Sin Eater Occult Ritual PEACH

[Avigor]

This is my first foray into Occult Rituals. Description below, used RAW base DC and modifiers (base DC 37, -1 range reduction, -3 humanoid only, -2 unwilling must be restrained, -2 exhausted backlash, -4 permanent negative level backlash) and the Necromancy seed as the spell directly deals with the soul, although given the sheer power of this thing I'm thinking that for balance purposes I might want to increase the DC, however I suspect the Special restriction of no secondary casters, the Failure result, and possibly the Backlash is harsh enough as-is. I also included a Horror rule, despite it normally being optional, which in this case should probably be mandatory. I can't think of a way to make any other Knowledge skills fit the concept. Yes this was inspired by the 2003 movie The Order starring Heath Ledger.

Sin Eating:
School: Necromancy; Level: 9
Casting Time: 90 minutes
Components: V, S, M (a piece of bread, symbolically eaten at the culmination of the ritual)
Skill Checks: Knowledge (Religion) DC 25 + Sinner's HD, 3 successes; Knowledge (Arcana) DC 25 + Sinner's HD, 3 successes, Knowledge (Planes) DC 25 + Sinner's HD, 3 successes
Range: Touch
Target: One living Humanoid creature (the Sinner), an unwilling target must be helpless
Duration: Instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance: Yes
Special: There can only be one caster for this ritual (the Sin Eater)
Backlash: The Sin Eater is exhausted and suffers 1 permanent negative level
Failure: The Sinner dies (the fate of their soul is up to the DM), the Sin Eater is reduced to -1 hp, and Sinspawn chosen by the DM to match those sins the Sinner has commited spawn from his corpse
Horror: Each skill failure causes the Sin Eater to suffer 1 temporary negative level
Effect: You absorb all sin from the creature into yourself. This has several effects:

1. Any ongoing magical effects tied in any way to the Sinner or their soul (affecting, controlled by, etc) switch to you. If a conflict forms due to the Sin Eater already owing their soul to any force or patron and the Sinner has sworn their soul to another, those powers must resolve the question of to whom the Sin Eater’s soul now belongs between themselves. All effects continue per their original durations and have the same effects; if such an effect is indefinite but involves a personal ability with a limit (e.g. the Command Undead feat) which exceeds your own limits or abilities, you do not gain whatever is beyond your normal limits or abilities (e.g. undead go wild).
2. Any feats or traits that require an Evil alignment or acts (such as Vile or Betrayal feats), involve Damnation, or that have beneficial effects for spells with the Evil descriptor, created Undead, or summoned Fiends (and only Fiends), but not those related to Evil anatomy (e.g. Heritage or Deformity feats), are torn from the Sinner and absorbed by the Sin Eater. The Sinner loses them and you gain them permanently. You may ignore any prerequisites of feats absorbed in this way, as well as most conflicts between feats, subject to DM discretion.
3. Any known, memorized, or prepared spells or occult rituals with the Evil descriptor, Necromancy school, or that create Undead or summon Fiends are torn from the Sinner and absorbed by the Sin Eater. While it does become known to you as if it were a bonus spell known and/or subject to Spell Mastery, this does not give you the ability to cast it.
4. Any of the Sinner’s class abilities, feats, or other traits that require any form of connection to Evil that are not absorbed as described above are lost permanently.
5. You absorb all knowledge of the Sinner related to their Evil deeds; they lose all memory of any Evil acts they may have ever engaged in. Any magic that recognizes responsibility for Evil acts (including Inevitables) now sees the Sin Eater as responsible for the Sinner’s previous acts.
6. The Sinner is now the spiritual equivalent of a newborn, with a clean slate. Their alignment is no longer Evil (DM discretion on whether they become Neutral or Good).
7. The Sin Eater must make a Will save against the Ritual Save DC for each moral alignment step the Sinner is closer to Evil than the Sin Eater is. The Sin Eater takes a penalty on each saving throw equal to the total number of Sin Eating rituals completed, including this one; in addition, if the Sinner has a higher ECL than the Sin Eater then the ECL difference is also applied as a penalty. Each failure brings the Sin Eater one step closer to Evil.

EDIT: +Sinner HD to check DC for balance

[Avigor]

So... no feedback? No "this needs nerfing to be anything close to balanced" complaints?

[calam]

while the concept of a ritual that converts people to good is interesting (and exists as a 3.0 spell) having it as an occult ritual is interesting. My only problem with it is that it seems a bit too strong since it allows you to permanently obtain abilities its normally impossible for you to get which seems a bit overpowered (although "overpowered" is a bit of a misnomer when its something you'd be casting at level 17-20).

[Gaiyamato]

I like it. However I feel like the DC is too low for what it can do. #2 is insanely powerful over enough time. The benefits to the Sin Eater should be either temporary or the DC increased.

"The Sinner dies (the fate of their soul is up to the DM), the Sin Eater is reduced to -1 hp" seems contradictory. I think simply reducing them to -1 HP and spawning out the NPC Sinspawns would be fine as the Sin Eater would be in serious trouble in that instance anyway.

[Avigor]

while the concept of a ritual that converts people to good is interesting (and exists as a 3.0 spell) having it as an occult ritual is interesting. My only problem with it is that it seems a bit too strong since it allows you to permanently obtain abilities its normally impossible for you to get which seems a bit overpowered (although "overpowered" is a bit of a misnomer when its something you'd be casting at level 17-20).

I like it. However I feel like the DC is too low for what it can do. #2 is insanely powerful over enough time. The benefits to the Sin Eater should be either temporary or the DC increased.

True, it is a bit strong, but it is basically what the movie had, you gained full knowledge of all evil the subject ever did including how to perform various forbidden, occult acts, and there was basically a chain of Sin Eaters who kind of passed along the sins from Eater to Eater through the ages including from the sound of it something to extend one's lifespan given how the Eater that Ledger met was far older than he appeared. Anyhoot, I'll go ahead and add the Sinner's HD to the check DC for now, does it look any more balanced?

"The Sinner dies (the fate of their soul is up to the DM), the Sin Eater is reduced to -1 hp" seems contradictory. I think simply reducing them to -1 HP and spawning out the NPC Sinspawns would be fine as the Sin Eater would be in serious trouble in that instance anyway.

How is this contradictory? The Sinner dies, the Sin Eater is dropped to -1, and the Sinspawns appear to represent the sins that the Sin Eater was supposed to be absorbing but which didn't complete the transition; again inspired by the way the movie shows these monstrous, centipede-like spectral things leaping out of the Sinner and burrowing down the Sin Eater's throat, this is basically a "what if" for if they (or at least some of them) didn't get eaten but did get pulled out (with DM discretion as to whether some were left in the Sinner).