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Crazy Author
2017-07-12, 10:04 PM
My first post ever. Here we go. :smalleek: So, I was reading the Necromancers of the Northwest' Otherworldly Invocations and it kind of melted my brain along with the thoughts I'd had percolating about the Dark Tapestry and some other topics. So, without further ado, an advanced witch patron for use/critique:

The Dark Emissary

You have discovered the great [enemy/ally], the truth of the struggle that every being, every world must one day face. You now hold the responsibility to prepare your world. You must [defend/surrender] yourselves, and preparation is needed to do so. I will grant you the understanding, the power needed to [oppose/support] the Dark Invaders/Masters. Strengthen your mind and soul, for you must withstand the knowledge I impart long enough to use it.

Description

The Dark Emissary has no physical form which can be described. Its consciousness is seemingly omnipresent, though its focus shifts from moment to moment. Floating through existence without proof of its own existence beyond the knowledge it offers and the contact it makes with the thoughts of creatures, it’s attention is gained most chiefly by gaining knowledge of the Dark Tapestry, or of concepts involving the breaking down or building up of those barriers that protect and divide physical states from one another. Those who find their interests strongly drawn to teleportation effects or other forms of inter-dimensional travel may find a strange voice in their head one morning, speaking warnings of an unstoppable foe which must be opposed.

Yet they may find the same voice interchangeably encouraging their studies to provide a more powerful eventual servant or meal to what seems to be the same entity. The Dark Emissary speaks in apparently conflicting themes, sometimes encouraging mastery of inter-planar and -dimensional effects to prevent the conquering of the contactee’s world by a tremendous other-wordly force, other times stating the mastering of such forces will allow the world to better serve some unknown entity.

Those sages who study the Dark Tapestry and are aware of The Dark Emissary (this is most such sages, as their learnings draw its attention) have several theories regarding its apparent contradiction of theme. All such theories are disturbing to dwell upon, the most popular being that the Emissary is not acting in contradiction after all; it may be inclined against one force or being, such as the ominous Dominion of the Black, while wishing to support and prepare the way for another force or being… Perhaps one which is worse still than anything sages have yet seen hinted at.

Background

The Dark Emissary’s origins are shrouded in mystery, but it’s highly likely it began as a spellcaster, or perhaps a physicist of some kind on a more technologically-inclined world, investigating the physical relationships between various dimensions. Research naturally led it to the revelations of those strange creatures occupying various places in the Dark Tapestry between worlds. Possibly in an attempt to develop a defense against them, or possibly in service to them, or perhaps in a maddening event involving initial contact with them, the creature now known as The Dark Emissary was ripped from standard mortal existence, its consciousness spreading out among the cosmos in unknowable ways.

Goals

The Dark Emissary’s goals are either to prepare as many worlds as possible for eventual absorbing by an entity, or to prepare against the possibility of the same. (sages versed in related matters suspect both; see above) It wants nothing more than to see sages, mages and technologists master the arts of breaking and repairing the barriers between spatial dimensions.

Followers

The Dark Emissary has few organized groups of followers. Rather, anyone who has delved deeply into teleportation effects, force effects, the nature of The Dark Tapestry, or even those who study The Old Gods has likely heard its voice at some point. Those who listened, who didn’t write it off or dismiss it because they already had a master, found it to be a font of guidance in those areas they were already interested in.

There are some groups of collective followers of The Dark Emissary. These mostly work on collaborative projects, coordinating efforts with one another to bring about larger impressive effects through experimentation. One such group, purposefully secluded in a mountain hideaway, works feverishly toward successfully creating and harnessing an artificial “Void Space,” as they call it. This is, in fact, an effort to create an artificial equivalent of a black hole, and they are well aware there are many who would exert large resources to stop them if they were made aware of the inherent dangers.

For the most part, followers of The Dark Emissary follow no single set of goals, as their interests have a variety of practical uses. One could as likely find an evil mastermind intending to lock a kingdom’s capital within an unbelievably-effective dimensional lock to hinder trade as a successful merchant who utilizes various effects to lighten the load of his goods by storing some of them on another plane and teleport critical deliveries directly to their destination among their numbers.

Familiars
Familiars granted by The Dark Emissary are clearly extraterrestrial in origin, appearing similar enough to their normal counterparts only at a glance. Even casual inspection will note eyes that seem to open into endless star-fields, whose pupils are delineated by single bright points of light to indicate the direction the familiar is looking. Familiars granted by The Dark Emissary are well-suited to their master’s interests, having the ability to step between spaces at will. Functionally, any familiar of a witch of The Dark Emissary can utilize dimension door at will, although it cannot carry anyone or anything with it other than items it could conceivably lift or wear.

Witches who obtain advanced familiars from The Dark Emissary receive Paracletus Aeons, Arbiter Inevitables or Voidworm Proteans, as appropriate to their master’s alignments and interests. These creatures retain the void-filled eye sockets indicative of their origin, as well as the ability to dimension door at will, with the same restrictions as previous familiars, and arrive knowing any spells the previous familiar knew.

Familiars granted by The Dark Emissary behave as a familiar of their apparent type normally would to a degree, but share the patron’s obsessive interest in mastery of spatial relationships, above even their own usual obsessions depending on their type. If a familiar’s master has gone more than a day without somehow breaking or repairing the normally-accepted laws of physics, the familiar will harangue them to do so, to “stay in practice.” A familiar may even go so far as to engineer a situation which can easily be resolved by a simple teleportation effect. Caught in such an act, familiars are completely unrepentant, doggedly insisting that part of their very role is to ensure their master’s continued progression in the various dimensional arts.

Rituals

Gift to the Void
The Gift to the Void is the ritual required by The Dark Emissary to finalize the pact between the prospective witch and itself, as well as to reaffirm their commitment to support one another throughout the witch’s career. The witch offers an item, placing it within an exactingly-drawn rune whose nature is guided by The Dark Emissary’s voice, as its formulation and nature vary depending on many ever-changing factors of gravitational relationship. Once properly formed, the witch need only channel her power into the rune, opening a brief rip in the fabric of space-time, which sucks the item through in an inward-pulling gust of wind.

For the initial pact, only an item of significance to the witch is required, but for higher levels, The Dark Emissary is best pleased by items which demonstrate a willingness to warp the fabric of space. A mundane item will suffice, if somehow the target of an ongoing or Permanent spell with the [force], [calling], [summoning], or [teleportation] descriptors. Bracers of armor, which provide a constant ongoing spatial distortion about their wearer, are an example of a crafted or purchased item which is acceptable, as would be a scroll of wall of force or of cruel jaunt, if provided at the witch’s caster level.

Spells

2nd-magic missile, 4th-twisted space, 6th-urban step, 8th-dimensional anchor, 10th-wall of force, 12th-getaway, 14th-forcecage, 16th-dimensional lock, 18th-gate

Pact Boons

By taking The Dark Emissary as her patron, a witch gains a number of special boons, specific to The Dark Emissary. As she gains levels in the witch class, and her association with The Dark Emissary becomes stronger, she is granted additional boons, as outlined below.

Hex of Unknowable Direction(Su)
A witch of The Dark Emissary applies her knowledge of those paths from point A to B that travel in odd directions to the victims of her hexes. While a creature is under the effects of an offensive hex of the witch’s, that creature has a 20% miss chance on any attacks that require an attack roll to hit, as it finds itself sometimes swinging, firing or pointing in directions it doesn’t fully comprehend.

Master of the Hidden Paths(Su)
At 6th level, a witch who follows The Dark Emissary can manipulate the spaces around her to re-route opposing effects. Anytime a Conjuration(calling, summoning or teleportation) effect is triggered or targeted within 60’ of her, she is immediately aware of it and can re-route the specific destinations involved as an immediate action. This does not allow her to cancel spells or effects, but rather make any location-based determinations as if she were the spell’s controller.

For example, she cannot opt to keep an opposing spellcaster from summoning an ally, but she can decide that the summoned creature appears at the maximum range of the summoning spell above the ground (probably resulting in subsequent falling damage). She could not decide which members of another caster’s party were the subjects of a greater teleport intended to drop them into existence around her, but she could decide they instead teleported to a geographically-nearby volcano.

The witch must be conscious to use this ability. She can use this ability three times per day, plus one additional time for every six class levels beyond sixth.

Pact Price

As a witch delves deeper into the comparatively strange pathways and methods of traversing known and unknown spaces, she becomes less-grounded in the basic reality others take for granted.

Multi-directional Awareness
A witch who follows The Dark Emissary has some issues following anyone else… literally. Because she sometimes is watching in a direction she can’t explain adequately, she forgets to keep an eye on where her three-dimensional feet are taking her. A witch of The Dark Emissary has, at best, a 50% chance of being able to discern her specific location, true north, or any other landmarks or directions. Spells and effects such as find the path mostly just confuse her. (“Well, that’s clearly wrong. Why not go this way?” point in a direction that breaks one’s brain to try to look at) Furthermore, if not carefully watched, there is a persistent 50% likelihood that she wanders in an unintended direction at crossroads, dungeon tunnel intersections, and other locations where one must choose a direction to travel in. (possibly resulting in her very suddenly being apart from a group of allies)

Proof of Mastery
The Witch is expected to carry out the Gift to the Void ritual once every three levels. While there are no specific minimum requirements on the gift offered, it is expected to be something requiring more effort or resources than simply using the ritual as a disposal method for those outdated bracers of armor +2 still hanging about one’s inventory. A witch who doesn’t provide adequate proof of mastery finds her mind befuddling as the concerned alien entity of The Dark Emissary bombards her thoughts with direct instruction, attempting to make up the disparity in her progress. Each day after she provides an unsatisfactory offering, she can prepare one less spell of each level she can prepare. These penalties accumulate, so that the morning two days after the unsatisfactory ritual she can prepare two less spells than normal in each spell slot. Delivering a satisfactory gift relieves the concerns of The Dark Emissary, allowing the witch to prepare spells as normal beginning the next day, as it turns its attentions elsewhere.

Notes: I know the spell list could have some better options. I was attempting to remain thematically-appropriate and add spells not already on the witch spell list. I figure such things will be negotiated with DM/player anyway. I'm also guessing some will advise that the pact prices aren't onerous enough in relation to the pact boons, or vice-versa; that's an issue of mine constantly in my personal designs, and why I'm putting it up for review. :smallwink: (also to share) Final note: I'm sure this won't allow a witch to compete with (insert optimized build here). While that's not really a focus of mine, I'm also very interested in optimization-related suggestions as well, so please let loose with it. :smallbiggrin: