Sorrow Blade (3.5e Prestige Class)

“	So you think you know Sorrow?...You know not the meaning of the word....	”
—Evarian Windgrove, Half-Elf Sorrow Blade

Sorrow Blade

To many There is nothing worse than the loss of one whom they hold most dear. The effects of which can be horrifying on both body and mind. To those whom bear the title of sorrow blades however this pain of loss knows no bounds. Effecting thier very soul Tearing holes in the depths of his mind draining him of all joy and of any other felling short of Pain and Hate and Torment. As this misery progresses some grow mad being crushed by the wieght this deep level of torment that few can even begin to comprehend however others find that as there deep seeded misery plunges to new depths their pain begins to change them and manifest in ways that would horrify normal people These tormented souls however usually bare little resitence to this new state of being for as This change continues he becomes less able to fell other emotions As he advances further into this new form he becomes the enemy of any who have emotions other than sorrow.

Prerequisites

Alignment: Any one can become deeply saddened by the loss of a close companion or soul mate so entering the class a character can be of any alignment however as this dark Torment Progresses and The character becomes less and less capable of felling positive emotions (represented by the gaining of levels in the Sorrow Blade class) And more and more plagued by raw hate and anguish and bitter toward those that can fell joy it makes holding a non evil alignment difficult and a good alignment almost impossible. and as such most Sorrow blades at best become True neutral alignment but those whom reach the height of power are almost always without exception are of some Evil Alignment in addition, as time wares on Few Sorrow blades have little regard for order or freedom. as they hold no illusion that latching on to meaningless philosophies like ethics makes them any better off, and often become Neutral on the Law Chaos Axis. as a result see class progression for more details

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Craft (weaponsmithing) 7 ranks, Jump 7 ranks,

Weapon Proficiency: The character must be proficient with some form of Martial Slashing Weapon

Special: The character must have witnessed the loss of one they held dear wether that be a close comrade or a loved one (family or romantic).

Table: The Sorrow Blade

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spellcasting
1st	+0	+1	+0	+1	Aura of Sorrow	<-__->
2nd	+1	+1	+1	+1	Blade of Hate	<- +1 level of existing spell casting class ->
3rd	+2	+2	+1	+2	Dance of Hate	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
4th	+3	+2	+1	+2	Eyes of Dark Reality	<-__->
5th	+3	+3	+1	+3	Touch of Suffering	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
6th	+4	+3	+2	+3	Empathic Dirge	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
7th	+5	+4	+2	+4	Blade of Woe	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
8th	+6	+4	+2	+4	Mad Misery	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
9th	+6	+5	+3	+5	Dread Gaze	<-+1 level of existing spell casting class->
10th	+7	+5	+3	+5	My Right Hand Knows Only Death	<-__->
Class Skills 4 + Int modifier per level) Acrobatics(Dex) Climb (Str) Concentration(Con), Craft(weaponsmithing)Intimidate(Cha)(Int)Perception (Wis), Perform (dance)(Dex), Search(Int),Sense Motive(Wis),Spellcraft(Int) Spot(Wis)Stealth(Dex),Survival(Wis) , Tumble(Dex)

Essence of Sorrow

The essence of sorrow is a manifestation of negative energy caused by the emotion of sorrow that is influenced by the person who expierences that in turn effects the individual. this energy is it is usually faint and only has minimal effect This sort of essences is like that of other emotions. Other emotions also haave essences that also cause small amounts of negative or positive energy respectively. As these manifestations are usually faint they are usually undetectable and too weak to cause any real harm. In the case of extreme sorrow These normally harmless essences is feed far much more anguish and in response becomes much stronger and much more prevalent over time it becomes self sustaining and takes a life of it’s own when this happens It begins to “feed” the individual in question kicking off a Dark and disturbing change stripping them of joy and anything less then numbing negative feelings this process is a snowball effect that once stared nothing less of divine intervention or powerful magic can yield, the fewer positive feelings a person has the more aggressive the now Entity of Sorrow become the less the person has the initiative to resist and and the further this unsettling transformation progresses. As Time wares on and this new existence As the Negitive energy continues to eat away and warp the hearts and minds of these unfourtunate souls They become less and less capable of empathizing with other and many become Cold and Ruthless and this change eventually inspiring hate for those that can fell Joy and Contentment. At this stage they begin to become transform into the very entity’s that plague them. Most who fall down this dark path often destroy themselves before this happens. However a few whom had strong will continue down this path of Enthropy. Those who Survive this horrible becoming this long are those whom become Sorrow Blades.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the Sorrow Blade:

Armor and Weapons Proficiency: The sorrow blade gains no proficiency in Armor or weapons. In addition a Sorrow blade loses proficency with shields he may have had and can not make use of any of his class abilities or any possible spell casting he may posses while donning one

Spells per day: While acess to spell casting is not required to gain access to the Sorrow blade prestige class. It still allows for progression of spells as the Torment fuels a sinister and supernatural change in the soul. however being a Sorrow Blade perverts and corrupts you and this corruption extend to the Sorrow Blades spells as Upon entering the prestige class Sorrow Blade is prohibited acess to enchantment spells (save possibly ones with an evil descriptor such as Doom or Fear this is at DM's descresion) Gaining levels of Sorrow blade also incurs further restrictions at 4th level you may no longer select illusion spells to learn cast or prepare even items that would otherwise grant you this ability are subject to automatic failure while you use them. At 5th level any cure or heal spell you have acess to works as a inflict or a harm spell regardless of how you prepare it or what you intend. finally at 10th level any necromancy spell is treated as if it were modified by the Empowered Metamagic feat regardless if you have this feat the effects of having this feat applied to such a spell do not stack. A Sorrow Blade gains spells from one existing spell casting class chosen at first level he gains additional spells per day (for exception at levels 1,4,and 10) as if he leveled in his chosen spell casting class

Any Animal Companion Familiar or Special Mount previously possessed by the Sorrow Blade Is Immediately lost upon taking the class due to the manifestation of the Aura of Sorrow that drives them far away from there previous masters and no form of magic can re-grant the Sorrow Blade this sort of companion back

Aura of Sorrow(Su): An air of gloom always surrounds the Sorrow Blade, all animals will not willingly enter the range of an aura of sorrow and will stay at least 10ft away from the Sorrow blade unless a successful handle animal or wild empathy check is made the DC for these checks is 10 + the sorrow blades class level + his Charisma modifer. all creatures standing within this range (enemies and allies alike) must make a will save each round they remain in this range the Save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the sorrow blades hitdice + his charima modifer or the creature takes a -1 penalty on all rolls. This penalty increases by 1 for every 3 levels of sorrow blade a character has to a maximum of -4 penalty at level 10 steeping out of this range imediately ends this effect though steeping back in prompts a new will save. This is a mind affecting effect and creatures whom are Immune to such are immune to the Aura of Sorrow

Blade of Hate(Su): At 2nd level a small portion of the spirit of sorrow embeds itself into a longsword crafted by the Sorrow Blade alone giving it the keen and wounding qualities (these abilities do not stack with previous qualities of the same name). This ability only works when the Sorrow Blade holds the blade, and only on the blade crafted by the Sorrow Blade

Eyes of Dark reality(Su): As the Sorrow Blades Joy is drained from his soul he gains the ability to see reality in it's Raw and Harsh Truth. At 4th level the Sorrow blade gains true sight out to range of 20 ft this Range increases by 10 ft per 2 levels of Sorrow Blade he posses beyond 4th level to a maximum range of 50 feet. In addition at 6th level this grants him a +1 bonus to will saves against illusion effects this bonus increases by a +1 for every level beyond 4th he posses to a maximum of +6 at 9th level and The sorrow blade gains an Immunity to such effects at 10th level

Touch of Suffering(Ex): At 5th level the Sorrow Blade gains the ability to channel all of his suffering and emotional pain into raw negative energy for number of times per day = to 3+ The Sorrow Blades Charisma modifer a melee touch attack against one living creature that results in the target being crippled with pain for 1d6+5 rounds during which time the affected creature can take no actions. Any attempts to fix this condition immediately fail.

Empathetic Dirge(Su): At 6th level the Sorrow Blade can through a disturbing an heart-wrenching display made in honor of his lost loved one can inspire a felling of loss in all that observe him. A number of times per day = to half his Sorrow Blade level he can spend a full round action to make a Perform check if his check surpasses 20 all creatures whom are observing him within 30 ft must make a Will save equal to 20+2 for every 5 he succeeds the check by or be striken by overwhelming grief causing all living creatures whom have failed the save to take a -5 penalty on attack rolls and saves for 2d3+ the Sorrow Blades Cha Mod rounds once a creature observes this performance regardless if the save was successful or not they can not be effected by the same Sorrow Blades Empathetic Dirge for the 24 hours

Blade of Woe(Su): At 7th level a big portion of the spirit of sorrow embeds itself into a longsword crafted by the Sorrow Blade alone giving it the unholy, keen, icy burst, and wounding qualities (these abilities do not stack with previous qualities of the same name). This ability only works when the Sorrow Blade holds the blade, and only on the blade crafted by the Sorrow Blade

Mad Misery(Ex): The mind of the Sorrow blade has been warped and twisted by Grief and as a result can madden those whom attempt to observe it. At 8th level any creature casting Detect ThoughtsorTelepathy on a Sorrow Blade must make a will save DC of the sorrow total hitdie + his charisma modifier or see a highly dramatized and mortifying bend of their own lives past and future focusing and stressing the losses and deaths they may have witnessed and possibly could wittiness This Phantasm is devoid of any joy and ultimately ends in a particularly grisly version of the subjects own death, One whom witnesses the Mad Misery Phantasm takes 1d4 temporary wisdom damage. This damage recovers on its own normally but attempts to remove this damage withRestoration and other spells of the like require a Remove Curse before this can be attempted (DC equal to save DC) unless the caster in question has 2 more levels in the effective casting class then the Sorrow Blade Posses Hitdice

Dread Gaze(Ex): Realities Crulety knows no boundry and can detroy those of weak mind in a instant At 9th level the Sorrow Blade May make a Gaze Attack for those whom meet his eyes see endless pain the Subject be subjected to finger of death (DC 25).

My right hand knows only death(Ex): At 10th level the misery of having killed others condenses into the Sorrow Blades right hand giving him the ability to make 2d6+1 seventh level fighter human skeletons rise from the ground in front of him by placing his hand upon it as a full round action. These skeletons obey the Sorrow Blade's mental commands without fail and can not be rebuked, commanded, or controlled by any third party.

Knowledge(Arcana)

DC	Result
11	Sorrow Blades are people whom are consumed by Torment. And this Torment manifests in sinister ways
16	The conversion rate of Arcane Essencemasters isn't very good.
21	Arcane Essencemasters can gain the ability to exchange spell slots for life, and vice versa.
26	There are great Arcane Essencemasters, but there are no Arcane Essencemasters that have mastered all their paths.

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