HOURI
Converted from an old 1st Edition magazine article
A houri is beautiful woman who has combined certain aspects of bard, rogue, and sorcerer together in order to seduce others. She specializes in the use of arcane magicks such as charm person, hold person and other Enchantment spells but isn’t limited to only those types of spells.
She is naturally silent and cunning and often acts as an assassin for hire, but only rarely will she associate herself with a thieves’ guild. More often than not she will have ties to a bard’s college or a loose affiliation of sorcerers.
A houri may be good or evil as how one seduces people isn’t as important as succeeding in the attempt. However, a houri often flaunts the authority of Kings and the nobility and; therefore, she is never lawful in alignment. A houri often gets along famously with bards and will often take on a male bard as a lover. These trysts don’t often last long, as a houri is always looking for her next paramour (bards tend to be flighty as well). A houri is never against having a female lover, however.
A houri tend to dress light. In fact, she will wear as little as possible to attract the attention of everyone around her. A houri likes to be noticed.
Requirements
To become a Houri, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any non-lawful
Feats: Dodge, Weapon Finesse
Skills: Hide – 8 ranks, Perform (dance) – 8 ranks, Tumble – 4 ranks
Type: Fey or Humanoid
Special: Must be female and have successfully seduced a male, in the past, using magic and personal magnetism.
See the PDF file for the prestige class progression chart.
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Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level): Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (sexuality) (Int) *, Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Slight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex).
* A new skill for World of Kulan.
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Class Features
All of the following are the class features of the Houri prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Houri are only proficient with the following weapons: chopsticks **, dagger, dart, fukimi-bari *, hairpin **, jitte *, sai *, sap, and siangham. Houri cannot wear armor of any kind and, in fact, her special abilities are more effective while she wears little or no clothing.
*
See Chapter 5: Description and Equipment of D&D Oriental Adventures.
**
A new weapon from my Equipment document for World of Kulan.
Spells: Beginning at 1st level, a houri gains the ability to cast a small number of arcane spells. To cast a spell, a houri must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, so a houri with a Charisma of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Houri bonus spells are based on Charisma, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the houri’s Charisma modifier (if any). When the houri gets 0 spells of a given level, such as 0 1st level spells at 1st level, the houri gets only bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Charisma score for that spell level. The houri's spell list appears below. A houri casts spells just as a bard does..
Upon reaching 6th-level, at every even-numbered level after that (8th and 10th), a houri can choose to learn a new spell in place of one she already knows. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level houri spell the houri can cast. A houri may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that she gains new spells known for that level.
See the PDF file for the Houri Spells Known chart.
Seduction (Ex): This extraordinary ability can only be used against one individual target of the same or similar race as the houri. The opponent must make a Will save (DC 10 + houri level + houri’s Charisma modifier + circumstance modifier). (See below for a list of common circumstance modifiers.) A houri can use seduction once per day at 1st level and an additional once per day every 2 levels thereafter.
A seduced victim will behave as under a dominate person spell cast by a sorcerer equal to the level of the houri. Seduction lasts for a number of days equal to three times the houri’s level, or until broken. It can be broken in a number of ways:
- If the houri attempts to cast another charm-like spell on the victim (see below).
- If she resists the victim’s affections. (victim allowed a Will save with a +1 circumstance bonus.)
- She attacks the victim with a weapon or physical harmful spell. (Seduction instantly negated.)
In a seduced state, the victim is extremely vulnerable to any other charm-like spells cast by the houri. (DC increases by +2 per level of the houri.) If the victim’s save against the houri’s magic is successful, he realizes that he has been under her influence and the seduction is broken. The houri cannot seduce the same victim again until she has gained another level. (Even then, he gains a +1 circumstance bonus to his save.)
Seduction cannot be used in combat, and the presence of other individuals in close proximity (within 10 ft. or obviously paying attention) reduces the chance of success. For each other individual present, subtract 1 from the DC of the Will save.
The manner of dress of the houri can greatly influence the success of the seduction attempt. If she is heavily clothed, subtract 2 from the Will Save DC. Add 2 to the Will Save DC if she is wearing scanty/provocative clothing and add 4 if she is completely nude.
Note that the benefits from the Seductive Feat stack with this ability for purposes of seducing a victim.
See the PDF file for the Seduction Modifiers chart.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 2nd-level, a houri retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (She still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)
If a character gains uncanny dodge from a second class the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below).
Hide Bonus: At 3rd level, A Houri gains a +2 class bonus to all Hide checks. This bonus increases to +4 at 6th level and +6 at 9th level.
Sneak Attack: Any time the houri's target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the houri flanks the target, the houri 's attack deals extra damage. The extra damage is +1d6 at 4th level and an additional 1d6 every four levels thereafter. Should the houri score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
Ranged attacks can only count as sneak attacks if the target is within 30 feet. The houri can't strike with deadly accuracy from beyond that range.
With a sap (blackjack) or an unarmed strike, the houri can make a sneak attack that deals subdual damage instead of normal damage. The houri cannot use a weapon that deals normal damage to deal subdual damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual -4 penalty.
A houri can only sneak attack a living creature with a discernible anatomy. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is also not vulnerable to sneak attacks. The houri must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach a vital spot. The houri cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment or striking the limbs of a creature whose vitals are beyond reach.
If a houri gains a sneak attack bonus from another source (such as rogue levels), the bonuses to damage stack.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 6th-level, a houri can no longer be flanked, since she can react to opponents on opposite sides of her as easily as she can react to a single attacker. This defense denies rogues the ability to use flank attacks to sneak attack the houri. The exception to this defense is that a rogue at least four levels higher than the houri can flank her (and thus sneak attack her).
If a character gains uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge, and the levels from those classes stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): At 8th-level, a houri can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as she is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a houri can hide herself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind.
She cannot, however, hide in her own shadow.
Houri Spell List
A houri chooses her spells from the following list:
0 Level: copy
1, create water, dancing light, detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound, intoxicate
1, lullaby, mending, no light
3, open/close, purify food and drink, read magic, summon instrument.
1st Level: alarm, animate rope, charm person, cheat
3, comprehend languages, detect secret doors, detect weaponry
5, Dylrath's blatant and irresponsible misuse of magick
1, expeditious retreat, feather fall, hypnotism, secret weapon
5, share talents
6, sleep, metamorphose liquids
1, undetectable alignment, ventriloquism.
2nd Level: appraise
1, black karma curse
6, calm emotions, cat’s grace, darklight
3, delay poison, desire
1, detect thoughts, eagle's splendor, enthrall, false peacebond
5, gift of speech
1, hangover
1, hold person, hypnotic pattern, increased virulence
6, insolent insult
1, insight of good fortune
6, invisibility, mad gesticulation
1, mirror image, moans of ecstasy
1, nightingale
1, stay the hand
6, tongues, vacillation
1.
3rd Level: alter fortune
6, astonishing sight
1, charm monster, clairaudience/clairvoyance, contrariness
1, crown of veils
6, deep slumber, dispel magic, Dylrath's bucket
2, elasticity
1, fire charm
1, glibness, haste, hesitate
6, inevitable defeat
6, lesser geas, nondetection, refreshment
4, sadism
3, silence, scrying, sculpt sound, slapstick
1, slow, vertigo
6.
4th Level: blinding beauty
4, break enchantment, detect scrying, dominate person, freedom of movement, glomp
2, greater invisibility, hold monster, Leomund's spacious carriage
5, magick fingerz
2, Malford's inconspicuousness
1, mists of melancholy
1, neutralize poison, oops sorry
1, poison, rainbow pattern, repel vermin, shout, toxic weapon
6, vertigo field
6, wall of honey
1.
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1 A new spell detailed in my Spells 3.5 document for World of Kulan
2 A spell from the d20 PDF known as Son of a Portable Hole
3 A spell from D&D Book of Vile Darkness
4 A spell from D&D Book of Exalted Deeds
5 A spell from D&D Cityscape
6 A spell from D&D Player's Handbook II