Faerûnian Prestige Class : Monk of the Long Death
Scattered across Faerûn, the monks of the long death are members of a macabre, secretive order of scholars seeking to understand the true nature of death. They do not care about the soul or the afterlife - only about the actual process of death, specifically its effects on living tissue. Their organization is strongest in Thay, but outposts are scattered throughout Faerûn, even in the Silver Marches.
Monks make up the majority of the candidates for this prestige class, but clerics of the dark gods of death (such as Velsharoon, Kiaransalee, and even the dead god Myrkul) are fairly common as well. Necromancers, assassins, and other characters who are fascinated with death round out the order's numbers.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Monk of the Long Death, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any non-good
- Skills: Craft (alchemy) 5 ranks, Craft (poisonmaking) 7 ranks, Heal 3 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks
- Will Save Bonus: +5
- Special: The candidate must he inducted into the monks of the long death via a secret ceremony consisting of various morbid and hideous acts designed to test his resolve.
Class Skills
The monk of the Long Death's class skills are Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Disguise, Forgery, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Profession, Speak Language, and Tumble.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the monk of the long death prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Monks of the long death gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield. Armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble, and double the normal armor check penalty applies to Swim checks.
Deathguard (Ex): At 1st level, the monk of the long death gains a +1 bonus on saving throws against death effects. This bonus increases by 1 at every odd-numbered level (to +2 at 3rd level, +3 at 5th level, +4 at 7th level, and +5 at 9th level).
Monk Abilities (Ex): A monk of the long death has the unarmed damage, AC bonus, and unarmored speed bonus of a monk whose level is equal to his monk of the long death level (see Monk. If he also has monk levels, his levels in the two classes stack for the purpose of determining these abilities.
Poison Use: Monks of the long death are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.
Macabre Shroud (Ex): Monks of the long death are disturbing and even frightening to most people, so those who see them tend to forget them as quickly as possible. When a monk of the long death reaches 2nd level, the DC of any Gather Information, bardic knowledge, or similar check made to learn about him increases by an amount equal to his monk of the long death level.
Death Knell (Sp): At 3rd level, a monk of the long death may use death knell once per day (caster level equals monk of the long death level).
Death Attack (Ex): At 6th level, the monk of the long death gains the ability to make a death attack. This ability functions like the assassin ability of the same name, except that the save DC is 10 + monk of the long death level + the monk of the long death's Int modifier.
If the monk of the long death also has the death attack ability from another class (such as assassin), levels of that class stack with his monk of the long death levels for the purpose of determining the save DC.
Death Touch (Su): Once per day, a 10th-level monk of the long death may make a death touch attack. This ability functions like the Death domain's granted power, except that the required die roll is 1d6 per monk of the long death level.
If the monk of the long death also has the death touch ability from another class (such as cleric), levels of that class stack with his monk of the long death levels for the purpose of determining the save DC.
| Monk of the Long Death | Hit Die: d8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Deathguard +1, monk abilities, poison use |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Macabre shroud |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Death knell, deathguard +2 |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | - |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Deathguard +3 |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Death attack |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Deathguard +4 |
| 8th | +6 | +2 | +6 | +6 | - |
| 9th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Deathguard +5 |
| 10th | +7 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Death touch |
Ex-Monks of The Long Death
Any monk of the long death who betrays the secrets of the order, or even attempts to leave the organization, immediately becomes the target of assassins. These assassins begin with a EL equal to the monk of the long death's character level (whether a single assassin of the same level, or several of lower levels), but each failed assassination attempt increases the EL of the next group sent out by 1. If the former monk of the long death survives an assassination attempt by a group with an EL 5 higher than his character level, the monks of the long death stop wasting their resources on him.
Epic Monk of the Long Death
Shrouded in an aura of death, the epic monk of the long death has achieved a level of peace with the concept of death that most mortals will never find.
Epic monks of the long death have most of the same options available to them as standard monks do, including a variety of ways to improve their unarmed combat ability, superior defenses, and speed. Monks of the long death who come from different backgrounds should consult the epic paths for their other classes for more options.
A monk of the long death needs to keep improving most of his ability scores. Since his death attack relies on his Intelligence score, Charisma is the only ability score that he shouldn't care too much about.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Death Attack: The save DC for this ability, increases by 1 for every two levels higher than 10th.
Deathguard: The epic monk of the long death's bonus on saving throws against death effects increases by 1 for every two levels higher than 9th (to +6 at 11th level, +7 at 13th level, +8 at 15th level, +9 at 17th level, and +10 at 19th level).
Bonus Feats: The epic monk of the long death gains a bonus feat, selected from the list below, for every four levels higher than 10th. He must meet any prerequisites for a feat in order to select it.
Epic Monk of the Long Death Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Blinding Speed, Damage Reduction, Energy Resistance, Epic Prowess, Epic Speed, Epic Toughness, Fast Healing, Improved Combat Reflexes, Keen Strike, Legendary Climber, Legendary Wrestler, Self-Concealment, Shattering Strike, Superior Initiative, Vorpal Strike.
| Epic Monk of the Long Death | Hit Die: d8 |
|---|---|
| CL | Special |
| 11th | Deathguard +6 |
| 12th | - |
| 13th | Deathguard +7 |
| 14th | Bonus feat |
| 15th | Deathguard +8 |
| 16th | - |
| 17th | Deathguard +9 |
| 18th | Bonus feat |
| 19th | Deathguard +10 |
| 20th | - |
Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn