Hallo Freunde
schon vor einer ganzen Weile habe ich mal eine Variante des Blackguard ausgearbeitet, die als Basis-Klasse spielbar sein sollte - natürlich in erster Linie für NSC gedacht
.
Klar gibt's in der SRD auch die "bösen" Paladin-Varianten, aber ich war doch mal neugierig, was ihr von meinem Machwerk haltet und welche Verbesserungsvorschläge ihr hättet. Wenn mein Blackguard mehrheitlich auf positive Resonanz stößt und eventuelle Ungereimtheiten und Fehler ausgeräumt sind, kann ich ihn vielleicht sogar als Material an Talamar senden.
Aber ich hoffe doch, daß er euch weitgehend gefällt - die Tabellen fürs Forum umzuarbeiten war im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes eine unheilige Arbeit
(Ich schreibe übrigens mein sämtliches eigenes Material auf Englisch, weil ich nur englische Regelwerke nutze und mich so nicht mit obskuren Regelbegriff-Übersetzungen rumschlagen muß. Daher ist auch alles Folgende auf Englisch.)
BLACKGUARD AS BASE CLASS
The blackguard is the exact counterpart of the paladin – a ruthless slayer of good, a merciless destroyer of hopes, and a compassionate pursuer of evil for evil’s sake. Many creatures and characters are evil, but blackguards are filled with such a hatred and lust for power and sinful deeds that they alone are willing to risk their lives and souls to further the power of evil. When goodness conquers a realm, it’s usually a blackguard’s mission to gather the remaining forces of evil and unite them under his hand so they can bring darkness back into the lands.
Adventures: Blackguards usually pursue their own agendas of evil and hatred striving to gather forces, accumulate wealth, develop their abilities and simply
gain more power
in general,
so they are to be always ready to strike mightily into the heart of goodness when need and opportunity arises. Often this occurs when a blackguard is addressed by a powerful being of evil, mostly a fiend, but also a mighty undead or mortal tyrant can benefit from a blackguard’s support if the blackguard deems his employer worthy of furthering his evil causes.
Characteristics: Dark powers grant a blackguard protection as well as abilities to do gruesome harm. Being a living fiend he sows despair wherever he treads, is immune to plagues, and he can heal his wounds by stealing the life force of others. A novice blackguard can detect good in his vicinity, and more powerful ones can smite those good at heart and bring the walking dead under his sway. In addition, his connection with the nether forces grants him the right to be served by a fiendish minion, and he can use wicked powers, depending on what way of damnation he chose (that of War, that of Death, of Plague, or of Hunger), or what Way of Sin.
Not to forget, a blackguard is also a formidable opponent in combat.
Alignment: Blackguards are always evil, and they lose their abilities if they atone for their deeds to become neutral or even good.
Of course Thus, a blackguard may
only perform
minor acts of mercy or generosity
, and be it only to avoid being caught if it furthers a greater cause of evil.
But In this way, a blackguard
must be careful takes care not to stray too much from his chosen path not to neglect his pursuit of evil. Sloth may be a sin, but sluggishness in furthering the cause of evil
might lead
s to neutrality. That’s a blackguard’s greatest bane, for years of cruelty and wickedness
often sometimes lead to jadedness and indifference
to the cause of evil, and thus to neutrality.
Religion: As for a paladin, devotion to the cause is usually enough for a blackguard. Those blackguards who do align themselves with particular religions may choose any evil deity as their patron, typically following Hextor (god of tyranny), but also Nerull (god of death), or Erythnul (god of slaughter). Blackguards are welcome as defenders and agents in the temples of their respective deity, but also feared by those not so devout to the cause of evil.
Background: Becoming a blackguard is less a matter of training than of dedication. Of course, most blackguards are educated in combat skill and knowledge in temples or orders revering evil deities to become guards, warriors, or agents in the name of the respective god. But true dedication to the cause of evil is what makes the difference between an evil fighter and a true blackguard.
However, there is no actual need to train a blackguard – often the will, cunning, despair, and brutality to lead a life of wickedness and violence is enough to steer a character down to the way of the blackguard. And some blackguards even started their career as something else but became so distorted in their strife for power and their selfishness that the way of the anti-paladin became available to them – and they decided to tread it.
Saying that it becomes obvious that blackguards are generally individuals. Some blackguards, especially those educated in the same order or temple, might view others of their class as comrades to the cause, but if their agendas differ too much they probably come to see each other as competitors and battle each other as bloody as they might battle good.
Races: The same ambitious souls that make great paladins out of humans may drive them toward the path of the anti-paladin. Half-elves are usually prevented by their elven instincts for goodness to become blackguards, and only the most haughty, hateful, and tragic elves chose that path. Among dark elves, however, this class is more common and often seen as quite prestigious although maybe to open and ineffective. Of the other common races, only half-orcs may commonly feel the evil urges of their blood strong enough to become blackguards.
Usually a minimum of organization is necessary to bring forth blackguards, so among savage humanoids they are most common among hobgoblins. Blackguard is also a popular class among half-fiends and githyanki.
Other Classes: Don’t be mistaken, blackguards like to work together with evil exemplars of other classes to complement their own powers – the sheer destructivity of barbarians, the violent force of sorcerers, the knowledge and power of dark wizards (especially necromancers and conjurers), the cleverness of skulking rogues, and the dedicated support of sinister clerics. As obedient minions of a blackguard evil monks and fighters are often found. Although they can come to value a bard’s knowledge and manipulative abilities, blackguards prefer not to work with them because they tend to draw too much unwanted and untimely attention. Druids and rangers, no matter how evil they are, rarely cooperate with blackguards, because it usually requires them to consort with unnatural creatures. Of course, paladins and blackguards attack each other on sight, as would do good clerics, or even most druids for they see a threat to the natural order in the existence of a blackguard.
Role: Basically, a blackguard is a prime melee combatant although he isn’t nailed to this role. Most importantly he is found as the leader and organizer, if not even master and dominator, of an evil group and channels their destructive power onto the most effective course. With his spells and special abilities he also has a support function within the group.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Blackguards have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Charisma enhances a blackguard’s self healing and protection powers and his undead control ability. Strength is important for the blackguard’s role in combat. A Wisdom score of 14 or higher is required to get access to the most powerful blackguard spells, and a score of 11 or higher is required to cast any blackguard spell at all.
Blackguards that chose the Way of War should consider a high Constitution score, for it lets them rage longer.
Alignment: Any evil. Due to their organizational function, most blackguards rather tend to law than to chaos. Thus, they are remarkably not diametric to paladins in this perspective.
Hit Die: d10
Class SkillsThe Blackguard’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Ride (Dex).
Furthermore, a blackguard gains additional class skills depending upon his chosen path of damnation (see below):
War: Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis)
Plague: Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Spellcraft (Int)
Hunger: Knowledge (nature) (Int), Survival (Wis)
Death: Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int)
Pride: Knowledge (royalty and nobility) (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Greed: Appraise (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex)
Envy: Hide (Dex), Move Silently (Dex)
Gluttony: Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha)
Sloth: Hide (Dex), Knowledge (local) (Int)
Lust: Bluff (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis)
Rage: Jump (Str), Tumble (Dex)
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier
Level___BAB____________________Saves___________Special__________________________________________Spells per day
_________________________Fort___Ref____Will____________________________________________________1____2____3____4
1_______+1_______________+2_____+0______+0_____Aura of evil, detect good, smite good 1/day_____-____-____-____-
2_______+2_______________+3_____+0______+0_____Dark blessing, lifetaker________________________-____-____-____-
3_______+3_______________+3_____+1______+1_____Aura of despair, unholy health__________________-____-____-____-
4_______+4_______________+4_____+1______+1_____Command undead__________________________________0____-____-____-
5_______+5_______________+4_____+1______+1_____Smite good 2/day, fiendish servant______________0____-____-____-
6_______+6/+1____________+5_____+2______+2_____Gift of damnation 1/week________________________1____-____-____-
7_______+7/+2____________+5_____+2______+2_____________________________________________________1____-____-____-
8_______+8/+3____________+6_____+2______+2_____________________________________________________1____0____-____-
9_______+9/+4____________+6_____+3______+3_____Gift of damnation 2/week________________________1____0____-____-
10______+10/+5___________+7_____+3______+3_____Smite good 3/day________________________________1____1____-____-
11______+11/+6/+1________+7_____+3______+3_____________________________________________________1____1____0____-
12______+12/+7/+2________+8_____+4______+4_____Gift of damnation 3/week________________________1____1____1____-
13______+13/+8/+3________+8_____+4______+4_____________________________________________________1____1____1____-
14______+14/+9/+4________+9_____+4______+4_____________________________________________________2____1____1____0
15______+15/+10/+5_______+9_____+5______+5_____Gift of damnation 4/week, smite good 4/day______2____1____1____1
16______+16/+11/+6/+1____+10____+5______+5_____________________________________________________2____2____1____1
17______+17/+12/+7/+2____+10____+5______+5_____________________________________________________2____2____2____1
18______+18/+13/+8/+3____+11____+6______+6_____Gift of damnation 5/week________________________3____2____2____1
19______+19/+14/+9/+4____+11____+6______+6_____________________________________________________3____3____3____2
20______+20/+15/+10/+5___+12____+6______+6_____Smite good 5/day________________________________3____3____3____3
Class FeaturesAll of the following are class features of the blackguard.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The blackguard is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble.
Also, Swim checks suffer a –1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.Aura of Evil (Ex): This ability is described in the DMG.
Detect Good (Sp): This ability is described in the DMG.
Smite Good (Su): This ability is described in the DMG.
Dark Blessing (Su): This ability is described in the DMG.
Lifetaker (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a blackguard with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can steal other’s hit points with a touch attack to heal his own wounds and gain any excess hit points as bonus hit points. Each day he can steal a total number of hit points equal to his blackguard level x her Charisma bonus. For example, a 7th-level blackguard with a 16 Charisma (+3 bonus) can steal up to 21 hit points per day. A blackguard may choose to divide his lifetaking among multiple victims, and he doesn’t have to use it all at once.
A victim affected by the lifetaker ability is allowed a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + the blackguard's class level + the blackguard's Cha modifier) to half the number of hit points drained. The actual number of hit points drained counts toward the blackguard's total number of hit points he can drain per day with this ability. Using lifetaker is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Bonus hit points gained by the use of this ability disappear after one hour or by injury, whatever occurs earlier. Actual healing is permanent.
Since the lifetaker ability is a negative energy effect, any magic or protective ability that protects from negative energy attacks protects against the lifetaker ability. When in doubt, assume that any affect that protects from an
inflict wounds spell, from a
vampiric touch spell, or both, also protects from a blackguard’s lifetaker ability. For the same reasons, a blackguard can use any or all of his lifetaking powers to heal undead creatures. This does not bestow extra hit points to them, and the blackguard
neither loses nor gains in fact loses hit points of his own by use of that ability this way.
Aura of Despair (Su): This ability is described in the DMG.
Unholy Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a blackguard gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases (such as mummy rot and lycanthropy). The blackguard can, however, suppress this immunity willingly to voluntarily contract a disease that might bring him advantages (such as lycanthropy).
Command Undead (Su): This ability is described in the DMG
, with the exception that the blackguard rebukes undead like an evil cleric of three levels lower would.Fiendish Servant: A blackguard of 5th level or higher can call a fiendish servant as described in the DMG with the exception that it takes different instances for advancement, as shown in the table below.
Blackguard's_____Bonus____Natural_____Str__________Int____Special
class levels______HD_____Armor Adj.___Adj.
5th - 7th_________+2________+1________+1____________6_____Empathic link, improved evasion,
__________________________________________________________share saving throws, share spells
8th - 10th________+4________+3________+2____________7_____Speak with blackguard
11 - 14th_________+6________+5________+3____________8_____Blood bond
15 - 20th_________+8________+7________+4____________9_____Spell resistance
Spells: A blackguard has the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a blackguard spell, a blackguard must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, so a blackguard with a Wisdom of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Blackguard bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have DC of 10 + spell level + the blackguard’s Wisdom modifier. When the blackguard gets 0 spells per day of a given level (for instance, 1st-level spells for a for a 4th-level blackguard), he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Wisdom score for that spell level. The blackguard’s spell list appears in the DMG. A blackguard has access to any spell on this list and can freely choose which to prepare, just as a cleric. A blackguard prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though a blackguard cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).
Gift of Damnation: Upon reaching 6th level,
At the beginning of his career, a blackguard must decide, which path of damnation he will follow. Each path will grant him
additional class skills and a particular ability he can use once per week plus one additional time per week for every three levels after the 6th, unless stated otherwise. Until today have become known the four Ways of Doom: War, Plague, Hunger, and Death, and the seven Ways of Sin: Pride, Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, and Rage. According to what path of damnation the blackguard chose, he can use the following abilities:
The Way of War (Ex): The blackguard can fly into a rage identical to that of a barbarian a number of times per week given in the table
below above.
The Way of Plague (Sp): With a touch, the blackguard can cause disease a number of times per week as given in the table
below above, as per the
contagion spell.
The Way of Hunger (Sp): The blackguard can project a dull brown ray upon an opponent a number of times per week given in the table
below above that works almost identical to a
ray of exhaustion spell in game effects. Actually, the ray causes a biting hunger within the victim. The effect can only be ended by taking a full meal. Otherwise, it would be permanent.
The Way of Death (Sp): The blackguard can use
animate dead as a spell-like ability a number of times per week as given in the table
below above.
The Way of Pride (Sp): As his gift of damnation the blackguard may use a spell-like ability identical in effect to a
greater heroism spell.
The Way of Greed (Sp): The blackguard can create gold out of nothing a number of times per week given in the table
below above. The total value per use is 100 gp times the blackguard’s Charisma modifier per level. The gold disappears without a trace if it is still within half a mile from the blackguard after an hour. Otherwise, it remains permanently. Some say it slowly evaporates by about 1 ounce (total value of 3 gp) each year, but no one has proven that yet. By the way, blackguard gold faintly registers as evil under a
detect evil spell.
The Way of Envy (Ex): The blackguard gains the ability to sneak attack opponents like a rogue. He is not restricted to a certain number of uses per week with this ability. His extra damage is +1d6 on 6th level, +2d6 on 9th level, +3d6 on 12th level, +4d6 on 15th level, and +5d6 on 18th level.
The Way of Gluttony (Su): By gorging himself with at least four times his daily required amount of food (a process that requires at least 10 minutes), the blackguard can increase by one size category for 4 hours. He gains a +6 size bonus to Strength, a +4 size bonus to Constitution, and a +2 bonus to natural armor due to the rolling masses of blubber he gains. However, he also suffers a –2 size penalty to Dexterity, a –1 size penalty to attack rolls and armor class, a –4 size penalty to Hide checks, and a penalty to his land speed of –10 feet (to a minimum of 5 ft.). The blackguards equipment won’t grow with him, but he can use weapons one size category larger than usual.
The Way of Sloth (Sp): As his Gift of Damnation, the blackguard may use
slow as a spell-like ability a number of times per week given in the table.
The Way of Lust (Sp): As his Gift of Damnation, the blackguard may use a
suggestion as a spell-like ability a number of times per week given in the table.
The Way of Rage (Sp): As his Gift of Damnation, the blackguard may use
rage as a spell-like ability a number of times per week given in the table.
The caster level of all spell-like abilities gained by the Gift of Damnation class feature equals the blackguard’s class level.
Edit: Bereits gefundene Fehler werde ich direkt in diesem Post korrigieren. Die ursprüngliche Fassung wird durchgestrichen zu lesen sein, die korrigierte Fassung in
rot daneben.