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Kellus
2008-03-30, 01:52 AM
Scholar of the Damned

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/compmage_gallery/100475.jpg
Graveyards hold many secrets for those who care to see them.

"For hundreds of years men have opened the bodies of the dead to study the nature of life. I wished to understand the nature of death, so I opened the bodies of the living."
- Qyburn, scholar of the damned

The factotum is a professional adventurer, a skilled explorer who always finds the right tools for the job. Any factotum can snag a bit of divine power when he needs to recover, but some go beyond this. To a scholar of the damned, death is just one more boundary to be pushed beyond and explored. By sacrificing some of their more traditional skills, scholars of the damned discover ways to toy with death itself.

Although traditional necromancers are generally of an evil moral bent, scholars of the damned have no such standard. Undeath is an academic study to them, and no more inherently evil than chemistry or architecture.

Requirements
To qualify to become a scholar of the damned, you must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks
Feat: Tomb-Tainted Soul
Special: Opportunistic Piety class feature, Inspiration class feature

Hit Die: d8.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Skills: All. The scholar of the damned treats all skills as class skills.

Table: The Scholar of the Damned
{table="head"]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Jack of all trades, opportunistic rebuke
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Opportunistic piety (+1 use)
3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Cunning transcendence
4th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Necrotic dilettante
5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Opportunistic piety (+1 use)
6th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Cunning animation
7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Cunning resilience
8th|+4|+2|+2|+6|Opportunistic piety (+1 use)
9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Cunning rejuvenation
10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Cunning descent
[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the scholar of the damned.

Jack of All Trades (Ex): Scholar of the damned levels stack with factotum levels to determine your inspiration points per day, and for your effective factotum level when using class features such as Opportunistic Piety and Cunning Knowledge. These levels also stack to determine the number of spells you may prepare with your Arcane Dilettante class feature, and the highest level of spell you can access.

Opportunistic Rebuke (Su): You have expanded your studies to include the domain of the dead. When using your Opportunistic Piety ability, you may choose to channel negative energy instead of positive energy. This allows you to rebuke undead as a cleric of your effective factotum level, as well as heal undead with your touch. You may also use this ability offensively; any living target touched by a negative energy use of Opportunistic Piety takes the same amount of damage as you would normally heal. A Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 effective factotum level + Int modifier) halves this damage.

Opportunistic Piety (Su): At 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels, you gain one additional use of Opportunistic Piety per day.

Cunning Transcendence (Su): Your research into the applications of necromancy allow you to transcend your own mortality. Beginning at 3rd level, you may spend 1 point of inspiration to gain the sum of your Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers as a profane bonus to the next saving throw you make. If you do not make a saving throw within 1 round/effective factotum level, this ability is lost with no effect. Using this ability is a free action.

Necrotic Dilettante (Sp): Beginning at 4th level, you may prepare divine spells from the school of necromancy or which have the [Evil] descriptor with your Arcane Dilettante class feature. You do not risk a change to your alignment if you cast these spells with your Arcane Dilettante class feature.

Cunning Animation (Sp): Your studies into the nature of death allow you to command the legions of the afterlife yourself. Beginning at 6th level, you may spend 1 point of inspiration to animate the dead, as the animate dead spell. Your caster level for this ability is equal to your effective factotum level. Due to the nature of your rudimentary study of necromancy, this ability is temporary. The skeletons and zombies animated with this effect break apart after 10 minutes/level. However, you do not need to provide the material component usually necessary for the spell.

Cunning Resilience (Su): As your studies into death and undeath progress, you can apply your knowledge to alter your own physiology for short periods of time. Begining at 7th level, you can spend 1 point of inspiration to gain immunity to death effects and precision damage (including critical hits) until your next turn. Using this ability is a free action.

Cunning Rejuvenation (Su): With a bit of skill and a bit of luck, you can cheat death itself. Beginning at 9th level, whenever you would be reduced to -10 hit points or lower, you may spend 3 points of inspiration to instead be reduced to -1 hit points and stable. This ability even works if your body would normally have been destroyed, such as by a disintegrate spell. You may use this ability once per encounter. Using this ability is an immediate action.

Cunning Descent (Su): At 10th level, your abilities have reached their peak. You may spend 4 points of inspiration to activate this ability. When you use this ability, you must choose between three different uses of it: undeath apotheosis, incorporeality, and jury rigged phylactery.

Undeath Apotheosis: Your gain the Undead type, and all associated traits, with the following exceptions. You do not change all of your Hit Dice to d12s. Your current hp does not change, and you keep any excess hp from your previous Con score as temporary hit points until they are lost or the effect ends, whichever comes first. If you are destroyed while this effect persists, you may be raised or reincarnated as normal once the effect ends. This effect lasts for 1 round per effective factotum level. Using this ability is a free action.

Incorporeality: You gain the Incorporeal subtype, and all associated traits. This effect lasts for 1 round per effective factotum level. Using this ability is a free action.

Jury Rigged Phylactery: You can set up a temporary phylactery. This requires an object at least three size categories smaller than you that you are touching to be designated as your phylactery. If you die at any point during the following 10 minutes per effective factotum level, your soul enters the phylactery, and your body begins regrowing. Assuming that the phylactery isn’t destroyed before 1d10 days pass, your body regrows and you return to life without losing any XP from the transition. Using this ability is a full-round action.

You may be under the effects of any or all of these three abilities at the same time, but you can only use them a combined total of 1/day per Int modifier.

Kellus
2008-03-30, 12:25 PM
No comments?

Mephisto
2008-03-30, 02:02 PM
No comments?

You get credit for using a SoIaF quote as the flavor text.

DracoDei
2008-03-30, 05:06 PM
What is SoIaF?

Kellus
2008-03-30, 10:27 PM
What is SoIaF?

A Song of Ice and Fire. As much as I love the series, I was admittedly hoping for somewhat more constructive advice. :smalltongue: