Editing Midnight Custom Prestige Class: Fell Warden (section)

= FELL WARDEN =


Undeath in the Last Age is a constant threat to those who live on.  In each culture of Eredane, the deceased are treated with dread and caution, for every creature capable of holding its own spirit is also capable of becoming trapped in its decaying shell, and of giving in to the madness of the life after life.  Some few study this process with a fascination that seems almost dangerous.  As they serve communities by reverently and safely disposing of corpses, or because of a twisted attraction to the power of the undead, some learn the universal cost of the Shattering that effects the termination of all life.  Through this understanding of the separation between life and death, these who call themselves fell wardens practice a type of magic that draws upon their singular perspective of the natural process toward decay.  Some are twisted by their involvement with malevolent spirits and crazed fell, using this connection to undeath to tyrannize or to serve the Shadow.  Some instead serve the people of Eredane by ensuring dignified transitions for loved ones, and protection against those already lost to the madness of undeath.  <br>
Hit Dice: d6


<table border="0">
<tr align="left">
       <th colspan="6" style="background:#330066;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b><font color="#cccccc" size="4">The Fell Warden</font></b> </th></tr>
<tr align="left">
  <th width="45">Level</th>
  <th width="90">Base Attack Bonus</th>
  <th width="50">Fort Save</th>
  <th width="50">Ref Save</th>
  <th width="50">Will Save</th>
  <th width="300">Special</th>
</tr><tr style="background:#ffffcc;">
  <td>1st</td>
  <td>+0</td>
  <td>+0</td>
  <td>+0</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>Fell familiar, improved spellcasting</td>
</tr><tr>
  <td>2nd</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+0</td>
  <td>+0</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>Deathcraft, rebuke undead</td>
</tr><tr style="background:#ffffcc;">
  <td>3rd</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>Necromantic presence, sense undeath</td>
</tr><tr>
  <td>4th</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+4</td>
  <td>Greater necromancy focus, inured to death +2</td>
</tr><tr style="background:#ffffcc;">
  <td>5th</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+1</td>
  <td>+4</td>
  <td>Mortal governance</td>
</tr><tr>
  <td>6th</td>
  <td>+4</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+5</td>
  <td>Immortal coil</td>
</tr><tr style="background:#ffffcc;">
  <td>7th</td>
  <td>+5</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+5</td>
  <td>Inured to death +4</td>
</tr><tr>
  <td>8th</td>
  <td>+6</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+2</td>
  <td>+6</td>
  <td>Shared repercussions</td>
</tr><tr style="background:#ffffcc;">
  <td>9th</td>
  <td>+6</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+6</td>
  <td>Resolute necromancy</td>
</tr><tr>
  <td>10th</td>
  <td>+7</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+3</td>
  <td>+7</td>
  <td>Inured to death +6</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="6" style="background:#330066;"><font size="1"> </font></td></tr>
</table>


== Requirements ==

To qualify to become a fell warden, a character must fulfill the following criteria:<br>
'''Skills:''' Knowledge (spirits) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks.<br>
'''Feats:''' Magecraft (any tradition), Spell Focus (necromancy), Spellcasting (necromancy)<br>
'''Special:''' Must have a living familiar with an Intelligence score of at least 8.<br>


== Class Skills ==

The fell warden’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), <br>
Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken <br>
individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak <br>
Language (n/a), Spellcraft (Int).<br>
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

== Class Features ==

All of the following are features of the fell warden prestige class.<br>
'''Weapon and Armor Proficiency:''' Fell wardens are proficient with the scythe and sickle, traditional symbols of the harvesting of souls and death.  Fell wardens gain no proficiency with any type of armor or with shields.<br>
'''Improved Spellcasting:''' Fell warden levels grant similar benefits as channeler levels with regards to the art of magic, bonus spells, and bonus spell energy.  This means that fell warden levels stack with channeler levels for the purposes of determining the highest-level spells the character can cast.  A character with more channeler and fell warden levels than levels in other classes adds +1 to his character level to determine the highest-level spells he can cast.<br>
Additionally, each time the character achieves a new fell warden level, he gains one new spell of the necromancy school of any level he can cast.<br>
Finally, the character’s maximum spell energy increases by one point for every level of fell warden he gains.<br>
'''Fell Familiar:''' The fell warden gains the ability to allow his familiar to become one of the Fell, giving it abilities and advantages that other familiars lack, though at a cost of its life.<br>
The fell warden’s familiar is killed and then reanimated through a dangerous ritual.  In order to perform this ritual, the fell warden must spend at least 5 days in preparation gathering components and supplies, and securing solitude, which is typically a single room or cave where disruptions are at a minimum.  The ritual takes two full days to complete, at the end of which the fell warden’s familiar becomes an undead Fell.<br>
If a fell familiar is destroyed, the fell warden suffers the same penalties as he would if a living familiar had died.  Unlike normal familiars, slain fell familiars cannot be raised from the dead.  A destroyed fell familiar must first be replaced by a new living familiar, and then ritually killed and raised as Fell.<br>
A fell warden cannot benefit from the Improved Familiar feat and the Fell Familiar class ability at the same time.  Fell warden levels stack with different classes that are entitled to familiars for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master’s level. <br>
'''Deathcraft (Ex):''' At 2nd level, the fell warden learns to unlock the secrets of necromancy.  The spell energy cost for casting spells from the necromancy school is reduced by 1.  The character only gains this reduced spell energy cost on spells with a level equal to or less than his fell warden level, and the minimum cost is 1.<br>
The fell warden’s focus on necromantic magic also allows him to learn inflict wounds spells (level 0: ''inflict minor wounds''; level 1: ''inflict light wounds''; level 2: ''inflict moderate wounds''; level 3: ''inflict serious wounds''; level 4: ''inflict critical wounds''; level 5: ''inflict light wounds, mass''; level 6: ''harm, inflict moderate wounds, mass''; level 7: ''inflict serious wounds, mass''; level 8: ''inflict critical wounds, mass'').  These spells are all in the necromancy school of magic, and can be learned the same way other spells are learned.  Because these spells channel negative energy into the target, they are capable of healing undead creatures.<br>
'''Rebuke Undead (Su):'''  At 2nd level a fell warden gains the supernatural ability to rebuke and command undead that are within his presence, as a legate would.  To do this, he makes a normal turning check as described in the PHB, with his caster level serving as his cleric levels.  A fell warden may rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to three plus his casting ability modifier.  The fell warden may take the Extra Turning feat in order to increase the number of times per day he may use this ability.<br>
A fell warden does not use a holy symbol, or the power of any god, to rebuke undead.  Instead, he makes known the necromantic power he wields to the undead within his presence.  While this ability does not expend spell energy, the attempt to rebuke undead can be detected as though it were a minor channeled spell being cast, with the caster’s fell warden levels determining his caster level for this effect.<br>
'''Necromantic Presence (Su):'''  At 3rd level the fell warden gains the ability to protect undead minions.  Whenever his fell familiar or other undead he controls are within 60 feet, they gain a +4 bonus to their turn resistance.  Also, when making a turn attempt to Bolster Undead for his fell familiar or himself, the effective Hit Dice result is +2.<br>
'''Sense Undeath (Ex):'''  At 3rd level a fell warden gains the ability to sense the difference between life and death in other creatures.  <br>
By spending a full round concentrating on a single subject within 20 feet, a fell warden’s knowledge of mortal transition allows him to determine the presence of a spirit, and whether the subject is dead or alive.  This requires a secretly-rolled Knowledge (spirits) check, with a DC of 15 + the target’s Hit Dice.  A successful roll when studying a corpse means the fell warden can tell if the recently deceased will or will not rise again as Fell, or he can tell if a seemingly alive creature is already Fell.  A successful roll for a subject that has not yet died only tells the fell warden that the subject is alive and there is a spirit present, but not the type of spirit.  If the roll fails, the fell warden gains no insight as to the fate of the spirit.<br>
A fell warden can use this ability as a standard action by taking a +5 penalty to the DC.  For every extra 20 feet of distance from a subject, the DC also increases by +2.  If the subject has an Intelligence score of less than 5, the DC increases by +5.<br>
'''Inured to Death (Ex):'''  At 4th level and at every three levels thereafter, a fell warden gains the listed bonus to his saving throws against spells in the Necromancy school and versus supernatural abilities and spells used by undead (such as Draining Touch, Ghoul Fever, or a vampire’s spells).  <br>
'''Greater Necromancy Focus:'''  At 5th level the fell warden adds +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against spells from the necromancy school of magic. This bonus stacks with the bonus from Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus.<br>
'''Mortal Governance (Su):'''  At 5th level the fell warden may use his Rebuke Undead ability to greater effect.<br>
A fell warden may attempt to untether the spirit from the body of the recently deceased and ungral Fell creatures (but not Fell who have deteriorated past this point).  By using a turning attempt, the fell warden can instantly free the spirit of someone who has died but has not yet risen as Fell.  In order to similarly free the spirit from a Fell creature that has not yet degenerated into being faengral, the fell warden must have at least twice as many character levels as the Fell has Hit Dice. <br>
If a fell warden attempts to bind the spirit of a living creature to its mortal form, he uses a turning attempt and makes a turning check to determine if he can affect a creature with the target’s Hit Dice.  If the turning check result is too low to be able to affect the target creature, the attempt fails.  If successful, then if during the next week the affected creature dies, the DC to avoid becoming Fell is increased by the character’s fell warden class levels.  This effect functions as a curse, similar to the spell ''bestow curse'', and thus can be removed with the spell ''remove curse'' or ''break enchantment''.  <br>
'''Immortal Coil (Ex):'''  At 6th level, the fell warden has the option to no longer age naturally.  Once he chooses to stop aging as a mortal he becomes immune to aging effects and can never die of old age.  At this point, his body begins to undergo a transformation that includes the formation of a bone cyst within his chest.  His spirit is now permanently bound to this cyst.  If the fell warden then dies, he automatically fails his Will save to resist becoming fell, and there is a 50% chance that he rises again as a ghost, one of the Lost.<br>
The only way for a fell warden to avoid becoming fell is to undergo a similar transformation prior to death.  This metamorphosis takes place during a ceremony that ends by changing the fell warden into a lich, at the cost of 10,000 experience points.  The cyst in his chest serves is his phylactery.<br>
This is a hard choice for some, who believe the rumors that nothing can be done to prevent becoming evil once turned into a lich.  Other rumors say that this is the only means by which any creature has become a lich after the Sundering.  When faced with immortality as a powerful undead lord, or as a spirit bound to a decayed and eventually destroyed body, only the most daring or dastardly continue their fell warden training.<br>
'''Shared Repercussions (Su):'''  At 8th level a fell warden gains the ability to shunt off Constitution damage from the casting of spells to his fell familiar in the form of hit point damage.  <br>
To use this ability, the fell warden must be in physical contact with his fell familiar, and the casting time for the spell increases to a full-round action.  When the fell warden would take more than 1 point of Constitution damage while sacrificing some of his life essence to power the casting of a single spell, he may choose to siphon off half (round down) of the Constitution damage to his familiar.  Rather than causing Constitution damage to the familiar, this injures the familiar, dealing hit point damage equal to the level of the spell for every point of Constitution damage siphoned.  Alternatively the fell warden may siphon off all Constitution damage, dealing (2d6 + spell level) hit point damage per Constitution damage siphoned to his fell familiar.  <br>
The damage dealt by this ability cannot be healed by any means, other than by the familiar feeding on the blood of its fell warden master.  This damage causes violent, maddening pain to the familiar.  The fell familiar must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + damage dealt) to avoid biting its master once.<br>
A fell warden may not use this ability on a living familiar.<br>
Example: A fell warden with 2 spell energy points remaining chooses to cast a chain lightning spell, which normally costs 8 spell energy.  Rather than take 6 points of Constitution damage, the fell warden summons his fell familiar to his side and casts the spell, siphoning off part of this damage.  He still takes 3 points of Constitution damage, but causes his undead familiar 18 points of damage (3 points of Constitution damage were siphoned, for a 6th-level spell).  His familiar must then succeed on a DC 28 Will save to avoid biting its master.<br>
'''Resolute Necromancy:'''  At 9th level a fell warden with the Maximize Spell metamagic feat can maximize spells from the necromancy school as if they were only one level higher, rather than 3 levels higher.
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