General Prestige Class : Follower Of The Skyserpent
A flash of bright color across the sky, a sweep of feathered wings, and a cry of reptilian fury herald the coming of justice. Evildoers glance over their shoulders at the sound, and their palms begin to sweat, for they know that the couatl has come at last to smite them. The few humanoids who venerate the couatl, or skyserpent, as it is sometimes called, share its drive to purge evil from the land.
Almost as fearsome and beautiful as the creatures they venerate, the followers of the skyserpent usually wear garments made from or decorated with brightly colored feathers. They regard all beings with good souls as allies and brethren. Perhaps more so than the members of any other mystery cult, they believe in proactive tactics designed to stop evil before it happens.
Driven by their hatred of evil and their desire to eradicate it, followers of the skyserpent frequently join forces to purge the world of spite and malice. Such groups, often called featherbands, are not unlike paladin orders in structure. Featherband members usually keep tallies of the villains they have defeated, scratching marks into their weapons, armor, or shields. The individual with the highest tally usually assumes leadership of the group.
Wizards and sorcerers often become followers of the skyserpent because they can retain some spellcasting advancement while gaining good saves and natural weapons. Clerics and paladins of the more militant good-aligned deities might also be drawn to the service of the couatl because the creature's goals and methods are so like their own.
Followers of the skyserpent can become powerful allies for PCs, although they tend to be overzealous. Should even one PC in an adventuring party fall short of the follower's high expectations, cooperation might terminate abruptly.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Follower of the Skyserpent, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Lawful good
- Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks
- Spellcasting: Ability to (last 2nd-level arcane or divine spells.
- Special: The candidate must have caught a villain red - handed and defeated (though not necessarily killed) him unaided. The character must then receive the blessing of a couatl for performing the deed.
Class Skills
The follower of the skyserpent's class skills are Bluff, Concentration, Gather Information, Heal, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, and Tumble.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the follower of the skyserpent prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A follower of the skyserpent gains no new weapon, armor, or shield proficiencies.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At every even-numbered follower of the skyserpent level, the character 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. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (metamagic or item creation feats, or the like). If the character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a follower of the skyserpent, the player must decide to which class to add each level for determining spells per day and spells known.
Poison Bite (Ex): At 1st level, the follower of the skyserpent grows poisonous fangs that enable him to bite as an attack action. His bite is a primary natural attack that deals 1d4 points of damage if he is Medium-size, or 1d2 points of damage if he is Small. This attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the follower of the skyserpent's foe. If the follower uses a full attack action, he can make normal weapon attacks and use his bite as a secondary natural attack at the standard -5 penalty. Any applicable Strength bonus on damage rolls is determined normally, depending on whether the bite was used as a primary or secondary attack.
The follower of the skyserpent delivers his poison (Fortitude save DC 10 + follower of the skyserpent level + Constitution modifier) with each successful bite attack. The initial damage is 1d4 points of Strength damage, and the secondary damage is 2d4 points of Strength damage.
Skybound (Sp): Beginning at 2nd level, the follower of the skyserpent can cast fly as a sorcerer of a level equal to the character's follower of the skyserpent level.
Eschew Materials: At 3rd level, the follower of the skyserpent gains Eschew Materials as a bonus feat, whether or not he meets the prerequisite.
Serpent's Tail (Ex): At 4th level, the follower of the skyserpent grows a long, snaking tail. He can use this appendage to constrict an opponent up to one size category larger than himself with a successful grapple check. This attack deals 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage plus one and one-half times his Strength bonus (if he has one), or his full Strength penalty (if his Strength score is below 10).
Couatl Apotheosis (Ex): At 5th level, the follower of the skyserpent sprouts feathery wings that grant him a fly speed of 60 feet (good maneuverability). His type changes to outsider, making him even more like the creature he venerates. He gains darkvision (60-foot range). Unlike most outsiders, a follower can be raised and resurrected as normal for the follower's former type.
| Follower Of The Skyserpent | Hit Die: d10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Poison bite | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Skybound | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Eschew Materials | - |
| 4th | +2 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Serpent's tail | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +2 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Couatl apotheosis | - |
Patron Deity: Ubtao.
One legend (which the members of Ubtao's cult believe) states that the god created the first dinosaurs after witnessing a couatl in action. Because of this, his followers of the skyserpent (or ruk'cho, as they call themselves) revere the couatl as a symbol of perfection and justice.
Source: Dragon #307