GitP PrC Contest XXXVIII: Chaos is as Chaos... Oh look, shiny!

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EXECUTOR OF BEDLAM

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"You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star."

― Friedrich Nietzsche

An Executor of Bedlam has embraced the chaotic and unpredictable nature of battle, and in fact seeks to enhance those qualities. If one prepares for chaos, one can sow it among one's enemies, with spectacular results.

BECOMING AN EXECUTOR OF BEDLAM
Executors of Bedlam primarily train in martial combat, but focus on techniques which involve misdirection, trickery, and unpredictable fighting. Sublime Rogue is the most natural entry, but a Swordsage/Rogue with Assassin's Stance (or similar builds) can qualify relatively easily.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any Chaotic
Feats: Eldritch Erosion or Mind Drain
Skills: Hide 10 ranks, Martial Lore 10 ranks
Maneuvers: Ability to initiate 3rd-level maneuvers, including at least 2 maneuvers from the Shadow Hand discipline.
Sneak Attack: +3d6 (the Sublime Rogue Sneak Attack ability, coupled with the ability to initiate 4th level maneuvers, meets this prerequisite)

Class Skills
The Executor of Bedlam's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level: 8 + int

Hit Dice: d6

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Surge|Special|Man.Kno|Man.Read|Stances
1st |+0|+0|+2|+0|3d6/13|Surging strike, wild adept|1|0|0
2nd |+1|+0|+3|+0|3d6/16|Sneak attack +1d6|0|0|0
3rd |+2|+1|+3|+1|4d6/19|Wreak havoc|1|1|0
4th |+3|+1|+4|+1|4d6/22|Random flash|0|0|0
5th |+3|+1|+4|+1|5d6/25|Sneak attack +2d6|1|0|1
6th |+4|+2|+5|+2|5d6/28|Cause clamor|0|1|0
7th |+5|+2|+5|+2|6d6/31|Entropy flash|1|0|0
8th |+6|+2|+6|+2|6d6/34|Sneak attack +3d6|0|0|0
9th |+6|+3|+6|+3|7d6/37|Bring bedlam|1|1|0
10th|+7|+3|+7|+3|7d6/40|Anarchy flash|0|0|0[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: An Executor of Bedlam gains no new proficiencies with weapons or armor.

Maneuvers: At each odd-numbered level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Coin's Edge, Fortunate Assailant, Kaleidoscopic Dream, or Shadow Hand disciplines. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. You add your full Executor levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At 3rd level, 6th level, and 9th level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Stances known: At 5th level, you learn a new martial stance from Coin's Edge, Fortunate Assailant, Kaleidoscopic Dream, or Shadow Hand disciplines. You must meet a stance’s prerequisite to learn it.

Surging strike (Su): The first trick you learn as an Executor is to bring a little bit of bedlam with every attack. Whenever you make an attack which would be a valid sneak attack (even if the creature is normally immune to precision damage), you may reduce your sneak attack dice by up to 3d6. If you do so, your attack carries a random effect with it; roll the same number of d6 you reduced your sneak attack by and look up the resulting effect on the Surge Table, below. The maximum result you can achieve on the table is 13. As you increase in level, both the maximum number of dice you can surge and the maximum surge result are shown in the table above.

Surge Table:

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{table=head]Surge|Result
1 |All enemies within 5 feet of target (including the target itself) take 1 point of sonic damage
2 |You gain 2 temporary hit points
3 |Target and one other adjacent enemy take 3 points of bludgeoning damage
4 |Target takes 4 points of untyped damage with the [Force] descriptor
5 |Target loses ability to speak for 2d6 rounds, suffering a -5 penalty to skill checks requiring speech and a 50% chance of failure when casting a spell with a verbal component or verbally activating a magic item
6 |You gain a +2 luck bonus to Strength for 2d4 rounds
7 |Target suffers a -2 penalty on Int- and Wis-based checks (including skill checks) for 2d6 rounds
8 |You deal 8 points of acid damage in a 15-foot line (Reflex DC 14 + Dex mod for half damage), originating in target's square and oriented directly away from you
9 |Target takes 9 points of positive energy damage
10|Target is deafened for 2d4 rounds
11|Target takes 11 points of good-aligned damage
12|You turn invisible (as the spell) for 2d3 rounds
13|Target takes 13 points of negative energy damage
14|Target suffers 1d4 Constitution damage
15|Target suffers a -2 penalty to all saves for 2d4 rounds
16|You deal 16 points of cold damage in a 15-foot cone (Reflex DC 16 + Dex mod for half damage), originating in target's square and oriented directly away from you
17|Target makes Will save (DC 17 + Dex mod) or is confused for 2d4 rounds
18|You gain a fly speed of 30 feet with good maneuverability for 2d6 rounds
19|Target takes 19 points of piercing damage, and all its speeds are reduced by 5 feet for 2d4 rounds
20|Target takes 20 points of electricity damage and is entangled for 2d3 rounds (Reflex DC 18 + Dex mod to avoid entanglement)
21|Target takes 21 points of vile damage
22|Target's spell and power resistance are reduced by 10 (minimum 0) for 2d6 rounds
23|You gain a +6 luck bonus to Dexterity for 2d8 rounds
24|Target takes 1d6 points of Strength damage
25|Target takes 25 points of evil-aligned damage
26|You gain an additional attack at the same attack bonus after this attack resolves
27|You deal 27 points of fire damage in a 60-foot line (Reflex DC 18 + Dex mod for half damage), originating in target's square and oriented directly away from you
28|Target loses immunity to crits & precision damage for 2d6 rounds
29|Target takes 29 slashing damage
30|Target suffers a -6 penalty on Str- and Dex-based checks (including skill checks) for 2d8 rounds
31|Target turns ethereal (as the ethereal jaunt spell) for 2d4 rounds, Will (DC 20 + Dex mod) to negate
32|Every enemy within 60 feet of the target takes 32 points of nonlethal damage
33|Target takes 1d10 points of Dexterity damage
34|Target loses their highest-level spell slot or prepared spell, chosen at random, or power points equal to their manifester level (if target has both, you decide which)
35|All damage you deal until the end of your next turn is maximized
36|Target takes 2d6 points of Intelligence damage
37|Your next attack is an automatic critical threat
38|Target takes 38 points of untyped arcane damage
39|Target takes 2d8 points of Wisdom damage
40|You gain the benefit of a heal spell as cast by a cleric of your character level
[/table]

Wild adept (Ex): Your style of fighting has changed, becoming more organic, intuitive, and I daresay chaotic. This unpredictability in your moves can either surprise your enemy with a brilliant technique, or fail as your enemy blocks your attempts in consternation. Whenever you initiate a maneuver, roll 1d20 and compare the result to the table below; the corresponding bonus or penalty applies to your initiator level for that maneuver. The maneuver still functions even if your initiator level is reduced below the minimum initiator level to initiate a maneuver of that type.

Spoiler

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{table=head]1d20|Initiator level|1d20|Initiator level
1|-2|11|+0
2|-1|12|-1
3|+1|13|-1
4|+0|14|+0
5|+1|15|+1
6|-1|16|+0
7|+1|17|-1
8|-1|18|+0
9|+0|19|+1
10|+1|20|+2[/table]

Sneak attack: This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 at 2nd level, and every 3 levels after. If you gain a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.

Wreak havoc (Su): At 3rd level, you learn how to channel the essential chaos of the Universe into one of your stances. While you are in a stance from any discipline you know, you can forgo its normal benefit as a swift action to gain the effect of Wreak Havoc. This ability lasts as long as you would maintain the stance, or as described below. You can also stop using Wreak Havoc and resume gaining the normal benefit of the stance as a swift action.

Whenever you are targeted by a ranged attack, that attack suffers a 5% miss chance per Executor level (to a maximum of 50% at 10th level). If the attack misses you for any reason, it is automatically redirected at a random enemy within 5 feet per Executor level, with the same attack roll. If there are no enemies within that range, the attack is instead automatically redirected at any creature other than you (including your allies) within 5 feet of you, again with the same attack roll. If there are no other creatures within 5 feet of you, the attack misses harmlessly.

Random flash (Ex): By letting loose a burst of light from a torch, or a reflection from a mirrored shield, you startle and confuse your enemies. Your allies, somewhat prepared for the effect, are less startled and can take advantage of the confusion. Starting at 4th level, as a move action you can release a Random Flash, which affects all creatures within 30 feet and lasts for 1d6 rounds. Whenever an affected creature makes a damage roll, it rolls an additional d20 and gains a luck bonus or penalty to its damage roll based on the result, as shown on the table below. You may have only one Random Flash in effect at a time. This ability functions normally in natural or supernatural darkness.

Spoiler

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{table=head]1d20|Ally|Enemy
1 |-4 damage |-10 damage
2 |-3 damage |-9 damage
3 |-3 damage |-8 damage
4 |-2 damage |-8 damage
5 |-2 damage |-7 damage
6 |-1 damage |-6 damage
7 |-1 damage |-5 damage
8 |+0 damage |-5 damage
9 |+1 damage |-4 damage
10|+2 damage |-3 damage
11|+3 damage |-2 damage
12|+4 damage |-2 damage
13|+4 damage |-1 damage
14|+5 damage |-0 damage
15|+6 damage |+1 damage
16|+7 damage |+1 damage
17|+8 damage |+2 damage
18|+8 damage |+2 damage
19|+9 damage |+3 damage
20|+10 damage|+3 damage[/table]

Cause clamor (Su): At 6th level, one of your stances warps ordered flows of magic in unpredictable ways. While you are in a stance from any discipline you know, you can forgo its normal benefit as a swift action to gain the effect of Cause Clamor. This ability lasts as long as you would maintain the stance, or as described below. You can also stop using Cause Clamor and resume gaining the normal benefit of the stance as a swift action.

Whenever you are the target of a spell or similar effect, you may make a Reflex save at the normal DC for an effect of that level, even if the effect does not normally allow a save. If your save is successful, the targeting of the effect is automatically redirected at a random enemy (which is a valid target for the spell) within 5 feet per Executor level. If there are no enemies within that range, or no enemies are valid targets of the effect, the targeting is instead automatically redirected at any valid target other than you (including your allies) within 5 feet of you. If there are no valid targets within 5 feet of you, the spell targets you as normal.

Entropy flash (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, whenever you release a Random Flash, you can choose to make it an Entropy Flash instead. This functions identically to a Random Flash, except that the luck bonus or penalty applies to attack rolls instead, as shown on the table below. You cannot have more than one Entropy Flash or Random Flash in effect at a time; activating a new Entropy or Random Flash ends the first effect.

Spoiler

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{table=head]1d20|Ally|Enemy
1 |-3 attack |-6 attack
2 |-2 attack |-6 attack
3 |-2 attack |-5 attack
4 |-2 attack |-5 attack
5 |-1 attack |-5 attack
6 |-1 attack |-4 attack
7 |-1 attack |-4 attack
8 |+0 attack |-3 attack
9 |+0 attack |-3 attack
10|+1 attack |-3 attack
11|+1 attack |-2 attack
12|+2 attack |-2 attack
13|+2 attack |-1 attack
14|+3 attack |-1 attack
15|+3 attack |-1 attack
16|+4 attack |+0 attack
17|+4 attack |+0 attack
18|+5 attack |+1 attack
19|+5 attack |+1 attack
20|+6 attack |+2 attack[/table]

Bring bedlam (Su): Upon reaching 9th level, your Wreak Havoc and Cause Clamor abilities increase in potency. You can gain the benefit of both abilities at the same time with the same swift action, and can deactivate one or both of them with another swift action, as normal (though you cannot benefit from either ability at the same time as a normal stance).

Whenever a ranged attack is successfully redirected to an enemy (the first target) by your Wreak Havoc ability, it is then redirected at an additional enemy as if the first target was the beneficiary of its own Wreak Havoc, but using your enemies (instead of its own), and with a -2 penalty to the attack roll. The chain continues, targeting only your enemies, until there are no enemies within range of the last target, or until a redirected attack misses. The attack against each successive target is made at a -2 penalty, and no enemy can be targeted more than once by this ability.

Similarly, whenever your Cause Clamor ability redirects a targeted spell to an enemy (the first target) who fails its save, the spell is then redirected at an additional enemy as if the first target was the beneficiary of its own Cause Clamor, but using your enemies (instead of its own). The second target receives a +2 luck bonus to its save. The chain continues, targeting only your enemies, until there are no enemies within range of the last target, or until a target makes its save. This addition to the Cause Clamor ability does not affect spells which do not allow saves. Each additional target receives a cumulative +2 luck bonus to its save, and no enemy can be targeted more than once by this ability.

Anarchy flash (Ex): At 10th level, you learn the greatest trick of the Executor's trade. By spending a full-round action, you may target a single creature with an Anarchy Flash. The subject must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + your Dexterity modifier) or confuse friend with foe for 2d4 rounds.

Any time an affected creature would normally target one or more of its allies (other than itself) with an effect, it targets the same number of your allies instead, chosen at random from among the valid targets. If there are no valid targets who are your allies, the subject's action resolves as intended.

Similarly, any time the creature would target one or more of its enemies, it targets the same number of your enemies (other than itself), chosen at random from among the valid targets. If there are no valid targets who are your enemies, the subject's action resolves as intended.

Each time the subject of Anarchy Flash confuses an ally for an enemy, or vice versa, and affects them accordingly, it receives a new save (at the same DC) to end the effect. The subject does not realize that the result of its actions are different than it intended, and cannot be convinced otherwise. A creature who is under the effect of Anarchy Flash is unaffected by any other Flash for the duration of this ability.

PLAYING AN EXECUTOR OF BEDLAM
As an Executor, you thrive on the unpredictability of combat, turning it against your enemies in (sometimes) spectacular ways. You can be quite subtle, at least for a while, though the brawls you're involved in tend to devolve rather quickly into... well, bedlam.
Combat: You are primarily a sneak attacker, though your surging strikes can affect creatures normally immune. You also have some strange and hilarious defensive capabilities which should make you more durable than other sneaky characters. Your maneuvers and stances give you even more options in combat.
Advancement: Clearly the best option for an Executor of Bedlam is to take more levels of Executor and Sublime Rogue. Failing that, levels of Swordsage, Master of Nine, or Shadow Sun Ninja could mix quite nicely.
Resources: You will likely make your own friends, your own luck, and your own money. Well, that last one is probably false -- you're much more likely to make someone else's money.

EXECUTOR OF BEDLAM IN THE WORLD
Look out for -- whuh?!

Most common folk don't really know much about Executors, and those who do want to stay as far away from them as possible. Common folk don't really have much truck with bedlam, or so my mother told me.
Daily Life: An Executor of Bedlam has no daily routine, instead seeing where the wind takes him on any given day.
Notables: Hordon Fruish was the first Executor in recorded history, and became famous when he was to be executed for treason. 100 archers surrounded him, all firing on the same command... and when the dust cleared, the King discovered that all 100 of his archers had slain, each one by his neighbor's arrow.
Organizations: Executors are unlikely to band together, being fiercely individualistic. Even if some of them decided to found an organization, it's unlikely such a venture would have succeeded -- structure and form in an organization are not very forgiving to bedlam.

NPC Reaction
"Yer a what? An egg salad tutor? Of bedposts? Well, I don't like that, not a'tall. Why don't ye be on yer way?"

EXECUTOR OF BEDLAM IN THE GAME
An executor fills the same niche as a rogue (seeing as how he was sneaky to start with).
Adaptation: In a more sci-fi setting, an Executor could be a character who has built an improbability drive into his equipment, and is using it to avoid and produce attacks.
Encounters: NPC Executors are the kind of shady characters who would sneak into your camp in the middle of the night and, in the confusion, make everyone attack each other. Whee! That sounds fun, it would probably be a pillow fight.