Lava General (3.5e Prestige Class)

Lava General

“	Burn them all	”
—Anonymous, Ancient Proverb

Guided by tactical wit and fueled by raw emotion, the Lava General is a fearsome leader and a deadly combatant. After years of combat experience and a strong connection to the fire that burns within them, the Lava General has given themselves up to the flames, and they have been given great power in return. Having been blessed with the powers of fire, they begin to gain attributes similar to lava golems. They are often seen on the front lines of combat, disrupting enemies with intense heat and devastating blows alongside their army of flaming soldiers.

Becoming a Lava General

Lava Generals are usually heavy-armored fighters, paladins or clerics with a connection to Kossuth or another god of fire. Any race or alignment may become a Lava General, but the gift of lava leans towards the chaotic and evil ends of the spectrum, so most who take this class are one or both of those. The most important ability for a Lava General is Strength, as strength is required to use magma based abilities. Next important is Constitution, as it's important to be able to take a lot of damage on the front lines.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Any.
Base Attack Bonus:	+8.
Race:	Any.
Skills:	12 Ranks Knowledge(Religion).
Feats:	Armor Proficiency (Heavy)
Spellcasting:	Must be able to cast a spell with the [Fire] descriptor. Must be able to summon a fire elemental.
Special:	Must have been burned alive or thrown into a volcano and survived.

Table: The Volcanic General

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spellcasting
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Magma Shell, Volcanic Presence	+1 Existing Spellcasting Class
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	The Floor is Lava (Line)
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Molten Minions 1/Day	+1 Existing Spellcasting Class
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	The Floor is Lava (Radius)
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Living Golem, Molten Minions 2/Day, Walking Eruption	+1 Existing Spellcasting Class
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Concentration (Con), Craft (Smithing)(Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (All)(Int), Open Lock (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Int).

Class Features

The Lava General is proficient with all simple weapons, heavy armor and shields. All of the following are class features of the Lava General.

Spellcasting: At 1st level and every 2 levels after, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) 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 Lava General, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.

Magma Shell (Ex): At level 1, the power of magma begins to flow through the Lava General's body and armor. The Lava General gains the Fire subtype, as well as the ability to walk on lava as if it were solid ground. In addition, entering in contact with the Lava General instantly inflicts 2d6 Damage.

Volcanic Presence (Su): At level 1, all of the General's spells and spell-like abilities may be cast as lava and deal an extra 1d6 damage per class level. In addition, any creature reduced to -10 or fewer hit points by a Lava General is entirely disintegrated, leaving behind only a pile of ash. A General must roll a d100 to determine what percentage of a disintegrated creature’s equipment is affected.

The Floor is Lava (Sp): Once per encounter, as a standard action, a Lava General may strike the ground with their weapon, calling forth magma deep from the earth. A river of lava emerges in a 30ft per 5 character levels long, 5ft wide line in front of the Lava General. Any creature in a space where the lave emerges must make a reflex save or take 2d6 damage immediately, and again at the beginning of each round that they begin in the lava. If a creature spends an entire turn in the lava, they must pass a reflex save (DC 10 + ½ caster level + Str modifier) or be submerged. At level 4, the Lava General may create this effect in a 15 foot per 5 character levels radius centered on themselves.

Molten Minions (Su): Once per day as a full action, the Lava General may summon 2d6 + Str modifier medium humanoid lava oozes from the ground. Oozes are Fire subtype creatures with a movement speed of 15 feet per round deal 2d8 damage on contact to any creature or object with a hardness lower than 15. The oozes are immune to damage from any object with a hardness below 15 and collapse upon taking damage. Whenever a creature strikes a magma ooze with a weapon, that weapon takes 4d6 points of fire damage unless the attacker makes a DC 19 Fortitude save. Damage caused to weapons in this manner is not halved, but hardness does help prevent some of the damage dealt. The save DC is Constitution-based. The oozes follow the orders of the Lava General, and have the same initiative and saves. At level 5, this ability increases to 6d6 may be used twice a day.

Living Golem (Ex): The Lava General becomes immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.

- A move earth spell drives the General back 120 feet and deals 3d12 points of damage to it.

- A disintegrate spell slows the General (as the slow spell) for 1d6 rounds and deals 1d12 points of damage.

- An earthquake spell cast directly at a Lava General stops it from moving on its next turn and deals 5d10 points of damage. The General gets no saving throw against any of these effects.

- Any magical attack against a Lava General that deals Fire damage heals 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage it would otherwise deal. If the amount of healing would cause the General to exceed its full normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points. For example, a Lava General hit by the breath weapon of a red dragon heals 7 points of damage if the attack would have dealt 22 points of damage. A Lava General gets no saving throw against magical attacks that deal Cold damage.

Walking Eruption (Ex): The Lava General's body and armor have become almost indistinguishable from the magma fortifying it. At level 5, a Lava General gains the Elemental subtype and counts his armor as Natural Armor. They may also change their appearance as the spell Disguise Self. A Lava General may melt any non-living material into lava and vice versa as the spells Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock, but with lava instead of mud. This is considered a spell-like ability and may be used at will. A 10-foot-radius spread heat aura surrounds a Lava General. All creatures of the fire subtype in the field (including the Lava General) are treated as if having turn resistance +6 (if undead) and fast healing 5 (this ability may be suppressed at-will). Non-fire subtyped creatures take 2d6 points of damage each round they remain within the heat aura.

Ex-Lava General

A Lava General whose connection with their god is severed loses all class abilities of this class.

Campaign Information

Playing a Lava General

Combat: <-Typical role in combat->

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

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

Lava Generals in the World

“

I'll stop the world and melt with you.

”

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

NPC Reactions: <-How NPCs react to characters of this class->

Lava General Lore

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

Knowledge(Religion)

DC	Result
21	They're warriors chosen by gods of fire and war.
26	Legend has it that they are burned alive to prove their worthiness.
31	It is said that they become one with the magma they learn how to control.
36	The first of their kind was discovered when an accused witch was being burned. They say she made a pact of eternal service to one of the gods for her life and she was granted the powers of lava.

Lava Generals in the Game

Lava Generals are usually leading armies or fighting wars, and do not typically fit within a small party.

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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