Underdark Prestige Class : Illithid Body Tamer
Illithids who embrace the Tamer Creed believe that military might is. the most important factor in their race's future mastery of the multiverse. These so-called body tamers seek to impose their will upon the Underdark primarily through martial force, forswearing diplomacy, tricks, and alliances. Body tamers believe so strongly in the importance of physical strength that they train themselves as warriors, not mentalists.
Illithid body tamers sacrifice some ability in the psionic arts for the advancement of their physical abilities. However, they believe that the acquisition of tangible martial ability is more than worth this price.
Adherents of the Tamer Creed maintain various martial facilities in the larger illithid cities of the Underdark. Within such sanctums, they discuss the philosophy of warfare, devise novel tactics in never-ending wargames, and train fervently in their art. Tamer facilities each contain a small arena where the body tamers practice their arts against expendable slaves.
Often, groups of illithid body tamers organize defense teams to fight off githzerai or githyanki hunting parties that appear suddenly, intent on mind flayer murder. These former thrall races continue to nurse an undying grudge against illithids, and the body tamers intend to be ready to protect their own.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Illithid Body Tamer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Illithid, illithidkin, or a creature with the half-illithid template.
- Feats: Great Fortitude, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (tentacle),
- Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Class Skills
The illithid body tamer's class skills are Climb, Craft (any), Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Jump, Knowledge (history), Listen, Ride, Spot, and Tumble.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Illithid body tamers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with all types of shields except tower shields.
Code of Mental Abstinence (Ex): Just as some humanoid cultures believe that celibacy enhances their spiritual powers, illithid body tamers believe that reliance on psionics weakens their hard-won physical abilities.
An abstinent illithid body tamer gains 10 temporary hit points, plus 4 temporary hit points per illithid body tamer level. If these hit points are lost to damage, the body tamer recovers them with 8 hours of rest. It also gains a +2 insight bonus on all melee damage rolls for tentacle and weapon attacks.
To be considered abstinent, the body tamer must not have used any of its psionic abilities (including mind blast, charm monster, detect thoughts, levitate, plane shift, and suggestion) within the last 24 hours. If it uses any of these abilities, it does not have access to any of its usual benefits for abstinence until 24 hours after its last use of such an ability.
An illithid body tamer is not slavishly devoted to its code. If using plane shift or mind blast is clearly in its best interest, then it does so, preferring to lose access to the benefits of abstinence than lose its life.
Strength of Arms (Ex): When making a full attack with both a manufactured weapon and its tentacles, an illithid body tamer may designate either its tentacles or its weapon as its primary attack. If its weapon is its primary attack, it strikes with the weapon at its highest base attack bonus (making multiple attacks if its base attack bonus is high enough), but a -2 penalty applies to each tentacle attack made that round. If its tentacles are its primary attack, they strike at its highest base attack bonus, but it can strike only once with its manufactured weapon, and a -2 penalty applies to that attack.
A body tamer using both weapon and tentacles can still withdraw the brains of foes with its tentacles as normal, whether or not the tentacles are its primary attack. However, it usually simply discards the brains and moves on to the next foe. Nourishment can wait.
Tentacle of Fate (Ex): When an illithid body tamer reaches 3rd level, its base tentacle damage increases from 1d4 to 1d6.
Improved Trip: At 4th level, the illithid body tamer gains Improved Trip as a bonus feat.
Improved Disarm (Ex): At 5th level, an illithid body tamer gains the use of the Improved Disarm feat when using its tentacles to perform the disarm action. It need not meet the normal prerequisites for the feat to use it in this way. The body tamer's tentacles are treated as a one-handed weapon for the purpose of disarm attempts.
Reaching Tentacle (Ex): When an illithid body tamer attains 6th level, its reach with its tentacles increases by 5 feet. This adjustment stacks with the additional reach provided by tentacle extensions (see Equipment and Magic Items), if such are in use.
Whirlwind Tentacle (Ex): At 7th level, an illithid body tamer gains the use of the Whirlwind Attack feat when using its tentacles to perform such an attack. It need not meet the normal prerequisites for the feat to use it in this way. Because of its multiple tentacles and reaching tentacle ability, it can make one attack against every creature in the area it threatens, instead of just every creature within 5 feet.
Tentacle of Destiny (Ex): When an illithid body tamer reaches 8th level, its base tentacle damage increases from 1d6 to 1d8.
Death Whirlwind (Su): At 10th level, an illithid body tamer psionically energizes its whirlwind tentacle ability with a death impulse once per day. When it uses this ability in combination with a whirlwind tentacle attack, every creature struck must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 15 + illithid body tamer's Con modifier) or die as if brought to -10 hit points. Constructs and undead are immune to this effect.
| Illithid Body Tamer | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Code of mental abstinence, strength of arms |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +0 | - |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Tentacle of fate |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Improved Trip |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Improved Disarm |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Reaching tentacle |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Whirlwind tentacle |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Tentacle of destiny |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +3 | - |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Death whirlwind |
Source: Underdark