Nameburn Executioner
Lord Daniel Thunderson, I am Garon the Blazing Tongue, emissary of Judgement, and today your punishment is enacted.
In a world where simple words of magic can change the landscape, names can change even more. Those with sufficient knowledge to use these words and names do not become mere spellcasters, but truenamers, these people who, in theory, possess the power of the whole universe.
In practice, truenamers are not the omnipotent magical linguists they claim to be, but the best of them come close. Still, this is not a path an educated person would take lightly, given that it is easier to find a master in the arts of wizardry than truenaming, and entire libraries of spells have been written for wizards while truenamers are only starting to rediscover the lost language of the universe, one word at a time. This creates a vicious circle in which truenamers do not get many students, because their art has a reputation for being weak, because they haven’t reached the limits of what truenaming can achieve, because there aren’t enough truenamers to study everything. Talk about omnipotence.
But not all truenamers live their lives equally. A few – a precious few – receive the calling of the universe itself to serve as emissaries of justice. The type of people who receive this calling has become well-known among truenamers; they are invariably people with an affinity for truespeak, with strong moral ideals pushing them to the greatest virtues or to sinful greediness, and who, most importantly, have suffered the painful burn of hellfire, this powerful elemental force they learn to use to burn the very names of their enemies in the name of justice – not even divine justice, but rather absolute Justice, which goes beyond what even the gods of Law exact from their followers.
BECOMING A NAMEBURN EXECUTIONER
Almost all Nameburn Executioners have been truenamers at some point in their life (usually at the beginning of their career). However, characters of any class may become a member of this prestige class, and a few notable Nameburn Executioners are paladins. Nameburn Executioners are more common in nonhumanoid races, specifically archons and devils, but human Nameburn Executioners are not unheard of.
Occasionally, a Nameburn Executioner will take another character with the same morale tendencies as him to train him as a member of this class, even speaking a Nameburn against his student to let him fulfill the hellfire damage requirement.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Truespeak 9 ranks
Feats: Toughness, either Exalted Truenamer or Vile Truenamer (see end of post)
Alignment: Lawful Evil, Lawful Good or Neutral Good
Special: Must have suffered hellfire damage.
Class Skills
The Nameburn Executioner’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken separately) (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Truespeak (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Hit Dice: d8
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Utterances 1st +0 +2 +0 +2Lawful Decree (1/day, Detect Chaos), Nameburn (4d6), Nameguess +1 effective truenamer level 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3Lawful Decree (Protection from Chaos), Resistances 5 +1 effective truenamer level 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3Lawful Decree (2/day), Nameburn (5d6), Remote Nameburn (1/day) +1 effective truenamer level 4th +3 +4 +1 +4Lawful Decree (Magic Circle against Chaos), Resistances 10 +1 effective truenamer level 5th +3 +4 +1 +4Lawful Decree (Order’s Wrath), Nameburn (6d6), Nemesis of Justice +1 effective truenamer level 6th +4 +5 +2 +5Lawful Decree (Dispel Chaos), Remote Nameburn (2/day), Resistances 15 +1 effective truenamer level 7th +5 +5 +2 +5Lawful Decree (3/day), Nameburn (7d6) +1 effective truenamer level 8th +5 +6 +2 +6Lawful Decree (Dictum), Resistances 20 +1 effective truenamer level 9th +6/+1 +6 +3 +6Lawful Decree (Shield of Law), Nameburn (8d6), Remote Nameburn (3/day) +1 effective truenamer level 10th +7/+2 +7 +3 +7Immunities, Nameburn (9d6) +1 effective truenamer level
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Nameburn Executioners are proficient with medium armor.
Utterances. At every level gained in the Nameburn Executioner class, the character learns new utterances and his effective caster level increases as if he had gained a level in one of his previous classes that grants utterances known (usually Truenamer, but other classes may exist). If he did not have levels in any such class prior to taking his first level of Nameburn Executioner, he instead gains the ability to speak utterances as a Truenamer of his class level (if he later acquires actual levels in the Truenamer class, the levels stack).
Lawful Decree (Sp). The Nameburn Executioner’s close connection to the forces of Law and Justice allows him to use a spell-like ability once per day. At 1st-level, he only has access to the Detect Chaos spell, but starting at 2nd level, the same attempt can be used to cast Protection of Chaos instead, followed by Magic Circle against Chaos at 4th level, Order’s Wrath at 5th level, Dispel Chaos at 6th level, Dictum at 8th level, Shield of Law at 9th level. At 3th and 7th level, the Nameburn Executioner does not gain access to a new spell-like ability but can instead use this power one more time per day. Your caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to your rank in Truespeak -3, but this class feature is otherwise independent from your ability to speak truenames.
Nameburn (Sp). The most dreaded ability of Nameburn Executioners is their ability to set the names of their enemies on fire, in more than a metaphysical sense. This ability is an utterance – following all the inherent rules of utterances (range, Truespeak DC, the Law of Resistance, etc.) – that can be used in conjunction with any personal truename; Nameburn does not work if used in conjunction with a mundane (ie. non-personal) truename. If the Nameburn Executioner successfully speaks the personal truename of the target (which can be a creature or a magic item), he immediately deals 4d6 points of hellfire damage to that target (no save). The effective spell level of this utterance is equal to the number of dies of damage (before modifiers that increase damage, if any).
Any creature killed by the Nameburn utterance is difficult to restore to life as its personal truename is partially erased from existence. A Ritual of Renaming spell cast on the dead creature (as allowed for a dead creature who had his personal truename erased) allow the creature to be recalled to life normally. Otherwise, the creature can only be brought back to life with a Miracle, a True Resurrection, a carefully worded Wish followed by a Resurrection, or direct divine intervention.
At 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th level, the damage of the Nameburn increases by 1d6.
Nameguess (Su). A number of times per day equal to his class level, the Nameburn Executioner may designate a single creature or magic item within his line of sight as a swift action. If the creature’s Hit Dice total (or the magic item’s caster level) are equal to or lower than half his effective Truenamer level (rounded down) or his class level (use whichever is higher), he automatically learns that creature’s (or item’s) personal truename without having to invest time and money on research. If the creature has an higher Hit Dice total (or the magic an higher caster level) than the limit, this ability fails and no daily attempt is used, but the character is not informed on the nature of the failure. This ability does not tell the Nameburn Executioner the Hit Dice total of the target creture, nor the caster level of the item (however, it can be deduced).
Resistances (Ex). At 2nd level, the Nameburn Executioner becomes resistant to hellfire damage and vile damage becomes less of an hindrance to him. He ignores the first 5 points of hellfire damage from any attack; this cannot reduce the damage dealt below 0. In addition, the first 5 points of vile damage he suffers from any attack is treated as normal damage and can be healed normally. Every 2 levels after 2, both of these resistances increase by 5.
Remote Nameburn. Starting at level 3, the Nameburn Executioner is able to ignore the normal limitations of distance when using the Nameburn utterance. Once per day, he may use Nameburn against any creature by speaking its personal truename – even if that creature is on a different plane. If the attack is successful, the target knows he has suffered damage but has no way of knowing where it comes from. He cannot be targetted by a remote Nameburn again until 1 minute has passed in the plane he is standing in. He may use Nameburn remotely an additional time per day every 3 levels after the 3rd, and each attempt counts as a regular Nameburn for the purpose of the Law of Resistance.
Nemesis of Justice (Su). At 5th level, the Nameburn Executioner can designate one of his mortal enemies as a major criminal he needs to take down. The character can only select his Nemesis of Justice if he has irrefutable proof of the enemy’s wrongdoings (which may include any major Chaotic or Evil deed for which the enemy has not yet received his sentence). The Nameburn Executioner receives a +4 bonus on all Truespeak checks against his Nemesis of Justice. In addition, half of the damage dealt by the character’s Nameburn utterance is considered vile damage against his Nemesis of Justice. Vile damage does not heal normally and can only be magically healed with assistance from the forces of Good (by casting the magical healing within the area of a Consecrate or Hallow spell). If the Nemesis of Justice is killed by the character’s Nameburn utterance (or if the utterance is used after his death), he cannot be brought back to life by most conventional methods, as if he was killed with an Unname spell (even direct divine intervention fails if the dead Nemesis of Justice does not go through the Ritual of Renaming).
Finally, if the Nameburn Executioner does not already know the personal truename of his Nemesis of Justice, it becomes easier for him to find it. Once per day, he may cast Legend Lore as a spell-like ability against his Nemesis of Justice. The effect can pierce through conventional methods of protection against Divination spells; non-epic effects that specifically hamper Divination (such as Mind Blank or Nondetection) only work if the target succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + the Nameburn Executioner’s Intelligence modifier + his class level), while those that hamper all magic (Antimagic Field, for example) or epic spells and effects that protect against Divination (including those produced by artifacts or deities) function normally.
If the Nameburn Executioner hasn’t learned the personal truename of his Nemesis of Justice one year after designating his as such, he may permanently sacrifice one experience level to learn it, in spite of any protection the target may have.
A Nameburn Executioner can only have one Nemesis of Justice at a time. The creature he targets as his Nemesis of Justice remains so until its personal truename has been permanently erased from existence (with an Unname spell or the Nameburn utterance of a character who had him as his Nemesis of Justice) or until the enemy goes through a Ritual of Renaming to change his personal truename.
If the Nameburn Executioner successfully kills his Nemesis of Justice with his Nameburn utterance, he gains a +4 morale bonus to all Truespeak checks for 24 hours.
Immunities (Ex). At 10th level, the Nameburn Executioner becomes immune to hellfire damage and any vile damage he would suffer is considered normal damage.
Multiclass note: A paladin who becomes a Nameburn Executioner may continue advancing as a paladin.
Ex-Nameburn Executioner: A Nameburn Executioner who no longer fulfills the alignment restrictions of the class loses the Nameguess and Nemesis of Justice class features and can no longer take levels in this class, but retains all other class features. A Nameburn Executioner who breaks his Vow of Poverty or his Vow of Extravagance retains all the benefits of the class, but may no longer take any more levels in it.
PLAYING A NAMEBURN EXECUTIONER
Being a Nameburn Executioner is slightly different from being a mere truenamer with Vow of Poverty. Even the weakest Nameburn Executioner has access to two unique abilities – Nameburn and Nameguess – and should be trying to get the most of them both at all cost.
Combat: A Nameburn Executioner is expected to learn the personal truename of his enemies through his Nameguess class feature, and then spam his Nameburn class feature until there is no opponent left. His utterances and his average fighting capabilities are fail-safes of sorts to ensure that he is not ineffective against an opponent whose personal truename isn’t known to him, or when the Law of Resistance makes his Nameburn unusable.
Advancement: The powers of a Nameburn Executioner become greater as he gains levels, and as such levels in other classes are less attractive to him. The class that benefits him the most after taking all ten levels in the prestige class is Truenamer, although a few Nameburn Executioners may be attracted to the paladin class as well.
Resources: As someone who sets right what once went wrong, a Nameburn Executioner should be able to get the help of lawful autorities with the same morale tendencies as him – paladins would gladly work alongside a good-aligned Nameburn Executioner while some devils would be more than interested to provide "irrefutable proof" of a troublesome enemy’s wrongdoings so as to keep a corrupt Nameburn Executioner on their side.
NAMEBURN EXECUTIONERS IN THE WORLD
He came to the city and he was like ‘where is the wall with the bounty hunts?’ and people had to tell hi mit was illegal in Slokevakia. So he tried to get in the city guard, but they said they were not looking for another spellcaster, so he decided to leave the kingdom. Then he learned there was a serial molester in the city, so he was like ‘I will take care of that’. The next day the guard captain was found dead on the streets. We never found the guy again, and nobody was ever molested at night again.
Bounty hunter or man of righteousness, not two Nameburn Executioners will be seen the same by society. Obviously, evil-aligned ones have a darker reputation than the good-aligned ones; where the later may be working with the official authorities to bring criminals to justice and may be thought to be a mere spellcaster with a golden heart (due to their arcane-like magic and the sacrifices they make in the name of charity), the former may be seen as little more than a greedy adventurer who will kill anybody for money. Neither impression is really far from the truth, however.
Daily Life: A Nameburn Executioner of any alignment could be a bounty hunter, but they may have more to do in their daily lives. A good-aligned one could simply work for charity – he has made a Vow of Poverty after all – or trying to do such a great act of good that the mentor who taught him truespeech in the first place has no choice but to let go the financial debt that the character may have contracted to him (perhaps before becoming a model of virtue). On the other hand, an evil-aligned Nameburn Executioner will do everything legal to increase his fortune, whether it is bounty hunting or worse.
Notables: Garon the Blazing Tongue (LG human, truenamer 7/Nameburn Executioner 2) has spent years of his life studying the oldest of tomes to discover the secrets of truename magic. His research attracted the attention of a devil who was of the opinion that this form of magic shouldn’t be in the hands of mortals. The devil had Garon’s library set on fire and arranged for his murder, but Garon was only wounded by the assassination attempt. With no money, Garon became an hermit. He eventually had the opportunity to gain back his lost fortune, but declined, by fear that accumulating too much wealth could attract the attention of the devil again. And so Garon wandered the world, teaching truename magic to those he met, until he received a calling of the Universe itself; a calling to become an agent of righteousness. And so did Garon become a Nameburn Executioner, determined to set right what goes wrong. Now the devil that changed his life is merely a secondary goal for him, his true purpose in life being to save the innocent from evildoers.
Sam Jack (LE evolved imp (6 HD), Nameburn Executioner 4) claims he can kill a man on the Material Plane without leaving the Nine Hells, and there is some truth to it. Unlike most devils, Sam Jack is very attracted to everything shiny – gold, silver, and jewelry, and he always brings something back when returning to his home plane. This gives him wealth far beyond what could be expected from a devil of his rank, and he isn’t afraid to show it to others by wearing all kinds of expensive and superfluous jewelry inlaid with rubies, diamonds, and other thingies.
Organizations: There is no single organisation to which Nameburn Executioners are attracted more than are any truenamers, although many Nameburn Executioners may be affiliated with an order of paladins (which wouldn’t be expected of most truenamers). Like a great amount of truenamers, a Nameburn Executioner may be a member of the Paragnostic Assembly (see Complete Champion), but other groups, more focused on the specifics of truename magic, also exist.
NPC Reaction
Being a rare breed in an already rare field of study, few NPCs would even know what a Nameburn Executioner is unless it was explained to them. Most would already not make the difference between a truenamer and a wizard, since both are scholars that learn magic by studying; at best, a truenamer boasting that he speaks to the universe directly will give the impression to be more powerful than a wizard, no matter that it is rarely true. If anything, an NPC that was told Nameburn Executioners are vigilantes chosen by the Universe itself to serve the cause of Justice could believe they are up to a noble goal, unless of course the NPC had a low opinion of Justice to begin with.
NAMEBURN EXECUTIONERS IN THE GAME
The class is designed to give a viable option to characters who have levels in the Truenamer class, the Vow of Poverty feat, or both. As such, it is a slightly more powerful option than a straight Truenamer. However, the power boost of this class is compensated by the huge sacrifices one needs to make to take it.
Adaptation: Emissaries of Justice sent by the Universe itself is not a class description that will appeal to all gamers, obviously. But it is easy enough to refluff the class as being members of a specific order of Lawful Good characters who learned the secrets of truespeak. You could also have the Nameburn Executioners connected to the Twin Serpents, Jazirian and Asmodeus, if your campaign setting includes their AD&D 2E backstory. In that case, the class may exist alongside a variant that "burn" truenames with the proper use of couatl poison instead of hellfire. In this case, the Sacred Nameburn feat may have to be reworked as well.
Encounters: If the PCs are lawful and/or good, an encounter with a Nameburn Executioner is unlikely to end in bloodshed. The character may even prove a valuable ally if the PCs are active foes of a renowned fugitive or outlaw. But if the PCs are themselves enemies of law and justice, they may end up on the other side of the hunt, especially if they have become enemies of respectable authority figures. In some cases, the party could meet a Nameburn Executioner who isn’t looking for a target; this is more likely to happen if, for example, the PCs stumble upon a guild of truenamers or a similar association. In this case, the Nameburn Executioner could have no particular reason to like or dislike the PCs.
Sample Encounter
The Player Characters have killed a devil in such a way that broke an existing contract between the devil and a mortal, allowing the mortal to potentially escape justice. The devil’s superior sent Sam Jack to take care of the mortal and anyone that gives an helping hand to him, including Player Characters too oblivious to realize what they did.
EL 8: The imp standing before you is covered with all sorts of jewelry. Its body is covered with scars that appear as darker lines on its crimson red skin. As it smirks at you, you can see its sharp yellow teeth. Suddenly, it opens its mouth, as if to utter blasphemies and death threats. It instead begins to speak in a strange magical language.
Sam Jack
LE male evolved imp (6 HD) Nameburn Executioner 4
Init +5, Senses: Listen +11, Search +13, Spot +11, Darkvision 60 ft., See In Darkness
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal
------------------------------------------------
AC 31, touch 18, flat-footed 26 (+2 size, +5 Dex, +7 armor, +1 deflection, +6 natural)
hp 58 hp (10d8+13 HD)
Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +12
------------------------------------------------
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Melee
Base Atk +9, Grp +0
Atk Options Nameburn (2d6), Poison, Remote Nameburn (1/day), Spell-like abilities, Utterances
Combat Gear None
Spells Prepared N/A
Supernatural Abilities Nameguess
-----------------------------------------------
Abilities Str 8, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 15 (includes a +2 enhancement bonus to Intelligence)
SQ Alternate Form, Damage reduction 5/good or silver and magic, Darkvision 60 ft., Endure elements, Fast healing 2, Immunity to poison, Mind shielding, Resistance to fire 5, Resistance to hellfire 5, Resistance to vile 5, See In Darkness, Substitute materials
Feats Empower Utterance, Toughness, Truename Training, Vow of Extravagance, Unspeakable Vow
Bonus Vile Feats (in order of taking) Evil Brand, Disciple of Darkness, Vile Truenamer, Dark Speech, Evil's Blessing (EE), Filthy Outburst (EE)
Flaws Slow
Skills Concentration +5, Diplomacy +11 (+13 against evil creatures), Forgery +8, Gather Information +6, Hide +22, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +13, Knowledge (religion) +8, Knowledge (the planes) +13, Listen +11, Move Silently +14, Search +13, Sense motive +6, Spellcraft +13, Spot +11, Survival +11 (+13 following tracks) and Truespeak +40
Possessions Jewelry worth at least 6 000 gold pieces.
New Feats
Spoiler: FeatsAdamantine Armor of Dirt [Exalted]:
The sludge over your face is harder than steel.
Prerequisites: Armor of Dirt, character level 8th.
Benefit: Your armor of dirt gains all the benefits of being made in adamantine, your exalted personality strengthening it to the point of nigh-indestructibility.
Armor of Dirt [Exalted]:
The dried mud that covers your entire body makes for an armor... kind of.
Prerequisites: Vow of Poverty, proficiency with light armor.
Benefit: You can create an armor for yourself by rolling around in filth or mud for about a minute and waiting for a round to let it dry. The armor remains on you until you willingly clean yourself (which takes another minute and can be done with either water or sand), bound to you by the holy powers of your faith. The armor of dirt can be light, medium, or heavy; you must choose which category of armor it is every time you create a new one, and you cannot create an armor of dirt of a category you are not proficient with. The benefit of each type of armor is given in the table below.
* When running in heavy armor, you move at three times your speed instead of four times (characters with the Run feat in run at four times their speed when in heavy armor, instead of five times).
Armor category Armor Bonus Armor Check Penalty Arcane Spell Failure Chance Speed (30 ft.) Speed (20 ft.) Weighs Light +1 0 5% 30 ft. 20 ft. 10 lb. Medium +2 -2 15% 20 ft. 15 ft. 25 lb. Heavy +4 -5 30% 20 ft.* 15 ft.* 35 lb.
Special: The armor bonus of your armor of dirt stacks with the armor/exalted bonus your receive from being an ascetic character (this is an exception to the normal rules of bonus stacking). An armor of dirt's armor check penalty and arcane spell failure chance function just like those of any other type of armor. Armors of dirt never have a maximum Dexterity bonus.
Ascete’s Magic Spark [Exalted or Vile]:
As a paragon of the purest moral virtues, you can focus your convictions to create semi-tangible magic items on your body.
Prerequisites: Vow of Extravagance (if evil) or Vow of Poverty (if good)
Benefit: You gain one magic spark. At the beginning of each day, after resting for 8 hours, you can invest your magic sparks to gain any of the following abilities. Each magic spark invested into an ability grants you the benefit of that ability for 24 hours or until you reinvest your magic sparks. Each ability is named after the magic item in the form of which it is shaped.
Armor. Each magic spark invested into this ability counts as one point of armor bonus, which can be used to buy armor special abilities (you cannot keep the armor bonus as it is), including those that are not equivalent to an armor bonus but have a listed prize (use that prize as a reference, converting points of armor bonus to gold as necessary). The special abilities gained through this ability are considered to emanate from whatever permanent effect that gives you an armor bonus to armor class at the time. You cannot split your magic sparks to take this ability more than once at the same time.
Nice hat. Select one skill per magic spark invested into this ability. You gain a competence bonus to that skill equal to your character level. You cannot split your magic sparks to take this ability more than once at the same time.
Ring. Select a single magic ring whose cost is equal to or lower than 100 * (invested magic sparks) * (character level)^2 gp. You gain the benefit of that ring for the day. You can take this ability twice at the same time to gain the benefit of two different rings.
Wand. Select a spell from the cleric or sorcerer/wizard list whose level is equal to or lower than the number of magic sparks invested in this ability. You can cast this spell (as if from a wand) a number of times in the day equal to the number of magic sparks invested into this ability. If you select a spell with a material component costing above 1 gp or an XP cost, you must afford that component or XP cost when you cast the spell. If you select a spell that requires a focus (including a divine focus), you must have that focus as normal (though as an ascete, you will probably use Substitute materials to fulfill material components and focus requirements). You can take many instances of this ability at the same time to gain access to a different spell.
Weapon. Each magic spark invested into this ability counts as one point of weapon bonus, which can be used to buy weapon special abilities (you cannot keep the weapon bonus as it is). The special abilities gained through this ability are applied to a single natural or manufactured weapon of your choice (chose which when investing your magic sparks). You can take many instances of this ability at the same time to acquire weapon special abilities for more than one weapon.
Wondrous item. You can gain the benefit of any single permanent magic item that isn’t a rod and doesn’t belong to one of the previous categories. The cost of that item must be equal to or lower than 100 * (invested magic sparks) * (character level)^2 gp. You gain the benefit of that magic item for the day. You cannot split your magic sparks to take this ability more than once at the same time.
Special: This feat can be taken one time for every four levels that you have (1 time if you are level 1-4, 2 times if you are level 5-8, etc.). Each time you take this feat, you gain another magic spark, which can be invested in the same or a different ability.
For good-aligned characters, Ascete’s Magic Spark is an exalted feat, while for evil-aligned characters, it is a vile feat.
Bloodletting Truespeak [Bloodletting]:
Self-inflicted pain strengthens your convictions, making you much more capable of bending the universe with your voice.
Prerequisites: Skill Focus (Truespeak), Toughness
Benefit: You must spend at least 2 hit points to activate this feat. You receive a morale bonus to all Truespeak checks equal to one-half the amount of hit points spent on bloodletting, to a maximum equal to your character level.
Exalted Truenamer [Exalted]:
Your ascetic nature makes you more in phase with the universe than most truenamers.
Prerequisites: Truespeak 6 ranks, Vow of Poverty (BoED).
Benefit: You gain a competence bonus on your Truespeak checks equal to your rank in Truespeak. If you have at least 8 ranks in Truespeak, you also receive a +5 enhancement bonus on Truespeak checks. The enhancement bonus becomes +10 if you have at least 11 ranks. Use your current rank in Truespeak to determine the bonuses, not the rank you had when you gained this feat.
Improved Nameguess [General]:
You are better at guessing the correct personal truename of creatures you can see.
Prerequisites: Truespeak 10 ranks, Nameguess class feature
Benefit: If you attempt to use your Nameguess class feature against a creature with more HD or a magic item with an higher caster level than your limit but lower than twice your character level, you can make an Intelligence check (1d20 + your Int modifier) against a DC equal to the creature’s HD or the magic item’s caster level. On a success, you learn the creature or item’s personal truename. Creatures whose HD or items whose caster level are equal to or greater than twice your HD are still unaffected by your Nameguess class feature.
In addition, if your successfully learn a creature or item’s personal truename through your Nameguess class feature (with or without the previous benefit of this feat), you automatically learn the creature’s total HD or the item’s caster level.
Special: The benefits of this feat do not apply to deities and artifacts. Nameguess is only effective against them if their HD or caster level is equal to or lower than your regular maximum.
Sacred Nameburn [Exalted]:
Where the Nameburn of other individuals is the reflection of the judgement that awaits damned souls, yur own Nameburn is the manifestation of righteousness.
Prerequisites: Nameburn class feature.
Benefit: When using your Nameburn class feature, you may decide to deal holy damage instead of hellfire damage. Holy damage inflicts normal damage to evil-aligned creatures and no damage to other creatures.
If you are Lawful Good, you may decide to deal axiomatic damage instead of hellfire damage. Axiomatic damage inflicts normal damage to chaotic-aligned creatures and no damage to other creatures.
In addition, your Nameburn inflicts an additional 1d6 points of damage against undead creatures and creatures with the Chaotic or Evil subtype (this damage stacks, so creatures with both subtypes would suffer an additional 2d6 points of damage).
Special: Half of the damage of your Nameburn is still vile damage against your Nemesis of Justice (assuming you do have this class feature).
Vile Truenamer [Vile]:
As a model of vice, the universe is more inclined to obey you than it does to the average truenamer.
Prerequisites: Truespeak 6 ranks, Vow of Extravagance.
Benefit: You gain a competence bonus on your Truespeak checks equal to your rank in Truespeak. If you have at least 8 ranks in Truespeak, you also receive a +5 enhancement bonus on Truespeak checks. The enhancement bonus becomes +10 if you have at least 11 ranks. Use your current rank in Truespeak to determine the bonuses, not the rank you had when you gained this feat.
Vow of Extravagance [Vile]
You have taken a sacred vow to waste material possessions in the most frivolous ways imaginable.
Prerequisites: Unspeakable Vow (DotU)
Benefit: You gain bonuses to your Armor Class, ability scores, and saving throws, as well as bonus vile feats, all depending on your character level. See Ascetic Characters in the next post for details.
Special: To fulfill your vow, you must own a treasury in which you can hide all of your gold and other valuable items. You may own magic items, as long as you do not use them and keep them in your treasury at all times, by fear that they get stolen or damaged when you carry them on your person. You may buy and sell any equipment you like, however, provided you do not use any magic item.
You may carry and use non-magical items, provided that your equipment is of the finest quality – masterwork weapons, masterwork armors, costly clothes, fine jewelry, costly spellbook, etc. You may also carry and use a spell component pouch or a golden holy symbol (which costs twice as much as a silver holy symbol). You may not carry any item made from a special material unless that item draws no particular benefit from that material – a spellbook with a dragonhide cover and pages made of mithral is a sign of luxury, but an armor made of the same material could get scratched in combat, and that is unacceptable for an item of such value.
You may keep and use any non-magical consumable item, such as food, beverage or drug, provided it is of sufficient quality for you tastes. You may also have as many employees as you like, provided you pay them twice the amount that a regular employee would require for the same job – you have to show your wealth after all.
Your allies can use their magic items on you (including potions, scrolls, wands, and the like). You may not, however, "borrow" a cloak of resistance or any other magic item from a companion for even a single round, nor may you yourself cast a spell from a scroll, wand, or staff. The only ways you are allowed to use magic items is by selling them or destroying them out of pure extravagance (see below).
Every month the total value of your possessions exceeds 500 gold pieces, you must spend at least 250 gold pieces on frivolities, including buying new expensive clothes, new jewelry, costly consumable items (except those you are forbidden to use), excess wage spent on your employees (beyond what they would get from their level of competence), or money literally thrown out of the window (that you or your allies do not attempt to find back). Characters who expect to be separated from their treasury for a long time usually keep a couple expensive gems on their person at all time, in case they need to destroy them to fulfill their vow.
If you break your vow, you immediately and irrevocably lose the benefit of this feat. You may not take another feat to replace it.