Wizard - Necromancer Deathslayer Kit Description: The Deathslayer devotes his or her life to the destruction of undead, striving always to rid the living world of their abominable existence, taking this desire to a fanatical, nearly obsessive degree. By mastering wizardly powers of necromancy as a Specialist Mage Necromancer, Deathslayers gain a greater understanding of these creatures that are neither fully living nor fully dead. The Deathslayer's militant opposition to all forms of undead places him or her into direct conflict with all who would create or use the undead for their own purposes, especially other necromancers and priests of the powers of death. As Deathslayers gain power and experience, they seek out progressively more powerful and dangerous undead adversaries, eventually confronting and seeking to destroy ghosts, vampires, and liches. Not surprisingly, few Deathslayers survive long at their chosen profession. Many Deathslayers are driven by a past personal tragedy inflicted by the undead and a burning desire for revenge, while others may view their task as simply the laying to rest of disturbed spirits. Some Deathslayers are not motivated by compassion for the spirits of the dead or hatred for past wrongs, but have no moral compass in their hatred, merely having conceived an obsessive and dangerous fascination with the confrontation and destruction of the undead, as studying and encountering such abominations can be a strain upon the strength of mind and sanity of some characters. Requirements: As a standard Necromancer, save that a Deathslayer must also have Strength of at least 12. Weapons & Armor: As a standard Necromancer, plus: flail (any) and mace (any). Special Benefits: Deathslayers are devoted to the cause of smiting undead wherever they are found. Their fanatic devotion to this cause has enabled them to apply the arts of necromancy to counteract the powers of the living dead and destroy them, granting them the following special abilities: Combat Skills: Deathslayers train themselves relentlessly for combat with the undead, but their combat skills are also quite useful against other foes. One effect of their constant training is that Deathslayers roll 1d4+1 for hit points at each level. In addition, they receive two weapon proficiencies at 1st level and two more weapon proficiencies every six levels thereafter. In terms of magical combat, Deathslayers study the power of fire and heat because of its great usefulness in combat in general but particularly for fighting undead. As a result, they gain a Major FOS in the Realm of Elementalism, but only for fire and heat-based spells. Nether Knowledge: As a standard Necromancer. In addition, a Deathslayers saving throw bonus vs. death magic and negative energy attacks applies against any attack made by an undead creature (doubled when facing his or her nemesis undead type). He or she also has a 1% chance per level of experience (again, doubled with respect to his or her nemesis undead type) to resist the effects of any undead special attack form, even if no saving throw is normally allowed. In addition, any Necrology proficiency check is automatically successful when used with respect to a Deathslayer's nemesis undead type (see below). Undead Bane: A Deathslayer's spells are particularly effective when used against undead targets, taking effect as if the caster was one level higher than normal. Further, undead suffer a -1 penalty to all saves vs. spells cast by the Deathslayer. The Deathslayer gains a +1 bonus to hit against any undead creature, regardless of whether he or she is attacking with missiles, with spells, or in melee. All of the above benefits apply with any spell or attack used by a Deathslayer. However, when a Deathslayer uses Necromancy spells against undead creatures, the above benefits are cumulative with his or her usual special benefits to his or her spells as a Necromancer. In addition to the above bonuses, by the time a Deathslayer reaches 5th level he or she must choose a specific type of undead as his or her personal nemesis. Typical choices for this are powerful undead such as wights, mummies, wraiths, spectres, ghosts (including banshees), vampires, and liches, as weaker undead types provide unchallenging nemeses at higher levels. The choice of a specific enemy is permanent and cannot be changed later. When fighting his or her nemesis undead type, all of his or her Undead Bane bonuses are doubled (and are cumulative with Nether Knowledge bonuses when using Necromancy spells against undead). Hence, the caster's spells take effect at two levels higher than normal, all spells cast vs. undead carry a -2 saving throw penalty, and attack rolls gain a +2 bonus. Special Hindrances: In focusing their attention so deeply in the study of necromancy and the undead, Deathslayers lose focus on other areas of study. As a result, Deathslayers suffer a -25% penalty to learn spells outside the Realm of Necromancy. In addition, Deathslayers have only Minor FOS in the Realms of Enchantment and Lore, since Deathslayers focus on combating the undead and are less interested in magic that is not directly relevant to this task. They also receive only half the normal number of non-weapon proficiencies at 1st level (rounding up, including bonus slots due to high Intelligence). Deathslayers channel negative energy as part of their spellcasting, much as other Necromancers do, with the same risk of harm when using their spells. They also suffer the same unpleasant effect on their appearance and personality (though at only half the normal rate; i.e., -1 to reactions for every four levels, rounding down), as their cadaverous look and nearly paranoid fanaticism turns off most NPCs. Unlike other Necromancers, however, they have no chance of incurring insanity or a mystical affliction as a result of their studies. Some surmise that this is due to an indirect blessing from deities who favor their mission and thus ward off evil influences, but just as likely it is due to the white-hot hatred for all things undead that burns within Deathslayers and forms a nearly insane compulsion all its own within them. Simply put, a Deathslayer is a fanatic in pursuing his or her calling, relentless in pursuit of the enemy, driven by a compulsion (almost like a geas), on an endless quest to seek out and destroy undead whenever and wherever possible. Undead opponents must always be attacked in preference to living targets, and the Deathslayer's nemesis undead type must be attacked in preference to any other undead type, regardless of tactical circumstances. A Deathslayer who does not follow this code of conduct loses any experience points that he or she would have gained for that encounter. Since they are hated and despised by undead of all types (for obvious reasons), Deathslayers suffer a -4 reaction penalty with undead creatures of any type (doubled to -8 with respect to his or her nemesis type), and such creatures will generally attack him or her in preference to other targets when possible, gaining a +1 bonus to attack rolls due to their ferocity. Non-sentient undead creatures do not gain this bonus. For obvious reasons, Deathslayers lack the ability to Influence Undead that other Necromancers possess. This feeling is certainly reciprocated by Deathslayers, who hate undead with a fervent passion that defies description. In no case will a Deathslayer of any alignment ever create or summon any type of undead creature, nor will he or she tolerate party members doing so. If they discover magical items that create or summon undead creatures, they will destroy them at the earliest opportunity. They will tend to shun other practitioners of Necromancy who are not themselves Deathslayers, and will not hesitate to expose to the law anyone they believe is misusing the powers of Necromancy and presents a potential danger. It is not unusual for Deathslayers to demand that any necromantic items be turned over to them for safekeeping, as no one else can be trusted with them. Bonus Proficiencies: Necrology Required Proficiencies: Reading/Writing Preferred Proficiencies: Alertness, Ancient History, Astrology, Awareness, Blind-fighting, Demonology, Display Weapon Prowess, Hunting, Investigation, Languages (Ancient), Night Vision, Observation, Religion, Rune Lore, Set Snares, Spellcraft, Sixth Sense, Tracking, Trailing ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >