Seiðkona of the Iron Bands (In Need of Vestige Ideas)

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Seiðkona of the Iron Bands


Harken, faerie, to my song; if your Lord you would free,
Gather you the Iron Bands, then follow these steps three.
Find for me a pale white birch water'd with sorc'rous blood,
And cut thyself a gnarled staff straight from the living wood.
When Midnight Moon her face doth hide from all upon the ground,
In sacred place the Iron Bands with faerie ring surround.
The scene is set, one thing remains, Lord's freedom doth grow nigh--
Taketh though thy white birch staff; drive through the Iron's eye.
The task is done, the magicks worked, and all is left to time;
If left untouched then dawn's first light will end this fearful crime.
The Iron Bands to dust will fall and to the winds be strewn,
And so once more thy Lord will wake to dance 'neath Midnight Moon.

-Ancient faerie rhyme

Udric Boul, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands, stands at the entrance of the Briar Path.

*****

The lords of the faerie are beings of immense, almost unspeakable power. Rivaling the demon princes and even some gods in might, magic, and influence, these beings rule the wild, twisting forests of the Faewyld and the unearthly inhabitants that occupy these enchanted woods. They revel in displays of the supernatural, sashaying through the mortal realm on excursions to amaze, stupefy, befuddle, and enchant, striving to tie humans up in mischief, mayhem, and inescapable bargains. Needless to say, the mortals have no defense against such escapades.

Yet some mortals are more than human. Some go beyond the realm of mundane possibilities, and beyond the realm of mortal magic. These few deal with beings from beyond existence, channeling their powers into fragile mortal forms, somehow containing the vast strength of unspeakable entities from other world, and other realities. Drawn to promises of power like moths to flame, the enterprising--or the insane--often strive to bring angels, demons, fae lords, or even gods under their dominion.

And rarely...very rarely...one is strong enough, persistent enough, and determined enough to succeed.

BECOMING A SEIÐKONA OF THE IRON BANDS
A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands is a binder who has managed--through trickery, dark magic, and bonds of cold iron--to imprison a mighty Fae Lord within a set of cold iron rings. Drawing upon the essence of the captured fae, the Seiðkona wields the power of the lord's dominion over the Faewyld, the natural magic of the world, and the lesser fae that walk the mortal and faerie realms.

To become a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands, one must first have discovered the true name of a Fae Lord. This being done, a pair of cold iron bracers must be forged by the Seiðkona, and she must perform a specific summoning ritual in order to imprison her victim.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any non-good
Skills: Craft (metalworking) 6 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 11 ranks
Special: Ability to bind 4th level Vestiges
Special: Must have discovered the True Name of a Fae Prince or Fae Lord
Special: Must have forged a set of cold iron bracers
Special: Must have completed the target lord's summoning ritual

Class Skills
The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands' class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier

Hit Dice: d8

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+0

|

+0

|

+0

|

+2

|Prince in Chains, Faebinding

2nd|

+1

|

+0

|

+0

|

+3

|Edict of Iron

3rd|

+2

|

+1

|

+1

|

+3

|Additional Fae Vestige

4th|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|

+4

|Walk the Iron Path

5th|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|

+4

|Fettered Oath

6th|

+4

|

+2

|

+2

|

+5

|Additional Fae Vestige

7th|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|

+5

|Iron Anathema

8th|

+6

|

+2

|

+2

|

+6

|Kingdom in Chains

9th|

+6

|

+3

|

+3

|

+6

|Additional Fae Vestige

10th|

+7

|

+3

|

+3

|

+7

|Ferrum Tyrannus[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains no additional proficiencies in any weapons or armor.

Faebinding (Ex): A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands continue to advance as a Binder. She adds her Seiðkona of the Iron Bands class level to her Binder level to determine her effective Binder level, as well as the highest level Vestige she can bind. She gains no other benefits of the Binder class, including the total number of Vestiges bound (she only gains additional Vestiges through her Additional Fae Vestige ability).

Prince in Chains (Ex): Through rituals to terrible to contemplate, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands seals the living essence of a mighty Fae Lord within a pair of iron bracers: the Iron Bands told of in faerie legends. The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains a set of Lesser Artifacts called the Iron Bands (see the Iron Bands sidebar), and may choose a Fae Lord from the list of Fae Lords presented below (or work with her DM to homebrew a unique Fae Lord). The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may bind any Vestige listed under her respective Fae Lord, provided she is has the ability to bind Vestiges of that level.

Given the nature of the Fae Lord's imprisonment and unwilling assistance, it is impossible to pacify the raging spirit. Therefore, while a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands does not need to make binding checks to bind a Fae Vestige, she always suffers from the Vestige's influence, as something so powerful can never be completely under a mortal's dominion.

If ever a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands loses her Iron Bands, she loses access to all class abilities aside from an increase in her effective Binder level until she once more wears them.

The Iron Bands

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The Iron Bands (Lesser Artifact)

The Iron Bands are a set of cold iron bracers containing the essence of a Fae Prince or other powerful faerie creature. When worn, they grant the following benefits:

• DR 5/Cold Iron
• The wearer's type is treated as being Fey whenever it would be beneficial for her to be so.
• Creatures of the Fey type must make a Will save (DC 10 + the wearer's levels in the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands prestige class + the wearer's Charisma modifier) or be unable to take any non-submissive action towards the wearer.

Destroying a set of Iron Bands is a difficult task. They cannot be destroyed or dispelled through any mortal magic (even disjunction cannot stop them, as they draw their power directly from an immortal spirit), and removing them is all but impossible, as most Seiðkona fit them so perfectly that, short of cutting off the Seiðkona's hands and sliding the bracers off the bleeding stumps (something many fae attempt to do), stealing them from a living Seiðkona isn't practical. If, however, the Bands can be separated from the Seiðkona, a complex magical ritual is necessary in order to free the imprisoned Fae Lord.

The ritual is as follows: at midnight on the night of a new moon, the Iron Bands must be placed in the center of a faerie ring. Then, a staff of white birch, carved from a tree watered with the blood of the Seiðkona whose bands are to be destroyed (or grown on the spot where she died), must be planted in the earth through the center of both of the Iron Bands. This accomplished, the entire set-up must remain untouched until dawn's first light, whereupon the bands will crumble to dust, and the staff will twist into the form of the imprisoned fae, freeing it from its bondage.

However, the Seiðkona, if left alive, often uses her knowledge to bind her prisoner to a new set of Iron Bands. Thus, most fae attempting to free their lords make sure that the Seiðkona in question breaths no more before they even begin to contemplate performing the destruction ritual.

Edict of Iron (Su): By channeling the regal power of her prisoner, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can draw the majesty of a Faerie Lord into her own body. She may, as a standard action, rebuke or command creatures of the Fey type as if she had Cleric levels equal to the combined total of her Seiðkona of the Iron Bands class levels and her Binder class levels. At any one time, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may command any number of Fey whose total Hit Dice do not exceed twice her character level. This ability functions as the Cleric's Turn Undead ability, except that it does not count as the Cleric's Turn Undead ability for the purposes of feats, spells, magic items, or prestige classes that affect Turn Undead.

The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has no limit on daily uses of Edict of Iron, but, once she has used the ability, she must wait 5 rounds before she may use it again.

Additional Fae Vestige (Ex): At third level, and again at sixth and ninth level, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may bind an additional Vestige, provided that Vestige is from the list of Vestiges granted to her by her imprisoned Fae Lord.

Walk the Iron Path (Su): Twice per day, as a full-round action, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may force her way through the Hedge, breaking into the Faewyld. This ability allows the Seiðkona to travel (with perfect accuracy) to any spot in the Faewyld that borders on the Hedge (where this is occurs is up to DM interpretation, although it usually common everywhere except dead magic zones and other sealed locales).

The Seiðkona may also use this ability to travel to the mortal realm from the Faewyld. Again, she may appear anywhere in the mortal plane that borders on the Hedge (again, where this is occurs is up to DM interpretation).

Fettered Oath (Su): The Fae are famed for their unearthly bargains, and a powerful enough Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can draw upon the magic of her prisoner to fashion unbreakable bonds of her own. If the Seiðkona can get a victim to agree to a bargain, and then can seal the bargain in an appropriate manner (shaking hands, signing a contract, or whatever means of agreement are appropriate to the culture and situation), the victim falls under a terrible curse. So long as the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands upholds her end of the bargain, the victim is magically forced to strive to complete his or her respective end: treat the victim as being dominated to complete the action required, except that the effect is not a spell, nor is it a mind-affecting enchantment (the ability has no type). The only way to remove the curse is for the Seiðkona to willingly lift the effect, the victim to accomplish his or her end of the bargain, or a creature with at least as much power as a Fae Lord (usually demon princes, gods, and similar entities) to use the wish spell to remove the curse.

A victim killed undertaking a quest and later raised from the dead (whether living or undead) is still under obligation to fulfill the bargain.

Iron Anathema (Su): With strength enough to imprison a mighty Fae Lord, a Seiðkona is an impenetrable barrier to those of lesser power. She gains immunity to the spells, Supernatural abilities and Spell-like abilities of Fey creatures.

Kingdom in Chains (Su): The ease at which a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands wields the power of a Faerie Lord allows her almost complete dominion over lesser fae creatures. She may, as a swift action, bind nearby fae creature with chains of iron will. All creatures of the Fey type within 200 feet of the Seiðkona (and not already under her control) must make a Will save (DC 10 + the Seiðkona's class level + the Seiðkona's Charisma modifier) or be rendered helpless for one round per class level. A creature so affected loses access to all its spells, Supernatural abilities and Spell-like abilities and it is treated as having 4 fewer Hit Dice for the purposes of being affected by the Seiðkona's Edict of Iron class feature (although it retains its normal Hit Dice for determining the maximum number of Fey creature controlled) for as long as it is imprisoned in this manner.

The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has no limit on daily uses of Kingdom in Chains, but, once she has used the ability, she must wait 10 rounds before she may use it again.

Ferrum Tyrannus (Ex): Finally drawing upon the full power of the imprisoned Fae Lord, a tenth level Seiðkona of the Iron Bands puts on the mantle of the faerie princes. She becomes effectively immortal: she no longer suffers aging penalties, nor will she die of old age (although aging bonuses continue to accrue). Additionally, the Damage Reduction granted by her Iron Bands increases to 20/Cold Iron and Magic, and she may use her Walk the Iron Path ability at will. Finally, the number of Hit Dice worth of Fey she can control through her Edict of Iron ability increases to 4x her character level.

THE FAE LORDS

Here are detailed three Fae Lords ready for incorporation into your campaign world, and ready to be captured and bound by a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands. Listed are the lord's sign, influence, vestiges, and the effect that their imprisonment has upon the world (the latter of which is optional, at the DM's discretion).

Dame Tarrae Mare

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Dame Tarrae Mare is a princess of the Eclipse Lodge, a lunar ravager* (see the MMIV) stronghold set in the ever-dark skies of the western faewyld. A tall, muscular woman with marble skin, sapphire eyes, and long flowing hair that changes from white to black with the cycles of the moon, Tarrae Mare is considered a great warrior and powerful warlord even amongst her warlike people. When imprisoned, she grants her captor the powers of the waning and waxing moon, bestowing strength and evasion upon them.

When free, she leads hunts into both the faewyld and the mortal world, personally heading assaults of her bloodthirsty kindred. When imprisoned, the Seiðkona binding her should prepare to fend off hunting parties of frenzied lunar ravagers, as these violent fae rarely forgive a misdeed.

*If the players and DM lack access to the MMIV, substitute any organization of fae with connections to astrology, celestial bodies, or the moon in particular.

Summoning Ritual: To summon and imprison Dame Tarrae Mare, the Seiðkona must, on the night of a full moon, sacrifice a living creature, pour half its blood upon the Iron Bands and then use the remainder to draw a rough circle upon a stone surface while speaking the true name of Dame Tarrae Mare. This done, the drawn circle will slowly turn to the white of the moon, while the moon above likewise turns blood red. Once the transformation is complete, the Seiðkona need only place the Iron Bands within the circle, and watch as the lunar glow is absorbed into the cold metal, trapping Dame Tarrae Mare within the iron prison.

Influence: Under Dame Tarrae Mare's influence, the Seiðkona fears the light of the sun, preferring to work under the dim glow of the moon. A Seiðkona so affected takes a -1 penalty to all rolls within an hour of midday. Additionally, Dame Tarrae Mare requires that her captor keep a trophy from his most recent victim with him at all times, whether a simple trinket or a severed body part.

Sign: The face of a Seiðkona binding Dame Tarrae Mare is constantly in shadow, regardless of the type or brightness of light surrounding him. This shadow covers the Seiðkona's face as the sky covers the moon: on the night of a full moon there is no shadow at all, on the night of a new moon the Seiðkona's face is entirely obscured, and so on through all the cycles of the lunar body.

World Effect: When Dame Tarrae Mare is bound to a Seiðkona, the moon turns blood red, and sentient beings across both the mortal realm and the faewyld become more prone to rash decisions and violent behavior, especially in the days immediately before and immediately following a full moon.

Vestiges: Dame Tarrae Mare grants 6 Vestiges to the Seiðkona binding her. The Vestiges and their levels are detailed below.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige Name

3

|Rise of the Full Moon

4

|Rise of the Waxing Gibbous

5

|Rise of the Half Moon

6

|Rise of the Waning Gibbous

7

|Rise of the New Moon

8

|Rise of the Blood Moon[/table]

Rise of the Full Moon -- 3rd level Vestige

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Rise of the Full Moon

Granted Abilities: Rise of the Full Moon grants you a brilliant aura and the revealing powers of the moon.

Lunar Sight: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains a small portion of the moon's revealing properties. She is constantly under the effects of a see invisibility spell (caster level equals her effective binder level), and can see normally in both mundane and magical darkness. Additionally, she may make two saving throws against any illusion effect, and takes the higher of the two. Finally, she gains a +5 Sacred bonus to Search and Spot checks.

Moonglow: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands is constantly surrounded by a pale glow of moonlight and fae magic. When activated (a swift action), the Seiðkona sheds light as a torch, and she gains a +2 Deflection bonus to her armor class. This bonus increases to +3 at 10th level, +4 at 13th level, +5 at 16th level, and +6 at 19th level. A Seiðkona may deactivate this ability as a swift action.

Read the Heavens: By channeling a fragment of the moon's oracular powers, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can glean a brief insight into things to come. As a move action, she may request a single vision of the future, which comes to her as a single Fate point. At any time, as a free action, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may spend this Fate point to re-roll a single d20 roll. She must take the re-roll, even if it is worse than the original. A Seiðkona may only have 1 Fate point at a time, and, after spending it, must wait 5 rounds before using this ability again.

Rise of the Waxing Gibbous -- 4th level Vestige

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Rise of the Waxing Gibbous

Granted Abilities: Rise of the Waxing Gibbous gives you a building strength and increasing power.

Lunar Expansion: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains the ability to drastically increase her physical form. As a move action, she may increase her size by one size category. Beginning at 14th level she may increase her size by an second size category with a second move action, and beginning at 19th level she may increase her size by a third size category with a third move action. A maximum size of Colossal may be reached in this fashion. As a move action she may reduce her size category, but never below her original size category.

When changing size categories, the Seiðkona gains the space, reach, and size bonuses (and penalties) of a creature of her new size category, but refers to the table below to determine all other adjustments (including ability adjustments). Her armor, weapons, and equipment expand to fit her new form, and her skin turns to marble.

{table=head]Sizes Increased|Benefits Granted

+1

|+4 Strength, +2 Constitution, +1 Natural Armor, DR 2/Cold Iron*

+2

|+8 Strength, +4 Constitution, +3 Natural Armor, DR 4/Cold Iron*

+3

|+12 Strength, +6 Constitution, +5 Natural Armor, DR 6/Cold Iron*[/table]

*Damage Reduction granted in this manner stacks with existing Damage Reduction of the same type.

Never Waning: The Seiðkona gains fast healing 1, and the rate of healing increases with her effective binder level. She gains fast healing 2 at 10th level, fast healing 3 at 13th level, fast healing 6 at 16th level, and fast healing 5 at 19th level.

Rising Splendor: As the waxing gibbous rises towards a full and vibrant moon, so to does the power of the fae fill the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands. The Seiðkona gains immunity to negative energy, energy drain, ability drain, and ability damage.

Rise of the Half Moon -- 5th level Vestige

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Rise of the Half Moon

Granted Abilities: Rise of the Half Moon gives you the duality of the half moon, neither here nor there, yet still a constant presence.

Curse of Half Light: Once per round, as a swift action, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may select a single foe within 30 feet. That foe must succeed on a Will save or suffer a 50% chance to fail any action he or she attempts before the start of the Seiðkona's next turn (similar to the effects of the bestow curse spell). A creature failing a saving throw against this ability cannot be targeted again for 5 rounds.

Dark and Light, Life and Death: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands is treated as being Undead any time it would be beneficial for her to be so (she gains Undead immunities, is healed by negative energy as well as positive energy, and counts as being Undead for all beneficial spells and effects). She is also treated as being both Good and Evil (regardless of her true alignment) whenever it would be beneficial for her to be one or the other.

Touch of Balance: As a standard action, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may make a melee touch attack that deals 1d6 points of damage per 4 effective Binder levels. The next time the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands uses this ability, it instead heals 1d6 points of damage per 4 effective Binder levels. Uses of the ability continue to alternate between healing and harming, resetting with a harmful touch upon re-binding this vestige.

Only Half There: As a swift action, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may place herself in a balancing point between the mortal planes and the celestial spheres. Until the beginning of her next turn, she has a 50% chance to ignore the harmful effects of any spell, spell-like ability, supernatural ability, extraordinary ability, or attack that would otherwise harm her. In the event that the attack still lands, she takes only half damage, if the effect would deal damage. Once a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has used this ability, she may not use it again for 5 rounds.

Rise of the Waning Gibbous -- 6th level Vestige

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Rise of the Waning Gibbous

Granted Abilities: Rise of the Waning Gibbous gives you the fading presence of the waning moon, and weakens those around you as their spirits wane with the lunar sphere.

Fleeting Hope: As the light vanishes, despair creeps in to fill the void. All foes within 50 feet of the the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands take a -2 penalty to all d20 rolls.

Life and Light Fade: The fleeting light of the waning moon tugs at the Seiðkona's foes, draining them of energy. All foes within 50 feet of the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands take a cumulative -1 penalty to all ability scores (reducing them by 1 each to a minimum of 1) each round they remain within the vicinity. Every round outside the area of effect removes 1 point of the penalty.

Vanish from Earth's Sphere: Like the fading moon, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can completely vanish from the mortal realm. As a swift action, she may become ethereal for up to one round per 2 effective Binder levels. Once a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has used this ability, she may not use it again for 5 rounds.

Rise of the New Moon -- 7th level Vestige

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Rise of the New Moon

Granted Abilities: Rise of the New Moon grants you the evasiveness and invisibility of the new moon.

Black Moon in Dark Skies: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains the benefits of the invisibility spell (caster level equals her effective Binder level) whenever she stands in less than full illumination. If dispelled (through attacking or a successful dispel magic effect), this ability activates automatically at the beginning of the Seiðkona's next turn.

Shadowed Face of the New Moon: As a swift action, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may activate this ability to conceal her visage from the world. When this ability is in effect, the Seiðkona's face becomes completely indecipherable: it is impossible to recall her face, and exceedingly difficult to decipher her expressions. A Seiðkona with this ability active gains a +10 circumstance bonus to Bluff checks, and those interacting with her find it impossible to remember her face after a period of five minutes.

Whispers of the Absent Moon: As a standard action, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may activate this ability to strike a foe momentarily insane with fear. She may target a single creature within 60 feet with this ability, which functions exactly as the spell irresistible dance, although the effect lasts for only 2 rounds and, instead of dancing, the target is reduced to a quivering wreck. Once a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has used this ability, she may not use it again for 5 rounds. This ability is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Rise of the Blood Moon -- 8th level Vestige

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Rise of the Blood Moon

Granted Abilities: Rise of the Blood Moon grants you the powers of a vicious hunter and a queen of the Lunar Ravagers.

Bloodlust: Whenever the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands deals damage to a foe with a melee weapon, her next strike against that same opponent deals double damage and adds +2 to the critical threat range (after applying all other threat range altering effects).

Blood in the Night: As a swift action, a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can channel the power of the Blood Moon into a single successful sneak attack. The victim of the attack must make a Fortitude save or die instantly: success indicates that the victim suffers damage as normal, except that all sneak attack dice are replaced with d10s. Once the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands has used this ability, she may not use it again for 5 rounds.

Dark Hunter: The Seiðkona of the Iron Bands gains Sneak Attack (as the Rogue class ability) of 1d6 per three effective binder levels.

Red Moon: As a swift action, the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may activate this ability. When she does so, her skin turns the deep hue of fresh blood, the shadows on her face dance about menacingly, and she brings the fury of the blood moon to bear on all around her. All sentient creatures (except the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands) within 60ft must make a Will save at the beginning of every round or be unable to tell friend from foe, randomly attacking the nearest creature in an attempt to slay them as quickly and efficiently as possible. A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands may activate or deactivate this ability as a swift action.

PLAYING A SEIÐKONA OF THE IRON BANDS
How to play a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can not be easily explained, as they vary so greatly depending on who their prisoner is. Most are ambitious individuals, and many, if not all, are cold-hearted to at least some degree: the ends usually justify the means for such an individual. Aside from that, the exact lord imprisoned influences the Seiðkona's actions in small ways, but that is as much as can be said for the group as a whole.
Combat: Combat for a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands varies greatly depending on the lord she has imprisoned. A general guideline is to use your vestige granted powers as frequently as possible, and to keep an eye out for powers that complement each other particularly well. If you are fighting creatures of the Fey type, do not hesitate to wade amongst them and begin utilizing Edict of Iron, as any creature that falls under your spell is another minion to do your bidding, and may well bring potent abilities of its own to your side of the fight.
Advancement: Almost all Seiðkona return to the Binder class after having completed their progress through this prestige class. Not doing so is a heavily felt loss, as the highest levels of vestiges are especially potent. Still, a few Seiðkona prefer to pick up levels in martial classes to emphasize their combat abilities: the time spent learning to conjure and bind vestiges leaves few, if any, Seiðkona with any time to learn the arcane or divine arts.
Resources: A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands usually has extensive resources, as many set themselves up as tyrants within the Faewyld, and even those that do not do so often have a retinue of enslaved fae creatures. Their sinister bargaining ability also gives them a number of unwilling allies, although most Seiðkona have no more than a few people (if any) who would help them of their own free will.

SEIÐKONA OF THE IRON BANDS IN THE WORLD
"I have been called a monster before, after my kindred's thirsting blades have wrought a slaughter through the mortal world. Perhaps I am. But after these thirty years, I know that whatever horrors I am capable of are nothing...nothing...compared with those inflicted upon me by that terrible being. Even I, the queen of the Blood Moon, must cower at his feet." --Dame Tarrae Mare, speaking of her imprisonment at the hands of Udric Boul

Notables: Almost all Seiðkona become legends: there are so few of them, and their powers are so universally noticed and feared that news of an imprisonment tears through the Faewyld like wildfire, often spilling over into the mortal realm. Who exactly the Seiðkona is often takes years to discover, but, once a discovery occurs, they are all but assured infamy. One of the most famous of the figures was Udric Boul, a Seiðkona of incredibly cruelty. He imprisoned Dame Tarrae Mare for almost thirty years, brought the Blood Moon caste of the lunar ravagers under his tyrannical rule, and led merciless hunting parties through both the mortal and faerie realms until, at a great loss to their number, an assembled legion of Feyblessed Knights and Nightsingers finally succeeded in slaying him after a hunt lasting the better part of five years.
Organizations: Seiðkona have no organizations. They may occasionally seize control of a court of faerie, or enslave a troupe of satyrs or similar creatures, but they are such a rare occurrence that organizing is all but impossible, and, to them, often undesirable. The only recorded time that two Seiðkona worked in tandem was when Udvar Hett and Lisan Durric manged to seize the lord and lady of the Night Court, and cast eternal darkness upon the faerie realm for one hundred years, until the Sun King and the Summer Prince brought the full force of their mortal progeny into the Faewyld and led the five thousand strong army against the two.

NPC Reaction
Only those willing to accept the eternal enslavement of another creature as an appropriate means of gathering power would willingly associate with a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands, unless the Seiðkona can somehow convince them that the imprisonment is for the betterment of the world. Even so, most are at least uneasy in a Seiðkona's company. Fae creatures almost exclusively hate a Seiðkona, although those who completely despised the imprisoned lord might be willing or even eager to assist, if only for their own personal gain. Still, the sheer quantity of power that a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can bring to bear against a fae creature causes most to keep their distance, even if they secretly are pleased by the imprisonment.

SEIÐKONA OF THE IRON BANDS IN THE GAME
A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands can bring a variety of new powers to the table, depending on the lord she has imprisoned. It would be impossible to detail in brief all the possible permutations, so a DM is advised to discuss the choice of lord with his or her interested player beforehand, so that both are aware of what is possible. The only thing that is universal is that having a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands in the party will make almost every encounter with faerie creatures into a trivial matter.
Adaptation: A Seiðkona of the Iron Bands makes an excellent villain for almost any campaign, especially if the optional world effect of the Fae Lord's imprisonment is utilized. In such a case the PCs might be approached by fae creatures striving to free their lord, or come face to face with the Seiðkona herself as she attempts to bend the world to her will. The class may also be altered to cover the briefly mentioned Seiðkona who bind angels, demons, gods, elemental princes, and similar entities. For use with angels and demons, change anything mentioning the Fey type to Outsider (Good) or Outsider (Evil) respectively, change the damage reduction to X/good or X/evil respectively, and allow Walk the Iron Path to transport the Seiðkona of the Iron Bands to the home plane of her prisoner. For gods, elementals, or other powerful beings, the DM should use his or her best judgment when altering these abilities. New vestiges will, of course, be necessary in case of any alteration.
Encounters: Most encounters with a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands will be some sort of confrontation, as Seiðkona tend to throw their power around if possible. Encountering them alone is rare: most have a retinue of dominated fae around them at all times. Still, some Seiðkona prefer a most subtle approach, often posing as benevolent faerie themselves, or as something as simple as an ordinary mage. Some are even more devious: woe betide the individual making a pact with a Seiðkona of the Iron Bands without knowing with whom they deal...

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Alright. Here's the deal: I'm looking for ideas (or hell...fully formed Vestiges) to flesh out the Fae Lord section. That's where you creative ladies and gentlemen come in, right?

Concepts, descriptions, vague ideas, fully formed Vestige groups...I'm looking for anything.

[Lord_Gareth]

You already had my ideas, you punk :p

[Mulletmanalive]

I'm a little stuck with this one because most Fey are pretty narrow in spread...

I've been working on designing fey versions of some of the Gaulish gods [they're mostly just name drops and jobs for all we actually know of them] and technically things like frost and fire giants would be fey in the grand scale of things.

possibles:
Toutatis: the defender of the tribe. Leadership type ability, some Marshal style auras and some bits like the Warlord gets. At higher levels, possibly a mount-like thing where the binder is borne around on a shield.

Belenos: the Henbane god and lord of the morning sun. Healing abilities; powerful for the binder with a selection of more minor ones for others as auras. My version of him has a spawning ability that produces small, annoying things. Sunlight based abilities, blinding, light damage, turning undead all make sense.

Belisama: goddess of the forge, warmth and lakes. Lady of the lake thing going on, probably an item at each level including sort of an Excallibur thing at top [she's similar to the lady in the lake in some ways], fire based powers and maybe a shield type ability.

and one of my own, I've actually considered this one more because he's what i'd like to have with a "witch" based villain i was thinking about just before you came to write this class:

Jacques Mortaine: The first amongst Ankou, the scythe of the witherwoods, scourge of the lost. Jacques was one of the first and is presently the most powerful of the Ankou, who are all over a bad lot.

Terrain alteration vestige: makes terrain around the binder go boggy and become difficult terrain. Entangle as a spell-like ability. Sink type Soften Earth and Stone ability as a spell-like.

Aspect of Fear vestige: basic fear aura, possibly a variation of the Ankou Bells power Ankou and the ability to treat frightened targets as Flatfooted.

Murderous Slayer vestige: Sudden strike, sweeping strike thing [two squares at once] and Improved Critical

Grim Reaper vestige: Cause bleeding, scythe with increasing power [see the greater ankou entry], cause fear in those around targets hit.

As an aside, are there any collections of fey vestiges around? I've been trying to refit the Binder to do an idea i had for the Witch [basically luring and trapping fae in cauldrons as a short term version of the Iron Bands thing].

[nxwtypx]

Wow. I'm not much for binders, but that is exceptionally flavorful.

Perhaps Amhalghaidh, Deposed Baron of the Redcaps (MMII?) might be a good vestige for you - the murdered (but not dead) former leader of a group of fey known for murder?

Let the Seiðkona call forth his pikestaff, his iron boots, the redcap's eldritch stones, and perhaps something to do with crits or dropped enemies, their blood granting bonus strength and DR/cold iron - perhaps look up the Sadism spell from the Book of Vile Darkness.

[ErrantX]

Seiðkona of the Iron Bands: Demonic Vestige (Xionn Fellblade, Saint of Murder)

The Fellblade is a powerful rakshasa lord who serves the dread imprisoned Souldrake. Eternally hunting the Jade Phoenix mages, the Fellblade is an implacable foe with the strength of the greatest of demon kind, on par with the lords of the pit themselves. Ancient and terrible, he is rumored to be the creature that came up with the very concept of murder. He appears as a black tiger-man with white stripes, glowing green eyes, and backwards hands in his natural shape, though sometimes he abandons that form to possess mortals. He wears terrifying black armor with symbols of death and damnation upon it and carries a massive crystalline greatsword called Azurewrath.

When free of the bonds of the Seidkona, he hunts ruthlessly for the souls of the Jade Phoenix mages so that he may trap them and use their absence to free his master. When imprisoned, the Seidkona should expect to be hunted by legions of Reth Dakaala and rakshasa loyal to Xionn and the Souldrake.

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Summoning Ritual: To summon the Fellblade and bind him to your will, you must commit the murder of an intelligent creature that you know personally, and do so for the purpose of advancing your own power. This murder must be committed during a new moon and under the blanket of night. The binder then takes the heart of the creature killed and stands in a wide circle of salt mixed with crushed glass with the iron bands at his feet. The binder then speaks the Fellblade’s True Name and eats the heart of the murdered victim. Clouds will form in the sky above the circle and rain down blood only within the circle, drenching the binder. The binder then snaps the bloody iron bands upon his arms and the blood absorbs into the iron, capturing the essence of the Fellblade into bonded slavery.

Influence: The influence of the Fellblade causes the Seidkona to becoming incredibly callous and aloof, as well as casually cruel to any weaker then the binder. He suffers a -2 penalty on all Diplomacy checks while under the influence of the Fellblade.

Sign: The Seidkona binding the Fellblade will display unsual paleness and black ragged stripes on his flesh, not unlike a tiger, in the reverse of the Fellblade’s colors, as well as green catlike eyes. When in combat, any blood spilled by the Seidkona will seemingly double in amount (at no additional damage to the victim).

World Effect: When the Fellblade is bound, violent murders happen more regular, as well as any violent crimes of passion (including suicides).

Vestiges: Xionn Fellblade grants six vestiges to those who successfully bind him. The vestiges and their levels are detailed below.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige
3|Aspect of the Hunt
4|Aspect of the Stalker
5|Aspect of the Killer
6|Aspect of the Slayer
7|Aspect of the Magus
8|Aspect of Death's Hand[/table]

Aspect of the Hunt

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Aspect of the Hunt grants you enhanced perception, natural weapons, and the abilities to read the minds of others.

Detect Thoughts: The Seidkona of the Iron Bands gains the ability to use detect thoughts as a spell-like ability (caster level is equal to his effective binder level) at will. Additionally, you gain a +5 bonus to Sense Motive checks due to your enhanced understanding of how people think.

Natural Weapons: The hands of the Seidkona of the Iron Bands reverse themselves and grow powerful claws. You gain two natural attacks with your claws, each dealing 1d6 points of damage (1d8 if you are Large, or 1d4 if you are Small) plus your Strength bonus. Your claws are natural weapons, so you are considered armed when attacking with them, and they can be affected by powers, spells, and effects that enhance or improve natural. You can choose to deal nonlethal damage with your claws, taking the standard -4 penalty on your attack roll. Your claws work just like the natural weapons of many monsters. You can make an attack with one claw or a full attack with two claws at your normal attack bonus, replacing your normal attack routine. You take no penalties for two-weapon fighting, and neither attack is a secondary attack. If your base attack bonus is +6 or higher, you do not gain any additional attacks—you simply have two claw attacks at your normal attack bonus.

Gilded Speach: You gain the silver tongue of the rakshasa, gaining a +1 profane bonus per effective binder level you possess to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive skills. Additionally, lies you make will not register to a zone of truth or discern lies spell.

Aspect of the Stalker:

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Aspect of the Stalker grants you the ability to change one's form, summon forth protective armor, and supernatural defenses.

Alter Self: The Seidkona of the Iron Bands gains the ability to use alter self as a spell-like ability (caster level is equal to his effective binder level) at will as a spell-like ability. Additionally, he gains a +5 bonus to his Bluff checks to fool people into thinking he is who he appears to be.

Tiger Hide: Your skin thickens and grows white fur with black stripes. This thickened hide grants you a +3 bonus to your natural armor, which improves by +1 for every 4 effective binder levels you have.

Dark Grace: You may add your Charisma modifier to your saving throws as a profane bonus (if positive).

Evasion: You gain the evasion class feature. If your effective binder level is greater then 12th level, this improves to improved evasion.

Aspect of the Killer:

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Aspect of the Killer grants you the ability to use the arts of death in the night to eliminate your foes.

Sneak Attack: You deal an extra 2d6 points of damage as the rogue sneak attack attack class feature. For every 5th effective binder level you possess, this increases by +1d6 to a maximum of +6d6 points of sneak attack damage.

Poison Use: You are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning yourself when applying poison to a blade.

Death Attack: If you study a 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 paralyzing or killing the target (character’s choice). While studying the victim, the Seidkona of the Iron bands can undertake other actions so long as your attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect the character or recognize the binder as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the Seidkona of the Iron Bands’s class level + the binder'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 Seidkona of the Iron Band. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once the binder 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 Seidkona of the Iron Bands 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.

Aspect of the Slayer:

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Aspect of the Slayer grants you enhanced combat prowess, allowing you to draw upon greater strength in battle.

Combat Prowess: Your base attack bonus equals your effective binder level (maximum equal to your character level or 20). You also gain proficiency in all martial weapons.

Rage: You may fly into a destructive rage, your form gaining in strength and toughness at the expense of rationality and defense. You gain a +4 bonus to both Strength and Constitution and suffer a -2 penalty to your Armor Class while enraged. You may do this three times per day, for a number of rounds equal to 3 + your newly modified Constitution modifier.

Dread of the Devil Tiger: Your presence is menacing for mortals to behold, granting you an aura of menace as if you were an archon with hit dice equal to your effective binder level. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of the Seidkona of the Iron Bands must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC is 10 + Seidkona of the Iron Bands level + Charisma modifier. Those who fail take a -2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the binder that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same binder's aura for 24 hours.

Aspect of the Magus:

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Aspect of the Magus allows you to tap in the magical powers of the rakshasa race to a degree.

Eldritch Presence: You gain a +6 profane bonus to your Charisma score, and gain a +10 bonus to Spellcraft, Use Magical Device, and Knowledge (arcana) checks. These skills may be used even untrained.

Sorcererous Blood: You may select and use any five of the following spells as a spell-like ability once every 5 rounds: detect magic, light, mage hand, read magic, charm person, magic missile, shield, grease, color spray, true strike, fear, hypnotic pattern, darkness, silent image, acid arrow, suggestion, fireball, shadow evocation, shadow conjuration, orb of (energy, choose type), lightning bolt, fly, wall of ice, lesser globe of invulnerability, black tentacles, enervation, and haste. The Seidkona of the Iron Bands may change what spells he's allotted when he binds this vestige. You have a caster level equal to your effective binder level, and saves are Charisma based.

Eldritch Blast: You may harm an opponent with eldritch energy in the form of a blast of arcane power. This blast may be fired once per round as a standard action and inflicts 4d6 points of damage upon a successful ranged attack. The range on this attack is 30ft. This damage increases by 1d6 for every 5th effective binder level you possess. He may also use this as part of a melee attack, adding his eldritch blast damage to an attack as a standard action.

Aspect of Death's Hand:

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Aspect of Death's Hand grants you the use of the Fellblade's own weapon and his aspect when in facing down foes.

Call Azurewrath: You gain the ability to call forth an aspect of the very weapon of the Fellblade himself, the mighty crystal blade Azurewrath, as a swift action. Shadowy essence pours forth from the Iron Bands and forms into shadowy crystal reflection of the true weapon as a standard action. This reflection is a +4 keen deep crystal greatsword of icy burstn and the Seiðkona is proficient in its use. If the weapon is sundered, the Seidkona may attempt to remanifest the weapon five rounds later as a swift action.

Hand of Death: You gain the ability to use the spell phantasmal killer as a spell-like ability once every five rounds as a swift action, with a caster level equal to your effective binder level. Save DC is Charisma based.

Mortal Bane: Any attack made against foes of the humanoid, monstrous humanoid, animal, or vermin types gain a +2 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls, and inflict an additional +2d6 points of damage as the bane weapon property.

**Special Notes: Change references to Fae creatures to Outsiders (Evil) in the class.**

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Dude...

I love this.

Did you write that poem?

[Fortuna]

Awesome class.

And awesome use of an eth.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Here are a couple faerie Lords I'm thinking would go well. Nearly gods themselves:

Lord Beast and Mother Whimsy

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Dude...

I love this.

Did you write that poem?

Yep. All of this is 100% my own work, save for the beautiful image.

And your fae lords are PERFECT for this. I may sit down today and convert them.

Errant? Comments on you Vestige are forthcoming.

[Eldan]

Let's steal from various sources..

The Winter Knight and Summer Knight: a pair of powerful warriors, originally mortals, but ordained by the Seelie and Unseelie courts to be their powerful warriors and emissaries in mortal lands.

The Huntmaster: the lord of the wild hunt, and it's most powerful hunter. Grants mostly tracking abilities, perhaps the ability to summon gigantic hounds.

The Witches of the North Wind: cruel, mad, cold-themed. I'm too tired to write good fluff, currently.

Edit: one I used in a short side adventure:

The Silent King
The Silent King is, in his corporeal aspect, a ten-feet tall man with black hair and raven wings on his back. He rules over the forest of silence, an area of the outlands with a very specific and disturbing characteristic: only sounds made voluntarily exist there. So you can speak, or play a drum, but your breathing is silent, unless you breath loudly on purpose, a dropped pot will make no sound and your steps aren't heard even by those standing in front of you. What makes the King a vestige is that he has been put asleep, right on his throne, by a powerful curse of unknown origin. His courtiers go through their daily motions again and again, meeting at the table three times a day for a meal, and in between go hunting, dancing, reading in the library, but do the exact same things every day. They tell every visitor that the King wants to talk to them, but is currently asleep. They shouldn't worry though, he'll wake up soon....

You know, you mention "The Hedge" several times in your post, yet I don't have a clear idea what "The Hedge" actually is... where did you get that idea from? I love fey fluff, but that one seems to have passed me by. We should start a thread somewhere and collect all the fey fluff in one place...

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Let's steal from various sources..

The Winter Knight and Summer Knight: a pair of powerful warriors, originally mortals, but ordained by the Seelie and Unseelie courts to be their powerful warriors and emissaries in mortal lands.

You mean Wardens of the Hedge?

The Huntmaster: the lord of the wild hunt, and it's most powerful hunter. Grants mostly tracking abilities, perhaps the ability to summon gigantic hounds.

I like it. I can run with this.

The Witches of the North Wind: cruel, mad, cold-themed. I'm too tired to write good fluff, currently.

Narrow it down to a single Witch or a collective entity and we're good. I don't see a Seiðkona grabbing a whole collective of Lords.

You know, you mention "The Hedge" several times in your post, yet I don't have a clear idea what "The Hedge" actually is... where did you get that idea from? I love fey fluff, but that one seems to have passed me by. We should start a thread somewhere and collect all the fey fluff in one place...

The Hedge is a term stolen from World of Darkness's Changeling, but I've heard it before in legends and myths. The Hedge is the "division" between the mortal world and the faerie world...a sort of semi-permeable barrier separating the two realities. If you're read or seen Stardust, for example: the wall dividing the two worlds is very similar to the concept of the Hedge.

[DragoonWraith]

Terry Pratchett's Lord and Ladies is A. hilarious and fun, like all Diskworld books, and B. has a lot of fluff that could be used for fae lords (since they are the lords and ladies in question). He does an excellent job of making them seem quite nasty; I suppose they're all Unseelie in Diskworld (or, rather, in Diskworld's equivalent of the Wyld Hunt, to use an Exalted term).

[Eldan]

Actually, for the Summer/Winter Knights I was mostly thinking about the Dresden Files. Of course, those might not be on fey lord level at all, so that's okay.

[Golden-Esque]

Ya'know Djinn, I read through your class a second time, and the Seiðkona's class features never explicatively state that Seiðkona of the Iron Band levels stack with Binder levels to determine effective Binder level. Its hinted at in the "Prince in Chains" class feature, but never directly stated. You might want to add that line.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Ya'know Djinn, I read through your class a second time, and the Seiðkona's class features never explicatively state that Seiðkona of the Iron Band levels stack with Binder levels to determine effective Binder level. Its hinted at in the "Prince in Chains" class feature, but never directly stated. You might want to add that line.

Thanks, Pronoun.

And thanks, Golden-Esque. It's all in jest.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Lord Beast-- Concept by The Vorpal Tribble

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Lord Beast is all dark desire and exquisite fear, stalking the horrific, most perilous locales of the Twilight Realm. He is the shadow in the corner of your eye and the unnamed terror. He is the beast that inhabits the deepest recesses of the id.

He is only with great difficulty described. He seems a great shaggy, silvery furred creature of horrible beauty, only vaguely mannish, as often upon all fours as bipedal, and bulging monstrously with muscle. All four limbs end in retractable ripping claws. His eyes are frighteningly large and depthless, peering like two bottomless pits from an enormous noble face both mannish and beastial that seems all muzzle and writhing mane. Those that peer within see their own primal lusts and will often destroy themselves seeking them. His mouth is toothless, though a tongue like a great vine hung with clusters of black grapes writhes within. He is permanently surrounded by a twilight gloom as if lit by starlight that reflects off his coat.

When free, he fights back the true horrors that eternally threaten to cross over and frighten off those that would seek to enter, or eat them himself, depending on his mood. When imprisoned, the Seiðkona binding him must be ready to deal with an assault of nightmarish creatures who would see the dread guardian return to his rightful place.

Summoning Ritual: To summon and imprison Lord Beast, the Seiðkona must first train herself in the arts of dream control, or lucid dreaming. Then, on the night of a new moon, the Seiðkona must enter a forest glen, and carve the earth into the pattern of a dreamcatcher. Finished, she must rest in the center of the ring, and give in to slumber, the Iron Band clamped tightly to her wrists. In her sleep she will be accosted by nightmares beyond imagining, yet she must ignore them until Lord Beast himself arrives. Upon his appearance, she must only speak his True Name from within the dream, drawing the fabled being from the fabric of the Dreaming and into the prison of the Iron Bands.

Influence: Under Lord Beast's influence, the Seiðkona suffers constant nightmares, represented by a single point of Wisdom damage than cannot be healed as long as Lord Beast remains imprisoned. Further, Lord Beast requires that the Seiðkona instill terror upon her victims whenever possible, often demanding a slow, twisting, terrifying approach to confrontation rather than an immediate battle.

Sign: A Seiðkona binding Lord Beast find their teeth have appeared to vanish to all forms of mortal sight, although they are in truth still present. Additionally, the Seiðkona's eyes turn to obsidian night, and appear bottomless to anyone staring into them.

World Effect: When Lord Beast is bound to a Seiðkona, the prevalence of nightmares across the mortal worlds increases by a frightening amount, and the Faewylds begin to swarm with terrible monsters fashioned from the primal terrors of the world.

Vestiges: Lord Beast grants 6 Vestiges to the Seiðkona binding her. The Vestiges and their levels are detailed below.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige Name

3

|

4

|

5

|

6

|

7

|

8

|[/table]

Unfinished, of course...but I'm working on it.

[Kallisti]

...Seiðkona vestiges are going to happen now?

This is a picture of my face, taken with my laptop's webcam.

*Recovers composure* I heartily approve.

Also, you should stat up some of the characters in Celtic folklore. Any sufficiently powerful character could be a "Fae Lord"--they're the Fae, after all. Their reality is more symbolic and mystical than physical and quantifiable in most of the myths anyway.

For example, Taliesin would make an excellent vestige, were it not for the lack of shapechanging rules that do not make munchkins weep tears of joy and GMs tears of horror.

Or Eochaidh, the King of the Firbolg. Or Morrígan, although the dark-moon aspects of Tarrae Mare kind of overlap there. Manannán mac Lir, the psychopomp.

The top of my personal wishlist for a new Fae Lord? Balor.

...or Robin Goodfellow. That'd be awesome too.

[ErrantX]

Ideally, yes. I've got a couple more ideas floating around in my head as far as vestige ideas, provided anyone wants to see them. I was thinking of something based on some powerful celestial, as well as more fae typed like an Artemis or Orion typed Fae Lord, like the Fae Lord of the Wyld Hunt.

-X

[Warpwolf16]

How about Baba Yaga, the Witch. You could do plenty with her, including the hag look.

[ErrantX]

How about Baba Yaga, the Witch. You could do plenty with her, including the hag look.

Oooo, that's a good one too! Very good ideas. Djinn, if you're interested, I'd love to help with the creation of more vestiges for this. The one I already made was partially because I'm using this class in my game as a BBEG end boss, and partially just because I wanted to add to this class I think it's one of the best classes to come out of the PrC Contests ever.

-X

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Oooo, that's a good one too! Very good ideas. Djinn, if you're interested, I'd love to help with the creation of more vestiges for this. The one I already made was partially because I'm using this class in my game as a BBEG end boss, and partially just because I wanted to add to this class I think it's one of the best classes to come out of the PrC Contests ever.

-X

I don't mind at all, Errant! Also, let me know how that BBEG works out for you!

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Just putting up another flavor entry (again, no vestiges yet). Lord Beast is still here because I want to keep them all together.

Lord Beast-- Concept by The Vorpal Tribble

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Lord Beast is all dark desire and exquisite fear, stalking the horrific, most perilous locales of the Twilight Realm. He is the shadow in the corner of your eye and the unnamed terror. He is the beast that inhabits the deepest recesses of the id.

He is only with great difficulty described. He seems a great shaggy, silvery furred creature of horrible beauty, only vaguely mannish, as often upon all fours as bipedal, and bulging monstrously with muscle. All four limbs end in retractable ripping claws. His eyes are frighteningly large and depthless, peering like two bottomless pits from an enormous noble face both mannish and beastial that seems all muzzle and writhing mane. Those that peer within see their own primal lusts and will often destroy themselves seeking them. His mouth is toothless, though a tongue like a great vine hung with clusters of black grapes writhes within. He is permanently surrounded by a twilight gloom as if lit by starlight that reflects off his coat.

When free, he fights back the true horrors that eternally threaten to cross over and frighten off those that would seek to enter, or eat them himself, depending on his mood. When imprisoned, the Seiðkona binding him must be ready to deal with an assault of nightmarish creatures who would see the dread guardian return to his rightful place.

Summoning Ritual: To summon and imprison Lord Beast, the Seiðkona must first train herself in the arts of dream control, or lucid dreaming. Then, on the night of a new moon, the Seiðkona must enter a forest glen, and carve the earth into the pattern of a dreamcatcher. Finished, she must rest in the center of the ring, and give in to slumber, the Iron Band clamped tightly to her wrists. In her sleep she will be accosted by nightmares beyond imagining, yet she must ignore them until Lord Beast himself arrives. Upon his appearance, she must only speak his True Name from within the dream, drawing the fabled being from the fabric of the Dreaming and into the prison of the Iron Bands.

Influence: Under Lord Beast's influence, the Seiðkona suffers constant nightmares, represented by a single point of Wisdom damage than cannot be healed as long as Lord Beast remains imprisoned. Further, Lord Beast requires that the Seiðkona instill terror upon her victims whenever possible, often demanding a slow, twisting, terrifying approach to confrontation rather than an immediate battle.

Sign: A Seiðkona binding Lord Beast find their teeth have appeared to vanish to all forms of mortal sight, although they are in truth still present. Additionally, the Seiðkona's eyes turn to obsidian night, and appear bottomless to anyone staring into them.

World Effect: When Lord Beast is bound to a Seiðkona, the prevalence of nightmares across the mortal worlds increases by a frightening amount, and the Faewylds begin to swarm with terrible monsters fashioned from the primal terrors of the world.

Vestiges: Lord Beast grants 6 Vestiges to the Seiðkona binding her. The Vestiges and their levels are detailed below.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige Name

3

|

4

|

5

|

6

|

7

|

8

|[/table]

Master of the Hunt

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The Master of the Hunt is the enigmatic that leads the Wyld Hunt, an endless hunting party of sinister fae who travel both faerie realm and mortal world. He, or it, is a tall and eerily thin figure with skin seemingly composed of leaves and moss, broken in places by a glimpse of ragged hair or exposed bone. A pair of obsidian eyes gleam amongst the greenery of his face, and his wild black hair contrasts sharply against the weathered bone of the great antlers that surmount his forehead. He dresses in a sweeping robe of patchwork hide, which sometimes seems to move about of its own accord, as if somehow alive...

When free, the Master of the Hunt rides through the Faewyld at the head of his grim pack. When imprisoned, the Seiðkona binding him may well find herself being hunted by the very beings her prisoner once led.

Summoning Ritual: To summon and imprison the Master of the Hunt, the Seiðkona must find a faerie ring and slit the throat of a young deer inside it, tracing the spilled blood to form another circle between herself and the faerie ring surrounding her. She must then take a hunting horn carved from the horn of a unicorn and give it a sharp blast, whereupon the Wyld Hunt will erupt from the Hedge and begin to circle the faerie ring, unable to cross through the line of blood. At this point the Seiðkona need only speak the true name of the Master of the Hunt to force him to enter the ring, where the Seiðkona may clasp the Iron Band around his wrists and slit his throat as she did with the fawn. The Master of the Hunt will dissolve to dead leaves and decaying flesh as his blood suffuses the Iron Bands with his living spirit.

Influence: Under the Master of the Hunt's influence, the Seiðkona thrills in the chase. If a foe flees from her, she must track him down as quickly as possible. Additionally, the Master of the Hunt prohibits the Seiðkona from attacking any Animal or Magical Beast, save for the express purposes of sustenance or personal safety.

Sign: A Seiðkona binding the Master of the Hunt grows a pair of expansive antlers, and her skin becomes mossy and green. When using any powers of the Master of the Hunt, the Seiðkona's eyes briefly turn to obsidian sphere, dark and reflective.

World Effect: When the Master of the Hunt is imprisoned, the Wyld Hunt becomes furious. Instances of disappearances in the night become far more common, and faerie hunting horns reverberate through the midnight hours, instilling nightmares and driving men mad.

Vestiges: The Master of the Hunt grants 6 Vestiges to the Seiðkona binding her. The Vestiges and their levels are detailed below.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige Name

3

|

4

|

5

|

6

|

7

|

8

|[/table]

[Revanmal]

(Work in progress)



give me all you hold inside you
for i've not a thing within
wrap your bloody arms around me
show me what its like to feel alive...

The Schlankmann

In the darkest woods of the Faewyld, where deep mists and deeper shadows dwell unopposed, there rules a spirit of ancient and terrible power. Evidence of this is apparent throughout the entire forest - piles of broken bone, ripped skin, blood, and organs; bodies impaled on branches like macabre Winter Solstice decorations; the distant screams; and the wet, fetid stench of rotting meat and death.

This is the home of the Schlankmann - an ancient spirit of the trees, said to exist in the deepest woods since the first shoots sprang up from the ground. He appears as a twisted parody of a human shape: limbs, neck, and torso seemingly stretched beyond any semblance of normalcy. Over his skeletal frame the Schlankmann is dressed in expensive clothing of the deepest black, blending into the shadows of his bloody forest perfectly. His head is devoid of identifying features, pale skin stretched taut over a faceless skull.

you didnt listen, did you? did you?
i didnt want to kill you! kill you!
who were an angel, who could see them
as if they had a soul inside
their hearts, their minds
broken like bread by
their scars, their crimes
and torn from the true will of man
and dragged from this life

Spoiler

Show

Summoning Ritual: The Schlankmann can be summoned and bound on foggy nights when the moon is blotted out by clouds, within a copse of dead trees. First, the Seiðkona must find the tallest tree of the copse, and from that tree's thickest branch carve a pointed stake. With this spear, the Seiðkona must then sacrifice 2 children, one of each sex, invoking the True Name of the Schlankmann and in turn slathering the blood of the innocent children upon their Iron Bands.

The true test comes after this. Within the copse of trees, the Schlankmann himself will appear, casting outward his powerful hypnotic aura of fear, seeking to paralyze and kill the one who invoked him. Should the Seiðkona resist the paralysis of the Schlankmann's terrifying presence and speak his True Name again, the Schlankmann will be drawn into the Iron Bands and sealed.

Influence: While binding the Schlankmann, the Seiðkona will be plagued often by thoughts and urges of intense violence, especially toward children and adolescents when they are present. A Will save allows the Seiðkona to resist the urge to violently attack for 24 hours. This DC starts at 20 and increases by 1 each day the Seiðkona spends any period of time around young members of any intelligent species. If the Seiðkona does not have any contact with children for 48 hours, the save DC decreases by 1.

Sign: A Seiðkona binding the Schlankmann has their height increased by roughly 2 feet with no change to weight, giving them a far more thin appearance, and their skin grows pale, allowing veins close to the surface to stand out clearly.

World Effect: Mists and fog become all but ubiquitous across the world when the Schlankmann is imprisoned, while paranoia, fear, and panicked riots become commonplace in both the Faewyld and the Material Plane.

{table=head]Vestige Level|Vestige Name

3

|

4

|

5

|

6

|

7

|

8

|[/table]

run away from me...

Working on Vestiges; thus far I've decided some good ones to invoked the Slender Man feel would be a fear effect aura, an extra five feet to melee reach, Dimension Dooring, perhaps increases to Hide and Move Silently. Any suggestions?

[The Tygre]

Ooh! Just got an idea! How about the Queen of Blood from the Hellboy comics? aka Morrigan the Triple Goddess, Vivien, Nimue, Badb, Macha, etc. She got chopped up into pieces by the witches of the world and locked away. Sounds like the perfect Vestige if you ask me.

[DragoonWraith]

That's amusing, I was just working on a Morrígan vestige. Malphas kind of steals her thing with his crow though.

[Eldan]

The slender man would be "Der Schlanke Mann" in german. "Schlankmann" sounds slightly strange, though it's not entirely wrong... Otherwise: damn, why didn't I think of that.

[Revanmal]

The slender man would be "Der Schlanke Mann" in german. "Schlankmann" sounds slightly strange, though it's not entirely wrong... Otherwise: damn, why didn't I think of that.

Yes, it does sound kinda weird, but then again I'm not really trying for an exact German translation. Y'know, since there is no Germany in D&D. >.>

[DragoonWraith]

I think it sounds sort of strange simply because I can't think of too many things in D&D at all that are even pseudo-German.

[ErrantX]

I don't mind at all, Errant! Also, let me know how that BBEG works out for you!

Definitely will do so, but I don't suppose you've had a chance to PEACH the Fellblade Vestiges yet? *wrings his hands* I wanna make sure I am doing it right before I make more.

-X