Kindblood
Baba Yaga, original art by Ian Llanas, ©2015
Hissss "Little baby, don't you cry. Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby."
Spoiler: I swear I saw something from the corner of my eye
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NE Were-Legendary-Snake (Natural), Azurin
Incarnate 4 / Ur-Priest 1 / Contemplative 9 / Necrocarnate 1
Spoiler: Ability Scores
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| Ability |
Base |
Hit Die
Bonus |
Template
Bonus |
Age Bonus
(gained @ CRs
17, 18, and 19 |
Final |
Final
(Alt Form) |
|---|
| STR |
10 |
|
|
|
10 |
26 |
| DEX |
8 |
|
|
|
8 |
22 |
| CON |
13 |
+1 |
|
|
14 |
28 |
| INT |
14 |
+1 |
|
+3 |
18 |
18 |
| WIS |
15 |
+4 |
+2 |
+3 |
24 |
24 |
| CHA |
12 |
+1 |
|
+3 |
16 |
16 |
Spoiler: Once Upon a Time
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"Demon Witch"? "Demonspawn"? I sure hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth, my sweet. I would've preferred the name your village gave me: "Kindblood". Certainly an interesting superstition your village has, what with giving malevolent beings benevolent epithets in the hopes that that would serve as some sort of deterrence. Oh, if they only knew what that meant in the ancient tongue!
No matter! There's a funny story about that, actually. Would you like to hear it, my sweet? I'll take that spasm as a yessss...
Once upon a time, there lived a serpentine elder evil that was once a demonlord, who went by the name Sertrous. Fueled by his jealousy of the gods for having mortal worshipers, he spawned an army of monstrous serpents meant to devastate and conquer the hated mortalkind; there were broods of nagas, hydras, ocean serpents, giant constrictors, yuan-ti, snake lycanthropes, and many more such creatures! However, suffice to say, such brute methods were bound to failure, and what remained of the broods after their leader had perished skittered away into the deepest corners of the world, in hiding forevermore. And, thus, once again, the mortal world lived and happily warred amongst themselves ever after. The End.
Looking back, though, I am not actually as utterly deplorable as my primitive ancestors and the rest of their fellow broodspawns were. For one, I never sought conflict and destruction for their own sake. My deeds always serve a purpose, although most of it may be beyond the ken of your kind. I never, in my deepest fantasies, wished to rule this world in all its accursedness; taking ownership of something that is doomed to self-destruction is gratuitous and plain short-sighted. And, sure as the nine hells, I will not be motivated by something as pathetic as jealousy. A goal not fueled by your ambition is nothing but an empty goal, after all.
See, I am a woman of simple joys, my sweet. I only seek Divinity. For, if the gods themselves rose in power only by stooping so low and deceiving mortals, who's to say that I do not also deserve to be afforded the same treatment and be granted my rightful place amongst the divine? Mortal souls, living or dead, from the mightiest of knights to the meakest of infants, will be bent for the purpose of giving me the power that I seek.
So rest now, my sweet, and don't you worry about telling the village our little secret bedtime stories. Mama Kindblood makes it a point to kill her victims first before she starts monologuing, after all.
Spoiler: A Witch's Dissection
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| CR/HD |
Class |
Base
Attack
Bonus |
Fort
Save |
Ref
Save |
Will
Save |
Skills |
Feats |
Class Features |
|---|
| 1/1 |
Incarnate 1 |
+0 |
+2 |
+0 |
+2 |
Concentration 4,
Handle Animal 1,
Knowledge [ALL] 1 |
Able LearnerB, Spell Focus (Evil) |
Aura, Detect Opposition,
Meldshaping |
| 6/17 |
Lycanthrope
(Legendary Snake) |
+12 |
+12 |
+10 |
+7 |
Bluff 10,
Conc 14,
Handle Animal 1,
Knowledge
(Arcana) 5,
Knowledge
(Religion) 13,
Knowledge
(Planes) 5,
Sense Motive 10,
Spellcraft 10,
Spot 3 |
Iron WillB, EnduranceB*,
Athletic, Alertness, Toughnessx3 |
Contrict, Improved Grab,
Poison, Scent,
see Lycanthrope for more |
| 7/18 |
Ur-Priest 1 |
+12 |
+12 |
+10 |
+9 |
Bluff 14 |
Wild Cohort |
Divine Spellcasting |
| 8/19 |
Contemplative 1 |
+12 |
+12 |
+10 |
+11 |
Sense Motive 14 |
|
Bonus Domain (Trickery),
Divine Health |
| 9/20 |
Contemplative 2 |
+13 |
+12 |
+10 |
+12 |
Bluff 18 |
|
Slippery Mind |
| 10/21 |
Contemplative 3 |
+13 |
+13 |
+11 |
+12 |
Sense Motive 18 |
Brew Potion |
Divine Wholeness |
| 11/22 |
Contemplative 4 |
+14 |
+13 |
+11 |
+13 |
Bluff 22 |
|
|
| 12/23 |
Contemplative 5 |
+14 |
+13 |
+11 |
+13 |
Sense Motive 22 |
|
Divine Body |
| 13/24 |
Contemplative 6 |
+15 |
+14 |
+12 |
+14 |
Bluff 26 |
Practiced Spellcaster |
Bonus Domain (Incarnum) |
| 14/25 |
Contemplative 7 |
+15 |
+14 |
+12 |
+14 |
Sense Motive 26 |
|
Divine Soul |
| 15/26 |
Contemplative 8 |
+16 |
+14 |
+12 |
+15 |
Bluff 29,
Sense Motive 27 |
|
|
| 16/27 |
Contemplative 9 |
+16 |
+15 |
+13 |
+15 |
Bluff 30,
Sense Motive 30 |
Soultouched Spellcasting |
Eternal Body |
| 17/28 |
Incarnate 2 |
+17 |
+15 |
+10 |
+16 |
Bluff 31,
Sense Motive 31,
Spot 7 |
|
Chakra Bind (Crown) |
| 18/29 |
Incarnate 3 |
+17 |
+16 |
+10 |
+16 |
Bluff 32,
Sense Motive 32,
Spot 11 |
|
Expanded Soulmeld Capacity,
Incarnum Radiance 1/day |
| 19/30 |
Incarnate 4 |
+18 |
+16 |
+10 |
+17 |
Bluff 33,
Sense Motive 33,
Spot 15 |
Necrocarnum Acolyte |
Chakra Bind (Feet, Hands) |
| 20/31 |
Necrocarnate 1 |
+18 |
+16 |
+10 |
+19 |
Bluff 34,
Sense Motive 34,
Spot 19 |
|
Harvest Soul (1 minute),
Improved Meldshaper Level |
* due to how Lycanthropy adds Animal Feats, Endurance simply becomes an "extra feat"
Spoiler: Intricacies of Witchcraft
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Spells per Day/Spells Known*
| CR |
0lvl |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
|---|
| 1-6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 7 |
4 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 8 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 9 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 10 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 11 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 12 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
| 13 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
| 14 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
| 15 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| 16-20 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| CR |
Soulmelds |
Essentia |
Chakra Binds |
|---|
| 1-16 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| 17 |
3 |
2 |
1 (crown) |
| 18 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
| 19-20 |
4 |
4 |
1 (feet,hands) |
* Excluding bonus spells from a high ability score
Spoiler: Sightings and Witchhunts
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Spoiler: CR ~5 (6, really)
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Spoiler: Modus Operandi / PC Encounter Ideas
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Kindblood periodically uses Bluff (+11) to lure children and fool others into thinking that she's just a harmless peasant being accompanied by a sibling or two. Once she's back to her lair in the woods, she takes on a hybrid form and makes quick work of them; One bite, and the weak ones usually die as sacrifice to sustain her soul magic, while the rare child who survives and gets afflicted with lycanthrope will soon be unleashed as a calculated misdirection of suspicion.
A reasonable challenge would likely be investigating this "Kindblood" urban legend concerning 1. the disappearances of children, including possible suspect/s, 2. the true nature of the children's deaths as well as that of possible suspect/s, 3. the sudden appearance and assault of massive snakes that, when killed, turn out to be some of the missing children, and 4. tracking the suspect/s to their lair and rescuing the remaining children.
Killing Kindblood might be too hard at this point, but taking advantage of her weaknesses will be enough to escape with living children in tow, as well as valuable information concerning Kindblood's identity. Be wary of possible lycanthrope amongst the children, however, as each of those are at least CR5 encounters themselves.
Spoiler: Competencies
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In the unlikely situation of direct combat, Kindblood will be a challenging encounter to a party that lacks improvisational tactics or thorough preparation for the encounter. She has 17HD, BAB+12, 12-19/9-16/19 Saves, 20s AC, DR10/silver, 10-26 STR, 118-237HP, Scent, Curse of Lycanthrope, decent Balance/Spot/Listen/SenseMotive/Spellcraft, and situational Soulmeld (max capacity 3) immunities or bonuses. She has 2 Claws (+19, 1d6+8) and a Bite (+14, 1d8+4), in hybrid form, and a Bite (+19,1d8+12,DC27 1d6/1d6 Con damage poison), Constrict (1d8+12), and Improved Grab, in animal form.
Spoiler: CR 10 (Sweet Spot)
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Spoiler: Modus Operandi / PC Encounter Ideas
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Combining her ever-growing Witchcraft with her beguiling words, she secretly establishes communication with the easily-deceived people of power and sets out to corrupt them with promises of divine might against their enemies, in exchange of their devotion to her. Tales of nobilities and officials, being struck with all manners of curses, sickness, diseases, and misfortunes, became widespread, with most (coincidentally correct) commonfolk instantly identifying those as the works of the child-murderer witch that is Kindblood. With her witchcraft gaining notoriety, she will task her followers into discretely founding a cult that will push the agenda of worshiping her.
One possible scenario for this setup would be for PCs to be tasked to extract as much information about Kindblood's whereabouts and goals as possible through these suspected officials. Alteractions with snake-transformed officials are more likely to happen than peaceful resolutions, but either way leaves only the subtlest of clues that more or less reveals a date and a meeting place, a ruined temple atop Whitegrove Hills, for the first congregation of a cult that shall be called the Kindblood Brood; interestingly, Detect Magic and similar effects will reveal traces of Compulsion magic affecting some of these officials. A preemptive strike by the PCs will significantly reduce the potential lycanthrope enemies to a manageable size, after which Kindblood will either escape or make her last stand at the temple's inner sanctum.
Spoiler: Competencies
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In addition to her previous feats, this is the point where Kindblood becomes a "proper" witch. With Wild Cohort, she gets a Small Viper that is far stronger than the typical "familiar" due to Kindblood having 18+ HD. She also gets Brew Potion, and, between having Level 21 WBL/XP and Ur-Priest's lower minimum spell CL, she can easily mass produce potions that are either lower quality or aren't too reliant on CL for effectiveness. She also gets immunity to diseases and becomes more resistance to mental control, as befits a witch that is worth her salt. As before, she can include an appropriate amount of afflicted Lycanthrope loyalists to scale the difficulty of an encounter up.
More importantly, she now gets access to her spells (4th level Cleric + Trickery Domain spells). From glamers and charms for beguiling, to healing and inflicting wounds, to afflictions and hexes on her poor victims, to casting darkness/invisibility and numerous other wards for protecting herself, to foul magic for raising or communicating with the dead, to summoning creatures of the night and denizens of the abyss, and to other spells too many to mention, Kindblood's got it all. Fluffwise, she even has Consumptive Field, which becomes a part of her daily sacrifice regimen, used for siphoning the souls of the nearby deceased in order to empower some of her witchcraft. Lastly, with Open Least Chakra, her Soul Magic just got more versatile.
Spoiler: CR 15
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Spoiler: Modus Operandi / PC Encounter Ideas
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At this point, she should take her place as the one pulling the strings at the top level of evil empire/s and/or organization/s (despite the actual rulers thinking their victories were by under their own credit), using a combination of very high Bluff checks and charms/compulsions. Her witchcraft might is demonstrably godlike, which should give her (potential) worshipers enough reason to believe in her divinity. Truly, only the PCs stand in her way now into achieving her lifelong goal of becoming a god.
Spoiler: Competencies
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She gains nifty perks like SR and poison immunity, and becomes able to cast (and invest Children SoulEssentia into) [Incarnum] Spells. Practiced Spellcaster takes her to CL12, now just 3CLs behind many full casters. But, of course, the greatest addition would be her access to 9th-level spells a spell level earlier than most full casters. She now has access to powerful witchcraft that makes her seem more of an all-powerful witch-god". As usual, she tries hard not to engage the PCs directly in combat, although that's not to say that she still can put a few dents against the brutest of them.
Spoiler: CR 20
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Spoiler: Modus Operandi / PC Encounter Ideas
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Kindblood's MO is more or less the same as before, except her daily sacrifices are increased further, in order to fuel her soul magic. She's grown wiser over the years, too, for what that's worth. CR 20 could represent Kindblood as a returning villain that the party already defeated during her first bid at Divinity, who managed to escape and rebuild her forces but had her witchcraft (whose power she stole from the gods) stunted. Alternatively, she could be finally just waiting for her Divinity to take effect, what with whole nations of worshipers already devoted to her and using her ideal as a source of cleric power, and it's a race against time for the PCs to take her and/or her nation down and stop her from officially becoming a god.
Spoiler: Competencies
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Kindblood no longer suffers physical degradation due to aging, which means her mental ability scores will rack up sooner or later without a cost; consequently, her daily sacrificial ritual now grants her immediate benefit by massively expanding her Essentia pool to finally fill up that whopping 6 Essentia capacity. She also becomes permanently able to use her Crown, Feet, and Hand, chakra without resorting to wasting spell slots, increasing her Soulmelds and Spellcasting versatility further. Her spells now also has a +19 SR check mod, which is pretty much appropriate at last for her CR. Lastly, her available Soulmelds also double to 4, which, along with her Soultouched Spellcasting and Incarnum Spells, are more or less at maximum capacity due to surplus Essentia.
Spoiler: Explanation on the hows and whys of the brewed potion
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Concept
The initial concept of my Wicked Witch build is: "How to make kidnapping and (implication of) killing children be a feasible Witch BBEG schtick for the whole 20 CRs". The solutions that I came up with are thus:
1. CR5/6: Soul Magic, at least in Kindblood's mind, pretty much requires regular sacrifice to sustain its potency. Petty killing at this levels is still feasible as a BBEG schtick, given the scope of the own PCs power.
2. CR10-15: Spellcasting* had something powered by death, which in this case was (Greater) Consumptive Field, and, on a lesser note, Animate Dead and similar undead-based spells that aren't as thematic for a Witch. Now, Kindblood has more of a logical reason to keep killing kidnapped children** in a very ritualistic, scheduled manner, which is done seconds before casting her long-duration, CL-reliant, spells. (At 1 round/level and having low CL, Consumptive Spell means you're firing off 2-3 spells with x1.5 CL)
3. CR20: Necrocarnates literally, directly, harvest dead souls, and turns them into Essentia for 24 hours. Like Consumptive Field, this keeps a more realistic and logical undertone behind the supposedly petty and senseless deaths.
Ur-Priest Contemplative?
On one hand, by fluff, Ur-Priests are primarily stealing divine powers from the gods, and practically scoffs at the idea of theistic worship being the source of divine power. It occured to me that Clerics of an Ideal aren't, in fluff at least, necessarily in conflict with Ur-Priest ideals. On the other hand, there is Sertrous in Elder Evils, who also denounced the ideas of worshiping gods to achieve divine power, insisting on getting divine powers without resorting to it. Interestingly, the alternative in this case is that we have some Sertrous' servants who are actual Clerics of an ideal, or of Sertrous himself (or the concept of anyone/anything being a source of divine power). In this case, it wouldn't be too unusual to have a Cleric / Contemplative.
Likewise, with similar fluff, it should then be possible to have an Ur-Priests who stole power from the gods, and yet is open to the idea that any Ideal or non-deity, Sertrous in this case and Orcus/Tenebrous in the case of Ur-Priest/Tenebrous Apostate fluff, can be worshipped. Now just plug-in what clerics of Sertrous typically have as domains, which can be anything (but usually includes Trickery) such as the Incarnum domain that is available to any Clerics with a Neutral alignment. Voila! You have an Ur-Priest Contemplative!
As a side note, it also made sense to take Spell Focus (Evil) at first level, especially since Kindblood seems to be preparing for this exact career path in the first place.
Were-Legendary Snake
Since one of the witch-related familiar IMO is the snake, this seems to be the most logical and best choice, for my idea of using lycanthropy HD to satisfy PrC skill reqs. Now, it is just extremely fortunate that the fluff of Sertrous manages to interconnect this template, Ur-Priest, and Contemplative, into a tight, sensible, concept.
* Brew Potion pretty much required caster/invoker involvement
** The main justification on using them, instead of just about any adult, is that they will most likely be Commoner 1 NPCs, and they would likely have no combat knowledge to speak of. Easy pickings that is pretty much a far less cheesier and far more fluffier version of Bag O' Rats or Anthill killings.
Spoiler: Grimm's Library
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SRD: everything else
Magic of Incarnum: Incarnate, Necrocarnate, Necrocarnum Acolyte, Incarnum Domain, Soultouched Spellcasting
Complete Divine: Ur-Priest, Contemplative, Practiced Spellcaster
Monster Manual 2 (3.5 Update): Legendary Snake
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Web Article: Wild Cohort
Elder Evils: fluff for Sertrous
Re: Villainous Competition VII: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
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