Prestige Classes

THRALL OF ZUGGTMOY

Thralls of Zuggtmoy are horrid to behold - often emaciated and always encrusted with fungal growths, these cultists adorn their bodies with blue coiling tattoos. They take the worship of their foul queen to the extreme and treat their own bodies as their most sacred altar. The closer their bodies grow to resemble that of their Queen, the closer they are to purity. A thrall of Zuggtmoy generally doesn't lead a cult but is often looked to as a prophet or oracle by such groups. One particularly loathsome ritual that cults of Zuggtmoy force their prisoners to take part in is the Final Feast. Those who hope to become a thrall of Zuggtmoy must voluntarily take part in (and survive) this feast, without the protection of spells like neutralize poison. These individuals are usually allowed to use magic to enhance their Fortitude saving throws, but sacrifices are denied this luxury. Creatures naturally immune to poison already are considered blessed by the Queen of Fungi and do not need to undertake this deadly ritual. The Final Feast ritual consists of a five-course meal served upon a warped table of wood made from the coffin lids of those murdered by Zuggtmoy's cultists. The five courses of the Final Feast (and the attendant dangers) are as follows. Each course takes 5 minutes to complete. * A large stein of bitter ale brewed from striped toadstool (Fort DC 11; 1 Wis/2d6 Wis + 1d4 Int), served warm. * A platter of boiled id moss (Fort DC 12; 1d4 Int/2d6 Int). Boiling the moss slightly lowers the normal save DC for the poison, but enhances its vile taste. * A bowl of chilled soup made of slime mold and rotting mushrooms laced with terinav root (Fort DC 16; 1d6 Dex/2d6 Dex). * The main course consists of a single violet fungus tentacle glazed with various noxious molds and mildew (Fort DC 14; 1d4 Str plus 1d4 Con/1d4 Str plus 1d4 Con). * Finally, dessert consists of a small stack of phycomid stalks served in a thick, bitter black syrup made from basidirond sap and sprinkled with yellow mold spores (Fort DC 15; 1d6 Con/1d6 Con). A victim who survives the Final Feast and remains conscious wins the right to be returned to the cult's prison and left to starve to death. Those who succumb but do not die are faced with a far more horrifying fate - Zuggtmoy's Cradle. This disturbing method of sacrifice involves burying a helpless victim in a shallow grave in a bog. Often, the victim is bound with rope made from his own hair; in cases where the victim's hair isn't long enough, some cultists have taken to stitching the flesh of the victim's arms and legs together. Once a victim is placed in a shallow grave in the bog (the "cradle") he is fitted with a mask similar to those worn by the cultists themselves, only this one is affixed with a long leather tube. The victim is then buried under a layer of sod and peat so that only the tube protrudes from the grave. This tube allows the victim to breathe, and cultists visit daily to pour spore-laden gruel into the tube to give the victim nourishment. This gruel has the unfortunate side effect of growing into pallid fungi and mushrooms inside the victim's body. Someone force fed within Zuggtmoy's Cradle takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage per day until he dies. Until then, his hoarse screams, distorted by the breathing tube, can last for hours at a time. Cultists are careful to only select the most remote locations for their cradles as a result. Druids and rangers make the best thralls of Zuggtmoy, although clerics with access to the Plant domain can do well as thralls. Other spellcasting classes can become thralls of Zuggtmoy, but they often have to research or create spells relating to fungus in order to prove their devotion to the Queen of Fungi before one of her cults accepts the character for a Final Feast.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

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

Alignment: Chaotic evil.

Base Fort Save: +6.

Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks, Survival 8 ranks.

Feats: Any one metamagic feat, Thrall to Demon (Zuggtmoy).

Special: Ability to cast at least three spells or use spell-like abilities that are associated with plants or fungi, one of which must be 3rd-level. (A list of such spells appears in Fungus Magic, below) Druids and rangers automatically meet these qualifications by the time they can cast 3rd-level spells.

Special: Must survive a Final Feast (as previously described) or must possess immunity to poison.

Class Skills

The thrall of Zuggtmoy's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Thrall of Zuggtmoy

Class Features

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

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Thralls of Zuggtmoy gain no proficiency with weapons or armor.

Infestation (Su): When a character becomes a thrall of Zuggtmoy her body becomes infested with abyssal spores and fungoid parasites. She takes on an unhealthy pallor, her hair becomes stringy and nasty (and often starts falling out), her eyes grow sunken, and her breathing becomes thick and phlegmatic. The changes in her body increase as she gains levels, until she finally transforms into a creature made entirely from fungus at 10th level.

These changes make it difficult for a thrall of Zuggtmoy to interact with most societies in a non-confrontational manner. She takes a penalty equal to her thrall level on all Charisma-based skill checks made when interacting with nonevil creatures as a result.

This infestation has its benefits, though, in that it bolsters and augments the thrall's physical body. A thrall of Zuggtmoy gains 2 bonus hit points per level. She also casts all spells in the fungus magic category (see below) at +1 caster level, and saving throw DCs to resist these spells gain a +1 bonus.

Immunities (Ex): As she gains levels, a thrall of Zuggtmoy's body becomes increasingly transformed into fungoid material. At 1st level, she becomes immune to nausea and can no longer be sickened or nauseated. At 3rd level, she cannot be stunned and is immune to sleep effects. At 5th level, she becomes immune to all forms of disease. At 7th level, she becomes immune to poison. Finally, at 9th level, she becomes immune to mind-affecting attacks.

Spore Mastery (Su): At 2nd level (and then again every even-numbered thrall level thereafter) a thrall of Zuggtmoy gains increased control over the demonic spores that infest her body. She can use these spores as an additional material component when casting any spell listed in Fungus Magic. Utilizing spores in this manner is a free action. A thrall of Zuggtmoy has a number of spore "uses" equal to her thrall level. These spores are replenished daily. By using her spores, the thrall can spontaneously augment a fungus spell with a metamagic feat without increasing the spell's effective level. She spends a number of doses equal to the amount the metamagic feat would normally increase a spell's level. For example, to cast entangle as a quickened spell, she would spend 4 of her daily spore uses - the entangle spell itself need not have been prepared as a 5th-level spell. If a thrall of Zuggtmoy ever uses all of her spore uses for a day, she becomes fatigued.

Raise the Rotten (Su): At 4th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy learns how to infuse undead she creates with fungus. Any undead she creates with a spell, supernatural ability, or magic item gains a +2 bonus to Strength and a +2 bonus to its natural armor.

Zuggtmoy's Caress (Su): At 6th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy has proven her devotion to the Queen of Fungi. The thrall receives a vision on the first night after she gains 6th level in the form of an erotic dream of Zuggtmoy. When the thrall awakens, she discovers her fungoid body has grown more vibrant and hale, but at a cost. She gains a +2 bonus to any one of her ability scores, but must reduce two different ability scores by 1. These alterations have no type and are permanent. If the thrall of Zuggtmoy ever loses enough levels to become a 5th-level or lower thrall, she loses the +2 bonus to her ability score but does not regain the penalties to her other abilities.

Feast on the Fallen (Su): At 8th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy can draw sustenance from the dead body of any aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, plant, or vermin. She must touch the body and spend a full-round action to activate this ability - doing so provokes attacks of opportunity.

At the start of the next round, the body decays away into corruption and stain, and the thrall of Zuggtmoy receives the benefit of the death knell spell and regains a number of hit points equal to 2d8 + 1/Hit Die of the creature feasted upon.

A thrall of Zuggtmoy may feast on the fallen once per day.

Zuggtmoy's Embrace (Su): The first night after attaining 10th level, the thrall of Zuggtmoy receives another vision similar to the one she experienced at 6th level, although this vision is much more intense and incorporates the complete destruction and re-creation of her physical body within Zuggtmoy's fungal womb.

When the thrall awakens, she has transformed. Her type changes to Plant, and she immediately gains all the traits of this type. She also gains the Extraplanar subtype when not on the Abyss and damage reduction 5/good.

Fungus Magic

The following spells comprise the various spells of fungus magic that thralls of Zuggtmoy are expected to learn and master. The DM might add similar spells from other sources to this list as he sees fit.

1st Level - animate wood, backbiter, beget bogun, detect animals or plants, entangle, goodberry, shillelagh, vine strike, wood wose;

2nd Level - brambles, snare (ranger), speak with plants (ranger), spike growth (ranger), tree shape (druid), warp wood, wood shape;

3rd Level - briar web, command plants (ranger), diminish plants, entangling staff (druid), plant growth, snare (druid), speak with plants (druid), spike growth (druid), spikes, thornskin, tree shape (ranger);

4th Level - antiplant shell, blight (druid), command plants (druid/plant domain), commune with nature (ranger), entangling staff (sorcerer/wizard), hallucinatory terrain, speak with plants (bard), tree stride (ranger);

5th Level - awaken, blight (sorcerer/wizard), commune with nature (druid/animal domain), tree stride (druid), wall of thorns, wood rot;

6th Level - fire seeds, ironwood, liveoak, repel wood, transport via plants;

7th Level - animate plants, changestaff, poison vines, transmute metal to wood;

8th Level - control plants, horrid wilting, mass awaken, polymorph any object;

9th Level - shambler, unyielding roots.