Fiendish Arm (3.5e Prestige Class)

Fiendish Arm

“	No... No... I'm a still monster... !	”
—Flora Baum, Mandrake Fiendish Arm

Those who are brought into this world with the blood of Demons, creatures known as Half-Fiends, may sacrifice their form to stay on the routes of their non-demon halves. Or those with the blood of the Demons may call upon their blood heritage to their side. Those who do be wary, this comes at a price...

Becoming a Fiendish Arm

Fiendish Arms sacrifice their Half-Fiend form or call on their heritage, concentrating it into their arm which gains a new demonic form on its own.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Any Chaotic
Race:	Half-Fiend (Without Demonic heritage)
Special:	Demonic connection (Without Half-Fiend), Int or Wis above 8,.

Table: The Fiendish Arm

Hit Die: 1d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+2	+2	Fiendish Arm, Fiend's Claw, Demonic Ancestry
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+3	Demonic Ancestry
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+3	Fiend's Fangs, Fiend's Wings
4th	+4	+4	+4	+4	Demonic Ancestry
5th	+5	+4	+4	+4	Auras
6th	+6	+5	+5	+5	Demonic Ancestry, Fiendish Evolution, Greater Demonic Ancestry
7th	+7	+5	+5	+5	Fiend's Abilities
8th	+8	+6	+6	+6	Demonic Ancestry
9th	+9	+ 6	+6	+6	Hellish Evolution
10th	+10	+7	+7	+7	Demonic Ancestry, Infernal Rage
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Concentration (Con), Hide (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (The planes) (Int), Spot (Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Fiendish Arm.

Fiendish Arm: Manifesting their demonic form into one arm of their choice, the Fiendish Arm is created to both conceal and release one's demonic side. The price paid for this however is that the Fiendish Arm severs the wielder's chosen arm and replaces it. The Fiendish Arm on its own is sentient, it is Chaotic Evil and will advise it's wielder on actions; usually beckoning them to use their power to its full or committing evil acts. It is created with the same black scales that a Half-Fiend creature would have, and as such the Fiendish Arm grants +1 Natural AC. The hand of the Fiendish Arm is not a normal hand either, but instead a Claw that acts as a Natural Weapon. The arm radiates a natural Evil aura even if the wielder is of a Good or Neutral alignment, but may be concealed by clothing such as long sleeves, wrappings, or gloves. Revealing the Fiendish Arm grants a +2 Intimidate bonus. And using the Fiendish Arm's power will radiate a red mist from the arm, unless it's covered.

Fiend's Claw: The Fiendish Arm is unable to have a normal hand, but instead they gain a powerful claw. The Fiend's Claw is a natural weapon deals 1d4 damage and is treated as a magical weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Demonic Ancestry: Starting at level 1, and for every even level after of Fiendish Arm, the wielder may call upon their heritage to give them power. This shall be a Fiendish Arm's main source of power, and each ability may only be selected once.

Fiendish Armor: This Ancestry increases the armor-like scales on the Fiendish Arm, giving a boost in Armor Class from +1 AC to +2 AC when taken. For every 5 levels of Fiendish Arm that the player possesses when they take this Ancestry, they gain +1 AC.

Hades Claw: The Hades Claw is an upgrade to the Fiend's Claw Natural Attack. The Hades Claw takes a more powerful form over the Fiendish Arm's standard Claw. Going one step above, the Hades Claw does 1d6 damage when used.
-Evolution: Increases the damage of the Hades Claw to 1d8 Damage.

Hellish Fangs: Hellish Fangs work similarly to the Hades Claw. The Hellish Fangs permanently increase the Will Save to 20 for when the user becomes blood thirsty, but the Hellish Fangs also scale the damage to 1d8. Fiend's Fangs is NOT required to take this Ancestry, but instead taking this Ancestry will unlock the Fiend's Fangs early, and once Fiend's Fangs is gained normally they will automatically become Hellish Fangs.
-Evolution: Increases the damage of the Hellish Fangs to 2d6.

Nightmare Wings: This Ancestry slight increases the wing span of the Fiend's Wings to give them a power boost. It will effectively add +10 Fly Speed to whomever takes this Ancestry. Taking this Ancestry however also increase the damage taken from calling upon the Fiendish Wings to 1d3 per round. Fiend's Wings is not required to have in order to take this Ancestry, it will instead unlock Fiend's Wings early and then transform into Nightmare Wings automatically when Fiend's Wings are unlocked normally. Nightmare Wings brings the wings from Average maneuverability to Good maneuverability
-Evolution: Further increases Flight Speed by +10.

Soul Sacrifice: The same dark red Aura envelopes the Fiendish Arm's entire body, eating their own soul for energy. As a movement action, a Fiendish Arm absorbs the energy of its own soul for 1d4 damage, embedding the Arm with extreme power. Within a Natural Weapon of the Fiendish Arm grants a 1d6 Damage Modifier. If a Fiendish Arm uses this ability and does not attack or misses their attack on their turn they lose this bonus.
-Evolution: Gives the option of a second Dice. A 1d8 to further increase attack and damage potential.

Soul Siphon: With a dark red Aura radiating from the Fiendish Arm, Soul Siphon is a technique that attacks the target's soul directly and inflicts an intense burning pain in them. Soul Siphon's use is 2+the Fiendish Arm's class levels. It is a Touch attack that deals 1d8 Damage. Consecutive hits reward the Fiendish Arm by adding +2 Damage per consecutive hit of Soul Siphon (+2 on first hit, +4 on second, etc.) to a maximum of 12. Killing an innocent creature using Soul Siphon is seen as an Evil act, but only if the one who observes uses Detect Magic to see it's effects.
-Evolution: Increases the Damage of Soul Siphon from 1d8 to 2d8.

Fiend's Fangs: At Level 3, a Fiendish Arm begins to take over more than just one's arm. When using the Fiend's Fangs their teeth change into Fangs that deal 1d6 damage. Fiend's Fangs are treated as magical weapons to overcome damage reduction. Fiend's Fang is a controlled ability, a Fiendish Arm may call on or remove their fangs at the cost of a standard action. The Fangs will not fully develop or fully change back to teeth until the next round. When using the Fiend's Fangs, the creature begins to twist their minds with Bloodlust - only able to use the Fiend's Fangs in battle and nothing else to satisfy their quenching thirst for blood, a Fiendish Arm cannot talk, use another weapon or any items while in Bloodlust. A Fiendish Arm must either successfully bite an opponent or match a Will Save of 15 to control themselves.

Fiend's Wings: Along with Fiend's Fangs, a Fiendish Arm may grow demonic wings in order to fly. A Fiend's Wings take a full standard action to summon, and takes 2 rounds to fully develop or rid of. The Fiend's Wings's fly speed is the same as a Fiendish Arm's base land speed. The transformation and growth of these wings is considered to be gruesome to watch, and the very look of these wings is demonic on its own right. Above all, the growth is also painful to the Fiendish Arm. They shall suffer 1d2 Damage for every round it takes to grow these wings, and can even fall unconscious or die as a result due to the growth cannot be stopped. The Fiend's Wings have just Average Maneuverability.

Auras: At Level 5, a Fiendish Arm may pick only one of the following Auras in order to gain the additions to their ability scores. These Auras are gained from having either the Fiend's Fangs or Fiend's Wings on, thus these are temporary score bonuses. However, if a Fiendish Arm chooses, as the arm will beckon them, if a Fiendish Arm uses Fiend's Fangs and Fiend's Wings, they gain a temporary bonus that doubles the scores until Fiend's Fangs or Fiend's Wings are called back (The Fiendish Arm determines if they wish to activate this or not). Using this however corrupts the wielder, drawing them away from their normal behavior. A Fiendish Arm must make a Will Save of 25 every hour when using their greater Aura. Failing the save results in a Good and Neutral Alignment to fall to Evil, they must make another Will Save in an hour to recover or suffer. An Evil Alignment must make the same save, or they will go berserk for one hour and attack everything indiscriminately. After an hour of berserk, the Fiendish Arm will fall and suffer exhaustion and loses their Fiend's Fangs and Fiend's Wings for the rest of the day, and thus their bonus as well.

Dark Aura: A Fiendish Arm of Level 5 may gain the Ability Modifiers granted from being a Half-Fiend. A Dark Aura receives +2 Dex, +1 Con, and +1 Cha added to their stats so long as they have Fiend's Fangs or Fiend's Wings in use.

Forbidden Aura: A Fiendish Arm of Level 5 may gain the Ability Modifiers granted from being a Half-Fiend. A Forbidden Aura receives +2 Int, +1 Con, and +1 Cha added to their stats so long as they have Fiend's Fangs or Fiend's Wings in use.

Hellborn Aura: A Fiendish Arm of Level 5 may gain the Ability Modifiers granted from being a Half-Fiend. A Hellborn Aura receives +2 Str, +1 Con, and +1 Cha added to their stats so long as they have Fiend's Fangs or Fiend's Wings in use.

Fiendish Evolution: At the 6th level of the Fiendish Arm, all of his chosen Ancestries gain an impressive buff. Each buff is listed with each Ancestry.

Greater Demonic Ancestry: Starting at Level 6, the Fiendish Arm has a new list of abilities to choose from every two Levels. A Fiendish Arm may now choose from this list when gaining a Demonic Heritage ability.

Dive Crusher: An ability to use by the Fiendish Arm who utilizes their Flight and Claw, this technique requires the Hades Claw and Nightmare Wings to properly use. A Fiendish Arm must already be airborne to prepare for this attack before they dive in and slam into their opponents with their claw. This technique works similarly to a Dive Attack - the minimum amount of distance needed to preform this move is 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet, but they will land in front of the creature once the move finishes, and deal double damage like a normal Dive Attack. However, with each additional 5 feet that the Fiendish Arm uses for this move they gain +1 Attack as well as Damage. Foes attacked by this will be counted as Flat-Footed, and the Fiendish Arm suffers from Flat-Footed themselves until the end of the next round in addition to the -2 AC. If the Fiendish Arm also uses the bonus distance granted, they suffer -1 AC for ever five extra feet they moved until the end of their next turn.
-Evolution: Changes the Wings of the Fiendish Arm from Good Maneuverability to Perfect Maneuver Ability.

Menace: When the Fiendish Arm is revealed, it's nightmarish appearance strikes fear into all who gaze upon it. This Ancestry creates a natural Aura of Fear around a fully revealed Fiendish Arm, and requires Soul Sacrifice with the Fiendish Armor. All creatures within 10 feet of the Fiendish Arm must make a Will save of 10+1/2 Fiendish Arm Levels+1/2 Intimidate to negate the effects of the Menacing Arm. Creatures who fail this roll suffer -5 on Attack and Save rolls for one hour, at the end of the hour they may roll another Will Save of the same DC to break the effects of the Aura. Creatures who fail to save will suffer for 24 hours, and those who resist the Aura cannot be affected by its effects for 24 hours. This Aura effects both hostiles and non-hostile creatures, and it's effects extend to friends/party members as well.
-Evolution: Menace increases it's DC my making it 10+Fiendish Arm Levels+1/2 Intimidate.

Rapture: With the power of the Fiendish Arm's natural weapons in mind, the Hades Claw and Hellish Fangs gain an incredible boost in power. The Hellish Fangs now become one with the Fiendish Arm, forever part of the anatomy of the creature. With this, these two weapons gain more power than before, the Hades Claw and Hellish Fangs change into the Rapture Weapons. With sharpened points and a more fiendish appearance, the Rapture Claws deal 2d6 Damage, as the Rapture Fangs increase to 3d6 Damage. When used, each weapon radiates with the power of the Aura chosen at Level 5, as the Fangs have now become a part of the creature. At the start of every battle, the player must make two Will saves. Save failure inflicts Bloodlust, a DC of 25 on the Fiendish Arm and they must roll another save of 25 DC which inflicts Corruption upon failure. Bloodlust makes it so the Fiendish Arm is unable to use any other attack or items, and Corruption will turn the Fiendish Arm on their friends. Both will fade if the Fiendish Arm makes a successful Will save on their next turn, or land a single attack to feed the Arm.
-Evolution: Increases the Damage of the Rapture Claws to 3d6 Damage, and boosts the Rapture Fangs to 4d6.
-NOTE: Though the Rapture Fangs become a permanent part of the creature, the Aura of their choice still remains as a Temporary score.

Siphon Ray: Combining their Soul abilities, the Fiendish Arm allows it's wielder to use Soul Siphon as a ranged touch attack. Siphon Ray requires both Soul Sacrifice and Soul Siphon. It requires that the wielder use Soul Sacrifice to boost the power of their Soul Siphon, this does not add the normal boost of Soul Sacrifice, but instead the self-damage is multiplied by 10, creating the range of the Siphon Ray. The Siphon Ray is a ranged touch attack and is a Ray to drain the souls of its targets.
-Evolution: Increases the damage of Soul Siphon, be it used as a Ray or normal means, to 3d8.

Soul Armor: Instead of using their own Soul to increase their attack, a Fiendish Arm now gains greater means of defense for giving their own life. A Fiendish Arm requires Soul Sacrifice and the Fiendish Armor to gain this Ancestry. A Fiendish Arm rolls 1d4 soul damage on themselves, they will then multiply the roll by 2 and use that to add to their AC, for a maximum of +6 AC. The Soul Armor degrades by -1 at the end of each turn (Except the initial turn it's used), and cannot reuse this ability until the bonus AC has worn off.
-Evolution: Give a second option for 1d6 Soul Damage, increasing the Maximum allowed AC to +8.

Soul Eater: When using the Hellish Fangs, a Fiendish Arm absorbs the very soul of their victim, regaining lost energy and rejuvenating their wounds. This Ancestry requires the Hellish/Rapture Fangs and Soul Siphon. When using Soul Eater a Fiendish Arm it does not matter if they suffer from Bloodlust (or Corruption in case of Rapture Fangs), by using Soul Siphon through their Fangs, the character may add a damage modifier of 1d6 to their damage roll. Half of the damage done by this modifier adds back to the Fiendish Arm's own HP. Each time Soul Eater is used, it initiates another check for Bloodlust (And if the Fiendish Arm has Rapture Fangs, Corruption as well), a Will Save of 25 DC.
-Evolution: Boosts the damage modifier of Soul Eater to 1d8.

Fiend's Abilities: A Fiendish Arm gains a Spell-Like abilities found on the Half-Fiend's Spell-Like Abilities table. These abilities are usable once per day unless other wise noted, and are selected based on the creature's HD.

Hellish Evolution: At the Ninth Level of Fiendish Arm, a wielder's hard work is paid off. Each of their Ancestries gains a powerful boost to get them through the toughest of battles. Only the Greater Ancestries that have been chosen gain this boost, and nothing else. Each boost is listen below.

Infernal Arm: The final power left to inherit, Infernal Rage is a permanent addition to the Fiendish Arm's arsenal. Though at first it may seem like so little, they may soon realize the true power that lies within their body. The Fiendish Arm now drastically increases the chosen Aura, changing the scores from a temporary score to permanent score to add on. Though they may still tap in to their power to double it, said increase is not permanent. However, once a day, the Fiendish Arm may unlock their power into a cataclysmic force. The Infernal Rage causes the wielder to flourish out a deadly black aura - engulfing the body of the wielder, coating their claws, fangs, and wings, morphing them into a different and ultimately stronger form. Initiating this power requires a full standard action. The Infernal Arm drains the life from the Fiendish Arm's body, at a rate of 5 HP every other round, and fills their mind with pure rage and anger. They gain +5 Attack with all weapons and +5 Damage when using their Natural Weapons or Soul Siphon. Their Claw and Fangs sharpen like a fine blade, improving them by one level each. Their speed increases by +10 Feet in Land and Fly Speed, and they gain the resistances similar to that of a Half-Fiend. 5 Resistance to Acid, Cold, Electricity, and Fire damage, Damage Reduction of 5/Magic, and a Spell Resistance of 12. Their presence alone to anyone may strike fear as well, if they do so choose to use this form to strike fear, they also gain a +5 to all Intimidate checks.

However, these abilities come at a price... This is what the Fiendish Arm has been waiting for, it's time to control the wielder's body for their own. The wielder of the Fiendish Arm must pass a Will Save of 30 to suppress the Fiendish Arm's control. If they fail, the Fiendish Arm will control the mind and body of its wielder. The Fiendish Arm itself is crafty, by being with its wielder for so long it will initially target any and all offenders against the party, and even act similarly as the wielder would. Though it will have little out of character moments... And will eventually turn on friends and innocents, attempting to murder them all without any thought. During this, the wielder is powerless to regain control, once the Infernal Arm has taken it's course they may make another Will Save to regain control. Failure to do so will result in letting the Fiendish Arm remain in control, and the Wielder can only make another Will Save once an hour.

The Infernal Rage, as stated, drains 5 HP every other round. This drain lasts until the Fiendish Arm reaches 10 HP or Below. Once this point is reached, the Fiendish Arm is drained of its energy source and the wielder falls into a Helpless state. They are exhausted and weary, barely able to think and too weak to get back up on their own. They shall remain Helpless at the mercy of everyone until one hour has passed. If an ally recovers the Fiendish Arm and gets their footing before this hour ends, the Fiendish Arm suffers from the Exhausted status. Both of these also result in the wielder finding themselves unable to move their Fiendish Arm, or use any abilities that they've gained. Once Helpless or Exhausted end, and in turn either path leads to Fatigue, they regain the power of their Fiendish Arm and it has become movable once more.

Ex-Fiendish Arm

An Ex-Fiendish Arm is one who wishes to regain their Half-Fiend form or cannot deal with this Arm any longer. Those who do not wish to revert into a Half-Fiend may sever their arm, and then promptly destroy it. An Ex-Fiendish Arm does not keep their abilities if it is severed, and they in turn also lose an arm, and all of their levels from the Fiendish Arm. An Ex-Fiendish Arm who reverts into a Half-Fiend keeps all of the abilities granted from the Fiendish Arm, and levels as well.

Campaign Information

Playing a Fiendish Arm

Combat: Fiendish Arms focus mostly on their offensive capabilities. Levels gained from the use of the Fiendish Arm are meant to only benefit the class alone.

Advancement: Other combat-oriented Classes would work well with the Fiendish Arm, such as a Monk for their unarmed-combat, or a Barbarian with their Rage.

Resources: Fiendish Arms are few and far between from one another. Due to their nature they may being chaotic, or evil in their behaviors, they could be greatly feared. However, those Fiendish Arms who do encounter one another may bring understanding and help for one another; the battle of Wills they face, and the power they use.

Fiendish Arms in the World

“	Reconsider your thought of me joining. For your sake and mine if I ever lost this battle of wills again...	”
—Heinrich Irving, Human Fiendish Arm

Fiendish Arms are more than just few and far between, and are extremely rare. Their existence may be a few people if that at all in the world. There may be years between when a new Fiendish Arm is created, and those who do know they exist are the ones who have knowledge of the Planes. Demons generally see Fiendish Arms as weak and cowardly, as they generally try to either rid or hide their own heritage. A severed Fiendish Arm is able to provide greater knowledge of the Planes, languages of the Demons, or knowledge on certain demons themselves if researched.

NPC Reactions: Most normal NPCs are usually unaware of the Fiendish Arm's very existence. Thus a well covered arm would not attract attention. However, if uncovered and shown, the Fiendish Arm generally would attract attention in a negative way, mostly fear.

Fiendish Arm Lore

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

Knowledge (Planes)

DC	Result
15	Understands or have heard of the Fiendish Arm, aware their existence is rare.
20	Knowledge regarding the abilities, traits, and power of the Fiendish Arm.
25	Knowledge on how to preform the ritual to create a Fiendish Arm, as well as how to revert a Fiendish Arm's wielder into a Half-Fiend.
30	The use of a severed Fiendish Arm, generally for greater research.

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