Evil / Undead Classes : Lady/Lord of the Dead
By Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel
A lady/lord of the dead commands large numbers of nonliving creatures.
Undead spellcasters, such as liches, often become a lady/lord of the dead, but the class is attractive to all unliving, intelligent undead because of the enhanced turn resistance. Many undead necromancers augment their powers with this prestige class.
Nonplayer character ladies/lords of the dead often build strongholds that become centers of evil power. They frequently make undead minions out of those that oppose their rule. Unlike living armies, the forces of a lady/lord of the dead may grow in the aftermath of battles, swelling with the dead and defeated of both sides.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Lady,Lord of the Dead, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the lady/lord of the dead prestige class.
Turn Resistance (Ex): At each level, a lady/lord of the dead's turn resistance increases by +1. This stacks with any inherent turn resistance. This is in addition to the benefit gained from adding a Hit Die.
Spellcasting: A lady/lord of the dead continues training in magic. Thus, when a new lady/lord of the dead level is gained, the character gains new spells known and spells per day as if it had also gained a level in a spellcasting class it belonged to before it added the prestige class. It does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that it adds the level of lady/lord of the dead to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
Bolstering Aura (Su): At 2nd level and every level thereafter, a lady/lord of the dead strengthens nearby undead. Undead allies within 30 feet of the lady/lord of the dead gain an additional +1 turn resistance. This bonus stacks with all other turn resistance.
Animate Dead (Sp): At 4th level, a lady/lord of the dead can cast animate dead once per day.
Unholy Aura (Sp): At 5th level, a lady/lord of the dead can cast unholy aura once per day.
| Lady/Lord of the Dead | Hit Die: d12. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spellcasting |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Turn resistance +1 | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Turn resistance +2, bolstering aura +1 | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Turn resistance +3, bolstering aura +2 | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Turn resistance +4, bolstering aura +3, animate dead | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Turn resistance +5, bolstering aura +4, unholy aura | +1 level of existing class |
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