Quote:
In the middle of the night, a wealthy merchant walks through the slums of the city, bold as day.
“He is a fool...” Thinks an old thug, motioning to his cronies to move in “…no sane man walks the streets of my town at night unprotected.” As the five cronies approach the merchant one falls, then another and another, each falling to the ground thrashing and foaming at the mouth mere moments after the one before him. A hulking figure steps out of the shadows; a massive half-orc dodging the desperate lunge of one of the remaining cronies, embedding his dagger into the would-be thief as he side-steps. One more thrashing, foaming crony on the ground, leaving the final crony, dagger in hand, trembling and staring. He turns to flee, however the half-orc is faster, drawing his great-axe and letting forth a ferocious roar of rage as he runs him down and kills him. The old thug can only stare on in horror as the half-orc slices open his men and devour their organs.
“By Olidammara!” he thinks as the merchant brushes past “He’s hired a bile-eater!”
The Bile Eater Clan is a clan of orcs of fearsome notoriety, known for their stealth and ferocity in equal measure; silently ambushing and ferociously battling their enemies. However, it is after the battle that the Bile Eater Clan gained its fearsome reputation; the few who have survived attacks from the clan report the victors mutilating the dead by removing the liver and gallbladder of their slain foes in order to feast upon them. Often at odds with other orc clans because they revere ancestral spirits rather than following Gruumsh, the Bile Eater Clan has managed to carve itself a place in notoriety.
Bile-eater
Bile-eaters are the elite warriors of the Bile Eater Clan, warriors who have tuned their skills in stealth and have consumed the bile of enough enemies to become resistant to poisons. Poison is central to Bile Eater Clan combat, and as such, bile-eaters are rarely encountered without poisoned blade at the ready. Bile-eaters attribute their prowess to the consumption of their enemy’s ‘poison’, which they believe is contained in bile (created in the liver and stored in the gallbladder). This belief is so strong in the bile eater that they actually suffer physical disadvantages if they fail to do so. Most commonly bile-eaters have previously taken levels in barbarian, however ranger and rogue are not uncommon, nor is any combination of the three.
Adventuring
Full blood orc bile-eaters typically stay with the clan in order to protect it and war upon other tribes. However, half-orc bile-eaters are known to leave the clan in order to seek their own destiny. Half-orc bile-eaters are sometimes sought out as assassins by those involved in political intrigue. However, more common is a half-orc bile-eater being hired out as a bodyguard; the kind meant to lurk in the shadows rather than loom menacingly (something many are good at anyway). This means that people who are more interested in being safe than scary tend to hire them, for example a cleric of Erythnul or a politician.
Hit Die
D8.
Requirements
To qualify to become a bile-eater, a character must fulfil all the following criteria.
Alignment
Neutral evil or chaotic evil.
Base Attack Bonus
+6
Race
Orc or half-orc.
Skills
Heal 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks.
Special
To become a bile-eater, the character must hunt down a Bile Eater Clan enemy, chosen by tribal elders, slay them then consume their gallbladder and liver.
Class Skills
The assassin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex) and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level
2 + Int modifier.
Table: Bile Eater
Lvl. BAB Fort. Ref. Wis.
1st +0 +0 +2 +0 +2 save against poison, poison use
2nd +1 +0 +3 +0 Sneak attack +1d6, uncanny dodge
3rd +2 +1 +3 +1 Death attack
4th +3 +1 +4 +1 Sneak attack +2d6, +4 save against poison
5th +3 +1 +4 +1 Improved uncanny dodge
6th +4 +2 +5 +2 Sneak attack +3d6
7th +5 +2 +5 +2 +6 save against poison
8th +6 +2 +6 +2 Sneak attack +4d6, hide in plain sight
9th +6 +3 +6 +3 +8 save against poison
10th +7 +3 +7 +3 Sneak attack +5d6, Immune to poison
Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the bile-eater prestige class.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency
Bile-eaters are proficient with the dagger (any type), dart, sap, shortbow (normal and composite), and short sword. Bile-eaters are proficient with light armour but not with shields.
Sneak Attack
This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every other level (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th). If a bile-eater gets a sneak attack bonus from another source the bonuses on damage stack.
Death Attack
Starting at 3rd level, if a bile-eater studies his victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralysing or killing the target (bile-eater’s choice). While studying the victim, the bile-eater can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect the bile-eater or recognize the bile-eater as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the assassin’s class level + the bile-eater’s Int modifier) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per level of the bile-eater. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once the bile-eater has completed the 3 rounds of study, he must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds.
If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if the bile-eater does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before he can attempt another death attack.
Poison Use
Bile-eaters are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.
Save Bonus against Poison
Due to his culinary curiosity, the bile-eater gains a natural saving throw bonus to all poisons gained at 1st level that increases by +2 for every three additional levels the bile-eater gains.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
Starting at 2nd level, a bile-eater retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)
If a character gains uncanny dodge from a second class the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below).
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex)
At 5th level, a bile-eater can no longer be flanked, since he can react to opponents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single attacker. This defence denies rogues the ability to use flank attacks to sneak attack the bile-eater. The exception to this defence is that a rogue at least four levels higher than the bile-eater can flank him (and thus sneak attack him).
If a character gains uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge, and the levels from those classes stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su)
At 8th level, a bile-eater can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a bile-eater can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.
Immune to Poison (Ex)
At 10th level, a bile-eater has consumed enough bile and poison to gain immunity to poisons of all kinds.
Code of Conduct
When victorious, a bile-eater must consume the gallbladder of enemies he has slain; failure to do so demoralises the bile-eater, causing him to suffer a -1 morale penalty on all attack rolls for 24hrs. However, failure to consume the gallbladder of five enemies in one month strips a bile-eater of his poison resistance and death attack abilities, and he suffers a -2 morale penalty on attack rolls. This is not due to any supernatural effect, rather a psychological effect due to the fact that bile-eaters attribute their prowess to the consumption of their enemy’s gallbladders. This effect can be reversed by three days prayer to ancestral spirits, a ritual performed by tribal elders (very hard to attain, many are exiled rather than reconciled), or via the atonement spell (as per a cleric or druid).
On top of this, a bile eater must consume bile, or some poisonous substance at least once per week, or suffer loss of his poison resistance.
Adaptation
Bile-eaters could easily be adapted to non-orc flavour, perhaps being a strange cult of assassins who similarly feel that the gallbladder (or some other organ) provides supernatural abilities.
I'm a little unsure about the BAB, Hitdie and Skill points per lvl. I created this as a modification to the assasin prestige class with a more barbarian type flavour in mind. I think I've succeeded in attaining the kind of flavour I want, however I would certainally like feedback on the balance, mechanics etc. 