Sworn Slayer - General Prestige Class

This is a general Prestige class that may be applicable to the Forgotten Realms Campaign

In a world where combat prowess and oaths of loyalty are the measure of many heroes, the sworn slayer stands out as an unstoppable engine of vengeance and destruction - a dedicated hunter of the world's most feared and fearsome creatures. Choosing to forswear all other mortal motivations, a sworn slayer pledges a lifelong oath of enmity against a specific kind of creature. He follows a path that can lead as easily to an outcast's life on the fringes of society as it can to a hero's legacy, standing tall in society's defense.

From the jaded undead hunter bearing his many hunts' scars - of both body and soul - to the easygoing giant hunter full of youth and hubris, the sworn slayer class accepts any who wish to protect the helpless masses. No organization or brotherhood links sworn slayers, and many prefer working alone or with companions who aren't sworn slayers themselves. Competitions between sworn slayers oathbound to destroy the same kind of creature rarely result in friendly rivalries; the unquenchable need of sworn slayers to bring ruin upon the creatures they hate sometimes make them oppose each other as much as those they truly seek to destroy. Sworn slayers whisper stories of sabotaged ambushes and capture at the hands of those who fight the same creatures they do. A sworn slayer never takes apprentices and never teaches others his secrets; he learns his techniques the hard way. Times are changing among the sworn slayers, though, and newer members of the class band together in order to bring down bigger, tougher foes.

Sworn slayers come from those who have suffered a great loss at the hands of the creatures they seek to destroy. This vengeful aspect of the sworn slayer comes from the death of a loved one or the utter destruction of the sworn slayer's home. Clerics, monks, and paladins might come to the class after witnessing the destruction of their monastery or temple. A druid or ranger might swear an oath to annihilate a race of monsters that ravaged his beloved forest, grove, or oasis. The loss need not result in death or poverty, but it must be severe and its effects long felt.

Although their origins are as varied as the creatures they pledge their lives to destroy, all sworn slayers share one trait: a willingness to abandon all other precepts, callings, and pursuits in the name of retribution. With a lifestyle devoted to the destruction of perilous foes, the warrior classes tend to fill the ranks of the sworn slayers, as they most easily achieve its requirements.

Rangers and paladins find the sworn slayer's single-minded purpose a natural extension of their own dedication and moral duty. Fighters also excel as sworn slayers, finding a focus for the full destructive capability of their combat ability. Since a ranger's favored enemy bonuses provide a solid foundation on which to strengthen the sworn slayer's own abilities, characters driven to seek the path of the sworn slayer often take levels of ranger (with an appropriate favored enemy). Paladin sworn slayers typically choose those monster kinds devoted to evil or that oppose the tenets of their faith: intelligent undead, demons, and devils. To make use of their inherent ability to detect the presence of evil, such sworn slayers almost never choose creatures that typically have a neutral alignment.

Members of other classes sometimes become sworn slayers, as the trials and risks of an adventurer's life make it all too easy for any character to find himself consumed by the hatred that fuels the sworn slayer's oath. The special abilities of rogues, monks, and clerics make them formidable sworn slayers against certain creature types, although clerics and monks sometimes find it difficult to balance the dedication of their original calling with the focus required to follow the path of the sworn slayer. Wizards and sorcerers can make devastating representatives of the class, their arcane strength acting as a potent weapon in a sworn slayer's dedicated hands.

Hit Die: d10

To qualify to become a Sworn Slayer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Sworn Slayer Details

From: Dragon #324

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