General Prestige Class : Fiend-Blooded
"The power that flows through my veins was born of the Pit, but that power-like my soul-is my own to command." -Ariana Crattus, daughter of the Marquis Teresius Crattus of the House of Crattus
Every now and then, a fiend or half-fiend will find its way to the lands of the humanoid races and, in the guise of a mortal man or woman (or, in especially rare and gruesome cases, not), take a native mortal for its lover. Generations later, the mortal descendants of such a union occasionally display a natural talent for the arcane arts. Those who pursue magical study in earnest begin to feel a calling from deep within their flesh, whispering of the hidden power of their fiendish heritage. With careful exploration, such a spellcaster can slowly bring the power of that lineage to the surface, shaping it to his own purposes-to focus and empower his own magical advancement.
Clearly, the sorcerer is the shortest path to becoming one of the fiend-blooded, but bards can also qualify with ease. Both have Concentration and Knowledge (arcana) as class skills, and both can meet the spellcasting requirements before 6th level. Charisma (for spellcasting and dealing with those who look askance at permitting characters with fiendish heritage in their midst) and Intelligence (for the skills required) are the key abilities for a potential fiend-blooded.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Fiend-Blooded, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Any humanoid race (cannot already be a half-fiend)
- Alignment: Any non-good alignment
- Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks
- Feats: Blood Calls To Blood, Eschew Materials,
- Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells without preparation
Class Skills
The fiend-blooded's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), and Spellcraft.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The fiend-blooded bring aspects of their fiendish forebear to the surface as they advance in levels in this class. This sinister heritage gives them strength in specific areas and lends their spellcasting a decidedly fiendish edge.
Spellcasting: At each new fiend-blooded level except for 10th, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adopting the prestige class. You do not gain any other class benefit a member of that class would normally gain, except that your fiend-blooded levels also stack with any other arcane spellcaster levels for the purpose of determining familiar abilities. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a fiend-blooded, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.
Fiendish Companion: Your familiar benefits from your fiendish heritage. The fiendish template can be applied to your familiar, if you so desire. Since this is not possession but rather a sympathetic link, the familiar's alignment need not shift to evil.
Fiendish Heritage (Ex): You draw strength from your fiendish ancestor's essence as you gain increased mastery over your lineage.
At 1st level, a subtle toughening of your physical form grants you a +1 natural armor bonus to AC.
At 3rd level, you gain a +1 boost to your Charisma score.
At 5th level, you gain a +1 boost to your Intelligence score.
At 7th level, you gain a +1 boost to your Dexterity score.
At 9th level, you gain a +1 boost to your Constitution score.
Fiendish Sorcery: You gain insight into the power of your fiendish heritage, and this insight strengthens your spellcasting prowess. At 2nd level, and again at 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th level, add one additional spell to your spells known list. Each new spell must be of a level that you can cast but can be any spell having the fire descriptor or any spell from the schools of enchantment, illusion, or necromancy. Thus, you could add fireball (a fire spell) or speak with dead (a necromancy spell) to your 3rd-level spells known (even though you are an arcane caster and speak with dead is normally a divine spell), but not lightning bolt (which neither carries the fire descriptor nor belongs to one of the three specified schools).
Blood of Fiends (Ex): Upon reaching 3rd level, you gain a +1 bonus on saves against poison. You also reduce any damage taken from poison (whether hit point or ability damage) by 1 point.
Starting at 6th level, your fiendish essence grants you resistance to cold and fire 5. Upon reaching 9th level, you have unlocked much of the power of your fiendish lineage, gaining resistance to acid and electricity 5.
Smiting Spell (Su): If you are a fiend-blooded of at least 4th level, you can as a free action, once per day, invest a portion of your fiendish power into any damaging spell you cast. The resulting spell will deal an additional number of hit points of damage equal to your fiend-blooded class level + Charisma modifier to all within the spell's area.
Starting at 8th level, you can use smiting spell twice per day.
Fiendish Exaltation (Ex): At 10th level, you unlock the final secrets buried within your lineage. In addition to the ability boosts you gained from your fiendish heritage, you now gain an additional +1 to Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence, and +2 to Strength. You also gain complete immunity to poison, and damage reduction 10/magic.
| Fiend-Blooded | Hit Die: d4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Fiendish companion, fiendish heritage +1 AC | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Fiendish sorcery | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Blood of fiends +1 saves, fiendish heritage +1 Cha | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Fiendish sorcery, smiting spell 1/day | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Fiendish heritage +1 Int | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Blood of fiends cold/fire res. 5, fiendish sorcery | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Fiendish heritage +1 Dex | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Fiendish sorcery, smiting spell 2/day | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Blood of fiends acid/electricity res. 5, fiendish heritage +1 Con | +1 level of existing spellcasting class |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Fiendish exaltation, fiendish sorcery | - |
Fiend-Blooded Lore
Characters with Knowledge (the planes) or bardic lore can research the fiend-blooded to learn more about them.
- DC 10: Occasionally, fiends will come to the material plane and mate with humanoid partners.
- DC 15: The sorcerously inclined descendants of such a union sometimes display fiendish qualities.
- DC 20: The fiend-blooded are not fiends themselves, but mortals of great will who voluntarily explore their fiendish ancestry. In so doing, they can draw great power from it.
- DC 30: Marquis Teresius Crattus is one of the most powerful cambions, and his house grows strong despite the sheer willfulness of his only daughter, Ariana, and her cohorts.
Any spellcaster who witnesses a fiend-blooded's smiting spell in action can attempt a DC 20 Spellcraft check to discern that the character is more than likely one of the mysterious fiend-blooded. Anyone who otherwise witnesses something fiendish about the fiend-blooded can attempt a DC 25 Knowledge (the planes) or DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) check to gain the same knowledge.
Source: Heroes of Horror