Evil / Undead Class : Thrall of Zuggtmoy

Thralls of Zuggtmoy are horrid to behold - often emaciated and always encrusted with fungal growths, these cultists adorn their bodies with blue coiling tattoos. They take the worship of their foul queen to the extreme and treat their own bodies as their most sacred altar. The closer their bodies grow to resemble that of their Queen, the closer they are to purity. A thrall of Zuggtmoy generally doesn't lead a cult but is often looked to as a prophet or oracle by such groups.

Druids and rangers make the best thralls of Zuggtmoy, although clerics with access to the Plant domain can do well as thralls. Other spellcasting classes can become thralls of Zuggtmoy, but they often have to research or create spells relating to fungus in order to prove their devotion to the Queen of Fungi before one of her cults accepts the character for a Final Feast.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Thrall of Zuggtmoy, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

• Alignment: Chaotic evil
• Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks, Survival 8 ranks
• Feats: Any one metamagic feat, Thrall To Demon (Zuggtmoy),
• Base Save Bonus: Fort +6
• Special: Ability to cast at least three spells or use spell-like abilities that are associated with plants or fungi, one of which must be 3rd-level. Druids and rangers automatically meet these qualifications by the time they can cast 3rd-level spells.

Class Skills

The thrall of Zuggtmoy's class skills are Concentration, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Move Silently, Spellcraft, and Survival.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following are class features of the thrall of Zuggtmoy prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Thralls of Zuggtmoy gain no proficiency with weapons or armor.

Infestation (Su): When a character becomes a thrall of Zuggtmoy her body becomes infested with abyssal spores and fungoid parasites. She takes on an unhealthy pallor, her hair becomes stringy and nasty (and often starts falling out), her eyes grow sunken, and her breathing becomes thick and phlegmatic. The changes in her body increase as she gains levels, until she finally transforms into a creature made entirely from fungus at 10th level.

These changes make it difficult for a thrall of Zuggtmoy to interact with most societies in a non-confrontational manner. She takes a penalty equal to her thrall level on all Charisma-based skill checks made when interacting with non- evil creatures as a result.

This infestation has its benefits, though, in that it bolsters and augments the thrall's physical body. A thrall of Zuggtmoy gains a bonus hit points per level. She also casts all spells in the fungus magic category (see sidebar) at +1 caster level, and saving throw DCS to resist these spells gain a +1 bonus.

Immunities (Ex): As she gains levels, a thrall of Zuggtmoy's body becomes increasingly transformed into fungoid material. At 1st level, she becomes immune to nausea and can no longer be sickened or nauseated. A 3rd level she cannot be stunned and is immune to sleep effects. At 5th level she becomes immune to all forms of disease. At 7th level, she becomes immune to poison. Finally, at 9th level she becomes immune to mind-affecting attacks.

Spore Mastery (Su): At 2nd level (and then again every even-numbered thrall level thereafter) a thrall of Zuggtmoy gains increased control over the demonic spores that infest her body. She can use these spores as an additional material component when casting any spell listed in the Fungus Magic sidebar. Utilizing spores in this manner is a free action. A thrall of Zuggtmoy has a number of spore "uses" equal to her thrall level, These spores are replenished daily. By using her spores, the thrall can spontaneously augment a fungus spell with a metamagic feat without increasing the spell's effective level. She spends a number of doses equal to the amount the metamagic feat would normally increase a spell's level. For example, to cast entangle as a quickened spell she would spend 4 of her daily spore uses - the entangle spell itself need not have been prepared as a 5th level spell.

If thrall of Zuggtmoy ever uses all of her spore uses for a day, she becomes fatigued.

Raise the Rotten (Su): At 4th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy learns how to infuse undead she creates with fungus. Any undead she creates with a spell, supernatural ability, or magic item gains a +2 bonus to Strength and a +2 bonus to its natural armor.

Zuggtmoy's Caress (Su): At 6th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy has proven her devotion to the Queen of Fungi. The thrall receives a vision on the first night after she gains 6th level in the form of an erotic dream of Zuggtmoy. When the thrall awakens, she discovers her fungoid body has grown more vibrant and hale, but at a cost. She gains a +2 bonus to any one of her ability scores, but must reduce two different ability scores by 1. These alterations have no type and are permanent. If the thrall of Zuggtmoy ever loses enough levels to become a 5th-level or lower thrall, she loses the +2 bonus to the ability score but does not regain the penalties to her other abilities.

Feast on the Fallen (Su): At 8th level, the thrall of Zuggtmov can draw sustenance from the dead body of any aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, plant, or vermin. She must touch the body and spend a full-round action to activate this ability - doing so provides attacks of opportunity.

At the start of the next round, the body decays away into corruption and stain, and the thrall of Zuggtmoy receives the benefit of the death knell spell and regains a number of hit points equal to 2d8+1/Hit Die of the creature feasted upon.

A thrall of Zuggtmoy may feast on the fallen once per day.

Zuggtmoy's Embrace (Su): The first night after attaining 10th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy receives another vision similar to the one she experienced at 6th level, although this vision is much more intense and incorporates the complete destruction and re-creation of her physical body within Zuggtmoy's fungal womb.

When the thrall awakens, she has transformed. Her type changes to Plant, and she immediately gains all the traits of this type. She also gains the Extraplanar subtype when not on the Abyss and damage reduction 5/good.

Thrall of Zuggtmoy						Hit Die: d6
CL	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Spells
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Infestation	-
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Spore mastery	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Immune to sleep and stun	+1 level of existing class
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Raise the Rotten	+1 level of existing class
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Immune to disease	+1 level of existing class
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Zuggtmoy's caress	+1 level of existing class
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Immune to poison	+1 level of existing class
8th	+6	+6	+2	+6	Feast on the Fallen	+1 level of existing class
9th	+6	+6	+3	+6	Immune to mind-affecting attacks	+1 level of existing class
10th	+7	+7	+3	+7	Zuggtomy's embrace	+1 level of existing class

Source: Dungeon #337

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