Prestige Classes

RAVAGER

Feared by many and understood by few, the infamous ravager is an individual who has dedicated himself to the service of Erythnul, deity of slaughter. Living a life of violence and savagery, the ravager seeks to spread this deity’s malignant influence wherever he goes, never resting long in one place, lest the forces of good and law pursue him. Ravagers who come from the ranks of fighters and barbarians find that the ravager’s offensive capabilities enhance their combat skills, while wizard, sorcerer, cleric, and druid ravagers find that their ability to cause terror in their foes is a very useful defensive measure. Ravagers spend much of their time with others of their kind, roaming the land in small, close-knit warbands, striking unsuspecting communities without warning, and retiring back into the wilderness to plan their next terrible raid. Sometimes the clergy of Erythnul commands a lone ravager to undertake some mission or project that obliges the ravager to join up with other individuals, but such alliances are usually temporary and must be managed carefully, lest they lead to quarrels or worse. NPC ravagers are usually encountered in small warbands of from two to six individuals, but sometimes a lone ravager may be encountered when undertaking a special mission. All ravagers are readily identified by the bizarre and fearsome facial tattoos they wear to mark themselves as Erythnul’s instruments.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a ravager, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Alignment: Chaotic evil or neutral evil.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Intimidate 3 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 3 ranks, Survival 4 ranks.

Feats: Improved Sunder, Power Attack.

Special: Must survive the ravager initiation rites (see the sidebar).

Class Skills

The ravager's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), and Ride (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Ravager

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the ravager prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ravagers gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Pain Touch (Su): Erythnul teaches that life is pain, and so is the touch of a ravager. A ravager can make an unarmed touch attack that deals 1d8 points of damage + 1 point per ravager level. Weapon attacks also transmit the pain of Erythnul, but only at the rate of 1d4 extra points of damage + 1 point per ravager level. The ravager can make one additional pain touch attack for every three levels beyond 1st.

Aura of Fear (Su): Enemies within 10 feet of a ravager of 2nd level or higher take a –2 morale penalty on all saving throws for as long as they remain within range. This ability is usable a number of times per day as given on the table. Each use lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the ravagers Charisma modifier. The range of this aura increases at 5th level to 20 feet, and then again at 8th level to 30 feet.

Cruelest Cut (Ex): When a ravager reaches 3rd level, his familiarity with pain and fear grant him a cruel precision with his melee attacks. The character must declare he is making a cruelest cut attempt before he makes a melee attack (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). If he strikes successfully, he deals ld4 points of Constitution damage to the target, in addition to any other damage the attack may cause. A ravager can use cruelest cut once per day for every three levels he has attained, but may only make one cruelest cut attempt per round.

Visage of Terror (Sp): A 10th-level ravager has plumbed the true depths of horror and hopelessness. Once per day, he can trigger a spell-like ability similar to the arcane spell phantasmal killer (save DC 10 + the ravager’s class level + the ravager’s Cha bonus) as a standard action. To the foe the ravager selects, he seems to take on the visage of what the target fears most. In all other respects, this ability functions as the spell described in the Player’s Handbook.

RAVAGER RITES

Individual ravagers are often perceived as dangerous loners but, in actuality, each belongs to a tight-knit warband. The initiation of a potential ravager into a warband (and into the prestige class) is brutally violent.

When a prospective member approaches a warband and makes his intention to join known, the ravagers’ standard tactic involves attacking him en masse. The warband’s lowest-ranked members (usually anywhere between six to sixteen warriors, rogues, or fighters with individual levels between 2nd and 6th) come out first and try their best to kill the newcomer. Should the newcomer survive an arbitrary period of time (usually between 3 and 10 rounds, depending on how well the newcomer appears to be fighting and the cruelty or interest of the warband’s leader), he is allowed to join the warband.

Should the newcomer actually want to progress in the ravager prestige class, he must undergo a second rite: the fire sacrifice. The candidate waits on his knees, praying to Erythnul (or a similar deity) to fill his heart with hate and malice. Other members of the warband acquire a suitable sacrificial victim (preferably human, but in a pinch any humanoid will do). The would-be ravager must sacrifice the victim in accordance with the unholy rites of the deity, which always involve bloodletting followed by burning the sacrifice alive. Following this cruel and horrific act, the warband applies a distinctively repulsive set of tattoos to the applicant’s face that forever marks him as a true ravager. Once the ceremony is complete, the only way to leave the warband is to die.