General Prestige Class : Divine Prankster
While many gnome clerics follow the teachings of Garl Glittergold, a few have such great devotion to the Prankster God that they stand apart from others among his clergy. These individuals embrace Garl's methods of teaching through harmless object lessons and dedicate their lives to acting as his agents in the world. While some wonder whether devotion to the Prankster God or a wicked sense of humor actually drives these self-titled "pranksters," none can deny the potent abilities they exercise in their quest for the perfect educational prank.
Multiclass cleric/bards make up the majority of pranksters. Other classes sometimes follow this path, but only after serving among the clergy of Garl Glittergold's church for a time, learning how to minister to the spiritual needs of others.
NPC divine pranksters love to try their tricks on adventurers and other visitors to gnome communities. Seeing how a newcomer reacts to a prank is one of the best ways to test her mettle. Those who react with rage or violence quickly find themselves unwelcome among the gnomes, who tend to dislike anyone who can't take a joke. Those who appreciate the humor behind a prank - or who find a clever and humorous way to retaliate - can earn much respect from other divine pranksters and gnomes in general.
Adaptation: The divine prankster prestige class combines features of both the bard and the cleric, allowing a multiclass bard/cleric to be as effective as his single-class counterparts. With slight changes, the class is suitable for non-gnome PCs, especially clerics who worship deities of trickery or humor.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Divine Prankster, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Gnome
- Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Perform (comedy) 8 ranks, Sleight of Hand 8 ranks.
- Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level divine spells.
- Special: The character must be a worshiper of Garl Glittergold.
Class Skills
The divine prankster's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Heal, Hide, Knowledge (religion), Listen, Perform, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the divine prankster prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Divine pranksters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each level, a divine prankster gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, metamagic or item creation fears, and so on). If he had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a divine prankster, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Comedic Performance: Once per day per class level, a divine prankster can use his comedy to produce magical effects on those around him. Each ability requires a minimum divine prankster level, and some require a minimum number of ranks in Perform (comedy) to qualify.
If a divine prankster has bard levels, he can add his bard levels to his divine prankster levels to determine the number of daily uses of his comedic performance.
Inspire Courage (Su): A divine prankster can use his comedic performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the prankster perform. The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the prankster perform and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. Inspire courage is a mindaffecting ability.
A divine prankster's ability to inspire courage doesn't normally improve with level. However, if a divine prankster already has this ability from another class (such as from bard levels), add together his class levels from all classes that grant this ability and compare the total to Bard to determine the morale bonus granted by this ability. For example, a 2nd-level bard/3rd-level cleric/6th-level divine prankster would grant a +2 morale bonus on the appropriate rolls.
Enrage Enemies (Su): A divine prankster of 5th level or higher with 13 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) can use his comedic talents to enrage one or more creatures. Each creature to be enraged must be within 90 feet, able to see or hear the divine prankster, and able to pay attention to him. The divine prankster must also be able to see the creature. The distraction of a nearby combat or other dangers does not prevent the ability from working, but grants the creature a +4 bonus on its Will save to resist the effect. A divine prankster can target one creature per three class levels with this ability.
To use the ability, a divine prankster makes a Perform (comedy) check. His check result is the DC for each affected creature's Will save against the ability. If a creature's saving throw succeeds, the divine prankster cannot attempt to enrage that creature again for 24 hours. If its saving throw fails, the creature focuses its attention on the divine prankster, making melee attacks against him each round (or closing with the divine prankster if melee attacks are nor yet possible). If the creature can't attack or approach the divine prankster, it stands in place, screaming in futile anger.
An enraged foe gains a +2 morale bonus on its attack rolls and damage rolls against the divine prankster, but takes a -4 penalty to its AC while enraged. The effect lasts as long as the divine prankster continues to perform and concentrate (up to a maximum of 1 round per divine prankster level), if the creature is attacked or injured by the divine prankster or his allies, the effect ends (for that creature only). Alternatively, an ally of the affected creature can spend a standard action to attempt to break it free of its rage; doing this grants the creature a new saving throw with a +2 bonus. Enrage enemies is an enchantment (charm), mind-affecting ability.
Killing Joke (Su): A 10th-level divine prankster with 18 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) has learned the secret of the killing joke. The divine prankster must concentrate and perform for 3 consecutive rounds to set up a killing joke. He must be able to see his potential victim, and his potential victim must be able to hear and understand him for this period.
During the first round, the prankster's prattle seems only annoying and harmless. in the second round, the target can attempt a Sense Motive check, opposed by the prankster's Perform (comedy) check, to recognize the potential danger of the act. A target who stops up his ears or otherwise renders himself incapable of hearing the divine prankster (typically requiring a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity) is immune to the effect.
After the third round of comedic performance, the victim instantly dies unless he succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + the divine prankster's level + divine prankster's Cha modifier).
Killing joke is an enchantment (compulsion), language-dependent, mind-affecting ability.
Infuse Figment (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a divine prankster can expend a turn or rebuke undead attempt to infuse one of his illusion (figment) spells with a boost of extra realism. Doing this increases by 10 the Will save DC to recognize the figment as illusory. The save DC boost remains in effect for i hour or until the figment's duration has elapsed, whichever comes first.
Disguise Spell (Ex): From 3rd level on, a divine prankster knows how to disguise the somatic component of his spellcasting. He must still gesture to cast spells, butt these gestures appear to have no relation to casting a spell. This ability increases the Spellcraft check DC to identify the spell he is casting by 5, and if the Spellcraft check fails by 5 or more, the identifying character misidentifies the spell cast.
At 9th level and higher, a divine prankster also knows how to disguise the verbal component of his spellcasting. He must still speak to cast spells, butt he can work the verbal component of the spell to be cast into normal conversation or any other form of vocal communication. This ability increases the Spellcraft check DC to identify the spell he is casting by 5, and if the Spellcraft check fails by 5 or more, the identifying character misidentifies the spell cast. The divine prankster can use this ability in conjunction with his ability to disguise somatic components if he desires, thus increasing the Spellcraft check DC to identify one of his disguised spells by a total of 10.
Neither of these abilities makes a spell any less difficult to cast, nor do they eliminate the attacks of opportunity that spellcasting might provoke.
Zigzag (Ex): A divine prankster of 7th level or higher can deceive attackers into wasting their attacks. Once per round, when the divine prankster takes an action that would provoke attacks of opportunity, he can attempt a Bluff check as a free action. The divine prankster can use his Bluff check result as his AC against any attacks of opportunity incurred by his action.
| Divine Prankster | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Comedic performance, inspire courage | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Infuse figment | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Disguise spell (somatic) | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +4 | +4 | - | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Enrage enemies | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +5 | +5 | - | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Zigzag | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +6 | +6 | - | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Disguise spell (verbal) | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Killing joke | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
Source: Races of Stone