Crucible of Faith Villains

First off: If you are one of my players, I would request that you not use or discuss any info contained in this thread in the OOC or IC thread. I trust you guys to keep OOC and IC knowledge seperate. If you think you will have a difficult time doing so, then please do not read any further.

That said, this will be the thread I will use for the NPCs and villians for my Crucible of Faith pbp game. To start off, I will just be posting new prestige classes and rules; campaign info and whatnot will also be posted here once I get it together.

I welcome comments on any and all items I post here.

Tarnished One PrC

Tarnished One
Tarnished Ones are disenchanted priests that refuse to give up their powers simply because they no longer follow a deity. Through research, they have discovered how to substitute drawing upon divine power (to fuel their spells) for arcane power, and continue their spellcasting progression accordingly. They are often called “Tarnished Ones” due to the formerly-bright silver holy symbol worn at all times.

In the Forgotten Realms, Tarnished Ones are most commonly ex-clerics of Mystra. After Mystra was destroyed during the Time of Troubles, the mage Midnight was elevated to the Goddess of Magic’s place and assumed her powers and worshippers. However, she had a slightly different view on the moral responsibility of wielding magic, and some of her inherited worshippers refused to accept the “interloper’s” views, causing them to be cut off from her power. Kain, once a powerful cleric of the faith, used his arcane and divine magic training to discover another way to access the clerical power he now lacked. He shared his method with others of his faith.

All Tarnished Ones have at least some cleric levels, and most are single-classed clerics. It is extremely rare to find a ranger, druid, or paladin among them. Regardless of profession, all Tarnished Ones were once devout followers of a deity, and all have divine spellcasting ability.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements:
Alignment: Any nongood.

Skills: Knowledge (religion) 3 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks.

Spells: Must have previously been able to cast 1st level Divine spells, but lost the ability (due to grossly violating a deity’s code of conduct, an alignment shift, etc).

Special: Must seek out training from a Tarnished One who has completed all levels of the Tarnished One prestige class. Upon entering training, a new Tarnished One must swear off worshipping all deities (forfeiting progression and use of all ‘working’ divine spellcasting classes, if any).

Special: Must have a silver holy (or unholy) symbol of your former deity that was worn for at least one year by a priest in good standing of the faith (it does not have to be the same individual who is taking levels in the Tarnished One prestige class). This holy symbol is imbued with arcane and corrupted divine magics in a day-long ceremony costing the Tarnished One 25 xp and 50 gp per (previous) caster level. The holy symbol is considered desecrated and unfit to be used by a normal cleric of the faith after the ceremony. In order to gain the benefits of the Tarnished One class, a Tarnished One must wear the holy symbol at all times to gain all abilities (included Comprehension) of the Tarnished One prestige class. If the holy symbol should ever be lost or destroyed, it can be replaced using the same method as before, but the Tarnished One cannot access any of the abilities of his class until it is replaced. Up to two holy symbols can be imbued and hold the Tarnished One’s power at any one time.

Class Skills:
The Tarnished One’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are as follows:
Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana/history/religion/the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int),.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Tarnished One

Code:

Level	BA	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Unique Casting, Aura, Barred Spells, Spell levels 0-2, +1 Caster Level
2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Domain, Spell levels 3-4, +1 Caster Level
3	+1	+3	+1	+3	Rebuke Undead, Spell levels 5-6, +1 Caster Level
4	+2	+4	+1	+4	Domain, Comprehension, Spell levels 7-9, +1 Caster Level

Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Tarnished Ones gain no proficiency with any additional weapons or armor.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: When a new Tarnished One level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in whatever divine spellcasting class in which he could previously cast 1st level spells before he added the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefits a character of the class would have gained (turn/rebuke undead attempts, bonus feats, and so on). If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class in which he could previously cast 1st level spells before he became a Tarnished One, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Tarnished One for the purpose of determining spells per day.

Unique Casting (Ex): A Tarnished One has modified the way he casts his divine spells. Although the somatic components are the same, the verbal ones have changed. He still issues a “prayer” for the verbal component as he did before; but he now substitutes an arcane incantation in lieu of the deity’s name (Spellcraft DC 30 to understand that a Tarnished One is using arcane magic to fuel divine spells). This method of casting causes some confusion when trying to use Spellcraft to identify a spell the Tarnished One is casting; as a result, add +4 to the DC to identify spells that the Tarnished One casts. In addition, the first time an individual witnesses a Tarnished One casting a spell with a verbal component, they are unable to counterspell it. Any later spells cast by any Tarnished Ones can be counterspelled normally. Unique Casting only applies to divine spells with a verbal component cast by the Tarnished One.

Aura (Ex): A Tarnished One no longer emanates a powerful aura corresponding to his deity’s alignment as he did when a cleric. Instead, he now has an aura no more or less powerful than a non-cleric.

Barred Spells: A Tarnished One has access to the complete cleric spell list, with the exception of any spells that directly contact a deity, directly contact the representative of a deity, or that requires a deity’s intervention to function. Examples of this would include Commune, Miracle, Planar Ally, etc.

Domain: At 2nd level and again at 4th, a Tarnished One can choose a domain and gain all the abilities granted (as a cleric would). The Tarnished One has a much larger choice of domains, as he is no longer limited by a deity’s sphere of interest. However, he can only select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, or Law) if his alignment matches that of the domain. These new domains completely replace up to two Domains previously lost from the Tarnished One’s divine spellcasting class(es).

Rebuke Undead (Su): The Tarnished One gains the ability to rebuke undead exactly as a cleric of their caster level. This replaces the Turn or Rebuke undead ability that he may have had prior to becoming a Tarnished One.

Spell Levels: A Tarnished One casts spells just like a cleric of their caster level (with the exceptions of Unique Casting and Barred Spells, above). However, because a Tarnished One has lost their spellcasting ability, they must work to gain it back. As such, at every given level they only have access to certain spell levels as shown on the table, even if they were able to cast higher level spells as a cleric. For example: Kyln, formerly a 10th level cleric, gains one level in the Tarnished One class. He is considered an 11th level caster. He then can cast 6 0th level spells, 5+Wis 1st level spells, and 4+Wis 2nd level spells. Upon reaching 2nd level in the Tarnished One prestige class, Kyln is considered a 12th level caster with one domain, and would be able to cast 6 0th level spells, 5+Wis 1st level spells, 4+Wis 2nd level spells, 4+Wis 3rd level spells, 3+Wis 4th level spells, and 1 domain spell of each level for levels 1-4. This does not give the ability to cast a level of spell that is not ordinarily accessible by his caster level; he is still limited to modified caster level when figuring the level of spells he can cast (i.e., a 1st level cleric who takes a level of Tarnished One is still only a 2nd level caster, and does not have access to 2nd level spells).

Comprehension (Ex): Upon completing his training, the Tarnished One makes the final comprehension of the tie between arcane and divine magics. He may return to take levels in the divine spellcasting class he had before taking the Tarnished One prestige class. The Tarnished One also regains any abilities lost from that divine spellcasting class save Aura, Barred Spells, Domains, and Rebuke Undead as mentioned and altered above.