Evil / Undead Class : Thrall of Orcus
"Bloated goat prince of undeath, master of vampires and lord of specters, Orcus, grant me your crushing might and the deadly power of your skull-headed wand!" - Quab-Nomag the Skull-King
The thrall of Orcus has devoted herself to the demon prince of undeath. In his service, she becomes a tool of misery, murder, and revenge. She revels in the company of the undead, preferring their decaying touch to that of living flesh.
Clerics, wizards, and sorcerers make the best thralls of Orcus, although bards, blackguards and various multiclass characters also join his demonic ranks occasionally.
Thralls of Orcus often work in small groups. These cabals of necromancers and necrophiliacs consort with undead creatures and demons to form small cells of depraved evil hidden amid bustling cities and quiet villages. Thralls of Orcus hate and war against the thralls of Demogorgon and Graz'zt.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Thrall of Orcus, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any evil.
- Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks.
- Feats: Lich Loved, Thrall To Demon.
- Base Attack Bonus: +4.
- Special: Must be able to cast a spell of the Necromancy school.
- Special: The sacrifice of an intelligent being is the centerpiece of the horrific rite that initiates a new thrall of Orcus. This ritual takes place in complete darkness atop an altar made of at least thirty skulls.
Class Skills
The thrall of Orcus's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (any), Move Silently, Profession, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the thrall of Orcus prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A thrall of Orcus is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields.
Bonus Feat or Spells: When a thrall of Orcus attains 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th level, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class, or else she gains a bonus feat of her choice. If the thrall chooses +1 spellcasting level, she does not gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation fears, hit points beyond those received from the prestige class, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. This essentially means that she adds the new level to the level of whatever other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a thrall of Orcus, she must decide to which class she adds the level for purposes of determining spells per day.
A thrall of Orcus is free to choose the bonus feat at one opportunity and the spellcasting level the next time the decision arises, or vice versa. Characters who are not spellcasters must choose the bonus feat.
Carrion Stench (Ex): A thrall of Orcus, when desired, emits a terrible smell in a 10-foot radius. Living creatures in the radius (excluding the thrall) must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + thrall's class level + thrall's Con modifier) or take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks for 1 round per class level of the thrall of Orcus. Furthermore, mindless undead creatures within the radius of the stench believe the thrall of Orcus to be undead.
Touch of Fear (Sp): Three times per day a 2nd-level thrall of Orcus can produce an effect identical to that of the cause fear spell cast by a 10th-level caster.
Demon Wings (Su): Once per day, a 3rd-level thrall of Orcus can bring forth massive black wings from his back. These wings allow the thrall to fly at his normal land speed with average maneuverability. The demon wings last for up to 1 hour and are dismissible with a standard action. At 7th level, the thrall can use his demon wings at will, and they last as long as needed.
Massive Girth/Skeletal Visage (Su): At 4th level, a thrall of Orcus must choose to become obese like her dread master or gaunt like an undead creature. Depending on the choice, the thrall gains the Deformity (obese) or Deformity (gaunt) feat as a bonus feat.
Summon Undead (Sp): Once per day, a 5th-level thrall of Orcus can summon 1d4 ghouls, 1d3 shadows, 1 wight, or 1 wraith as the summon monster spell cast by a caster of her class level. At 9th level, the thrall can summon 1d3 mummies, 1 spectre, 1 mohrg, 1 vampire, or 1 ghost instead. If she chooses a vampire or a ghost, its character level is one less than the thrall's class level.
Pallor of Death (Su): A 6th-level thrall of Orcus can adopt the appearance of a humanoid undead creature of her choosing as if she had cast the alter self spell. While in this form, the thrall has an aura of fear (as the fear spell cast by a 6th-level caster) that affects only living non-outsiders within 25 feet. Pallor of death lasts for 1 minute per class level and can be used once per day.
Death Touch (Sp): An 8th-level thrall of Orcus can force a living creature hit with a touch attack to attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + thrall's class level + thrall's Cha bonus). If the target fails its save, it dies.
Summon Nightwing (Sp): A 10th-level thrall of Orcus can summon 1 nightwing once per week, as the summon monster spell cast by a 15th-level caster.
| Thrall Of Orcus | Hit Die: d8 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Carrion stench | Bonus feat or +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Touch of fear | - |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Demon wings | - |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Massive girth/skeletal visage | Bonus feat or +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Summon minor undead | - |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Pallor of death | - |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Demon wings (at will) | Bonus feat or +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Death touch | - |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Summon major undead | - |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Summon nightwing | Bonus feat or +1 level of existing class |
Source: Book of Vile Darkness
Older Prestige class adapted to 3.5