Doomguide - Faerun Prestige Class
This is a Forgotten Realms Exclusive Class
In a world filled with wise outsiders and magical divination, there's little question about what happens to a being's soul after death. Perhaps surprisingly, this knowledge has done little to assuage the fears of the people of Faerûn, who remain frightened that some demon might carry off their spirits while in transit to the Fugue Plane. Worse, many fear that their bodies will be unearthed and animated by the kind of debased death-obsessed spellcasters who seem common since the fall of Myrkul during the Time of Troubles.
Those who worry about life after death turn to the doomguides of Kelemvor, an elite order of spellcasting warriors in service to the Judge of the Damned, to answer their fears with promises of a painless transition and a fair judgment in the afterlife. When not administering to the needs of those about to die, doomguides halt the spread of necromancy by cleansing Faerûn of the taint of unlife through careful application of faith, spells, and bladecraft. As both compassionate undertakers and vigorous foes of undead, doomguides represent the inherent dualism that defines death in the Realms. Doomguides come exclusively from the ranks of Kelemvor's clergy.
The church teems with clerics who adhere to one side of the death equation over the other. On one side are those who prefer to usher the sick and dying into the next world through peaceful application of kind words and soothing spells. The contrasting philosophy is practiced by those who zealously thrust their maces into the ribcages of animate skeletons and view bedside ministry as a necessary but occasionally boring interlude between great battles against undead adversaries. A doomguide must balance between these two extremes. Further, doomguides serve the church in a less obvious way, often acting as couriers from one temple to another. Seldom attached to a particular temple, doomguides are expected to travel the world, spreading the word of Kelemvor and the lessons of a peaceful, beautiful afterlife across all Faerûn.
While all doomguides are clerics of Kelemvor to some extent, some train as fighters to better destroy undead, some are wizards or sorcerers trying to undermine necromancy from the arcane side of the problem. Few rogues or monks become doomguides, and religion and alignment prevent barbarians, bards, druids, paladins, or rangers from becoming doomguides.
Doomguides often lead bands of adventurers to clear out enclaves of undead or punish a particularly powerful or vile necromancer. Occasionally, they officiate at important funerals - or provide life-restoring magic to those who have served the church in the past and still have important work to conduct in this world. Their requirement for travel makes encountering a doomguide in the wilderness nearly as likely as encountering one in more urban surroundings.
Hit Die: d6
To qualify to become a Doomguide, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Lawful neutral.
- Skills: Diplomacy 5 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks.
- Feats: Extra Turning, Great Fortitude.
- Base Save Bonus: Will +4.
- Spells: Ability to cast speak with dead as a divine spell.
- Patron: Kelemvor.
- Special: The character must have destroyed an undead of at least 5 HD, whether by using weapons, spells, or positive energy. He does not need to have done this alone. The character must be proficient with the bastard sword.
From:
Faiths & Pantheons
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