"People change."

-Torgar Coalhair, enlightened spirit

Although the fiendish origins of the warlock's power can't be denied, he need not fully embrace the darkness. Some warlocks start down the fiendish path, then repent and turn toward the light. Such rare individuals are called enlightened spirits.

BECOMING AN ENLIGHTENED SPIRIT

Only good-aligned warlocks can take this prestige class. Enlightened spirits lose the flexibility to choose invocations but instead gain specific, powerful invocations to use in the fight against evil.

PLAYING AN ENLIGHTENED SPIRIT

You're living proof that anyone can change, regardless of where he begins. You began as an arcane magician with a fiendish heritage, but you had a change of heart and chose the path of good over evil.

Your new life is rewarding, but you still walk a difficult path. Good people sometimes have trouble trusting you if they realize what you once were, and evil folk consider you a traitor to your former ideals. Temptation to return to your old ways is everywhere, and will be until you die. But you have come this far, and you know you can overcome your past.

Combat

Your eldritch blast is your best weapon in combat, so use it as much as you can. Your invocations can also prove useful for confounding enemies and altering the effects of your blasts. You need to stay reasonably close to the action so that your auras can scare away enemies and aid allies. Still, you're not as tough as a fighter or even a cleric, so you can stay in the front line for only a short time. You should be sure that you have a good position to which you can retreat and fire your eldritch blasts while your comrades cover you.

Advancement

You were born with a fiendish legacy that gave you eldritch powers, which you exploited for personal gain. As you became more powerful, you wholeheartedly embraced your heritage further, using your warlock's powers as you saw fit.

But at some point, you realized the error of your ways. You saw the harm your actions caused, and you decided to abandon your fiendish legacy and turn over a new leaf. Since then, you have used your powers to help others and to fight for the cause of good. Your change of heart has paid off in new powers that help you stay on the path of righteousness.

No special organization exists to support you, since so few other warlocks ever see the light. But you stick close to good churches and avoid evil companions.

Keep your Charisma score high to ensure that you can use your special abilities to best effect. Sense Motive is a good skill to keep maximized, as is Knowledge (the planes), since you have your sights fixed on a celestial goal. You can still benefit from all the feats that improve your eldritch blast, plus any combat-oriented feats focusing on weapons that you can use.

Resources

Since you have no organization of like-minded individuals to support you, you must depend on those to whom you provide aid for return favors. Good-aligned churches are your best resources - you can ask them for healing, references, aid against your detractors, and even the loan of the occasional magic item. Paladins can also be helpful, especially for convincing others of your innate goodness. Finally, communities to which you have rendered aid can provide you with food and shelter, aid in defense, and a variety of services.

ENLIGHTENED SPIRITS IN THE WORLD

"He says he's seen the light. But once a hellspawn, always a hellspawn, I say."

-Arilus Gendor, innkeeper

An enlightened spirit can add plenty of interest to a campaign focused on arcane magic, especially if your PCs are already familiar with warlocks. The concept that a warlock can transcend his innate fiendish nature and gain celestial powers should make characters a bit more cautious about painting every warlock with the same brush. The classic misdirection in which the PCs are sent after a known warlock and discover instead a force for the cause of good is an excellent turnabout and one that should make them cautious about being overly trusting of employers. Alternatively, an enlightened spirit can be presented as an ally for one of the PCs' missions, or someone who needs help from the PCs to prove his own beneficent nature.

Organization

Enlightened spirits have no organization of their own, primarily because few warlocks choose to pursue the path of light. Thus, they walk their paths alone, except for the friends and allies they make along the way.

However, an enlightened spirit might attach himself for a time to a temple or an organization of good-aligned individuals. Such an association is usually quite productive, since the organization gains the incredible powers of the enlightened spirit, and he gains the support and public backing of an organization of like-minded individuals.

An enlightened spirit spends much of his time in the study of other planes, in pursuit of his celestial goal. He also trains with weapons and practices combat tactics that he can use to stay close enough to his allies to protect them while still avoiding as much damage as possible.

The church or other organization with which an enlightened spirit is affiliated might send him on missions to aid towns under siege, assist those battling the forces of darkness, or retrieve sacred items that have been lost for centuries. As he progresses in the class, he might go out on his own in search of causes worthy of his aid. He spends much of this period adventuring in the company of good-aligned characters.

NPC Reactions

Most people have little knowledge of the differences between arcane casters and treat them all with either indifference or hostility, depending on their past experiences. Those who know what warlocks are and have a chance to see an enlightened spirit use his eldritch blast treat him as they would a warlock - with an unfriendly or even hostile attitude if they are good, or with a friendly or helpful attitude if they are evil.

The attitude of an evil person shifts rapidly to unfriendly or hostile as soon as the enlightened spirit's true nature is revealed, but a good-aligned person takes longer to accept the enlightened spirit's good heart. Some proof - how much depends on the person - is usually required, and even then the attitude shifts only one step for each piece of evidence.

ENLIGHTENED SPIRIT LORE

Characters who have ranks in Knowledge (arcana) or the bardic knowledge ability can research enlightened spirits to learn more about them. When a character makes a successful skill check or bardic knowledge check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs.

DC 10: Some spellcasters who gain their powers from fiendish sources manage to turn to the light.

DC 15: An enlightened spirit is a warlock who has turned his back on his fiendish legacy and embraced the path of good.

DC 20: An enlightened spirit uses his eldritch blast to combat evil. He can even grow wings!

DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about a specific enlightened spirit in your campaign, the areas where he operates, and the kinds of activities he undertakes.

A PC looking for an enlightened spirit can attempt a DC 30 Gather Information check in any area where warlocks are active, or at large, good-aligned churches, to gain contact information. Even so, it might be necessary to travel a fair distance to actually find an enlightened spirit, because they are so rare.

ENLIGHTENED SPIRITS IN THE GAME

Enlightened spirits are uncommon enough that they can be introduced at any time as though they had always existed. Alternatively, the enlightened spirit you introduce might very well be the first your campaign world has seen. An enlightened spirit is likely to be an ally to a PC party, but he could also be an adversary if the PCs tend toward evil or are engaged in a mission on behalf of evil forces - knowingly or not.

An enlightened spirit is a great choice for players who are intrigued by the warlock but unwilling to embrace his fiendish legacy. Because these characters are likely to draw suspicion from both good and evil NPCs, they can generate a number of roleplaying opportunities. However, be sure the enlightened spirit character has some support in the game, since constantly justifying himself can get old fast. Also, make sure you provide opportunities for the PC enlightened spirit to vanquish evil so that he can earn the trust of other important NPCs - and possibly his own party, too.

Adaptation

Although an enlightened spirit is designed as a good version of a warlock, it could also be used in the opposite way - as a prestige class for good characters who fall into evil ways. Simply reverse the alignment-specific features of the entry requirements and class features and recast the character according to the blackguard model.

Sample Encounter

The PCs could encounter an enlightened spirit at a goodaligned church or on a mission for such an organization. Alternatively, they could find one held captive by evil forces and in need of rescue.

EL 10: Torgar Coalhair (LG male dwarf warlock 5/enlightened spirit 5) has been seeking an evil warlock with whom he trained many years ago because his old acquaintance has been making a power play to gain control of a mid-sized town. He plans to offer the individual a chance to convert to good as he has done. But the PCs are also on the trail of the evil warlock, and their mission is to kill him. They might try to slay Torgar as well, or he might become their ally in the quest. If he does, he tries to convince them to spare the man long enough for him to make his offer - an action that may rouse their suspicions.