Prestige Classes

THRALL OF DEMOGORGON

The thrall of Demogorgon is a perversion of his race, a lunatic murderer at best, and unfortunately frequently something far worse. These are men and monsters who have accepted the demonic so wholly into their being that they can no longer be counted as members of their original races; they have given themselves, body, mind, and soul, to the very thing the Abyss holds most dear. They often serve as leaders or champions for cults of the Prince of Demons, yet the thrall of Demogorgon works just as well on his own, when he has no distractions to take his mind away from the depravities it feeds upon. Worshipers of Demogorgon often partake of drug-fueled violent orgies or mass murders, all in the name of the Prince of Demons. One of the most disturbing of these rituals is the Feast of the Self, in which a prospective thrall of Demogorgon most offer himself to a conjured demon, allowing the demon to use his body for whatever nameless lusts that demon desires. This portion of the ritual damages the participant's body and mind, dealing 1d6 points of Constitution and Charisma damage. When over, the demon rewards the hopeful thrall by opening the participant's skull with a claw and scooping out a small portion of brain. The demon eats the brain matter and then regurgitates it into the aspirant's mouth for consumption. This results in another 1d4 points of Constitution damage and 2d6 points of Intelligente drain (which is typically restored at a later date via restoration). In this manner, by devouring one's own brain (symbolizing the split in Demogorgon's own mind), an initiate becomes a thrall of Demogorgon. Many do not survive this ritual, but those who do have open to them a powerful prestige class indeed. Multiclass characters are quite common as thralls of Demogorgon, if only because the Prince of Demons appreciates their versatility and the splitting of their skills along often disparate talents and traits. Combat-oriented characters, such as barbarians, fighters, and rangers, make particularly dangerous thrall of Demogorgon, as their staying power and focus on warfare meshes well with the powerful gifts granted to those who take levels in this prestige class. Yet there is certainly a lure for spellcasters as well, particularly those who wish to augment failing bodies or other physical deficiencies.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

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

Alignment: Chaotic evil.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Skills: Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks, Knowledge (any other) 2 ranks.

Feats: Thrall to Demon (Demogorgon), Willing Deformity.

Special: Must be able to cast 1st-level spells or sneak attack +1d6.

Special: A thrall of Demogorgon must be initiated in a horrific rite known as the Feast of the Self (see above).

Class Skills

The thrall of Demogorgon's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: The Thrall of Demogorgon

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the thrall of Demogorgon prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Thralls of Demogorgon are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with all shields (except the tower shield).

Bonus Feat or Spellcasting: When a thrall of Demogorgon attains 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th level, his spellcasting level increases by +1 and he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class, or else he gains a bonus feat of his choice. If the thrall chooses to increase his spellcasting level, he does not gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. The thrall may choose the bonus feat at one opportunity and the spellcasting level the next time the decision arises, or vice versa. The thrall must meet all of the prerequisites of the bonus feat before he takes it.

Scaly Flesh (Ex): A thrall of Demogorgon gains dark, scaly flesh that increases natural armor bonus by +1. This bonus increases by an additional +1 every three levels beyond 1st.

Hypnosis (Su): Once per day, a thrall of Demogorgon can produce an effect identical to that of the hypnotism spell, except it functions as a gaze attack with a range of 30 feet. The Will save to resist this effect is 10 + class level + Charisma modifier.

Touch of Fear (Su): Three times per day, a thrall of Demogorgon of 2nd level or higher can cause a creature he strikes with a touch attack to become frightened for 1d4 rounds. A successful Will save negates the fear, but the creature is shaken for 1 round. The Will save to resist this effect is 10 + class level + Charisma modifier.

Reaching Touch (Su): Three times per day, a 3rd-level thrall of Demogorgon can cause his arms to stretch unnaturally like tentacles, providing him an extra 5 feet of reach for 1 round.

Dual Actions (Su): Twice per day, a 4th-level thrall of Demogorgon can take two full rounds' worth of actions in the same round.

Summon Demon (Sp): A 5th-level thrall of Demogorgon can summon a demon of 5 HD or less once per day. This ability is the equivalent of 4th-level spell. Once per day, a 9th-level thrall of Demogorgon can summon a demon of 10 HD or less. This ability is the equivalent of a 7th-level spell. This functions as a summon monster spell cast by a 15th level caster.

Rotting Touch (Su): Three times per day, a thrall of Demogorgon can deal 1d6 points of Constitution damage as a touch attack.

Two Personas (Ex): An 8th-level thrall of Demogorgon develops a multiple personality disorder that has the side effect of allowing the character to multiclass freely with no experience point penalties. In addition, whenever the character is subjected to a mind-affecting attack that allows a saving throw, he makes two saving throws. Both saving throws must fail in order for tbe mind-affecting effect to affect him.

Death Touch (Su): At 8th level, a thrall of Demogorgon can use an effect identical to that of slay living once per day. The Fortitude save DC to avoid death is 10 + class level + Charisma modifier.

Demogorgon's Will (Sp): A 10th-level thrall of Demogorgon can call upon the Prince of Demons once per day to be granted a limited wish. The use of this ability requires 3 full rounds devoted to entreaties and prayers to Demogorgon before the limited wish is granted.