Death Dealer (3.5e Prestige Class)

Death Dealer

“	Your time has come! Come on, go ahead and pray!!	”

For those who believe in death as a medium, the Death dealer is the perfect path. Combining deadly spell casting with martial proficiency,the death dealer calmly and emotionlessly kills anyone he feels like. He is perfect for spell casters who love to look on the darkside of life.->

Becoming a Death Dealer

Usually, characters pursue this path because they have a lust for revenge, and believe that a simple mortal life of fighting won't be enough to satiate it. Instead, they choose the path of death and destruction through melee and spell casting. Because of this, usually characters who become a death dealer are a combination of a sorcerer or wizard and a ranger.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Any nongood.
Base Attack Bonus:	+4.
Skills:	Survival 4 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Knowledge Arcana 4 ranks, Knowledge Dungeoneering 4 ranks.
Feats:	Track, Improved Initiative, Shadow Weave Magic.
Spellcasting:	Able to spontaneously cast 1st lvl arcane spells.
Special:	Favored Enemy Class Feature.

Table: The Death Dealer

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spellcasting
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+ 1	+ 0	+ 2	+ 0	Swift Death, Sign of the Death Dealer, No Mercy +2	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd	+ 2	+ 0	+ 3	+ 0	Murderous Strike +1d6	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd	+ 3	+ 1	+ 3	+ 1	Deadly Smite 1/day	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th	+ 4	+ 1	+ 4	+ 1	Murderous Strike +2d6	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
5th	+ 5	+ 1	+ 4	+ 1	No Mercy +4	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th	+ 6	+ 2	+ 5	+ 2	Murderous Strike +3d6, Deadly Smite 2/day	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th	+ 7	+ 2	+ 5	+ 2	Unscapable Sign	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th	+ 8	+ 2	+ 6	+ 2	Murderous Strike +4d6	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
9th	+ 9	+ 3	+ 7	+ 3	Deadly Smite 3/day, No Mercy +6	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th	+ 10	+ 3	+ 7	+ 3	Murderous Strike +5d6	+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) The Death Dealer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis) and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Death Dealer.

Sign of the Death Dealer (Su): At 1st level, the death dealer is able to imprint a mark visible only to him on a selected victim by simply pointing. Once the death dealer has completed the mark, he is now able to fully understand how his victim's body functions or operates, thus enabling his ability to attempt a Swift Death with a succesfull attack. While studying the victim, the death dealer can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target. The mark gives a +5 insight bonus on attack rolls made against the target. At 3rd level and every odd numbered level thereafter, the death dealer can mark an additional target simultaneously (to a maximum of 5 simultaneous targets at 10th level).

...Contract... At 1st level the Death Dealer can make a contract with a person through a sacrifice, a wish and a contract. With this, the one who is also marked can never escape the Death Dealer and the death dealer has to listen and obey the contract once it is made. But, if the Death Dealer so chooses he can mark his target with a contract without their knowledge.

...Long live the King... Since the Death Dealer has lived a long and with that can withstand most magical and common weapons, he also gains +8 to every score for every 100 years he's lived.

No Mercy (Ex): At 1st level the death dealer gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures marked by his Sign of the Death Dealer ability. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. At 5th and 9th levels, the bonus against any one marked creature increases by 2.

Swift Death (Ex): At 1st level, a death dealer can deliver a deadly blow to a marked opponent as a standard action.

Murderous Strike (Ex): At 2nd level, the death dealer can strike a marked creature's weak spots. With a succesfull attack, he deals and extra 1d6 per two class levels against creatures affected by his sign of the death dealer class feature. Unlike a rogue's sneak attack, this does not need to catch the enemy flat-footed.

Deadly Smite (Su): At 4th level, a death dealer gains the ability to deliver a devastating attack on a marked creature. The death dealer must declare he is attempting to smite a marked foe before the attack roll is made, adding his charisma bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals an extra damage equal to his class level.

Unscapable Sign (Su): At 5th level, the death dealer can see and track any marked creature. He gains a true seeing effect against such creatures and he instinctively knows the location of a marked opponent who is out of range of sight as if affected by a locate creature spell. The death dealer gains a +10 insight bonus to gather information and survival checks while tracking such creatures and is able to find a trail even if the marked creature was affected by a trackless step.

Spellcasting: At each level, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level and spells known, as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Death Dealer, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known. You can only add new spells from the schools of necromancy, illusion, divination and enchantment.

Spells: To cast a particular spell, you must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level. Your bonus spells are based on your Charisma. Saves to avoid the effects of your spells have a DC of 10 + the spell's level + your Cha bonus (if any).

You cast spells as a sorcerer does. An epic Death Dealer’s number of spells per day does not increase after 10th level.

Table: The Epic Death Dealer

Level	Special
11th	-
12th	Murderous Strike +6d6, Deadly Smite 4/day
13th	Bonus Feat
14th	Murderous Strike +7d6
15th	Deadly Smite 5/day, No Mercy +8
16th	Murderous Strike +8d6, Bonus Feat
17th	-
18th	Murderous Strike +9d6, Deadly Smite 6/day
19th	Bonus Feat
20th	Murderous Strike +10d6, No Mercy +10

Bonus Feats:

The epic Death Dealer gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Death Dealer feats) every 3 levels after 10th.

Epic Death Dealer Bonus Feat List: Bane of Enemies, Blinding Speed, Combat Archery, Death of Enemies, Distant Shot, Epic Endurance, Epic Prowess, Epic Speed, Epic Toughness, Epic Weapon Focus, Fast Healing, Improved Combat Casting, Improved Favored Enemy, Improved Manyshot, Improved Spell Capacity, Legendary Climber, Legendary Rider, Legendary Tracker, Perfect Health, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting, Permanent Emanation, Spellcasting Harrier, Storm of Throws, Swarm of Arrows, Two-Weapon Rend, Uncanny Accuracy.

Ex-Death Dealers

A death dealer who becomes good loses the swift death ability and cannot gain more levels as a death dealer. He retains all the other benefits of the class.

Campaign Information

Playing a Death Dealer

Combat: The death dealer is a focused damage dealer, the first 3 rounds, he will study the most challenging opponents and after successfully marking them, he will take them down with little or no aid. More often than not, he is the one who will probably be landing the killing blow.

Advancement: <-Typical advancement options for characters with this class. Include desirable multi-class options->

Resources: <-What kind of assistance members of this class can expect from each other including possible organizations->

Death Dealers in the World

“

Death is our gift. A gift not everyone understands, though...

”

<-Where characters of this class fit in a d20 world->

NPC Reactions: There are not too many ways to identify a death dealer, as they pose as common adventurers or travelers. Even if they have to display their abilities in public, they are simply discarded as some sort of melee or ranged combatant.

Only in the rare case that they are identified as a death dealer (by exposing a guild sign, for example) they are treated as any assassin would and honest townspeople will start to act with suspiction.

Death Dealer's Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research death dealers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

<-the appropriate skills->

DC	Result
11	Death Dealers are assasination specialists.
16	They use the Shadow Weave magic to aid them in masking their magic.
21	Some Death Dealers work for high ranking members of secret organizations.
26	Betrayers of Death Dealers' Guilds are hunted down by other active guild members.

Death Dealers in the Game

<-How characters of this class fit in the game (PC and NPC) and what roles they play->

Adaptation: <-Fitting this class in your campaign->

Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPC of this class->

EL whatever: <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter->

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