

“Because, my dear Dolmich, you destroyed my favorite body.”

Most civilizations fear people, armies, or tyrants. It is the nature of humanoids to pin their troubles on another individual or group of individuals. What they never think to fear, however, is an attack from within themselves. Plagues have been decimating kingdoms since the beginning of time. Some can drive a city to madness, some can melt skin off of bones, and some can spread across continents nearly overnight. Yet, the populace do not fear this faceless menace, the foe they cannot face in combat.
One particular strain of disease deserves special note. This psionic disease is blessed with an intelligence of its own, making it capable of deadly tactics. To makes matters worse, it controls its vectors like puppets, using them to propagate itself unseen. By the time that a community has noticed the threat, it may already be too late to stop the Facless threat.
Adventures: Perhaps not surprisingly, the thoughts of a Faceless are analogous to those of a humanoid. It may even retain some of the quirks and habits of its first primary vector. Most Faceless adventure to expand their area of control and increase their personal power. However, some of the more tame Faceless adventure to find their place in society. Though most Faceless care nothing about embarrassment, personal shame is a strong motivator (as it is one of the few things that follows them into a new body). Generally speaking, wealth holds little pull to a Faceless. There are some, however, who use their body-snatching power to horde the wealth of a large group of people.
Characteristics: As a Faceless develops, they infect more victims from further distances and they hone their psionic powers. In addition, they begin manipulating their inactive vectors while stealing more strength from their primary vector. At the pinnacle of their power, a Faceless may control multiple vectors simultaneously or even manifest themselves without any vector at all.
Alignment: Most Faceless are evil, caring little for their vectors and disposing of them as they see fit. They want to obtain the most powerful vectors possible to press their views on anyone they can’t infect. Some of these evil Faceless are more tame, understanding that even a hated foe could become an ally (or vector) the next day. They are slightly less willing to sacrifice vectors or kill indiscriminately. A rare few Faceless attempt to make a positive impact on the world or to live in solitude rather than actively infecting the world. These Faceless are neutral in alignment. No matter how good their intentions, however, the existence of a Faceless undermines a creature’s free will and all Faceless have the overpowering instinct to propagate themselves, preventing them from ever truly attaining a good alignment. There are just as many Faceless with lawful tendencies as there are that lean towards chaos.
Religion: Faceless generally don’t care about matters such as religion. After all, the Faceless has no soul (that it is aware of) and can effectively life forever if not slain, leaving little reason for it to bow before a deity (except as part of a disguise). Most have a decent respect for how divine magic insofar as it can heal their wounds and make their lives easier. If a divine spell was crafted that could heal people of their infection, however, a Faceless would understandably be less than pleased.
Background: Nobody truly knows how a Faceless forms. Some say that a Faceless forms from a mass of concentrated psionic energy in the brain. Others think that it is a rare byproduct of natural insanity or a birth defect. A few have gone so far as to suggest that each Faceless is the result of a single creature with deity-like powers. Whatever the case, the Faceless emerges in their first primary vector with almost no knowledge of their own.
Without any information to differentiate them from their vector, they generally match their normal routines to the letter for a couple of months as the Faceless gains self-awareness. By the time that the Faceless can infect others, it already has psionic power and a full set of views on the world around it (which may or may not have been influenced by those of its first vector).
Races: Unlike other classes, the Faceless is essentially its own race. Although only the most powerful of faceless manifest a visible (if intangible) form, they are careful to separate what they are from what they are pretending to be. Even so, a Faceless generally ends up with one or two favored races that it feels most at home inhabiting.
Most Races feel uncomfortable around a Faceless, knowing that it can infect them at any time…if it hasn’t done so already.
Other Classes: Although a Faceless has a strong instinct to act on their own, many of them know that this may be suicidal. The Faceless tries to get along as best it can with those of other persuasions, knowing that their skills will be lost if they simply take control of their allies. The Faceless feels most at home around rogues and other sneaky individuals who likewise try to keep themselves nameless.
Few classes, if any, feel at home around a Faceless. Still, an open-minded party may find a master of infiltration and espionage at their disposal.
Role: A Faceless fits few traditional roles in a party. Although they have some proficiency with psionic powers, they really shine when they are able to infiltrate an organization or manipulate a foe. The Faceless is also just as stealthy (if not more-so) than the average rogue, making them an interesting scout. At the peak of their power, a Faceless may control multiple creatures, helping to deal with large groups of enemies.

Game Rule Information
Faceless have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Most of a Faceless’ class abilities rely upon their charisma score. As there is no chance for them to return from the dead, Constitution is another high priority for most Faceless. Finally, Intelligence helps a Faceless acquire more skill points.
Alignment: Any Nongood.
Hit Die: d8



Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Power Powers Known Maximum Power
Points/Day Level Known
1 +0 +2 +0 +2 Faceless Plague, 2 2 1st
Shield of Flesh
2 +1 +3 +0 +3 Faceless Form, 4 2 1st
Lesser Manipulation
3 +2 +3 +1 +3 Aura of Anonymity 6 2 1st
4 +3 +4 +1 +4 Faceless Hate 8 2 1st
5 +3 +4 +1 +4 Faceless Plague 10 3 2nd
6 +4 +5 +2 +5 Vector’s Skill 13 3 2nd
7 +5 +5 +2 +5 Shell of Flesh 16 3 2nd
8 +6/+1 +6 +2 +6 Vector Manipulation 19 3 2nd
9 +6/+1 +6 +3 +6 Awaken Vectors 22 4 3rd
10 +7/+2 +7 +3 +7 Faceless Plague 25 4 3rd
11 +8/+3 +7 +3 +7 Subversive Psionics 29 4 3rd
12 +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Vector’s Cunning 33 4 3rd
13 +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Faceless Army 37 5 4th
14 +10/+5 +9 +4 +9 Greater Manipulation 41 5 4th
15 +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +9 Faceless Plague 45 5 4th
16 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Hide In Plain Sight 50 5 4th
17 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Hivemind 55 6 5th
18 +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Vector’s Power 60 6 5th
19 +14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Outbreak 65 6 5th
20 +15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Faceless Plague, 70 6 5th
Freed From Flesh
Class Skills (4+ Int modifier per level): Autohypnosis, Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy,
Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (all skills, taken separately), Move Silently,
Profession, Psicraft, Use Magic Device.

Class Features: The Following are class features of the Faceless

Weapon/Armor Proficiencies: A Faceless gains proficiency with all simple weapons and martial weapons and with light armor and shields (but not tower shields)

Power Points/Day: A Faceless’ ability to manifest powers and infect others is limited by the number of power points they have available. Their base allotment is on the table above. In addition, the Faceless receives bonus power points if they have a high Charisma Score. The Faceless gains further power points beyond this if its primary vector (see below) has a high Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score (use the highest score and use your own class level in place of the vector’s hit dice/levels). Certain Feats and Items may also grant bonus power points.

Powers Known: A Faceless begins play knowing two Faceless powers of their choice. At 5th level and every four levels afterwards, the Faceless gains knowledge of a new power. A Faceless can manifest any power with a power point cost equal or less than their manifester level.
Furthermore, if a Faceless’ primary vector (see below) is a manifester, they may attempt to extract power with their suppressed mind. Doing so requires the Faceless to expend their psionic focus and make a psicraft check (DC 20 + power level). If successful, the Faceless may replace any known power with any power of an equal power level known by the vector (even if that power is not on the Faceless power list). You may only make this attempt once against any given creature (even if you free the target of the infection and infect them again later).
The number of times that a Faceless can manifest powers in a day is limited only by their daily power points.
A Faceless simply knows his powers; they are ingrained in the mind of the Faceless. A Faceless does not need to prepare them, though it does need 8 hours of sleep to regain all spent power points.
The Difficulty Class for the power of a Faceless is equal to 10 + the power’s level + the Faceless’ Charisma modifier.

Maximum Power Level Known: A Faceless starts play with the ability to learn 1st level powers. As the faceless attains higher levels, they master more complex powers.
To learn or manifest a power, a Faceless must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the power’s level.

Primary Vector: A Faceless exists as a disease rather than a person. It acts upon the world through a single vector with an active infection. As long as a creature is a primary vector, they are the thrall of the Faceless. When the primary vector becomes a secondary vector (see below), they fall unconscious and awaken later with no memory of the time spent under mental control.
Regardless of your primary vector, you retain your mental ability scores, hit points, alignment, saving throws, hit dice, proficiencies, base attack bonus, skills, feats, and class features. Furthermore, you use your own physical ability scores or those of your vector, whichever are lower. You gain your primary vector’s extraordinary senses, natural attacks, size category, speed and movement types, racial skill bonuses, and creature type. In addition, you gain your primary vector’s appearance, gender, languages known, and memories. Any preexisting curses, diseases, poisons, or other afflictions that your primary vector possesses are suppressed for as long as you control them.
You start play in a humanoid vector of any race from the player’s handbook with a single level in expert.

Vector Degregation: All else aside, the Faceless is a disease. No matter how well they treat or how much they treasure a given vector, their presence will eventually wear down the vector's body. For each continuous day beyond the first that a Faceless remains in a single vector, that vector gains a negative level. Unlike other afflictions, these negative levels remain when you leave the vector and aren't suppressed while you are in control.
These negative levels never result in actual level loss but cannot be magically removed. The vector heals all negative levels after one week of freedom from being your primary vector.

Faceless Plague (Ex): As a standard action, a Faceless may attempt to pass on their infection to others. The target must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + 1/2 Faceless Level + Charisma modifier) or suffer from an inactive infection, becoming a secondary vector. If the Faceless expends their psionic focus as part of this action, the target is not entitled to a saving throw. Once a Faceless has used this ability, they must wait 1d4+1 rounds before using it once more.
A Faceless may possess a number of secondary vectors up to their Class level + their Charisma modifier. Any secondary vectors added beyond this frees the oldest vector of their infection.
As a standard action, a Faceless may can attempt to activate the infection of a secondary vector. The secondary vector is entitled to a Will Save (DC 10 + 1/2 Faceless Level + Charisma modifier) to resist this control. If they succeed, they are immune to further attempts from that Faceless for 24 hours. If they fail, the target becomes your new primary vector while your previous primary vector becomes your secondary vector.
At 1st level, the Faceless may pass on their infection as a touch attack and activate infections of those within 10 feet. The Faceless can only activate humanoid secondary vectors.
At 5th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 10 feet away and activate infections of those within 30 feet. The Faceless may activate Animal and Monstrous Humanoid secondary vectors.
At 10th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 50 feet away and activate infections of those within 100 feet. The Faceless may activate Plant and Vermin secondary vectors.
At 15th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 100 feet away and activate infections of those within 500 feet. The Faceless may activate Giant and Magical Beast secondary vectors.
At 20th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 1,000 away and activate infections of those within 1 mile. The Faceless may activate any living secondary vector.
When travelling from one primary vector to the next, any equipment they possess does not travel with them but any diseases, poisons, or other afflictions acquired by the Faceless do. A creature is only immune to this ability if they are immune to both mind-affecting effects and disease. A Faceless may not activate a secondary vector that possesses more HD/Levels than they possess class levels. A Faceless may not infect the vector of another Faceless. A Faceless cannot infect swarms or mobs.

Shield of Flesh (Ex): A Faceless quickly learns to conceal their presence. As they wear the actual bodies of their vectors, spot checks cannot detect their presence. Similarly, the Faceless need not make a Forgery check to copy their primary vector’s handwriting. Any sense motive check made against them or their vectors (except those made as an opposed check) takes a penalty equal to their class level. The Faceless gains immunity to all spells and effects that detect alignment or read thoughts.
The infection of a primary or secondary vector cannot be detected by any magical means short of a True-Seeing spell. Any vector viewed by such an effect has the ghostly image of a medium humanoid with white skin and blank slate of a face transposed over it.
This closeness to their vectors comes at a price. Whenever the primary vector takes damage, the Faceless loses a single power point. If the Faceless is slain, so too is their primary vector. The Faceless cannot be brought back from the dead by any mortal magic, although their primary vector can.

Faceless Form (Su): Starting at 2nd level, whenever a Faceless gains psionic focus, they can force their primary vector through a drastic transformation. The primary vector’s skin, fur, feathers, and/or scales become pure white as their face(s) are wiped away, leaving only a blank slab behind.
In this form, the Faceless gains blindsight out to 60 feet but is blind, deaf, and mute. They are incapable of eating or drinking in this form but they do not lose these metabolic needs. They may still breath, play wind instruments, and suffer from inhaled poisons and odor-based effects due to enlarged pores in their skin.
Starting at 6th level, the Faceless can pass along disease with a mere touch while in their Faceless form. They gain a melee touch attack that functions as the Contagion spell (Fortitude DC 13 + Charisma modifier negates).
Starting at 10th level, a Faceless in their Faceless Form can pass through walls and other similar barriers up to one foot thick as if they were incorporeal. They may not pass through force effects.
Starting at 14th level, the pressence of a Faceless in their Faceless form can inspire fear in those around them. All creatures that come within 30 feet of a Faceless become shaken, even if they are incapable actually seeing the Faceless.
Starting at 18th level, the steps of a Faceless are completely silent while they are in their Faceless Form. They automatically succeed on all move silently checks unless they wish to fail
This form lasts for as long as the Faceless maintains psionic focus + 5 rounds. It may be ended prematurely as a full-round action. This form immediately ends the moment that the Faceless travels to a new primary vector.

Lesser Manipulation (Su): Starting at 2nd level, a Faceless can start to manipulate secondary vectors. As a swift action, the Faceless may experience the world through the senses of any vector for 1 round. All attacks made against the Faceless by their vectors have a 20% miss chance. Finally, all of their vectors start one category closer to helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile).

Aura of Anonymity (Ex): A Faceless quickly masters the art of escaping notice. Starting at 3rd level, no creature may remember specific details about a Faceless unless they succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom check. Secondary Vectors automatically fail this check.
Furthermore, when moving through a crowd, you take no penalty to your speed and take no penalty to hide or more silently checks made while moving at up to their full speed. Charging or running Faceless still take the normal penalties, however.

Faceless Hate (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a Faceless can pass along a disease of a similar strain to itself, known as Faceless Hate (BoVD, page 30). As a move action, a Faceless may free a secondary vector of their infection and replace it with Faceless Hate. The incubation time is lowered to 1 hour and the target receives no initial saving throw to negate the disease, although they can fight it off afterwards as normal.
Furthermore, the vectors of a Faceless are invisible to blindsight gained through the Faceless Hate disease thanks to a pheromone that the Faceless helps its vectors produce.

Vector’s Skill (Ex): Starting at 6th level, a Faceless can borrow some of the skills of its vector. Whenever the Faceless possesses a vector, they choose a number of skills equal up to their charisma modifier in which the vector possesses ranks. For each of these skills, you may use your vector’s ranks or your own, whichever is higher. You may also use these checks untrained if using your vector’s ranks in a skill. This benefit lasts for as long as the Faceless possesses that primary vector.
If you possess multiple primary vectors, you choose skills for each primary vector separately. However, the benefits of this ability are not broadcast to other primary vectors.

Shell of Flesh (Ex): Starting at 7th level, if a Faceless would be slain, they may retreat into their Vector’s Mind as an immediate action. The Faceless’ primary vector dies but the vector lives on at their current hit points.
While in this state, the primary vector’s senses no longer function but the Faceless gains blindsight out to 60 feet. They may not infect new targets but may activate secondary vectors who get within range.
If the body is destroyed, the Faceless is slain. Otherwise, they can remain dormant until their vector rots away completely. The Faceless may only use this ability if they possess no other primary vectors at the time.

Vector Manipulation (Su): Starting at 8th level, a Faceless gains a greater amount of control over their vectors. The Faceless may communicate telepathically with any vector. All attacks made against the Faceless by their vectors have a 50% miss chance. Lastly, all of their vectors start two categories closer to helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile).

Awaken Vectors (Ex): At 9th level, a Faceless can temporarily control multiple primary vectors. When the Faceless succeeds in activating another infection, they need not leave their current primary vector unless they wish it. At any given time, a Faceless may possess a number of primary vectors up to their Charisma modifier. Any gained beyond this limit makes your oldest primary vector a secondary vector
All primary vectors act at the same initiative count. No matter how many you possess, however, you are still restricted to the same number of actions per round, split among them in any way that desire (including the limit on attacks of opportunity). You may make one attack and another one move, for example. A new primary vector has hit points equal to that of the primary vector that awakened it. Later injury dealt to one primary vector is not transmitted to others, however. However, all primary vectors share the same pool of power points.
You are not slain unless all of your primary vectors are slain. At the end of the encounter (or 5 minutes after gaining a second vector), select a single living primary vector to remain your primary vector while others become secondary vectors once more.

Subversive Psionics (Su): Starting at 11th level, a Faceless can hide their psionics with great skill. They no longer provokes attacks of opportunity for manifesting in combat and their powers may not be detected by any divination or clairsentience effect.
Furthermore, if the Faceless has psionic focus, they may imbue a greater degree of trickery into their powers, allowing them to use one of the two abilities below whenever they manifest a power.
Deceptive power: The power appears to originate from elsewhere within range. Powers with a range of touch or personal cannot be affected in this way. Changing a power’s origin cannot be used to flank a foe, circumvent cover, reach around a corner, or gain any numerical tactical advantage in combat.
Invisible power: The Faceless may eliminate a power’s display. If a power’s effect relies on one or more of its erased display elements, those affected by the power still witness these elements.

Vector’s Cunning (Ex): Starting at 12th level, the Faceless can call more upon their primary vector for power. Whenever the Faceless gains a new primary vector, the Faceless gains the benefits of a single feat that vector possesses and that the Faceless qualifies for. This feat lasts for as long as the Faceless possesses that primary vector.
If the Faceless gains multiple Primary Vectors, select a feat for each primary vector separately. However, the benefits of this ability are not broadcast to other primary vectors.

Faceless Army (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a Faceless’ power to possess multiple primary vectors improves. Each round, one primary vector gains a full rounds worth of actions while all other vectors are entitle to a move action. Furthermore, the Faceless may possess a number of primary vectors up to 1/2 Faceless level + Charisma modifier. Finally, this ability no longer possesses a limited duration.

Greater Manipulation (Su): Starting at 14th level, a Faceless gains absolute control over their vectors. The Faceless may read the surface thoughts of any secondary vector for a single round as a swift action. Secondly, their vectors cannot attack the Faceless unless they succeed on a Will Save (DC 10 + 1/2 faceless level + Cha modifier). Finally, all of their vectors start as helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile)

Hide In Plain Sight (Ex): Starting at 16th level, the ability of a Faceless to blend in with their surroundings has reached an almost supernatural level. The Faceless may make hide checks without cover or concealment.

Hivemind (Ex): Starting at 17th level, a Faceless masters the art of controlling multiple vectors. No primary vector is flat-footed or flanked unless they all are. All primary vectors are immune to any mind-affecting effect that fails to affect them all equally. Each primary vector is entitled to a swift or immediate action each round. Furthermore, each vector may make an attack of opportunity once per round. Lastly, the number of primary vectors that a Faceless can control is raised to their Faceless level + Charisma modifier.

Vector’s Power (Ex): Starting at 18th level, a Faceless can muster much of a primary vector’s power to fight for them. Whenever the Faceless gains a primary vector, they gain a single additional extraordinary or supernatural ability from their vector. This ability must either be a racial feature or the class feature of a base class. This benefit lasts for so long as the Faceless controls that primary vector.
If the Faceless gains multiple Primary Vectors, select an ability for each primary vector separately. However, the benefits of this ability are not broadcast to other primary vectors.

Outbreak (Ex): Starting at 19th level, the plague of a Faceless becomes nearly unstoppable. There is no longer any limit on the number of secondary vectors they can possess. Secondly, any creature that the Faceless infects with their plague or with Faceless Hate can pass along their disease with mere contact, although its strength is reduced (Fort DC 10 + Faceless’ Cha modifier to resist). Finally, any creature given Faceless Hate by the Faceless (directly or indirectly) makes a save every hour instead of every day to resist damage.

Freed From Flesh (Ex): Starting at 20th level, a Faceless has finally accumulated enough psychic might to live as an individual entity if they do so desire. As a full-round action, a Faceless can manifest itself anywhere within 30 feet of a primary vector, turning all primary vectors into secondary vectors. The Faceless may even use this ability after using their Shell of Flesh ability (to escape from the corpse).
In their manifested form, the Faceless one is an incorporeal medium humanoid with snow white skin and a completely blank slate of a face. The Faceless one gains a fly speed of 30 feet (average maneuverability) and a melee touch attack that deals 2d10 damage. In this form, the Faceless one needs neither food nor drink.
The moment that a faceless one gains a primary vector, their manifested form disappears once more.

Faceless Powers:
1st level Faceless Powers
Attraction^: Subject has an attraction you specify.
Chameleon: Gain +10 enhancement bonus on hide checks.
Charm, Psionic^: Makes one person your friend.
Control Light: Adjust ambient light levels.
Create Sound: Create the sound you desire
Daze, Psionic^: Humanoid Creature of 4 HD or less loses next action
Déjŕ vu^: Your target repeats his last action
Demoralize^: Enemies become shaken
Detect Psionics: You detect the presence of psionics.
Disable^: Subjects incorrectly believe they are disabled
Distract: Target gets –4 penalty on listen, search, spot, and sense motive checks.
Empathy^: You know the subject’s surface emotions
Far Hand^: Move small objects at a limited distance.
Grease, Psionic: Makes 10-ft. square or one object slippery.
Mind Thrust^: Deal 1d10 damage.
Mindlink^: You forge a limited mental bond with another creature
Missive^: Send one way telepathic message to subject
Sense Link^: You sense what the subject senses (single sense).
Telempathic Projection: Alter the subject’s mood
Vigor^: Gain 5 temporary hit points.
2nd level Faceless Powers
Aversion^: Subject has aversion you specify
Body Equilibrium: You can walk on nonsolid surfaces
Brain Lock^: Subject cannot move or take any mental actions.
Cloud Mind: You erase knowledge of your presence from target’s mind
Control Sound: Create very specific sounds.
Detect Hostile Intent: You can detect hostile creatures within 30 ft. of you.
Feat Leech^: Borrow another’s psionic or metapsionic feat.
Id insinuation^: Swift tendrils of thought disrupt and confuse your target.
Mental Disruption^: Daze creatures within 10 feet for 1 round.
Missive, Mass^: You send a one-way telepathic message to an area.
Read Thoughts: Detect surface thoughts of creatures in range.
Recall Agony^: Foe takes 2d6 damage.
Sense Link, Forced: Sense what subject senses.
Share Pain: Willing subject takes some of your damage.
Suggestion, Psionic: Compels subject to follow stated course of action.
Sustenance: Go without food or water for one day.
Thought Shield^: Gain PR 13 against mind-affecting powers.
Tongues, Psionic: You can communicate with intelligent creatures.
Wall Walker: Grants ability to walk on walls and ceilings.
3rd level Faceless Powers
Body Adjustment^: You heal 1d12 damage.
Body Purification^: You restore 2 points of ability damage.
Crisis of Breath^: Disrupts Ttrget’s breathing
Darkvision, Psionic: See 60 ft. in total darkness.
Dispel Psionics: Cancels psionic powers and effects.
Eradicate Invisibility^: Negate invisibility in a 50-ft. burst.
Escape Detection: You become difficult to detect with clairsentience powers.
False Sensory Input^: Subject sees what isn’t there.
Mental Barrier^: Gain +4 deflection bonus to AC until next your action.
Mind Trap: Drain 1d6 power points from anyone who attacks you with a telepathy power.
Psionic Blast: Stuns creatures in 30-ft. cone for 1 round.
Shared Pain, Forced^: Unwilling subject takes some of your damage.
Telekinetic Force^: Move an object with the sustained force of your mind.
Telekinetic Thrust^: Hurl objects with the force of your mind.
4th level Faceless Powers
Control Body^: take rudimentary control of your foe’s limbs
Correspond: Hold mental conversation with another creature at any distance.
Death Urge^: Implant a self-destructive impulse.
Dimension Door, Psionic: Teleports you short distance.
Dominate, Psionic^: Control subject telepathically.
Empathic Feedback^: When you are hit in melee, your attacker takes damage.
Freedom of Movement, Psionic: You cannot be held or otherwise rendered immobile.
Mindlink, Thieving^: Borrow knowledge of a subject’s power.
Mindwipe^: Subject’s recent experiences wiped away, bestowing negative levels.
Modify Memory, Psionic: Changes 5 minutes of the subject’s memories.
Personality Parasite: Subject’s mind calves self-antagonistic splinter personality for 1 round/level.
Power Leech: Drain 1d6 power points/round while you maintain concentration; you gain 1/round.
Telekinetic Maneuver: Telekinetically bull rush, disarm, grapple, or trip your target.
5th level Faceless Powers
Adapt Body: Your body automatically adapts to hostile environments.
Cloud Mind, Mass: Erase knowledge of your presence from the minds of one creature/level.
Fuse Flesh^: Fuse subject’s flesh, creating helpless mass.
Leech Field^: Leech power points each time you make a saving throw.
Mind Blank, Personal: You are immune to scrying and mental effects.
Mind Probe: You discover the subject’s secret thoughts.
Plane Shift, Psionic: Travel to other planes
Psychic Crush^: Brutally crush subject’s mental essence, reducing subject to –1 hit points.
Shatter Mind Blank: Cancels target’s mind blank effect

FAQ:
Q: Haven't I seen this all somewhere before.
A: I swear to god that this thing is not based off of the adromeda strain. I only noticed the few similarities (intelligent disease controlling vectors) after I had already typed up the class. However, if you change the class to work in a d20 modern game, it might fit the part well enough.

Q: I don’t get how the vector’s skill, vector’s cunning, and vector’s power abilities interact with the multiple primary vector abilities.
A: Simply put, when using your multiple primary vector abilities, you are effectively controlling multiple characters. When vector’s skill, cunning, and power come into the picture, each of these characters is differentiated from each other a little bit. One of your vectors may gain ranks in bluff, weapon finesse, and sneak attack while another gains ranks in jump, weapon focus (spear), and rage.

Q: What if one primary vector gains the improved initiative feat?
A: Well, the ability states that all vectors act on the same initiative count. If one vector manages to pull ahead, so too do they all (breaking the normal rule that the benefits of one vector’s feat do not pass onto the other). Having two primary vectors with the feat does not increase your initiative count by +8, however.

Q: How can I change my choice of skills/feat/power when I use my Vector’s “blank” ability?
A: Once you are already in a primary vector, the only way to change your decision is to move to a new primary vector and then reinfect the vector all over again.

Q: Can I have my cohorts and followers willingly be infected?
A: Yes.

Q: Do my secondary vectors recognize me?
A: Actually, they will likely never recognize you. Remember, they automatically fail on checks made against your aura of anonymity. However, this will likely just make them more frightened when you contact them with the Vector Manipulation ability so be careful.

Q: If an opponent becomes a secondary vector in mid-combat, do they still automatically fail against the aura of anonymity (they saw me beforehand)?
A: Yes

Q: If I leave a primary vector after taking damage, is the secondary vector (recently primary vector) also damaged?
A: No. All damage so far has been dealt to you exclusively, although your death results in its death. The only afflictions that they possess when you leave are those that they had before you came.

Q: If my primary vector is hit by a soul-sucking effect, does it kill us both (me and the vector) or just take one of us?
A: It takes you both, even though you technically have no soul.

Q: How do Cancer Mages interact with the infection?
A: There is no special interaction.

Q: How can infections be cured?
A: It is impossible to “cure” the plague of a Faceless (although a Faceless that infects too many people naturally nullifies the infection in older targets). Even so, once the Faceless has been slain, there is a good chance that the cure will remain dormant for the rest of their life.

Q: Why isn’t disguise a class skill?
A: They don’t need it. Walking around in the skin of their victims with complete access to their thoughts and memories, it is impossible to tell someone is possessed by a Faceless just by looking at them. If the Faceless wanted to look like someone else, they’d just take that person over.

Limos
2008-12-08, 01:02 PM
I like it. I like it a lot. It seems odd that bodies don't have any hitpoints of their own though. I know that might be a little broken but it just seems odd that you take all the damage with you.

I would totally play this class though. It's pretty awesome.

JackMage666
2008-12-08, 01:12 PM
There is alot of room for cheese here. Your intentions are VERY good, and it's VERY well designed, but there's alot of room for munchkining. I understand that you let the Faceless keep their own HP and Ability scores, ect, for balance, but that can also be a huge issue. While I faceless wouldn't really want to be something Huge, since it wouldn't get the nice Str Bonus, a Faceless in the Body or a Rat or other diminutive creature can be wicked. It gets all it's rolled Strength, with the beautiful little diminutive size bonus. This doesn't become an issue until level 5, but once you hit that point all hell can break loose because you can become any animal (Fly Speed? Hawk/Eagle. Hiding? Rat/Toad. Social Stealth? Dog/Cat.) As you level and gain the ability to gain different types of Secondary vectors, this only expands.

Not to mention, a 20th level Faceless is absolutely unkillable, because you could make so many random people Vectors (with no save, thanks to expending psionic focus) that when you die, you could easily just activate one of them (so long as they're on your plain of existence, which wouldn't be hard.)

I do not believe this belongs in the hands of the PCs. At all.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-08, 09:04 PM
Actually, this guy isn't really as scary (mechanically speaking) as he seems. First of of all, all that you really do (to start with) is steal the size and speed of nearby creatures. While this can be a big boost or even a lifesaver, I hesitate to think this is overpowered.
Another problem that comes up often with this guy is logistics. At first glance, this guy looks like another batman. He can swim when he needs to swim, fly when he needs to fly, and sneak when he needs to sneak. However, to have these abilities ready for any given moment, he would need to keep a hawk, squid, and rat on his person at all times. When the Faceless gets to the point where he keeps creatures around for their feats and special abilities, he is left with the further logistical and societal issues of providing, transporting, and coralling their mind slaves.
As things turn out, there are a few other problems that Faceless run into. For one thing, much like rogues, these guys really don't deal well with undead or constructs (who are immune to most of their psionics and can't be infected). Also, unlike a druid, Faceless can't make plans that involve two or more shape changes unless thier future forms are somehow already in place and they can't go into a retreat form (like a hawk) unless they are willing to leave their equipment behind.
Don't forget, by the way, that any infection you attempt to activate grants the vector a will save to resist (expanding psionic focus bypasses the initial fortitude save, not the will save). Though there are several ways to boost the save DC to the moon, a single natural 20 renders your vector immune to further attempts for a full 24 hours. This can easily spell the doom of a Faceless' plan (or of the Faceless themselves).

There are several changes that I am going to make.
1. You use the lower of your or your primary vector's physical ability scores.
2. You may make an infection attempt every 1d4+1 rounds.
3. At 20th level, your range is capped at 1 mile rather than the entire plane of existance (still more than enough).
4. No infecting swarms

Is this enough?

Primal Fury
2008-12-08, 10:14 PM
He RoC. Certainly is nice to see you 'round here again.

And this... this is... um.

This should not be a class. It may be mechnically sound, but I don't think there are many players who want to go through this much... micro-managment. It's good in theory, like it would make a good template, monster, chain of monsters, or even an actual disease accompanied by all these things, but like JackMage said, this probably shouldn't be available to the players, might be wonderful for a BBEG, but not for players.

Also, it made me think of the movie Slither.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-08, 10:24 PM
Truth be told, I made this to be a BBEG. :smalltongue:
Making a class is simpler than making 20 creatures of each CR from 1-20.

That said, I do want to keep it relatively in line with the power level of other classes. It is easy to say that few would be willing to role play as an illness but there are a few people (such as Limos) who seem interested and I don't want them seeming brutally underpowered. All things considered, this isn't too much stranger than The Stranger With Burning Eyes (a PrC from The Tome of Necromancy on the wizards boards who specializes in using magic jar to pass from body to body.)

If anyone has any ideas of how I could better maintain balance (dropping the psionics, perhaps?) or can think of any feats/alternate class features that would make this more horrific, by all means share.

Edit: Also, this only really becomes alot of micromanagement when you are trying to use this ability as a lesser polymorph effect. I really intended the ability to pass the Faceless into whatever body was most conveniant rather than to pass the Faceless into a collection of different bodies held as mind slaves.

Primal Fury
2008-12-08, 10:33 PM
Well, if you want ideas... I suppose you could give Faceless Form... more. Perhaps you could add new abilities to it, that would make it feel like you're still playing your own unique character, rather than just a collection of different characters. And that would make it more useful as well. It's scary... but it does nothing, other than the blindsight thing of course.

SilentNight
2008-12-08, 11:44 PM
This is simply amazing. I can tell you put a huge amount of thought into this and the flavor is simply amazing. If I could ever find a DM crazy enough to allow this I'd so totally play one, micromanagement be damned! As far as power, yes, there is extreme cheese potential but you can't really tone it down much more without taking away from the concept.

Limos
2008-12-08, 11:54 PM
I thought of something. Since you use the Faceless's stats and hp and such, perhaps you could add some kind of Vector Decay feature.

Perhaps the longer you stay in a vector the more the strain damages the body. Maybe it loses 1 hit die every 3 day or something, and when it runs out the Vector dies and you need a new one. You could have the hit die regenerate while they are secondary vectors. So you would have to rotate bodies and wouldn't be able to just jump from one vector to another without any real penalties.

That would mean you would have to actually work to collect enough Vectors to keep up the rotation. Higher levels means it's easier to find vectors, and easier to activate them. But at early levels you would actually be killable.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-09, 12:53 AM
Hmm, I guess you are right, primal fury. When I first wrote up Faceless form, I intended for it to be a gimick of sorts. After all, who would suspect that the faceless assailant and the town butcher could be the same person when they look completely different.
I have altered Faceless form to give alot more, including an infectious touch attack, a fearful aura, and two of the more creepy incorporeal traits (passing through walls and walking completely silently).

I have also instigated a slightly harsher version of the suggested vector degregation (punnishing anything more than one day spent in a vector continuously).

Limos
2008-12-09, 01:07 AM
What do Negative levels for the Vector even accomplish? I thought the Faceless used all of his own stats and skills and such.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-09, 09:01 AM
Yeah but unlike normal negative levels, these things aren't suppressed when the Faceless takes over, meaning that the Faceless suffers from them as well. :smallsmile:

Icewalker
2008-12-10, 08:23 PM
The fluff is excellent. I like the starting story.

The class is a bit overpowered, hugely open to be broken, and AWESOME. Mainly the last one. And a lot of it. Like, damn.

Very clearly best for a BBEG, yeah. I've already figured out some really awesome ways to use it, although I think (especially when used as a BBEG) it could use a little variation. Most importantly letting the body take the damage instead of the disease, such that when you injure the person, the disease flees and you still injured the body.

I'm definitely using this....oh, awesome.

Limos
2008-12-10, 10:39 PM
As Icewalker said, the bodies should be able to take damage as well.

Maybe the Faceless takes empathic damage for being in the body, but the body itself takes it as well.

That way they would still need to watch their own HP count but if they try to possess Housecat or a Mouse then they will be vulnerable to weaker enemies due to their tiny hp in that body.

Otherwise you might end up with a Faceless with a huge HP count possessing a Diminutive creature and being an unhittable tank.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-10, 10:49 PM
Let's see if I can balance this puppy (If I've gone too far and nerfed it, even better. Making a class more powerful is easy. Weakening it without damaging flavor is hard).

The Faceless, V 2.0

A single figure walked through the snow that day. He wore a heavy coat and a scarf concealed his face, leaving only his deep green eyes visible. A fine darkwood bow and quiver of arrows hung from his back. He took a left turn down a back alley and walked into the shadows. He soon found himself in front of a wooden cellar, behind the popular Pub “The Dragon’s Tooth”. He knocked on the cellar door.
A small slit slid open, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes. “password!” commanded the deep, guttural voice. “The shadow runs from dawn,” came the reply, smooth as silk. After a short grunt of approval, the slit was shut once more. The door opened outwards, almost hitting the newcomer.
The bloodshot eyes belonged to human, wait, no, a half-orc. His nose and jaw were far to pronounced to be human. The newcomer removed his ungloved hand from his pocket and unraveled the scarf. The newcomer appeared mostly elven, though some slight rounding of the ears and short red hair revealed a bit of human blood.
The orc gaped a bit at the newcomer, opening and closing his mouth without words. “Dominic,” he said at last, lowering into an awkward bow, “havn’ seen ya lately.” The half-elf smiled and nodded, “I’ve been a bit under the weather.” Without further words, the half-orc stood aside to let Dominic pass by.
As Dominic lowered the steps, he became aware of a loud boastful voice among the ruckus below. When he reached the ground, he saw Dolmich the dwarf standing on a table, mug of ale in hand, finishing the story of his greatest heist. “and when the dust cleared, the dragon didn’t want his horde anymore.” A round of laughter filled the small cellar. At least ten people, including Dominic, Dolmich, and the half-orc, were assembled.
As Dolmich rose up from a deep bow, he saw Dominic and waved to him. “Hey, boss. We thought you’d be a no show again tonight. Had to keep the crowd occupied, yea?” “Understood, old friend,” replied the half-elf, “but before we start, would you do us the honor of one more story.”
The Dwarves face alighted at the suggestion, “But o’ course. Anything in mind?”. The entire crowd turned their heads to Dominic as he seemed to puzzle over the question. “How about that ambush a good year back, off on old pine road?” Dolmich’s smile dropped a bit. He remembered the story, of course, but there was nothing spectacular about it. Oh well. Any story’s spectacular when you add enough ale to the mix.
“Sure thing. Bout a year back, you all remember, the city watch mobilized. We were caught off guard and things were lookin’ bad for our coffers. To help ends meet, we started watching the roads. Just as luck would have it, one dark night, I found some people sleeping on the side of old pine road, a tough looking human, an elf with a spellbook, and a gnome. I have a bit of magic training, you know, so believe me when I say it was a smorgasbord of goodies. Hell, they was lightin up like a second sun.” Dolmich stood back to let the image sink. “After that, well, I did just what any of us would. I tore up the spellbook before tearing the human’s throat.” Dolmich made a slicing motion with his empty hand. The halfling sitting on the cellar’s floor burst into laughter at this line while the two human guild members nervously ran their hands over their necks.
Dominic nodded for the dwarf to continue. “The human died straightaway but then there were the elf and the gnome. The elf cried when she saw what I did to her spellbook, she did. A couple thumps ended her,” a couple more cheers went up, “and then I turned to the gnome.”
For the first time in the story, Dominic was leaning forward, hanging on Dolmich’s every word. Better play this out all dramatic-like then. “Well, lads, the gnome hadn’t done anything to me so far. No magic, no weapons, no nothing. I had nothing against that gnome. I feel a certain kinship with the height deprived. I was puzzling over what to do when the gnome gives me an offer. He offers to give me everything but his life and the clothes on his back. Well, this seemed to me a very one-sided offer. After all, why should I let him keep anything?” a few guild members burst into laughter at this point. “But,” said Dolmich before pausing for dramatic effect, “let it never be said that I have no decency. I took him up on his offer.” Even though they had heard it all before, the crowd feigned total shock.
Dominic spoke up, “but you killed him, of course.” Dolmich took a swig of ale. “weren’t my intention, but aye. The gnome promised me his magic items, you see, but he tried to take off with a pair of magic boots. He broke his word, I broke his spine, and the horde I brought back held us over till spring.” The room was filled in cheers.
Dolmich frowned a bit. He was going for a far more climactic finish. Even so, best to give the crowd what they want. He rose both arms to prepare for another bow when he felt a pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw an arrow piercing through it.
Dolmich fell to his knees and coughed up a bit of blood. Even good old dwarven resilience wouldn’t get him through this one. The arrow had hit his heart. He feebly looked around for his assailant. “Dominic?”
Dominic was standing up with his bow pointed to the dwarf. Quietly, he stowed away before walking up to Dolmich. Nobody else dared move, to block his path or oppose him in any way. The old dwarf wasn’t angry, merely confused. “Why, Dominic?” he squeaked. Dominic bent down to whisper in the dying dwarf’s ear…

“Because, my dear Dolmich, you destroyed my favorite body.”

Most civilizations fear people, armies, or tyrants. It is the nature of humanoids to pin their troubles on another individual or group of individuals. What they never think to fear, however, is an attack from within themselves. Plagues have been decimating kingdoms since the beginning of time. Some can drive a city to madness, some can melt skin off of bones, and some can spread across continents nearly overnight. Yet, the populace do not fear this faceless menace, the foe they cannot face in combat.
One particular strain of disease deserves special note. This psionic disease is blessed with an intelligence of its own, making it capable of deadly tactics. To makes matters worse, it controls its vectors like puppets, using them to propagate itself unseen. By the time that a community has noticed the threat, it may already be too late to stop the Facless threat.
Adventures: Perhaps not surprisingly, the thoughts of a Faceless are analogous to those of a humanoid. It may even retain some of the quirks and habits of its first primary vector. Most Faceless adventure to expand their area of control and increase their personal power. However, some of the more tame Faceless adventure to find their place in society. Though most Faceless care nothing about embarrassment, personal shame is a strong motivator (as it is one of the few things that follows them into a new body). Generally speaking, wealth holds little pull to a Faceless. There are some, however, who use their body-snatching power to horde the wealth of a large group of people.
Characteristics: As a Faceless develops, they infect more victims from further distances and of a wider array of species. In addition, they begin manipulating their inactive vectors while stealing more strength from their primary vector. At the pinnacle of their power, a Faceless may control multiple vectors simultaneously or even manifest themselves without any vector at all.
Alignment: Most Faceless are evil, caring little for their vectors and disposing of them as they see fit. They want to obtain the most powerful vectors possible to press their views on anyone they can’t infect. Some of these evil Faceless are more tame, understanding that even a hated foe could become an ally (or vector) the next day. They are slightly less willing to sacrifice vectors or kill indiscriminately. A rare few Faceless attempt to make a positive impact on the world or to live in solitude rather than actively infecting the world. These Faceless are neutral in alignment. No matter how good their intentions, however, the existence of a Faceless undermines a creature’s free will and all Faceless have the overpowering instinct to propagate themselves, preventing them from ever truly attaining a good alignment. There are just as many Faceless with lawful tendencies as there are that lean towards chaos.
Religion: Faceless generally don’t care about matters such as religion. After all, the Faceless has no soul (that it is aware of) and can effectively life forever if not slain, leaving little reason for it to bow before a deity (except as part of a disguise). Most have a decent respect for how divine magic insofar as it can heal their wounds and make their lives easier. If a divine spell was crafted that could heal people of their infection, however, a Faceless would understandably be less than pleased.
Background: Nobody truly knows how a Faceless forms. Some say that a Faceless forms from a mass of concentrated psionic energy in the brain. Others think that it is a rare byproduct of natural insanity or a birth defect. A few have gone so far as to suggest that each Faceless is the result of a single creature with deity-like powers. Whatever the case, the Faceless emerges in their first primary vector with almost no knowledge of their own.
Without any information to differentiate them from their vector, they generally match their normal routines to the letter for a couple of months as the Faceless gains self-awareness. By the time that the Faceless can infect others, it already has a bit of psionic energy and a full set of views on the world around it (which may or may not have been influenced by those of its first vector).
Races: Unlike other classes, the Faceless is essentially its own race. Although only the most powerful of faceless manifest a visible (if intangible) form, they are careful to separate what they are from what they are pretending to be. Even so, a Faceless generally ends up with one or two favored races that it feels most at home inhabiting.
Most Races feel uncomfortable around a Faceless, knowing that it can infect them at any time…if it hasn’t done so already.
Other Classes: Although a Faceless has a strong instinct to act on their own, many of them know that this may be suicidal. The Faceless tries to get along as best it can with those of other persuasions, knowing that their skills will be lost if they simply take control of their allies. The Faceless feels most at home around rogues and other sneaky individuals who likewise try to keep themselves nameless.
Few classes, if any, feel at home around a Faceless. Still, an open-minded party may find a master of infiltration and espionage at their disposal.
Role: A Faceless fits few traditional roles in a party. They really shine when they are able to infiltrate an organization or manipulate a foe. The Faceless is also just as stealthy (if not more-so) than the average rogue, making them an interesting scout. At the peak of their power, a Faceless may control multiple creatures, helping to deal with large groups of enemies.

Game Rule Information
Faceless have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Most of a Faceless’ class abilities rely upon their charisma score. As there is no chance for them to return from the dead, Constitution is another high priority for most Faceless. Finally, Intelligence helps a Faceless acquire more skill points.
Alignment: Any Nongood.
Hit Die: d8



Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +0 +2 +0 +2 Faceless Plague,
Shield of Flesh, Wild Talent
2 +1 +3 +0 +3 Faceless Form (Transformation),
Lesser Manipulation
3 +2 +3 +1 +3 Aura of Anonymity
4 +3 +4 +1 +4 Faceless Hate
5 +3 +4 +1 +4 Faceless Plague
6 +4 +5 +2 +5 Faceless Form (Infection)
7 +5 +5 +2 +5 Shell of Flesh
8 +6/+1 +6 +2 +6 Vector Manipulation
9 +6/+1 +6 +3 +6 Awaken Vectors
10 +7/+2 +7 +3 +7 Faceless Plague
11 +8/+3 +7 +3 +7 Fearful Presence
12 +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Faceless Form (Barriers)
13 +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Faceless Army
14 +10/+5 +9 +4 +9 Greater Manipulation
15 +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +9 Faceless Plague
16 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Hide In Plain Sight
17 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Hivemind
18 +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Faceless Form (Silence)
19 +14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Outbreak
20 +15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Faceless Plague,
Freed From Flesh
Class Skills (4+ Int modifier per level): Autohypnosis, Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy,
Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (all skills, taken separately), Move Silently,
Profession, Psicraft, Use Magic Device.

Class Features: The Following are class features of the Faceless

Weapon/Armor Proficiencies: A Faceless gains proficiency with all simple weapons and martial weapons and with light armor and shields (but not tower shields)

Wild Talent: A Faceless gains Wild Talent as a bonus feat. (This class feature provides the character with the psionic power he needs to achieve psionic focus, if he has no power points otherwise.)

Primary Vector: A Faceless exists as a disease rather than a person. It acts upon the world through a single vector with an active infection. As long as a creature is a primary vector, they are the thrall of the Faceless. When the primary vector becomes a secondary vector (see below), they fall unconscious and awaken later with no memory of the time spent under mental control.
Regardless of your primary vector, you retain your mental ability scores, hit points, alignment, saving throws, hit dice, proficiencies, base attack bonus, skills, feats, and class features. Furthermore, you use your own physical ability scores or those of your vector, whichever are lower. You gain your primary vector’s extraordinary senses, natural attacks, size category, speed and movement types, racial skill bonuses, and creature type. In addition, you gain your primary vector’s appearance, gender, languages known, and memories.
The primary vector does not take damage for entering a wounded vector and any preexisting curses, diseases, poisons, or other afflictions or your primary vector possesses are suppressed for as long as you control them. When you leave the vector, their total hit points are equal to their hit point total when they were activated or your hit point total when you left them, whichever is lower (a character cannot be brought back from the dead in this way).
You start play in a humanoid vector of any race from the player’s handbook with a single level in expert.

Vector Degregation: All else aside, the Faceless is a disease. No matter how well they treat or how much they treasure a given vector, their presence will eventually wear down the vector's body. A single primary vector may bear the pressence of the Faceless for up to 1 week plus 1 day per level/hd before dying (this time need not be continuous), taking you with them if they are your only primary vector.
A remove disease spell allows a primary vector to bear the Faceless' presence for an additional day. No primary vector may benefit from such treatment more than once per week, however.

Faceless Plague (Ex): As a standard action, a Faceless may attempt to pass on their infection to others. The target must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + 1/2 Faceless Level + Charisma modifier) or suffer from an inactive infection, becoming a secondary vector. If the Faceless expends their psionic focus as part of this action, the target is not entitled to a saving throw. Once a Faceless has used this ability, they must wait 1d4+1 rounds before using it once more.
A Faceless may possess a number of secondary vectors up to their Class level + their Charisma modifier. Any secondary vectors added beyond this frees the oldest vector of their infection.
As a standard action, a Faceless may can attempt to activate the infection of a secondary vector. The secondary vector is entitled to a Will Save (DC 10 + 1/2 Faceless Level + Charisma modifier) to resist this control. If they succeed, they are immune to further attempts from that Faceless for 24 hours. If they fail, the target becomes your new primary vector while your previous primary vector becomes your secondary vector.
At 1st level, the Faceless may pass on their infection as a touch attack and activate infections of those within 10 feet. The Faceless can only activate humanoid secondary vectors.
At 5th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 10 feet away and activate infections of those within 30 feet. The Faceless may activate Animal and Monstrous Humanoid secondary vectors.
At 10th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 50 feet away and activate infections of those within 100 feet. The Faceless may activate Plant and Vermin secondary vectors.
At 15th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 100 feet away and activate infections of those within 500 feet. The Faceless may activate Giant and Magical Beast secondary vectors.
At 20th level, a Faceless may infect creatures up to 1,000 away and activate infections of those within 1 mile. The Faceless may activate any living secondary vector.
When travelling from one primary vector to the next, any equipment they possess does not travel with them but any diseases, poisons, or other afflictions acquired by the Faceless do. A creature is only immune to this ability if they are immune to both mind-affecting effects and disease. A Faceless may not activate a secondary vector that possesses more HD/Levels than they possess class levels. A Faceless may not infect the vector of another Faceless. A Faceless cannot infect swarms or mobs.

Shield of Flesh (Ex): A Faceless quickly learns to conceal their presence. As they wear the actual bodies of their vectors, spot checks cannot detect their presence. Similarly, the Faceless need not make a Forgery check to copy their primary vector’s handwriting. Any sense motive check made against them or their vectors (except those made as an opposed check) takes a penalty equal to their class level. The Faceless gains immunity to all spells and effects that detect alignment or read thoughts.
The infection of a primary or secondary vector cannot be detected by any magical means short of a True-Seeing spell. Any vector viewed by such an effect has the ghostly image of a medium humanoid with white skin and blank slate of a face transposed over it.

Faceless Form (Su): Starting at 2nd level, whenever a Faceless gains psionic focus, they can force their primary vector through a drastic transformation. The primary vector’s skin, fur, feathers, and/or scales become pure white as their face(s) are wiped away, leaving only a blank slab behind.
In this form, the Faceless gains blindsight out to 60 feet but is blind, deaf, and mute. They are incapable of eating or drinking in this form but they do not lose these metabolic needs. They may still breath, play wind instruments, and suffer from inhaled poisons and odor-based effects due to enlarged pores in their skin.
Starting at 6th level, the Faceless can pass along disease with a mere touch while in their Faceless form. They gain a melee touch attack that functions as the Contagion spell (Fortitude DC 13 + Charisma modifier negates).
Starting at 12th level, a Faceless in their Faceless Form can pass through walls and other similar barriers up to one foot thick as if they were incorporeal. They may not pass through force effects.
Starting at 18th level, the steps of a Faceless are completely silent while they are in their Faceless Form. They automatically succeed on all move silently checks unless they wish to fail
This form lasts for as long as the Faceless maintains psionic focus + 5 rounds. It may be ended prematurely as a full-round action. This form immediately ends the moment that the Faceless travels to a new primary vector.

Lesser Manipulation (Su): Starting at 2nd level, a Faceless can start to manipulate secondary vectors. As a swift action, the Faceless may experience the world through the senses of any vector for 1 round. All attacks made against the Faceless by their vectors have a 20% miss chance. Finally, all of their vectors start one category closer to helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile).

Aura of Anonymity (Ex): A Faceless quickly masters the art of escaping notice. Starting at 3rd level, no creature may remember specific details about a Faceless unless they succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom check. Secondary Vectors automatically fail this check.
Furthermore, when moving through a crowd, you take no penalty to your speed and take no penalty to hide or more silently checks made while moving at up to their full speed. Charging or running Faceless still take the normal penalties, however.

Faceless Hate (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a Faceless can pass along a disease of a similar strain to itself, known as Faceless Hate (BoVD, page 30). As a move action, a Faceless may free a secondary vector of their infection and replace it with Faceless Hate. The incubation time is lowered to 1 hour and the target receives no initial saving throw to negate the disease, although they can fight it off afterwards as normal.
Furthermore, the vectors of a Faceless are invisible to blindsight gained through the Faceless Hate disease thanks to a pheromone that the Faceless helps its vectors produce.

Shell of Flesh (Ex): Starting at 7th level, a Faceless can save themselves from permanent destruction. In order to do so, the Faceless must spend a standard action readying themselves to retreat deep into their Vector's body if the worst should occur. After doing so, if the Faceless would be slain within the next round, their primary vector dies but they live on with 1 hp.
In this state, the primary vector’s senses no longer function but the Faceless gains blindsight out to 60 feet. In addition, the Faceless may take no action other than to activate the infections of secondary vectors.
The Faceless may not be damaged further by any means short of the body's complete destruction, which slays the Faceless. Otherwise, they can remain dormant until their vector rots away completely. No magical or psionic means can reveal the continued existance of the Faceless while they remain in this state.
Alternately, if the Faceless' primary vector is slain due to vector degregation (see above), the Faceless automatically enters this state. The Faceless may not use this ability if they possess more than one primary vector.

Vector Manipulation (Su): Starting at 8th level, a Faceless gains a greater amount of control over their vectors. The Faceless may communicate telepathically with any vector. All attacks made against the Faceless by their vectors have a 50% miss chance. Lastly, all of their vectors start two categories closer to helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile).

Awaken Vectors (Ex): At 9th level, a Faceless can temporarily control multiple primary vectors. When the Faceless succeeds in activating another infection, they need not leave their current primary vector unless they wish it. At any given time, a Faceless may possess a number of primary vectors up to their Charisma modifier. Any gained beyond this limit makes your oldest primary vector a secondary vector
All primary vectors act at the same initiative count. No matter how many you possess, however, you are still restricted to the same number of actions per round, split among them in any way that desire (including the limit on attacks of opportunity). You may make one attack and another one move, for example. A new primary vector has hit points equal to that of the primary vector that awakened it. Later injury dealt to one primary vector is not transmitted to others, however. However, all primary vectors share the same pool of power points.
You are not slain unless all of your primary vectors are slain. At the end of the encounter (or 5 minutes after gaining a second vector), select a single living primary vector to remain your primary vector while others become secondary vectors once more.

Fearful Presence (Ex): Starting at 11th level, the very presence of a Faceless can inspire fear in those around them. All creatures that come within 30 feet of a Faceless become shaken, even if they are incapable actually seeing the Faceless.
Unlike other fear effects, this fear does not immediately draw attention to itself, instead manifesting in minor physiological reactions (hair on back of neck raising up, goosebumps on the skin, slightly accellerated heart rate, etc.). It takes a DC 15 Wisdom check to notice the condition and a DC 25 wisdom check to notice from where it emanates.

Faceless Army (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a Faceless’ power to possess multiple primary vectors improves. Each round, one primary vector gains a full rounds worth of actions while all other vectors are entitle to a move action. Furthermore, the Faceless may possess a number of primary vectors up to 1/2 Faceless level + Charisma modifier. Finally, this ability no longer possesses a limited duration.

Greater Manipulation (Su): Starting at 14th level, a Faceless gains absolute control over their vectors. The Faceless may read the surface thoughts of any secondary vector for a single round as a swift action. Secondly, their vectors cannot attack the Faceless unless they succeed on a Will Save (DC 10 + 1/2 faceless level + Cha modifier). Finally, all of their vectors start as helpful towards the Faceless (unless already hostile)

Hide In Plain Sight (Ex): Starting at 16th level, the ability of a Faceless to blend in with their surroundings has reached an almost supernatural level. The Faceless may make hide checks without cover or concealment.

Hivemind (Ex): Starting at 17th level, a Faceless masters the art of controlling multiple vectors. No primary vector is flat-footed or flanked unless they all are. All primary vectors are immune to any mind-affecting effect that fails to affect them all equally. Each primary vector is entitled to a swift or immediate action each round. Furthermore, each vector may make an attack of opportunity once per round. Lastly, the number of primary vectors that a Faceless can control is raised to their Faceless level + Charisma modifier.

Outbreak (Ex): Starting at 19th level, the plague of a Faceless becomes nearly unstoppable. There is no longer any limit on the number of secondary vectors they can possess. Secondly, any creature that the Faceless infects with their plague or with Faceless Hate can pass along their disease with mere contact, although its strength is reduced (Fort DC 10 + Faceless’ Cha modifier to resist). Finally, any creature given Faceless Hate by the Faceless (directly or indirectly) makes a save every hour instead of every day to resist damage.

Freed From Flesh (Ex): Starting at 20th level, a Faceless has finally accumulated enough psychic might to live as an individual entity if they do so desire. As a full-round action, a Faceless can manifest itself anywhere within 30 feet of a primary vector, turning all primary vectors into secondary vectors. The Faceless may even use this ability after using their Shell of Flesh ability (to escape from the corpse).
In their manifested form, the Faceless one is an incorporeal medium humanoid with snow white skin and a completely blank slate of a face. The Faceless one gains a fly speed of 30 feet (average maneuverability) and a melee touch attack that deals 2d10 damage. In this form, the Faceless one needs neither food nor drink.
The moment that a faceless one gains a primary vector, their manifested form disappears once more.


FAQ:
Q: Haven't I seen this all somewhere before.
A: I swear to god that this thing is not based off of the adromeda strain. I only noticed the few similarities (intelligent disease controlling vectors) after I had already typed up the class. However, if you change the class to work in a d20 modern game, it might fit the part well enough.

Q: I don’t get how the vector’s skill, vector’s cunning, and vector’s power abilities interact with the multiple primary vector abilities.
A: Simply put, when using your multiple primary vector abilities, you are effectively controlling multiple characters. When vector’s skill, cunning, and power come into the picture, each of these characters is differentiated from each other a little bit. One of your vectors may gain ranks in bluff, weapon finesse, and sneak attack while another gains ranks in jump, weapon focus (spear), and rage.

Q: What if one primary vector gains the improved initiative feat?
A: Well, the ability states that all vectors act on the same initiative count. If one vector manages to pull ahead, so too do they all (breaking the normal rule that the benefits of one vector’s feat do not pass onto the other). Having two primary vectors with the feat does not increase your initiative count by +8, however.

Q: How can I change my choice of skills/feat/power when I use my Vector’s “blank” ability?
A: Once you are already in a primary vector, the only way to change your decision is to move to a new primary vector and then reinfect the vector all over again.

Q: Can I have my cohorts and followers willingly be infected?
A: Yes.

Q: Do my secondary vectors recognize me?
A: Actually, they will likely never recognize you. Remember, they automatically fail on checks made against your aura of anonymity. However, this will likely just make them more frightened when you contact them with the Vector Manipulation ability so be careful.

Q: If an opponent becomes a secondary vector in mid-combat, do they still automatically fail against the aura of anonymity (they saw me beforehand)?
A: Yes

Q: If I leave a primary vector after taking damage, is the secondary vector (recently primary vector) also damaged?
A: No. All damage so far has been dealt to you exclusively, although your death results in its death. The only afflictions that they possess when you leave are those that they had before you came.

Q: If my primary vector is hit by a soul-sucking effect, does it kill us both (me and the vector) or just take one of us?
A: It takes you both, even though you technically have no soul.

Q: How do Cancer Mages interact with the infection?
A: There is no special interaction.

Q: How can infections be cured?
A: It is impossible to “cure” the plague of a Faceless (although a Faceless that infects too many people naturally nullifies the infection in older targets). Even so, once the Faceless has been slain, there is a good chance that the cure will remain dormant for the rest of their life.

Q: Why isn’t disguise a class skill?
A: They don’t need it. Walking around in the skin of their victims with complete access to their thoughts and memories, it is impossible to tell someone is possessed by a Faceless just by looking at them. If the Faceless wanted to look like someone else, they’d just take that person over.

Changes I have made
1. Requiring a standard action jnstead of an immediate action for Shell of Flesh so that you are saved with 1 hit point if you die within the next round. This makes them actually killable if they don't suspect that they are about to die.
2. Going the path of the soulblade and removing the psionics but granting wild talent as a bonus feat at 1st level (to keep the psionic flavor). If I make this change, getting hit no longer deals power point damage.
3. Removing the three Vector's <blank> abilities and replacing them with the extra abilities from Faceless form (the fear aura becomes the new 11th level ability). Without Vector's power, access to multiple creature types no longer leads to needless abuse, just a wider array of disguises.
4. When you leave a vector, they are left with the current hit points that they had when you activated them or your current hit points when you left them, whichever is lower. While it is tempting to simply transfer some damage to the host body, I feel that this approach is simpler as it only requires players to keep track of one hit point total.
5. Vector degregation has been smoothed out and made even more severe so that the Faceless is always on the lookout for new bodies.

I believe that the Faceless is now balanced.

Limos
2008-12-10, 11:18 PM
The Vector Degeneration is very severe now, a lot of low level players who have trouble getting enough vectors or end up stuck somewhere for a long time would get killed by their only vectors dying.

Then again this is a BBEG class so they probably won't have any problems with that.

EDIT: Ah, I see it. They could infect monstrous humanoids only after fifth level.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-11, 12:56 AM
Interesting point.

I upped the time limit to 1 week + 1 day/HD.
Even though this might seem like alot, keep in mind that it is incredibly hard to get any use out of a vector beyond that (and doing so requires weekly applications of remove disease).

While I was at it, I fixed Shell of Flesh so that you automatically retreat into your Vector if Vector Degregation kills them.

Edit: Just realized something. Now that the psionics are gone, Faceless in the bodies of rats and toads have no real way to deal damage (though their magic weapons adjust for size and they retain their proficiencies, the damage of a tiny or diminutive weapon is pathetic in most cases). I consider this to be a big step toward balance. :smallbiggrin:

Limos
2008-12-11, 02:36 AM
Interesting point.

I upped the time limit to 1 week + 1 day/HD.
Even though this might seem like alot, keep in mind that it is incredibly hard to get any use out of a vector beyond that (and doing so requires weekly applications of remove disease).

While I was at it, I fixed Shell of Flesh so that you automatically retreat into your Vector if Vector Degregation kills them.

Edit: Just realized something. Now that the psionics are gone, Faceless in the bodies of rats and toads have no real way to deal damage (though their magic weapons adjust for size and they retain their proficiencies, the damage of a tiny or diminutive weapon is pathetic in most cases). I consider this to be a big step toward balance. :smallbiggrin:

That should definately help with balance issues so you don't have psychic rodents ruling the world. I just realized that once you are able to use animals as Vectors you could just keep a pet something or other as a secondary vector on hand and if you're in trouble you can possess it and then bug out.

I always thought it would weird to have a bunch of NPCs following you around as Secondary Vectors who have no real reason to come along.

I was thinking of an alternative to Shell of Flesh to keep you alive in times of need.

Retreat of Flesh (Ex)
Many times a newly awakened Faceless will find themselves in company that might not... appreciate, being used as Primary Vectors. This dislike might even extend to your former Teammates killing your remaining Vectors in hopes of remaining uninfected.
In the event that a Faceless finds itself in such company and has no remaining Vectors it can, at 3rd level, attach itself to a Secondary Vector without activating them as a Primary Vector. This process kills the current Primary Vector. To observers it appears as though the Primary Vector has succumbed to it's wounds or to a disease. In this state the Vector is completely unaware of the presensce of the Faceless and retains it's control. A Faceless in this state can only be detected by a True Seeing Spell.
In this state the Faceless is completely deprived of it's sense, but can still assume Faceless Form, use Lesser Manipulation, and activate Secondary Vectors. Each day that the Faceless remains attached without activating the Primary vector he takes one negative level that can only be restored by spending three days in a Primary Vector. The Vector suffers two points of Constitution damage per day that is restored once the Faceless detaches. Should the vector use a Cure Disease spell the Faceless must make a Will save (DC10 + The caster level) or be killed.

This would be a lower level form of the Shell of Flesh ability, it would require a living Secondary Vector that is within range of being activated. This way a lower level Faceless who isn't strong enough to force it's party members to act as Vectors could discreetly save it's own life in a bad situation without alerting party members to the infection.

It would also be a great way to allow a weakened Faceless to not get killed while a stronger party member can keep fighting.

....

Looking at this now that I've written it, it doesn't seem as cool or as useful as I thought it would be when I started typing. I'll leave it here anyway and hear what you think.

EDIT: This would also be a great plot point for a character that just defeated a Faceless and thought he killed all of it's Vectors and destroyed the bodies just to be sure. Then he starts sickening and suddenly one of his allies becomes the Faceless. (This would probably be a Faceless mook rather than the BBEG himself.)

EDIT2: I keep changing things to make it better. Now it has to experience everything through the eyes of it's attached vector (Lesser Manipulation) in hopes of running into a secondary vector or a candidate for infection. Once it spots one it can assume Faceless form to infect them and get a new primary vector.

Realms of Chaos
2008-12-11, 09:14 AM
Interesting but a bit unbalanced.

You forget that a Faceless could use this to jump from enemy mook to enemy mook, killing each one as they exit. Keep in mind that a secondary vector falls unconscious when you leave them. That should be enough to lead to coup de graces (and lead for some interesting interrogation scenes aside).

Furthermore, I see no reason why the Faceless would want to stay dormant. They are just as hard to detect under normal circumstances and they are better at disguising themselves than any doppelganger (real appearance, real voice, real memories, real handwriting, and penalty on any sense motive checks made to "get a hunch").

Edit: Then again, maybe you're onto something. I'll add a dormant infection class feature.

Edit: Just did the math and found that this thing isn't an unhittable tank. One thing that many people forget is that armor sizes for tiny or smaller creatures has its armor value cut in half (see armor for unusual creatures sidebar on page 123 of the PHB). If the Faceless somehow got proficiency in a suit of +1 full-plate and switched into the body of a rat, that magic armor would adjust to fit him but the base armor bonus would be halved, leaving him with a +5 armor bonus.
Furthermore, with a strength score of 2, the Faceless' heavy load is equal to 14-20 pounds, which is multiplied by 1/4 because he is tiny to a heavy load of 4-5 pounds. The weight of full-plate armor (50 lbs.) is multiplied by 1/10 when reduced to tiny or smaller size, resulting in 5 pounds of armor.
In short, that armor is a heavy load all by itself, reducing your speed, imposing an incredible penalty to your stealth skills (in addition to that of your armor), and lowering your Dexterity bonus to your AC. Picking up anything else reduces you to 5 feet.
All things considered, at least in that situation, the Faceless is probably better off in a larger body.

Limos
2008-12-11, 11:10 AM
I guess we could leave it as the Vector merely falling unconscious. The mooks would then predictably coup de grace the Vector.

I was thinking that the Retreat of Flesh would be a last resort to be used when the enemies are about to kill your final Vector, or at least the last one in range. Which would be pretty easy to do at lower levels when they don't have a lot of activation range.

Say the humanoid mooks have whittled you down to 3 hp and one more hit will have you in negative hitpoints.
You manage to infect one of the mooks and then activate Retreat of Flesh.
Your primary Vector drops unconscious and they coup de grace him, so they have no reason to be suspiscious and assume you died with the Vector.
You wait until your Vector is alone then assume Faceless form to gather some new Vectors.
Then skedaddle out of their with your new Vectors in tow.

It's a little more labor intensive, and the mooks can still kill you in your weakened state, so it's not as powerful as Shell of Flesh, but it allows you to save yourself at lower levels.

EDIT: I guess I was assuming that players would end up giving themselves away in some manner when they possess someone. I didn't really realize just how hard it is to catch one of these things. Really you could just infect and then activate any old mook and no one would notice.

cliffiepizza
2008-12-17, 11:42 PM
Wow, this is a really cool class. It'll make for an awesome villain.