Faerûnian Prestige Class : Yathrinshee

Because she is a goddess of undeath, Kiaransalee favors servants who combine their clerical mastery of the undead with arcane research into negative energy and necromancy. Yathrinshees, the elite ranks of Kiaransalee's priests, are powerful masters of necromantic magic, both arcane and divine.

In order to become a yathrinshee, a priestess must have access to both divine and arcane magic. Virtually all yathrinshees were clerics and wizards before adopting the prestige class, though a very few were sorcerers rather than wizards. Most are specialist necromancers rather than generalist wizards. The strict spellcasting requirements tend to keep members of other classes out of the yathrinshee class.

Yathrinshees are the leaders of Kiaransalee's secretive church wherever it is found. They lead Kiaransalee's followers in worship and also in pursuing the church's goals - plotting revenge against the enemies of their goddess, killing her foes, and animating them as undead.

Requirements

To qualify to become an Yathrinshee, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Class Skills

The yathrinshee's class skills are Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (all skills taken individually), Profession, Search, and SpellCraft.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are Class Features of the yathrinshee prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Yathrinshees 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.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: At 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th level, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in an arcane and a divine spellcasting class that she belonged to before she added the prestige class level. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic or item creation feats, and so on), except for an increased effective caster level. This essentially means that she adds the level of yathrinshee to the level of some other arcane and divine class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly. For example, a 5th-level cleric/3rd-level wizard who takes three levels in yathrinshee has the same access to spells as a 7th-level cleric and a 5th-level wizard. However, her wizard familiar doesn't gain any new abilities.

If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class or more than one divine spellcasting class before she became a yathrinshee, she must decide to which class she adds each level of yathrinshee for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.

Rebuke Undead (Su): The character's yathrinshee levels stack with her cleric levels for the purpose of rebuking or commanding undead. For example, a 5th-level cleric/3rd-level wizard/2nd-level yathrinshee rebukes undead as a 7th-level cleric.

Necromancer (Ex): The yathrinshee has unsurpassed power over death. When she casts spells from the school of necromancy, all her spellcaster levels stack for the purpose of determining her effective caster level. She does not gain higher-level spells any faster than normal or gain any additional spells per day, but the spells she casts are much more effective.

For example, a 5th-level cleric/3rd-level wizard/3rd-level yathrinshee has gained two effective level increases in both her cleric class and her wizard class, giving her the spellcasting ability of a 7th-level cleric and a 5th-level wizard. Thus, when she casts any necromancy spell, whether it is arcane or divine, her effective caster level is 12th (cleric 7th + wizard 5th).

Threnody (Su): Once per day, a yathrinshee of 2nd level or higher can sing a song of lament that can unnerve opponents who are engaged in combat with an undead creature. In effect, any undead within 30 feet of the yathrinshee gains a gaze attack identical to the unnerving gaze of a chain devil. Any creature that meets the yathrinshee's eyes must make a Will save (DC 10 + yathrinshee level + yathrinshee's Cha modifier) or take a -2 penalty on attack rolls for 1d3 rounds because it sees the faces of departed loved ones or bitter enemies.

If an undead creature actually is the animated corpse of a friend or companion of the yathrinshee's opponent, the save DC increases by 2 and the penalty is doubled (to -4).

Death Ward (Su): A yathrinshee of 4th level or higher is immune to death effects and negative energy as though protected by a death ward spell. An undead yathrinshee instead gains turn resistance +4. This benefit stacks with any existing turn resistance.

Curse of the Revenancer (Su): Any creature slain by a yathrinshee of 5th level or higher rises immediately as a zombie under her control.

Zone of Desecration (Su): At 7th level, the yathrinshee is continuously surrounded by a 20-foot-radius aura of negative energy. The effect is otherwise identical to that of the desecrate spell.

Keening (Su): At 10th level, the yathrinshee can keen once per day. This ability works like the wail of the banshee spell, except that it affects any number of creatures within a 30-foot-radius spread centered on the yathrinshee.

YathrinsheeHit Die: d4
CLBABFortRefWillSpecialSpells per Day
1st+0+0+0+2Necromancer, rebuke undead-
2nd+1+0+0+3Threnody+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
3rd+1+1+1+3-+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
4th+2+1+1+4Death ward-
5th+2+1+1+4Curse of the revenancer+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
6th+3+2+2+5-+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
7th+3+2+2+5Zone of desecration-
8th+4+2+2+6-+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
9th+4+3+3+6-+1 level of arcane and divine spellcasting class
10th+5+3+3+7Keening-

Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn

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