ROGUE-ASSASSIN KIT

Holy Slayer

Description:  Holy Slayers are assassins who represent radical factions of 
religious faithful.  Their leaders sequester themselves within secret refuges 
far from civilized places.  They recruit new Holy Slayers by bringing them to 
their hidden lairs and showing them the rewards of paradise on earth, which can 
be theirs again in the afterlife if they but serve the greater cause as Holy 
Slayers of the faith.  Many young recruits agree, joining in the service of 
their 'Grandfather' and obeying his or her commands without question, fearless 
in their conviction that even if they died they would be better off in the next 
world.  The members of these secret societies are driven by the power of their 
faith to mete out justice and threats in a manner that intimidates and frightens 
those they encounter.  They are sometimes quiet in their ways, passing unseen 
like ghosts through the world around them, but sometimes they strike publicly 
and dramatically; often the mere suspicion that a Holy Slayer is nearby is 
enough to turn away those who seek to harm any under their protection.  Each 
Holy Slayer is a member of a religious organization dedicated to the advancement 
of a particular faith.  Such organizations usually have the support of Zealots 
(and sometimes very lawful Orthodox Priests) of their faith, though the Holy 
Slayer fellowships themselves vary considerably in their degree of tolerance of 
other factions.  Each society operates from a secret base location, which is 
never known to low-ranking members (they are brought there in secrecy for 
training and then leave in secrecy when they are ready to begin their careers).

Requirements:  Holy Slayers have the same racial restrictions and ability score 
requirements as typical Assassins, save that their Wisdom score must be at least 
13 to withstand the mental rigors of their profession.  In addition, particular 
orders may have additional restrictions (e.g., some may be all-male or all-
female, or may restrict membership only to a specific race).

Weapons & Armor:  Holy Slayers are limited to the weapon selection allowed to 
priests of the deity associated with their society.

Thief Abilities and Modifiers:  Climb Walls, Detect Noise, Escape Bonds, 
Find/Remove Traps, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently

Special Benefits:  The primary benefit of a Holy Slayer is that his or her 
intensive training in the arts of dealing death through his or her secret 
society allows him or her to gain weapon specialization in a single weapon.  
This weapon is not chosen by the Holy Slayer--he or she gains specialization in 
the chosen weapon of his or her society.  One might use a blowgun, while another 
might use a dagger.  A Holy Slayer begins with Skilled Specialization at 1st 
level (this is not free--he or she must spend one slot on proficiency and 
another on Skilled Specialization in the weapon in question; if a missile fire 
device, he or she begins with Device Specialization) in the chosen weapon of the 
society, while other proficiency slots at 1st level must be spent on other 
weapons.  As a Holy Slayer advances in level and gains additional weapon 
proficiency slots, he or she can become proficient in other weapons or can 
increase his or her level of specialization, eventually reaching as high as 
Master specialization.  A Holy Slayer fighting with the chosen weapon gains 
multiple attacks as a Fighter of equal level (plus his or her specialization 
bonus).  An additional advantage of his or her special training is that the 
specialization damage bonus with the chosen weapon can be added in before the 
damage multiplier is applied in a Backstab attack.

Meditative Trance:  In the course of training for their task, Holy Slayers learn 
how to meditate in a state of deep concentration, allowing them to refocus and 
regain their energies in a deep and powerful trance.  This meditation can be 
done once per day for up to one turn per level of experience, but each turn of 
meditation is as effective as a full hour of sleep in terms of restfulness.  
While in a Meditative Trance, a Holy Slayer is unaffected by natural extremes of 
heat or cold and is able to ignore hunger or thirst.  A Holy Slayer is fully 
conscious and aware while in a Meditative Trance and suffers no penalties to 
surprise or initiative rolls if attacked.

At 6th level, this ability improves to become the equivalent of a feign death 
spell; in addition, at the end of the Meditative Trance the Holy Slayer is so 
refreshed and rejuvenated that he or she regains 1d4 hit points, +1 per level 
over 6th.

Religious Devotion:  Because of their intense religious indoctrination, Holy 
Slayers are required to learn the Religion proficiency at 1st level.  They can 
also select proficiencies from the Priest list at no penalty.  A Holy Slayer's 
fanatical devotion to his or her cause renders him or her immune to all forms of 
fear.  In addition, they gain a +4 to saves vs. charm, domination, possession, 
and other forms of direct magical or psionic control.  A Holy Slayer of 12th 
level or above becomes immune to magical control, including geas and quest 
spells.  The exception to this resistance is that a Holy Slayer suffers a -4 
penalty to saves vs. quest and other charm-type spells cast by priests of his or 
her own faith, provided that they are of higher level than the Holy Slayer.  

Even if a Holy Slayer is affected by a spell or power of this type, such control 
can be instantly and permanently ended by the will and word of his or her 
Grandfather or Grandmother--loyalty to the master of his or her society 
supersedes all non-divine magical or psionic control.  In no event can a Holy 
Slayer be controlled and forced to do harm or allow harm to come to a member of 
his or her society, and an attempt to do so will immediately break such control.  
Attempts to force a Holy Slayer to act against a member of his or her religion 
allows an immediate saving throw to break free of control but does not 
automatically negate it.

Holy Slayers receive a +2 bonus to reaction rolls with NPCs of his or her 
religion.  In addition, they can always obtain free shelter and food at temples 
of their faith and can usually borrow mundane equipment for up to a week free of 
charge.  If such items are lost or destroyed, the Holy Slayer must of course 
replace them, and he or she loses their church privileges until such restitution 
is made.  Magical items are never lent to a Holy Slayer.

Special Hindrances:  Everything within a Holy Slayer order is on a need-to-know 
basis, and all orders and decisions follow a rigid chain of command that begins 
with the Grandfather and proceeds down to the newest initiate.  Holy Slayers are 
shaped and molded in their training to obey without question the orders of the 
Grandfather or Grandmother of their order.  They must be willing to die 
immediately for their cause.  If a leader should ask a Holy Slayer to leap from 
a building to prove his or her faith, the Holy Slayer will do so without 
question.  Unfortunately for low-ranking Holy Slayers, it is not unknown for 
leaders to ask precisely that, in order to prove their power.  Holy Slayers are 
not required to announce their profession to the general public.  While a few 
fellowships encourage such displays, members who do so may be told to perform 
extremely dangerous missions in order to prove that they are worthy.  Most 
fellowships prefer to operate in secrecy, and members often disguise themselves 
as members of other Rogue classes or kits, sometimes feigning the Special 
Hindrances of another kit and taking associated proficiencies in order to do so.

Holy Slayers who are not based at their fellowship's secret hideout (including 
most or all PC Holy Slayers) are allowed to act as free agents for a time, much 
like priests who are not currently attached to a specific temple.  These free 
agents are allowed to live their lives in a normal fashion; however, as soon as 
word comes from their Grandfather or Grandmother they are expected to perform 
whatever actions are ordered as expeditiously as possible.  They are not 
expected to ask for additional aid or time, nor may they appeal the orders.  
They are expected only to do or die.  NPC Holy Slayers rarely if ever ignore 
such orders, being willing to die for their faith.  However, those rare PCs 
taking this kit are not automatons and can choose to ignore the orders of their 
leader if they choose, especially if death seems a likely (or certain) result of 
those orders; of course, death may be the outcome of refusing an order, too.  
Holy Slayers who disobey an order become outcasts, as do Holy Slayers who obey 
only in part, twisting the meaning of an order through clever interpretation of 
the wording that does not agree with the intentions of their master.

An outcast Holy Slayer becomes the target of attacks by other members of their 
fellowship (PC Holy Slayers may occasionally become involved in retaliatory 
strikes against such rogue agents).  These attacks are planned by the DM and 
usually involve a string of assaults that might include the kidnapping of 
allies, the destruction of home towns, or the summoning of monsters rather than 
simple swift death.  These attacks tend to take place at the worst possible 
moment and continue until one of the following occurs:  the PC decides to 
complete the assigned mission; the PC has survived a number of attacks equal to 
his or her level (at which point the Grandfather or Grandmother may consider the 
punishment sufficient, at the DM's option); or the PC slays the current leader 
of his or her fellowship (which is, of course, one of the reasons that the 
location of the society's base is kept such a close secret).  Even if a Holy 
Slayer survives such a string of attacks, he or she will not be able to obtain 
further training in his or her society's fighting methods and skills (nor is any 
other society likely to take in a renegade Holy Slayer); he or she can still 
advance in skills already possessed, but from that point on the Holy Slayer will 
require double the normal amount of experience points in order to advance in 
level.

In game terms, there is a 10% per level chance at each level of experience 
(including 1st level) that sometime during that level the Holy Slayer will 
receive 'the call' from his or her society to undertake some dangerous task on 
behalf of the order.  Sometimes the call is an order to kill, though it may also 
involve some other type of risky mission, such as delivering a message or 
warning or retrieving a valuable item important to the order or its affiliated 
religious fellowship.  When the call targets a particular individual (whether 
for death or some other purpose), there is an 80% chance that the target is in 
the same city or general region as the Holy Slayer, and there is an 80% chance 
that the individual is a native of that area (in other words, he or she is on 
'home turf' and is probably well-protected).  Targets are always persons of 
importance--nobles, aristocrats, court wizards, captains of the royal guard, 
merchant lords, and the like--never common craftsmen or loudmouthed innkeepers.  
If the call involves the assassination of the individual in question, each 
society has a special version of its chosen weapon (e.g., a spear inlaid with 
gold, with a black silk scarf tied to the haft) that must be used in such cases; 
their 'calling card' so that everyone knows exactly who was responsible for the 
killing.  It is the Holy Slayer's responsibility to make or acquire such a 
weapon, as it will not be provided directly by the society (to avoid the chance 
of it being traced back to them).

Regardless of where they operate, Holy Slayers are expected to contribute to the 
upkeep and prosperity of their society and their affiliated church fellowship.  
As a result, Holy Slayers must tithe at least 10% of their income directly to 
their society and an additional 10% of their income to the church of their 
affiliated deity.  They are also expected to cooperate with reasonable requests 
from priests (especially higher-level priests) of their allied faith, so long as 
they do not contradict the orders of their superiors within the society.

In addition to the hindrances of their secret society membership, Holy Slayers 
disdain the use of poison.  They do not make the intensive study of poisons that 
characterizes other Assassins, and as a result they do not gain the Poison 
Mastery ability.  Though they can and do often use poisons that inflict damage 
upon contact or injection, they never use fatal poisons, nor do they use 
ingestive poison.

Required Proficiencies:  Anatomy, Disguise, Religion, Voice Mimicry
Preferred Proficiencies:  Alms, Ambush, Begging, Blind-fighting, Camouflage, 
Close-quarter Fighting, Display Weapon Prowess, Herbalism, Instant Stand, 
Intimidation, Jumping, Language (Modern), Lightning Reflexes, Prone Fighting, 
Reading/Writing, Rope Use, Set Snares, Sign Language, Torture, Tracking, 
Trailing, Tumbling, Venom Handling, Weapon Improvisation, Weaponsmithing