Tome of Radiance: Mastering the Power of Love and Justice

[Snowfire]

Oh, pretty new things. And one of my own for you too actually. Finished this a while back actually, but formatting it for posting took quite a bit longer than I expected - and I kinda wanted to wait until you posted something before I fired another PrC at you. Now however

Immortal

"You have chosen to stand against me in this. You have chosen poorly. You will open the gates of Hell itself, and I will not yield. You will bloat the sun with arrows and black magic, and I will not bend. You will bring to me all the sovereigns of the heavens and the earth, and I will not bow.

They believe in me. And for them, I will never stop."

- Of the Doom of Tyrants by Immortal Jaenasia

Very few choose to walk the path of the Immortal. Not out of disinterest or lack of desire, but for it is difficult and demanding. The Immortal walks an ascetic path, devoting herself completely and utterly to a single cause. Her heart is cleansed of impurity and vice, dedicated wholly to the people who have put their trust in her.

There is no greater friend, no greater companion and no greater ally than one who walks the path of the Immortal. They are so known not due to their inability to meet a natural death, but due to their truly staggering resilience and the legacy which they inevitability leave behind. They act as inspiration to those who doubt, their body an aegis that defies what others consider impossible, breaking all assaults upon it as if mere inconveniences.

No matter how difficulty or inconvenient this goal of hers might become, an Immortal never surrenders their purpose. It is from this wellspring of belief, faith and determination that the great and amazing power others have called 'the immortal stance' originates.

She is a believer amongst believers. Her loyalty beyond reproach. Her will withstanding all comers.

Pity the darkness for the futility of its war against the Light.

Requirements
To become an Immortal, you must fulfil the following criteria:
Alignment: Any Lawful
Skills: Concentration 9 ranks
Feats: Diehard
Special: Evoker Level 6

Spoiler

Show

Another level seven entry class here, but it really fits to a lot of these. And yes, there's an alignment restriction.

Class Skill List: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge [Local] (Int), Perform (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis) Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magical Device (Cha)

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Spoiler

Show

Champion skills, 'nuff said.

Immortal
Hit Dice: d12

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Illuminations	AC Bonus
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Enhanced Weaving, Unbreakable		+2
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	I Will Not Yield	+1 level of existing class	+2
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Never Falter	+1 level of existing class	+3
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	I Will Not Bow		+3
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4		+1 level of existing class	+4
6th	+6	+5	+2	+5		+1 level of existing class	+4
7th	+7	+5	+2	+5	I Will Not Bend		+5
8th	+8	+6	+2	+6		+1 level of existing class	+5
9th	+9	+6	+3	+6		+1 level of existing class	+6
10th	+10	+7	+3	+7	Immortal		+6

Spoiler

Show

Lower EL progression, two good saves, full BAB, d12 HD. Oh, and an AC Bonus. A reasonably strong chassis, but it loses a lot in the way of reduced Illumination power and doesn't have as many class powers as most of my other PrCs. The relative strength of those powers, however.

Illuminations: An Immortal’s power flows in strange ways, pouring through heart and mind and flesh and changing them all in ways that none – not even themself – can truly comprehend. But this power limits them in other ways. An Immortal continues to progress access to Illuminations from their Evoking Class, as well as their Evoker Level, as shown. If they have more than one Evoking Class, then they must choose one of them when they takes their first level in Immortal. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.

Spoiler

Show

As per normal. Look at table, work out EL.

AC Bonus: An Immortal gains the listed bonus to AC at level 1, increasing by one every two levels to a maximum of +6 at level 9. This AC bonus is only valid when the Immortal is either unarmoured or in their Costume.

Enhanced Weaving (Ex): An Immortal remains fully capable of weaving their Light into protective shells as she could before awakening her heritage. And the primordial, impossible strength that flows from that heritage grants her great power.

An Immortal gains additional costume elements as if her levels in Immortal were levels in her previous evoking class or Empath, whichever is more advantageous.

Spoiler

Show

Not much really to be said here.

Unbreakable (Su): Immortals are many things, but they are among a precious few evokers that can be said to be truly and utterly unbreakable by that which the world heaps upon them. This power manifests in many ways, but this is one the most iconic.

At 1st level, an Immortal gains a special costume effect that is always active and gained in addition to all others. Furthermore, she automatically has (class level) motes invested into it, without lowering her mote pool and bypassing normal investment limits.

Effect: The Immortal gains DR 1/-, as well as 25% fortification, giving her a chance to negate any sneak attack or critical hit and force damage to be rolled normally.

Essence Boost: For every 2m invested into this effect, increase the granted DR by 1. If the evoker has 8 motes or more invested into this effect, she gains Evasion. If another class would grant her evasion, this effect improves to Improved Evasion. If 16 motes or more are invested, she gains Mettle.

Cartridge Boost: When a Cartridge is expended to fuel this effect, the Immortal is wreathed in a great mantle of furious light that shields her from harm. She gains the effect of the Starmantle spell (BoED), for rounds equal to her (Evoker Stat Modifier).

Spoiler

Show

Unbreakable from Light's Artist. Fits so bad it hurts.

I Will Not Yield (Ex): The vitality of an Immortal is a wonder to behold. Where others flicker and gutter against the choking darkness, they merely expand and blaze forth more violently under the pressure. Pain does not slow them down. And the deadliest of magics cannot touch their diamond soul. For all purpose, in this more than anything else, they live up to their chosen name. They simply do not surrender to their coming death quietly. From this resolute denial, the frailties of human flesh shed off them as if falling petals.

Whenever an Immortal is called to make a fortitude saving throw, they may roll it twice and pick the best result. In the event that they nonetheless fail, they may elect once per day to treat their failure as a natural 20. Should they succeed on their fortitude saving throw, the blinding radiance within explodes forth into an invigorating blast, light streaming from their wounds as they heal 1d6 points of damage per class level.

At level seven, Immortals become immune to penalties that may accrue due to pain and blood loss. They also do not fall unconscious when they reach negative hit points and may continue to act until their death unimpeded.

Spoiler

Show

And here is the first of the three class features that make Immortals live up to their name. Powerful, but not overwhelmingly so - in that a competent GM can - at this point - capitalise on their low reflex save and the fact that they don't get an effective block on that for another six levels.

Never Falter: An Immortal stands in the face of all that attempts to lay them low. Against fire and flood, storm and avalanche, they will hold and never, ever, falter in their conviction. Even as blows rain down on them, they endure. Even as deadly magic ravages them, they will not fall. And even bleeding, shattered and broken, the Light within them endures – and with it so too their bodies.

The Immortal gains the Toughness feat and universal energy resistance 10 and no longer dies at -10 hp, instead requiring a negative hitpoint value equal to her Constitution score times one third her class level (maximum 3 at level 9) to be rendered dead. At level five, her universal energy resistance increases to 20.

Spoiler

Show

Oh please, try to kill me. Amusingly enough, this is partially a balancing mechanism due to their capstone.

I Will Not Bow (Ex): Those without resolve could never hope to awaken the power of the Immortal within them. To be an Immortal is to be a creature of exceptional willpower and conviction. Those who attempt to subvert or fool an Immortal often find themselves reeling against the breathtaking mental fortress that is their heart and mind and their piercing awareness. In this regard, the nature of the Immortal is only barely short of inviolate.

Whenever an Immortal is called to make a will saving throw, they may roll it twice and pick the best result. In the event that they nonetheless fail, they may elect once per day to treat their failure as if they instead had rolled a natural 20. Should they succeed on their will saving throw, their opponent must make a will saving throw at a DC of (10+1/2HD+Evoker Main Attribute) or be dazed for one round.

Spoiler

Show

The fluff here explains in part as to why you don't get non-lawful Immortals, and also gives a rather nasty trick that you can pull on hostile enchanters.

I Will Not Bend (Ex): The body of an Immortal is honed like no other, their Light gifting them with endurance beyond any of their sisters. Blows that would send them sprawling, they simply shrug aside. Blasts of power that would lift them bodily from their feet find them as to a rock within a stream, immovable and seemingly untouchable by raw power. And as a rock in a stream, an Immortal’s body opens a wake in the blasts of magic, shielding their allies from harm with an aegis formed of their blessed flesh and blood.

Whenever an Immortal is called to make a reflex saving throw, they may roll it twice and pick the best result. In the event that they nonetheless fail, they may elect once per day to treat their failure as if they instead had rolled a natural 20. Should they succeed on their reflex saving throw, they may choose to exclude their square and an additional (class level/3) squares directly behind her from the effect that prompted the saving throw.

Spoiler

Show

Not going to lie, I loved writing this one. It literally allows you to turn your character into a shield for the squishies in the party, which is something that D&D lacks on this sort of level.

Immortal (Su): At long last, the full promise of this ascetic path blossom before the Immortal. In their heart, they know they are ready for the time they will be called to perish for their cause. When that time comes, they slump down to one knee no matter what kind of damage or effect should have murdered them... and then they simply refuse to acknowledge death. The shadow of the inevitable recoils in horror and spite as the Immortal is surrounded by a pure white aura of burning light hotter than the sun itself. Anyone adjacent to the Immortal takes 10d6 points of untyped damage. As the blinding display dies down, the Immortal stands back up and with a defiant glare, speaks the words: "There remains one task. I apologize; I have broken my word and have knelt. It shall not happen twice." and with these words, despite their grievous wounds, they rejoin the battle.

In effect, the Immortal is completely and perfectly healed. All HP is returned, all negative conditions are cancelled, lost limbs are returned immediately, any drain effect or ability damage is cured and their mote pool is immediately refreshed. This miracle only applies to any negative effects which have been applied during the current encounter. They may also act immediately while retaining their previous initiative count. They gain a +4 perfection bonus to all rolls for the duration of the encounter. Similarly, they are considered immune to all death effects for the duration of the encounter.

Lastly, they do not need to confirm for critical hits against the one who has murdered them and may ignore any concealment, Damage Reduction and immunities that may prevent them from inflicting damage upon that foe. This does not apply to effects which do not directly cause hit points damage. Furthermore, attacks by the Immortal against said foe cannot be healed magically for the next 24 hours and bypass both Regeneration and Fast Healing.

This ability may only be activated once per encounter, and only when the Immortal would be reduced to negative hitpoints sufficient to render her dead. At the end of the encounter, the Immortal must make a DC 20 Constitution check. If they succeed, they endure with a single HP. If they fail, they simply die.

Spoiler

Show

And...yeah. Hi. This is the capstone. Due to the nature of Never Falter and I Will Not Yield, this is actually a rather difficult power to invoke, but it's also one that you likely won't want to invoke all that often considering the consequences if you fail your ability check. Those of you who have played Exalted might recognise the thematics of a particular Malfeas charm in this. Yes, that is what it is written to mimic.