Lord_Gareth
2010-09-04, 03:54 PM
The Harrowed
“Trapping the beast within you does not make you a monster, child. Knowing when to unleash it – that is what makes you human.”Jozan, to Aryllia, a Harrowed.
Sorcerers are born with raw magic flooding their veins. Bards tap into the strange and whimsical powers in music, where clerics draw powers down from gods and druids up from the earth itself. For these individuals, power is a blessing.
For the Harrowed, it is a curse.
The Harrowed are unfortunates that, for whatever reason, have found themselves trapped in an unending battle for their souls. Hurled back into the realms of the living from those of the dead, each Harrowed struggles with a being trapped within them, fighting for control of their bodies, their souls, and their sanity. The fact that they can steal a measure of this monster’s power is bitter comfort to most Harrowed, who know that their control over their abilities is fickle at best.
Abilities: Wisdom is the most important ability to a Harrowed, as it increases their Will save and therefore their control over themselves and their abilities. Charisma increases the save DCs of their powers, and Dexterity is essential for accurate use of their Shadowmental Touch. Many Harrowed find Intelligence to be a useful ability, especially those of a more careful, investigative bent.
Role: A Harrowed serves as a ranged damager and supernatural investigator for her party. Where some spells fail – or simply have yet to be invented – a Harrowed can hound clues to the ground using supernatural senses, the spirits of the deceased, and even by tracking the mystic resonances left behind by her quarry. Depending on her selection of feats, a Harrowed may serve in myriad other ways to an adventuring party, limited only by their tolerance and her inventiveness.
Background: Most Harrowed wake up some place in the wilderness or on the outskirts of civilization with no memory of who they are or how they came to be there. Many of these Harrowed will take the names of objects, equipment, kindly strangers, or even concepts as their own. It is worth noting that these Harrowed almost instinctually realize what they are and take steps to master themselves almost immediately. A few Harrowed are instead born like normal members of their race and raised from childhood. Those that aren’t promptly slain for being “unholy witch children” typically manifest their powers around the ages of three to five, struggling early and often with the monster within. They typically leave their homes early in order to protect those around them – or are forced out when the community either exiles them or lays in ashes at their feet.
Harrowed enjoy a peculiar kind of immortality – whenever they would be permanently slain, they reincarnate once again, going through the same cycle of struggle and destruction over and over again. So far, no one has caught on to this pattern, though some extremely old Harrowed are beginning to catch snatches of memories that they have never lived – and investigating thoroughly.
Organization: None. Each Harrowed is a wholly unique case, and they are typically so rare as to be nearly unheard of. One Harrowed encountering another may be surprised, angry, pleased, or just about any conceivable reaction, really. It’s worth noting that the name “Harrowed” is typically applied to them only by beings who truly understand their predicament – ancient celestials, the eldest of fiends, and over-deities. Others may call the Harrowed witches, fiends, or even sorcerers; no universally accepted name for them exists.
Alignment: Any. Many Harrowed tend towards good, and/or lawful alignments due to the instinctive “fight” reaction associated with their monster, but quite a few turn to evil, either having become corrupted from within or hoping that their base debaucheries will appease the dark force within them.
Races: Harrowed hail from almost any race, though each race only possesses a meager handful at most. Curiously enough, non-mortal races – that is, those incapable of dying of old age, such as planetouched, most outsiders, or sentient constructs – never produce Harrowed, and members of these races cannot gain levels in the Harrowed class. Many Harrowed are human, probably due to that race’s prodigious breeding rate, but some of the oldest living Harrowed are elves.
Religion: Harrowed tend to reject religion out of spite; to them, the gods are weaklings at best and sadistic tormentors at worst, unworthy of worship or even consideration. Some Harrowed even blame the gods for their condition; of these, a few turn to religion in the vain hope that their patron deity will lift their curse.
Other Classes: Harrowed often possess a deep-seated resentment for classes that either possess innate magical power (such as sorcerers) or who gain it from a higher force (such as clerics or druids). Harrowed tend to express this by being snappy and short-tempered around these individuals, and biting, sarcastic remarks (“Why don’t you just snap your fingers and magic it away, then?”) are very common. Harrowed tend to be more tolerant of those who earned their power through sacrifice or study (such as wizards or paladins), but they only truly feel at ease around non-magical classes such as barbarians, rogues, fighters, and monks. This isn’t to say that the Harrowed is completely open to these individuals – how can they really understand the Harrowed, after all? – but they do find forming relationships with them to be much easier and far less tense.
Adaptation: Many details of the Harrowed condition have been left intentionally vague so that the Dungeon Master may more easily work them into their world (but see one possible example below). Mechanically speaking, the Harrowed can be adapted quite easily, usually by altering their Shadowmental Touch class feature, or by removing or introducing feat lines.
Hit Die: D8.
Starting Gold: 3d4 x 10 gold.
Class Features
Class Skills: The Harrowed’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are as follows: Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (All skills, chosen individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (N/A), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Intelligence Modifier) x 4
Skill Points Per Level After First: 4 + Intelligence Modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|The Monster Within, Shadowmental Touch (1d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Two-World Eyes (Darkvision)
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Shadowmental Touch (2d6)
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Death Sight
5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Shadowmental Mantle, Shadowmental Touch (3d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5|Shadowmental Touch (Melee)
7th|
+5|
+2|
+2|
+5|Glimpse the Soul, Shadowmental Touch (4d6)
8th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+2|
+6|Dark Whispers
9th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+6|Bestial Resilience 10, Shadowmental Touch (5d6)
10th|
+7/+2|
+3|
+3|
+7|Two-World Eyes (Detect Magic), Bonus Harrowed Feat
11th|
+8/+3|
+3|
+3|
+7|Shadowmental Touch (6d6)
12th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Read the Soul, Scent the Occult
13th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Shadowmental Touch (7d6)
14th|
+10/+5|
+4|
+4|
+9|Shadowmental Touch (Unholy Infusion)
15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+9|Evil Eye, Shadowmental Touch (8d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Two-World Eyes (Magical Darkness), Sense the Unseen
17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Shadowmental Touch (9d6)
18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+11|Bestial Resilience 20
19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Shadowmental Touch (10d6)
20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Shadowmental Fury, Bonus Harrowed Feat[/table]
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Harrowed are proficient with all simple weapons, one martial weapon of their choice, and light armor.
The Monster Within (Su): The Harrowed shares her body and soul with a being of elemental power, dark purpose, and terrible will, constantly fighting it for control of her body and mind. Though the Harrowed can draw upon some of the beast’s power, in doing so she risks losing control; whenever the Harrowed uses one of her activated supernatural abilities from this class (as well as certain Harrowed feats – see feat descriptions for details), she must make a Will save (DC = 10 + the class level needed to use the ability) or lose control of her body to the monster for one round per character level (the ability is still activated as intended; that is, Shadowmental Touch still attacks it target, Shadowmental Mantles still activate, et cetera). The Harrowed may not choose to fail this save. If they succeed at the saving throw, they do not need to save again for that particular ability (or feat) for a number of rounds equal to their Charisma modifier.
The monster within the Harrowed is highly intelligent and invariably Chaotic Evil, but it knows it only has a limited amount of time in which to enjoy its freedom. While acts of murder, rape, destruction and betrayal are not out of line with the monster’s behavior, it is equally likely to party hard, kiss a random barmaid, gorge itself on fine food, and other indulgent behaviors. While the Harrowed is possessed in this manner, her player should treat her alignment as Chaotic Evil (if her player cannot be trusted to portray this, the DM is encouraged to treat her as an NPC for the duration). Generally speaking, the monster does not form long-term plans, unable to think past the next point of escape and freedom.
It is worth noting that the monster prefers its body to be free and unencumbered, the better to cater to its whimsical nature. The Harrowed may wear light armor without penalty, but medium armor imposes a -4 penalty to Will saves against the monster, while heavy armor imposes a -8 penalty. The Harrowed suffers no such penalties for being encumbered, but it is highly likely that the monster will shed any offending items – such as backpacks – when it takes control.
Attempts to remove the monster from the Harrowed inevitably fail – spells fizzle out, powerful artifacts come to naught, and even greater deities strive in vain as their powers fail again and again. This trait is universal amongst Harrowed, and is a source of extreme speculation among those sages familiar with the Harrowed’s condition.
There is, however, a minor benefit to the monster’s presence in the Harrowed’s mind and body, beyond the power that the Harrowed can steal from it – the beast’s foul will bolsters the Harrowed’s own, providing them with a +4 bonus to will saves vs. mind-affecting abilities, as well as soul-displacement effects such as Trap the Soul and Magic Jar.
Shadowmental Touch (Su): The simplest expression of her power, the Harrowed can tap into the monster within, siphoning off a measure of its anger, its hatred, and its essence and unleashing it as a ranged touch attack (max range 60 feet). At first level, the Harrowed’s player chooses one of the following elements. This choice, once made, cannot be changed.
Hellfire: The Harrowed’s beast is suffused with unholy, chaotic flame. Her beast is likely to be destructive, violent, and impatient, like a malevolent wildfire. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is fire and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to any kind of resistance. Hellfire can ignite objects and beings on fire as though it were alchemist’s fire; a being who fails a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) ignites in unholy flame, lasting for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s class level or until they douse themselves in water or succeed at a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) to put it out.
Frigid Hate: The Harrowed’s beast is suffused with creeping, slithering cold, unfeeling and unforgiving. It is likely to be methodical, sadistic, and cunning. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is cold and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. Creatures struck by Frigid Hate must succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls, reflex saves, and dexterity-based skill checks for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s class level. Frigid Hate may freeze five cubic feet of liquid per d6 of damage it deals, provided that said liquid is not a living being (thus, a Harrowed could freeze a pond, but not a water elemental).
Caustic Fury: The Harrowed’s beast is a spiteful, acidic thing, suffused with the worst elements of the earth beneath her feet. It is likely to be patient, unforgiving, and implacable. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is acid and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. Caustic fury clings to its victims, forcing them succeed at a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer half of the damage dealt (rounded down) the following round at the beginning of the Harrowed’s turn.
Thunderous Rage: The Harrowed’s beast is infused with rotting wind and sickly lightning. It is likely to be devious, fickle, and tempestuous. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is electricity and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. The Shadowmental Touch is accompanied by a raging thunderclap, forcing all those within five feet of the victim to succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or be deafened for 1d4+1 rounds (this is a sonic effect).
Sun's Wrath: The Harrowed's beast is infused with the pure destructive power of positive energy, turning the fundamental building block of life into a weapon of utter devastation. It is likely to be persistent, spontaneous, and obsessed with creation. The Harrowed's Shadowmental Touch deals 1d4 points of damage per two class levels (upgraded to 1d8 against beings normally damaged by positive energy, such as the undead; starting at level one), half of which is positive energy and the other half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. This Shadowmental Touch may strike incorporeal creatures without penalty.
Activating Shadowmental Touch is a standard action. Regardless of the element chosen, a Harrowed is immune to the damage and effects of her own Shadowmental Touch, though not those of other Harrowed, even those who have chosen the same element. Activating Shadowmental Touch provokes a will save (see The Monster Within)
At sixth level, as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may infuse her melee weapon with her Shadowmental Touch, dealing Shadowmental Touch damage in addition to weapon damage for a single attack, as well as triggering the secondary effects of her Shadowmental Touch. This extra damage is not multiplied in the event of a critical hit. If the Harrowed misses, the attack is not wasted, and remains imbued in her weapon until she strikes a being or object, dismisses the effect as a free action, or fails to use it within a number of rounds equal to her charisma modifier. Infusing her weapon provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though striking with her weapon thereafter does not.
At fourteenth level, once per encounter as a standard action, the Harrowed may forgo making a normal Shadowmental Touch attack and instead lash out with a ray of pure unholy energy. This attack deals the same damage as her Shadowmental Touch, though the source is pure unholy energy, not subject to any form of resistance. A being struck by this attack must succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or gain 1d4 negative levels. Good-aligned beings suffer a -2 penalty to this save. Using this ability in place of a normal Shadowmental Touch does not trigger the Shadowmental Touch’s secondary effects. Using this ability in place of her Shadowmental Touch provokes a will save (see The Monster Within).
Bonus Harrowed Feat (Ex): At first level, and again at fifth level and every five levels thereafter, the Harrowed may choose a bonus feat from among those labeled as Harrowed feats. She must still meet all prerequisites for the feat.
Two-World Eyes (Su): The energies of the beast within infuse the Harrowed, seeping into her senses and allowing her to sense those energies that are similar to it. Starting at second level, the Harrowed’s senses sharpen in a mostly mundane way; she gains darkvision out to a range of sixty feet (or her existing darkvision improves by sixty feet). Darkvision is exactly like normal vision, except that it is in black-and-white only, and the Harrowed can function just fine with no light at all.
Starting at tenth level, the Harrowed can see magical auras and manifestations; she benefits from a constant detect magic effect. Additionally, the Harrowed can sense those beings whose nature, like her beast’s, is formed of the fundamental blocks of creation; she automatically detects any creatures with the elemental type (or the air, cold, earth, fire, or water subtypes) within her field of vision, as though she enjoyed the benefits of a true seeing spell. The Harrowed automatically knows if the creature she perceives possesses the elemental type, as well as if it possesses any of the aforementioned subtypes.
Starting at sixteenth level, the Harrowed’s darkvision functions even in magical darkness, and her supernatural perception sharpens to incredible acuity; the Harrowed detects all beings with the elemental type, the outsider type, or the air, cold, earth, extraplanar, fire, or water subtypes as though she possesses blindsight out to sixty feet, but only with regard to those beings (when those beings are within that range, she may also perceive her surroundings in this manner, but not beings without the aforementioned types or subtypes). Nothing short of an antimagic field (or similar effects) may foil this perception.
A blind or otherwise visually-impaired Harrowed still benefits from these abilities, but her sense of sight is limited only to the supernatural sense granted by this ability; that is, at second level, a blind Harrowed may still “see” magical auras, at tenth level the Harrowed may still “see” beings with the proper types and subtypes, and at tenth level the Harrowed benefits from blindsight with regards to those beings with the proper types and subtypes, but she is still blind with regard to those beings and effects that do not fit those criteria.
Upon acquiring this ability, the Harrowed’s eyes change to a deep, clearly inhuman color, such as blood red, dark violet, or even a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colors. Many Harrowed develop catlike slits for pupils, or other, stranger shapes. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch often changes color to match that of her eyes.
Death Sight (Su): As a Harrowed’s power grows, she becomes more sensitive to resonances from the lands of the dead. Starting at fourth level, the Harrowed develops a sort of second sight relating to the dead; when she sees a corpse, no matter how old it is, she can instantly tell how long it has been dead, and what, in general, killed it (examples might include poison, lacerations, magical fire, and divine punishment). Additionally, if the corpse has been dead less than a number of days equal to the Harrowed’s class level, she may converse with it as though using speak with dead as a cleric of her class level. A Harrowed may only use this ability once on any given corpse.
The Harrowed may use this ability to determine if a corpse is or is not undead, and by what means (infection, spell, transformative process, et cetera) it joined the ranks of the unliving.
Using Death Sight to speak with dead provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to this save.
Shadowmental Mantle (Su): As the Harrowed’s stolen power grows, her body becomes more and more suffused with the dark elemental energies of the monster within her. With an act of will, she may force these energies from her skin, becoming wreathed in a protective layer of Shadowmental energy. Once per encounter, as a swift action that does no provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may activate this ability. While this ability is active, she becomes shrouded in a raging manifestation of her Shadowmental energy. Any being striking her in melee with a natural or non-reach manufactured weapon takes Shadowmental Touch damage on their first successful attack, as well as suffering the secondary effect of the Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch. Additionally, while her Shadowmental Mantle is active, the Harrowed has DR X/- against projectile attacks, where X is equal to her class level. This damage reduction counts against conjured projectiles (such as acid arrows), but not against rays or force effects (such as magic missiles).
Using Shadowmental Mantle provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier.
After gaining this ability, the Harrowed’s footprints flicker and gutter with weak Shadowmental energy, adding a +5 circumstance bonus to those attempting to track her (with obvious exceptions made for common sense, such as cold energy in the arctic tundra), even when the ability is not active.
Glimpse the Soul (Su): The Harrowed’s senses continue to expand past the mundane, giving her glimpses of the auras that all beings with souls possess. Starting at level seven, she may concentrate and scrutinize these auras in order to gain information about their bearers. As a full-round action, the Harrowed may observe any being with a soul (including elementals, outsiders, and intelligent constructs) and make a sense motive check (DC = the creatures hit dice + its wisdom modifier). If she succeeds, the Harrowed may learn one of the following: one component of the creature’s alignment (good-evil, law-chaos), its current mood, its relative intelligence (in general terms; “animal intelligence” “stupid” “clever” and “brilliant” would all be appropriate readings), or if it is currently bearing any objects containing trapped souls. The Harrowed may attempt this check more than once on any given creature in a day, but each time she does, the DC increases by five.
Using Glimpse the Soul provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to this save.
Dark Whispers (Ex): A Harrowed can, in a limited fashion, project their mind and afflict others with the dark whispers and desires of the monster within. Starting at level eight, twice per encounter, the Harrowed may activate this ability as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The Harrowed designates a victim, who immediately begins hearing insidious, whispering, demanding voices in his head, forcing him to succeed at a will save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or go insane for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier. While insane, the victim suffers a -6 penalty to wisdom and is unable to tell friend from foe, lashing out violently against the nearest available victims. Victims who succeed at the will save are immune to further uses of this ability – by any Harrowed – for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting ability.
Harrowed are immune to the effects of Dark Whispers.
Activating this ability provokes a will save (see The Monster Within).
Bestial Resilience (Su): As her Shadowmental energy continues to infuse her body, the Harrowed begins to develop a tolerance for it. At level nine, the Harrowed gains resistance 10 to whatever form of damage her Shadowmental Touch deals (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or force). At level 18, this improves to resistance 20.
Read the Soul (Su): Starting at level twelve, as a full-round action, the Harrowed can lock onto the aura of any intelligent being within her view. Activating this ability is a standard action, and while she concentrates on that being, the Harrowed may tell any of the following: if that being lies, if it activates a supernatural or spell-like ability, if it changes alignment (but not what alignment it changes to), or if it becomes possessed. A Harrowed may only read one aura at a time this way, and concentrating on the task takes a standard action each round to maintain.
Activating Read the Soul provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and maintaining it provokes a will save (see The Monster Within) every other round, though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to these saves.
Scent the Occult (Su): As the Harrowed infuses more of herself with the stolen power of her beast, its senses continue to bleed through into her own. At level twelve, her sense of smell sharpens and takes on a supernatural edge, allowing her to hound down magic by scent. This functions almost identically to the scent special quality, with the exception that she may only detect magical beings (that is, beings with supernatural or spell-like abilities, or those beings capable of casting spells, or beings created by magic, such as certain undead and constructs) and effects this way. A Harrowed may track the movement of these beings and effects by scent, as well as being able to distinguish the type of magic she is dealing with (arcane or divine) and its source (inherent, learned, or granted).
Note that a Harrowed can only track where a spell or effect has been; she could, for example, follow the path of a programmed image, but she could not trace it back to its caster unless the image happened to pass near there.
A Harrowed can identify spells or magical items by scent, but doing so imposes a -8 penalty on the appropriate Knowledge (Arcana) or Spellcraft roll.
Evil Eye (Su): Temporarily shifting her soul from behind her eyes, a Harrowed of level fifteen or higher can allow her beast to glare out into the world, inflicting its hate and rage on unfortunate victims. Once per encounter, as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may glare at her foe as a gaze attack. Her victim must succeed at a will save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer a -6 profane penalty to all ability scores, skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier. This is a mind-affecting ability.
Activating the Evil Eye provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and the Harrowed suffers a -2 penalty to this save.
Sense the Unseen (Su): The most profound sharpening of her senses, a Harrowed of level sixteen or higher gains the ability to see even invisible or ethereal creatures. The Harrowed sees these creatures as though they were not invisible, though ethereal creatures appear somewhat transparent and hazy. A Harrowed may also sense the presence of nearby creatures on the Plane of Shadow, though she may only detect whether any such creatures are present within a forty foot radius of her, and not their exact type or location. Likewise, the Harrowed may sense the presence of incorporeal creatures within forty feet of her, but not their exact type or location.
Shadowmental Fury (Su): At level twenty, the Harrowed has mastered the most destructive and potent of her powers. By tapping into her own rage and fury and magnifying it with that of her beast, she becomes a beacon of dark elemental energy, creating and releasing it at a prodigious rate. When she activates her Shadowmental Fury, the Harrowed can make her Shadowmental Touch attacks as attack actions; that is, she may make as many Shadowmental Touch attacks as her base attack bonus allows. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier.
Activating Shadowmental Fury provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and the Harrowed suffers a -4 penalty to this save.
Multiclass Harrowed: Nothing prohibits a Harrowed from multiclassing. However, those wishing to play as a Harrowed must begin play as a member of the class; Harrowed are born, not made, and those not afflicted from the day of their birth have no hope of becoming so, even if they wished to.
“Trapping the beast within you does not make you a monster, child. Knowing when to unleash it – that is what makes you human.”Jozan, to Aryllia, a Harrowed.
Sorcerers are born with raw magic flooding their veins. Bards tap into the strange and whimsical powers in music, where clerics draw powers down from gods and druids up from the earth itself. For these individuals, power is a blessing.
For the Harrowed, it is a curse.
The Harrowed are unfortunates that, for whatever reason, have found themselves trapped in an unending battle for their souls. Hurled back into the realms of the living from those of the dead, each Harrowed struggles with a being trapped within them, fighting for control of their bodies, their souls, and their sanity. The fact that they can steal a measure of this monster’s power is bitter comfort to most Harrowed, who know that their control over their abilities is fickle at best.
Abilities: Wisdom is the most important ability to a Harrowed, as it increases their Will save and therefore their control over themselves and their abilities. Charisma increases the save DCs of their powers, and Dexterity is essential for accurate use of their Shadowmental Touch. Many Harrowed find Intelligence to be a useful ability, especially those of a more careful, investigative bent.
Role: A Harrowed serves as a ranged damager and supernatural investigator for her party. Where some spells fail – or simply have yet to be invented – a Harrowed can hound clues to the ground using supernatural senses, the spirits of the deceased, and even by tracking the mystic resonances left behind by her quarry. Depending on her selection of feats, a Harrowed may serve in myriad other ways to an adventuring party, limited only by their tolerance and her inventiveness.
Background: Most Harrowed wake up some place in the wilderness or on the outskirts of civilization with no memory of who they are or how they came to be there. Many of these Harrowed will take the names of objects, equipment, kindly strangers, or even concepts as their own. It is worth noting that these Harrowed almost instinctually realize what they are and take steps to master themselves almost immediately. A few Harrowed are instead born like normal members of their race and raised from childhood. Those that aren’t promptly slain for being “unholy witch children” typically manifest their powers around the ages of three to five, struggling early and often with the monster within. They typically leave their homes early in order to protect those around them – or are forced out when the community either exiles them or lays in ashes at their feet.
Harrowed enjoy a peculiar kind of immortality – whenever they would be permanently slain, they reincarnate once again, going through the same cycle of struggle and destruction over and over again. So far, no one has caught on to this pattern, though some extremely old Harrowed are beginning to catch snatches of memories that they have never lived – and investigating thoroughly.
Organization: None. Each Harrowed is a wholly unique case, and they are typically so rare as to be nearly unheard of. One Harrowed encountering another may be surprised, angry, pleased, or just about any conceivable reaction, really. It’s worth noting that the name “Harrowed” is typically applied to them only by beings who truly understand their predicament – ancient celestials, the eldest of fiends, and over-deities. Others may call the Harrowed witches, fiends, or even sorcerers; no universally accepted name for them exists.
Alignment: Any. Many Harrowed tend towards good, and/or lawful alignments due to the instinctive “fight” reaction associated with their monster, but quite a few turn to evil, either having become corrupted from within or hoping that their base debaucheries will appease the dark force within them.
Races: Harrowed hail from almost any race, though each race only possesses a meager handful at most. Curiously enough, non-mortal races – that is, those incapable of dying of old age, such as planetouched, most outsiders, or sentient constructs – never produce Harrowed, and members of these races cannot gain levels in the Harrowed class. Many Harrowed are human, probably due to that race’s prodigious breeding rate, but some of the oldest living Harrowed are elves.
Religion: Harrowed tend to reject religion out of spite; to them, the gods are weaklings at best and sadistic tormentors at worst, unworthy of worship or even consideration. Some Harrowed even blame the gods for their condition; of these, a few turn to religion in the vain hope that their patron deity will lift their curse.
Other Classes: Harrowed often possess a deep-seated resentment for classes that either possess innate magical power (such as sorcerers) or who gain it from a higher force (such as clerics or druids). Harrowed tend to express this by being snappy and short-tempered around these individuals, and biting, sarcastic remarks (“Why don’t you just snap your fingers and magic it away, then?”) are very common. Harrowed tend to be more tolerant of those who earned their power through sacrifice or study (such as wizards or paladins), but they only truly feel at ease around non-magical classes such as barbarians, rogues, fighters, and monks. This isn’t to say that the Harrowed is completely open to these individuals – how can they really understand the Harrowed, after all? – but they do find forming relationships with them to be much easier and far less tense.
Adaptation: Many details of the Harrowed condition have been left intentionally vague so that the Dungeon Master may more easily work them into their world (but see one possible example below). Mechanically speaking, the Harrowed can be adapted quite easily, usually by altering their Shadowmental Touch class feature, or by removing or introducing feat lines.
Hit Die: D8.
Starting Gold: 3d4 x 10 gold.
Class Features
Class Skills: The Harrowed’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are as follows: Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (All skills, chosen individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (N/A), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Intelligence Modifier) x 4
Skill Points Per Level After First: 4 + Intelligence Modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|The Monster Within, Shadowmental Touch (1d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Two-World Eyes (Darkvision)
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Shadowmental Touch (2d6)
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Death Sight
5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Shadowmental Mantle, Shadowmental Touch (3d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5|Shadowmental Touch (Melee)
7th|
+5|
+2|
+2|
+5|Glimpse the Soul, Shadowmental Touch (4d6)
8th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+2|
+6|Dark Whispers
9th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+6|Bestial Resilience 10, Shadowmental Touch (5d6)
10th|
+7/+2|
+3|
+3|
+7|Two-World Eyes (Detect Magic), Bonus Harrowed Feat
11th|
+8/+3|
+3|
+3|
+7|Shadowmental Touch (6d6)
12th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Read the Soul, Scent the Occult
13th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Shadowmental Touch (7d6)
14th|
+10/+5|
+4|
+4|
+9|Shadowmental Touch (Unholy Infusion)
15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+9|Evil Eye, Shadowmental Touch (8d6), Bonus Harrowed Feat
16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Two-World Eyes (Magical Darkness), Sense the Unseen
17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Shadowmental Touch (9d6)
18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+11|Bestial Resilience 20
19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Shadowmental Touch (10d6)
20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Shadowmental Fury, Bonus Harrowed Feat[/table]
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Harrowed are proficient with all simple weapons, one martial weapon of their choice, and light armor.
The Monster Within (Su): The Harrowed shares her body and soul with a being of elemental power, dark purpose, and terrible will, constantly fighting it for control of her body and mind. Though the Harrowed can draw upon some of the beast’s power, in doing so she risks losing control; whenever the Harrowed uses one of her activated supernatural abilities from this class (as well as certain Harrowed feats – see feat descriptions for details), she must make a Will save (DC = 10 + the class level needed to use the ability) or lose control of her body to the monster for one round per character level (the ability is still activated as intended; that is, Shadowmental Touch still attacks it target, Shadowmental Mantles still activate, et cetera). The Harrowed may not choose to fail this save. If they succeed at the saving throw, they do not need to save again for that particular ability (or feat) for a number of rounds equal to their Charisma modifier.
The monster within the Harrowed is highly intelligent and invariably Chaotic Evil, but it knows it only has a limited amount of time in which to enjoy its freedom. While acts of murder, rape, destruction and betrayal are not out of line with the monster’s behavior, it is equally likely to party hard, kiss a random barmaid, gorge itself on fine food, and other indulgent behaviors. While the Harrowed is possessed in this manner, her player should treat her alignment as Chaotic Evil (if her player cannot be trusted to portray this, the DM is encouraged to treat her as an NPC for the duration). Generally speaking, the monster does not form long-term plans, unable to think past the next point of escape and freedom.
It is worth noting that the monster prefers its body to be free and unencumbered, the better to cater to its whimsical nature. The Harrowed may wear light armor without penalty, but medium armor imposes a -4 penalty to Will saves against the monster, while heavy armor imposes a -8 penalty. The Harrowed suffers no such penalties for being encumbered, but it is highly likely that the monster will shed any offending items – such as backpacks – when it takes control.
Attempts to remove the monster from the Harrowed inevitably fail – spells fizzle out, powerful artifacts come to naught, and even greater deities strive in vain as their powers fail again and again. This trait is universal amongst Harrowed, and is a source of extreme speculation among those sages familiar with the Harrowed’s condition.
There is, however, a minor benefit to the monster’s presence in the Harrowed’s mind and body, beyond the power that the Harrowed can steal from it – the beast’s foul will bolsters the Harrowed’s own, providing them with a +4 bonus to will saves vs. mind-affecting abilities, as well as soul-displacement effects such as Trap the Soul and Magic Jar.
Shadowmental Touch (Su): The simplest expression of her power, the Harrowed can tap into the monster within, siphoning off a measure of its anger, its hatred, and its essence and unleashing it as a ranged touch attack (max range 60 feet). At first level, the Harrowed’s player chooses one of the following elements. This choice, once made, cannot be changed.
Hellfire: The Harrowed’s beast is suffused with unholy, chaotic flame. Her beast is likely to be destructive, violent, and impatient, like a malevolent wildfire. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is fire and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to any kind of resistance. Hellfire can ignite objects and beings on fire as though it were alchemist’s fire; a being who fails a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) ignites in unholy flame, lasting for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s class level or until they douse themselves in water or succeed at a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) to put it out.
Frigid Hate: The Harrowed’s beast is suffused with creeping, slithering cold, unfeeling and unforgiving. It is likely to be methodical, sadistic, and cunning. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is cold and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. Creatures struck by Frigid Hate must succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls, reflex saves, and dexterity-based skill checks for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s class level. Frigid Hate may freeze five cubic feet of liquid per d6 of damage it deals, provided that said liquid is not a living being (thus, a Harrowed could freeze a pond, but not a water elemental).
Caustic Fury: The Harrowed’s beast is a spiteful, acidic thing, suffused with the worst elements of the earth beneath her feet. It is likely to be patient, unforgiving, and implacable. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is acid and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. Caustic fury clings to its victims, forcing them succeed at a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer half of the damage dealt (rounded down) the following round at the beginning of the Harrowed’s turn.
Thunderous Rage: The Harrowed’s beast is infused with rotting wind and sickly lightning. It is likely to be devious, fickle, and tempestuous. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two class levels (starting at level one), half of which is electricity and half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. The Shadowmental Touch is accompanied by a raging thunderclap, forcing all those within five feet of the victim to succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or be deafened for 1d4+1 rounds (this is a sonic effect).
Sun's Wrath: The Harrowed's beast is infused with the pure destructive power of positive energy, turning the fundamental building block of life into a weapon of utter devastation. It is likely to be persistent, spontaneous, and obsessed with creation. The Harrowed's Shadowmental Touch deals 1d4 points of damage per two class levels (upgraded to 1d8 against beings normally damaged by positive energy, such as the undead; starting at level one), half of which is positive energy and the other half of which stems directly from unholy power and is not subject to resistance of any kind. This Shadowmental Touch may strike incorporeal creatures without penalty.
Activating Shadowmental Touch is a standard action. Regardless of the element chosen, a Harrowed is immune to the damage and effects of her own Shadowmental Touch, though not those of other Harrowed, even those who have chosen the same element. Activating Shadowmental Touch provokes a will save (see The Monster Within)
At sixth level, as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may infuse her melee weapon with her Shadowmental Touch, dealing Shadowmental Touch damage in addition to weapon damage for a single attack, as well as triggering the secondary effects of her Shadowmental Touch. This extra damage is not multiplied in the event of a critical hit. If the Harrowed misses, the attack is not wasted, and remains imbued in her weapon until she strikes a being or object, dismisses the effect as a free action, or fails to use it within a number of rounds equal to her charisma modifier. Infusing her weapon provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though striking with her weapon thereafter does not.
At fourteenth level, once per encounter as a standard action, the Harrowed may forgo making a normal Shadowmental Touch attack and instead lash out with a ray of pure unholy energy. This attack deals the same damage as her Shadowmental Touch, though the source is pure unholy energy, not subject to any form of resistance. A being struck by this attack must succeed at a fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or gain 1d4 negative levels. Good-aligned beings suffer a -2 penalty to this save. Using this ability in place of a normal Shadowmental Touch does not trigger the Shadowmental Touch’s secondary effects. Using this ability in place of her Shadowmental Touch provokes a will save (see The Monster Within).
Bonus Harrowed Feat (Ex): At first level, and again at fifth level and every five levels thereafter, the Harrowed may choose a bonus feat from among those labeled as Harrowed feats. She must still meet all prerequisites for the feat.
Two-World Eyes (Su): The energies of the beast within infuse the Harrowed, seeping into her senses and allowing her to sense those energies that are similar to it. Starting at second level, the Harrowed’s senses sharpen in a mostly mundane way; she gains darkvision out to a range of sixty feet (or her existing darkvision improves by sixty feet). Darkvision is exactly like normal vision, except that it is in black-and-white only, and the Harrowed can function just fine with no light at all.
Starting at tenth level, the Harrowed can see magical auras and manifestations; she benefits from a constant detect magic effect. Additionally, the Harrowed can sense those beings whose nature, like her beast’s, is formed of the fundamental blocks of creation; she automatically detects any creatures with the elemental type (or the air, cold, earth, fire, or water subtypes) within her field of vision, as though she enjoyed the benefits of a true seeing spell. The Harrowed automatically knows if the creature she perceives possesses the elemental type, as well as if it possesses any of the aforementioned subtypes.
Starting at sixteenth level, the Harrowed’s darkvision functions even in magical darkness, and her supernatural perception sharpens to incredible acuity; the Harrowed detects all beings with the elemental type, the outsider type, or the air, cold, earth, extraplanar, fire, or water subtypes as though she possesses blindsight out to sixty feet, but only with regard to those beings (when those beings are within that range, she may also perceive her surroundings in this manner, but not beings without the aforementioned types or subtypes). Nothing short of an antimagic field (or similar effects) may foil this perception.
A blind or otherwise visually-impaired Harrowed still benefits from these abilities, but her sense of sight is limited only to the supernatural sense granted by this ability; that is, at second level, a blind Harrowed may still “see” magical auras, at tenth level the Harrowed may still “see” beings with the proper types and subtypes, and at tenth level the Harrowed benefits from blindsight with regards to those beings with the proper types and subtypes, but she is still blind with regard to those beings and effects that do not fit those criteria.
Upon acquiring this ability, the Harrowed’s eyes change to a deep, clearly inhuman color, such as blood red, dark violet, or even a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colors. Many Harrowed develop catlike slits for pupils, or other, stranger shapes. The Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch often changes color to match that of her eyes.
Death Sight (Su): As a Harrowed’s power grows, she becomes more sensitive to resonances from the lands of the dead. Starting at fourth level, the Harrowed develops a sort of second sight relating to the dead; when she sees a corpse, no matter how old it is, she can instantly tell how long it has been dead, and what, in general, killed it (examples might include poison, lacerations, magical fire, and divine punishment). Additionally, if the corpse has been dead less than a number of days equal to the Harrowed’s class level, she may converse with it as though using speak with dead as a cleric of her class level. A Harrowed may only use this ability once on any given corpse.
The Harrowed may use this ability to determine if a corpse is or is not undead, and by what means (infection, spell, transformative process, et cetera) it joined the ranks of the unliving.
Using Death Sight to speak with dead provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to this save.
Shadowmental Mantle (Su): As the Harrowed’s stolen power grows, her body becomes more and more suffused with the dark elemental energies of the monster within her. With an act of will, she may force these energies from her skin, becoming wreathed in a protective layer of Shadowmental energy. Once per encounter, as a swift action that does no provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may activate this ability. While this ability is active, she becomes shrouded in a raging manifestation of her Shadowmental energy. Any being striking her in melee with a natural or non-reach manufactured weapon takes Shadowmental Touch damage on their first successful attack, as well as suffering the secondary effect of the Harrowed’s Shadowmental Touch. Additionally, while her Shadowmental Mantle is active, the Harrowed has DR X/- against projectile attacks, where X is equal to her class level. This damage reduction counts against conjured projectiles (such as acid arrows), but not against rays or force effects (such as magic missiles).
Using Shadowmental Mantle provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier.
After gaining this ability, the Harrowed’s footprints flicker and gutter with weak Shadowmental energy, adding a +5 circumstance bonus to those attempting to track her (with obvious exceptions made for common sense, such as cold energy in the arctic tundra), even when the ability is not active.
Glimpse the Soul (Su): The Harrowed’s senses continue to expand past the mundane, giving her glimpses of the auras that all beings with souls possess. Starting at level seven, she may concentrate and scrutinize these auras in order to gain information about their bearers. As a full-round action, the Harrowed may observe any being with a soul (including elementals, outsiders, and intelligent constructs) and make a sense motive check (DC = the creatures hit dice + its wisdom modifier). If she succeeds, the Harrowed may learn one of the following: one component of the creature’s alignment (good-evil, law-chaos), its current mood, its relative intelligence (in general terms; “animal intelligence” “stupid” “clever” and “brilliant” would all be appropriate readings), or if it is currently bearing any objects containing trapped souls. The Harrowed may attempt this check more than once on any given creature in a day, but each time she does, the DC increases by five.
Using Glimpse the Soul provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to this save.
Dark Whispers (Ex): A Harrowed can, in a limited fashion, project their mind and afflict others with the dark whispers and desires of the monster within. Starting at level eight, twice per encounter, the Harrowed may activate this ability as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The Harrowed designates a victim, who immediately begins hearing insidious, whispering, demanding voices in his head, forcing him to succeed at a will save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or go insane for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier. While insane, the victim suffers a -6 penalty to wisdom and is unable to tell friend from foe, lashing out violently against the nearest available victims. Victims who succeed at the will save are immune to further uses of this ability – by any Harrowed – for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting ability.
Harrowed are immune to the effects of Dark Whispers.
Activating this ability provokes a will save (see The Monster Within).
Bestial Resilience (Su): As her Shadowmental energy continues to infuse her body, the Harrowed begins to develop a tolerance for it. At level nine, the Harrowed gains resistance 10 to whatever form of damage her Shadowmental Touch deals (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or force). At level 18, this improves to resistance 20.
Read the Soul (Su): Starting at level twelve, as a full-round action, the Harrowed can lock onto the aura of any intelligent being within her view. Activating this ability is a standard action, and while she concentrates on that being, the Harrowed may tell any of the following: if that being lies, if it activates a supernatural or spell-like ability, if it changes alignment (but not what alignment it changes to), or if it becomes possessed. A Harrowed may only read one aura at a time this way, and concentrating on the task takes a standard action each round to maintain.
Activating Read the Soul provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and maintaining it provokes a will save (see The Monster Within) every other round, though the Harrowed enjoys a +2 bonus to these saves.
Scent the Occult (Su): As the Harrowed infuses more of herself with the stolen power of her beast, its senses continue to bleed through into her own. At level twelve, her sense of smell sharpens and takes on a supernatural edge, allowing her to hound down magic by scent. This functions almost identically to the scent special quality, with the exception that she may only detect magical beings (that is, beings with supernatural or spell-like abilities, or those beings capable of casting spells, or beings created by magic, such as certain undead and constructs) and effects this way. A Harrowed may track the movement of these beings and effects by scent, as well as being able to distinguish the type of magic she is dealing with (arcane or divine) and its source (inherent, learned, or granted).
Note that a Harrowed can only track where a spell or effect has been; she could, for example, follow the path of a programmed image, but she could not trace it back to its caster unless the image happened to pass near there.
A Harrowed can identify spells or magical items by scent, but doing so imposes a -8 penalty on the appropriate Knowledge (Arcana) or Spellcraft roll.
Evil Eye (Su): Temporarily shifting her soul from behind her eyes, a Harrowed of level fifteen or higher can allow her beast to glare out into the world, inflicting its hate and rage on unfortunate victims. Once per encounter, as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, the Harrowed may glare at her foe as a gaze attack. Her victim must succeed at a will save (DC 10 + ½ Harrowed’s class level + the Harrowed’s charisma modifier) or suffer a -6 profane penalty to all ability scores, skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls for a number of rounds equal to the Harrowed’s charisma modifier. This is a mind-affecting ability.
Activating the Evil Eye provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and the Harrowed suffers a -2 penalty to this save.
Sense the Unseen (Su): The most profound sharpening of her senses, a Harrowed of level sixteen or higher gains the ability to see even invisible or ethereal creatures. The Harrowed sees these creatures as though they were not invisible, though ethereal creatures appear somewhat transparent and hazy. A Harrowed may also sense the presence of nearby creatures on the Plane of Shadow, though she may only detect whether any such creatures are present within a forty foot radius of her, and not their exact type or location. Likewise, the Harrowed may sense the presence of incorporeal creatures within forty feet of her, but not their exact type or location.
Shadowmental Fury (Su): At level twenty, the Harrowed has mastered the most destructive and potent of her powers. By tapping into her own rage and fury and magnifying it with that of her beast, she becomes a beacon of dark elemental energy, creating and releasing it at a prodigious rate. When she activates her Shadowmental Fury, the Harrowed can make her Shadowmental Touch attacks as attack actions; that is, she may make as many Shadowmental Touch attacks as her base attack bonus allows. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier.
Activating Shadowmental Fury provokes a will save (see The Monster Within), and the Harrowed suffers a -4 penalty to this save.
Multiclass Harrowed: Nothing prohibits a Harrowed from multiclassing. However, those wishing to play as a Harrowed must begin play as a member of the class; Harrowed are born, not made, and those not afflicted from the day of their birth have no hope of becoming so, even if they wished to.