Evil / Undead Class : Warrior of Darkness
The warrior of darkness, sometimes called the dark knight, is a practitioner of black magic. He studies the dark arts and learns the terrible secrets involved with evil rituals and spells. However, he does not cast spells himself. Instead, he uses his arcane knowledge to make himself a more formidable combatant. Evil fighters, often those with a few levels of wizard or sorcerer, sometimes become warriors of darkness. Less frequently, warriors of darkness come from the ranks of single-classed wizards or sorcerers, or bards, rangers, and even clerics.
Warriors of darkness often keep to themselves, although they sometimes ally themselves with evil sorcerers or wizards. Other times, they employ small groups of evil humanoids such as orcs, gnolls, and bugbears to aid them and guard their dark sanctums. They dream of power and conquest through violence and bloodshed.
A warrior of darkness is not usually subtle, nor is he barbaric. Instead, he is a chilling compromise of physical might and intelligent sophistication.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Warrior of Darkness, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any evil
- Skills: Craft (alchemy) 3 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks, Speak Language (Abyssal) or Speak Language (Infernal), Spellcraft 1 rank
- Feats: Iron Will,
- Base Attack Bonus: +5.
- Special: The character must endure a week of painful and scarring black magic rituals performed in solitude, the secrets of which take months to study and research successfully.
Class Skills
The warrior of darkness' class skills are Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Move Silently, Ride, and Spellcraft.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the warrior of darkness prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A warrior of darkness is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields.
Black Magic Oil (Su): A warrior of darkness can use his forbidden arcane arts to create a magic oil that he anoints himself with. An individual warrior of darkness makes oil that works only on him, and he can only make one dose of the oil each time this class feature is gained (at 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th level).
| Class Level + Cha Modifier | Ability/Effect |
| 2 or lower | Dweller in darkness; character gains the Blind-Fight feat. |
| 3-4 | Demonic celerity; character gains the Combat Reflexes feat. |
| 5-6 | Ensorcelled flesh; character's natural armor bonus improves by +1. |
| 7-8 | Hellpower; character gains +1 inherent bonus to Str, Con, or Dex. |
| 9 | Rapid step; character gains inherent +10 ft. bonus to speed. |
| 10 | Unholy strike; character gains the ability to deal +2d6 damage against good creatures 3/day |
| 11 or higher | Malign fury; character can take a full attack action in conjunction with a move or move-equivalent action usable 3 rounds per day. |
When he attains an appropriate level, the warrior of darkness creates a new black magic oil and anoints himself with it. He then chooses from the above list of supernatural abilities to imbue within himself permanently, picking a choice available to him based on his class level and Charisma modifier (the highest-numbered choice possible, or any lower one). A warrior of darkness cannot choose an ability more than once.
Darkling Weapon (Su): With 3 rounds of preparation (involving rituals and alchemical substances that cost 50 gp), a warrior of darkness can imbue any weapon with an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls. If the weapon already has an enhancement bonus, the warrior of darkness can instead imbue the weapon with any magical special quality that is the equivalent of a +1 bonus (see magic weaponsfor a list of weapon qualities). The bonus or special quality only functions when the weapon is in the hands of the warrior of darkness, and it lasts 1 hour per warrior of darkness level. The warrior can imbue only one special quality in a weapon at a time.
Black Magic Elixir (Su): At 3rd level, a warrior of darkness can use his knowledge of black magic and alchemy to create a magical elixir that he then imbibes. An individual warrior of darkness makes elixir that works only on him, and he can only make one dose of the elixir each time this class feature is gained (at 3rd, 6th, and 9th level).
When he creates an elixir, the warrior of darkness chooses from the following list of supernatural abilities to imbue within himself permanently, picking a choice available to him based on his class level and Charisma modifier. No ability other than violent knowledge may be chosen more than once.
| Class Level + Cha Modifier | Ability/Effect |
| 3 or lower | Violent knowledge; character gains bonus feat from list below. |
| 4-6 | Aura of evil; character gains +1 deflection bonus to Armor Class. |
| 7-8 | Inner hellpower, character gains +1 inherent bonus to Int, Wis, or Cha. |
| 9 | Dark senses; character gains the tremorsense ability (can sense location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground). |
| 10 or higher | Demonic wings; character can use the spell demon wings 1/day cast at the character's warrior of darkness level. |
| Violent Knowledge Feat List: Bull Rush, Cleave, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Expertise, Far Shot, Great Cleave, Improved Critical*, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Ride-By Attack, Shot on the Run, Spirited Charge, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist, Sunder, Trample, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse*, Weapon Focus*, Weapon Specialization*, Whirlwind Attack. | |
| A character can select feats marked with an asterisk (*) more than once, but it must be for a different weapon each time. Characters must still meet all prerequisites for a feat, including ability scores and base attack bonus. | |
Scarred Flesh (Su): Through ritual scarification, a 5th-level warrior of darkness gains damage reduction 5/+3.
Repellent Flesh (Su): Through ritual, obscene tattooing, an 8th-level warrior of darkness gains spell resistance 20.
| Warrior Of Darkness | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Black magic oil |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Darkling weapon |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Black magic elixir |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Black magic oil |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Scarred flesh |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Black magic elixir |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Black magic oil |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Repellent flesh |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Black magic elixir |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Black magic oil |
Source: Book of Vile Darkness
Older Prestige class adapted to 3.5