Living Nightmare (3.5e Class)
Living Nightmare[edit]
The first thing you feel before opening your eyes early in the morning is that lingering sensation of being hollow and that thirst to feel alive again. As you get up your gaze is drawn to a mirror, there starng back at you is the inescapable proof of the experiments they did to you, the scars that cover your now mutilated body. Why did they choose you? Your no one, nothing, just a person trying to live a peaceful normal life. You still don't uderstand. Could it be that no one, well no one of importance, would miss you? It doesn't really matter...
Time is irrelevant to you now. All the hours of torture that they kept calling training made sure of that. The marks of the needles where they injected you with all sorts of monster and demon blood, the shock therapy that was supposed to wire your brain into a psionic level, the forced body training to make your body strong enough to sustain all the power that they were forcing in to you, you managed to live through it all. Ha and didn't that surprise them? They tried with many others, they all of them failed. Perhaps it was your will to survive, or your acceptance of the evil blood flowing through your veins now, but you succeeded.
The echos of who you once were still lingers within you, but other than that, you are a different person... You are your better self and those who decided to make you into this, will be rewarded with a merciless death. The world is now in the palm of your hand.
A living nightmare is more often than not a loner, not because he wants to, but because other fears him. They fear that with all this power in him, he'll start to go insane and kill everyone and they are right to think that since it mostly is the case. The long period of torture that the living nightmare did endure has make him pretty psychotic and he is prone to lose his mind the longer he stays into battle and when he is faced with emotionally wrecking moments. On the other hand, if people are not afraid of him and rub him the right way, the living nightmare can become a pretty loyal - yet unstable- ally. He will do everything so that nothing bad happen to his friends and will destroy everything in his path just to keep his loved one happy.... But could easily kill them in a fit of rage if they try to hurt him, other of his friends or even if he feels that they don't understand him anymore and try to change him.
Even if the Living nightmare has his moment of psychosis, he still has good days where he his the shadow of his old self, even sometimes doing things that he enjoyed in his post-torture life.
Making a Living Nightmare[edit]
Abilities: Strength, dexterity and constitution will be the first one you will want to get higher up. Wisdom could be also good, but more often than not, charisma won't be necessary as your aura is sufficient enough to intimidate most people. Depending on if you want your Living nightmare to be more brute-like or psionic like, intelligence could be switched with dexterity or strength.
Races: Every race can become a Living nightmare, given that they can endure the process and the evil within them. As such, an Angel will have a lot more difficulty to withstand the procedure than a normal human or other mortal race that are not graced by the Good divine.
Alignment: Alignments are a really tricky question with the Living Nightmares as they often have two of them ; Their personal one, which could be any alignments and their Chaotic-evil one that get out mostly when they are confronted to heavy situation.
Starting Gold: Starting gold 4d4 X10
Starting Age: It takes at least 2 years to create a living nightmare from scratch and the subject must be considered as an adult (roughly 16-18 years old at minimum). As such, a living nightmare should start up at a minimum of 18-20 years old and can be as old as 50 years old.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +2 | +2 | +0 | +1 | Semi-immortality, Deaths door, Madness, Psychometabolism Discipline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +2 | "Not so easy", Infused Weapon, muscles of steel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +4 | +1 | +3 | Improvised killer, are you scared? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +4 | Bloody Needles. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +4 | +6 | +3 | +5 | Hard as Lead, Adrenaline Boosts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +4 | +7 | +4 | +6 | Tough it out | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +5 | +7 | +4 | +6 | Inescapable Grasp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +5 | +7 | +4 | +6 | Limb-Shift | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +6 | +7 | +4 | +6 | blood armor.are you scared?+ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +6 | +8 | +5 | +7 | Full resistance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | +7 | +8 | +5 | +7 | Nightmare form | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | +7 | +9 | +6 | +8 | Growing Curse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | +8 | +9 | +6 | +8 | Ties that binds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | +8 | +10 | +7 | +9 | It's not me, it's the voices | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | +9 | +10 | +7 | +9 | blood wings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | +9 | +11 | +8 | +10 | Trial of the nightmare | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | +10 | +11 | +8 | +10 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | +10 | +12 | +8 | +11 | Ultimate resistance. are you scared?++ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | +11 | +12 | +8 | +11 | Absolute control | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | +11 | +12 | +8 | +11 | Blood Trivial Wave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level) Balance(Dex) Climb(Str) Concentration(Con) Intimidate(Cha) Knowledge Psionics(Int) Spot(wis) Survival(Wis) Swim(Str) Tumble(Dex) Use Rope(Dex) Autohypnosis(Wis) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features[edit]
Weapon and Armor proficiency Proficent with all Simple weapons and Light Armor
Semi-Immortality The tricky situation of your body, simultaneously wanting to destroy you and to keep you alive, brings you into a delicate state of being. Some if the perks you gain, you have gained Fast healing (4HP/Round+ con modifier), you double the negative state in which you should die (-20HP), you can reattach severed limbs onto you (1D6 Days to be fully functional) or they will grow back in 3D4 weeks. On the Flip side, Every healing spells will actually hurt you. The only viable healing method you can use is to drink poison. It will heal, therefore you can't die from it, but you will be subject to their side effect.
Psychometabolism Discipline Casting comes from the living nightmare's Con. stat; caster level is your level divided by two (rounded down) and your Power points per day is your Constitution modifier plus your Constitution modifier every 3rd level
Deaths Door When hurt, your body will respond to your mind saying to heal himself. As a standard action you can use Death door to gain 1D10 HP more that will stack up to your fast healing for 1D4 round. You can only use it once per Day. At Level 5 you will have 2D10, at 10 3D10, at 15 4D10 and at 20 5D10.
Madness The Shock therapy that you have received to give you psionic power is starting to have an effect on you. You hear the unintelligible whispersA of those around you, but the downside is that when in a crowded environment you are prone to slip into your madness. It is also the case when you are fighting an enemy or facing a situation where you are emotionally challenge. In those scenarios, you must make a sanity check (in %)
100-80% : You are in total control of the situation.
60-79% : The air is becoming more tense, making you a little bit snappy and rude.
50-59 % : The symptoms of your lack of sanity is starting to show. At this point, you know you have two option ; either meditate to calm yourself for 1D4 round in a calm environment, or prepare to become insane.
49% and less : You acquire the feat Mad, which make you lose control of all your senses. You will attack- and kill -everyone in your way, whether they are friend of foes. You will calm yourself ONLY when everyone will have perished Or if you succeed one saving throw (Will) of DC20 for two round in a row. The only other way is for someone to cast calm emotion or any other calming effect spells.
This % throw need to be done EACH ROUND of the previous situation unless he becomes mad. If you are into a RP situation and not a combat situation, the % should be made at each social interaction that present an emotional struggle, or each minute if you are into a crowd.
Not so easy
When the Living nightmare gets knocked down, he can make a Reflex saving throw (DC20) to get back on his feet immediately and gain back 2D4HP. At level 5 it is 3D4, level 10 4D4, level 15 5D4 and level 20 6D4.
Infused weapon The experimentation made on you, mostly with your blood, have caused a weapon of your choice (Choose a weapon from your Inventory) to become as corrupted as your blood. This weapon is now a part of you and you can fuse it in your body. It can manifest into your hand as a swift action.
Muscle of steel Your muscles are so powerful that they can even deflect blows like a thick hide. Level 2 +2 and a +1 every two levels after (max of +10) to your AC.
Improvised killer This allows the living Nightmare to be Proficient with improvised weapons (No longer takes penalty for using them) anything that can be used to hit people even though this is not the original purpose of the item. Examples are empty or broken bottles, chairs, tables, Pens, plates... The DM should use common sense to attribute size (light, one-handed or two-handed) and damage type (piercing, slashing or bludgeoning) to an improvised weapon. As for damage, refer to the table below. For example, a broken bottle would be a light piercing weapon, a chair would be a two-handed bludgeoning weapon.
| Small Living Nightmare | Light Weapon | One-Handed Weapon | Two-Handed Weapon | - | - |
| Medium Living Nightmare | - | Light Weapon | One-Handed Weapon | Two-Handed Weapon | - |
| Large Living Nightmare | - | - | Light Weapon | One-Handed Weapon | Two-Handed Weapon |
| Level 1st–3rd | 1d3 | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d6 |
| Level 4th–7th | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d6 | 3d6 |
| Level 8th–11th | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d8 | 3d8 |
| Level 12th–15th | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 3d6 | 4d6 |
| Level 16th–19th | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 3d8 | 4d8 |
| Level 20th | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d8 | 6d8 |
Are you scared ? A Living nightmare knows that people try to keep their distance from him. With the knowledge that people fear him, he decided to use this aura of intimidation to his advantage. Gains Unnatural Aura (+2 bonus on Intimidate checks and to the DCs of any effects you have that possess the Fear descriptor)CHECK UNNATURAL AURA PAGE FOR MORE. At 9th level this ability stacks and again at 18th level.
Bloody Needles Your have been able to see that your blood actually respond to your command. As a standard action you can now make your blood pierce through your body, causing you 1D10 damage and causing an Equal amount of damage +con modifier Damage to others that will be pierced by them (within 10 foot range all around you)
Hard as a lead You now understand that your blood has quite a mind of its own, and it wants only one thing : To protect you so it can protect itself. Your blood harden in your veins, which cause your body to recive half the usual damage of one declared damage type Ex:Slashing, Bludgeoning, Piercing. As a swift action. For 1d4 rounds(can not be activated when still in use).At 10th level The other half is reflected back to the attacker.
Adrenaline boost As a swift action you can boost yourself up with adrenaline to gain a +2 to any strength based skills that you have as well as your speed goes up by 5ft. Every four level, you can gain an additional +1 to your skill modifier and +5ft.to your speed. This last for 1D6 rounds once a day.
Tough it out Your natural toughness lets you absorb effect that requires a con save up to half the damage. Also, if you succeed a saving throw that would allow you to have half the damage, you instead take none.
Inescapable grasp If you succeed on a grapple check against your opponent, you gain +3 on all grapples afterward until you let him go. This applies with 1 size category larger than yourself, but not beyond that.
Blood armor As a swift action, you can make your blood pour out of your pores and create a coating of blood that hardens on your flesh, Dealing you 25 damage making you gain an extra +5 to your AC for 1 hour/Living Nightmare level.
Full resistance In addition to your choice of slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage. You can now choose Elemental types Ex: fire, cold, Ect. Upgrade to hard as a lead.
Limb-shifting The blood of the monsters inside of you are acknowledging the power that you are gaining, and they want to be part of it. You gain the capacity to Shift up to two limbs (the face counts as a limb in that matter) to resemble the nightmare inhabiting you as a standard action. A nightmare is a monster of many forms with devilish eyes and a black physique, almost as if he was composed of black oil. You gain slashing/biting attacks of 2D8 (depending on the limbs that are changed) and the opponent must succeed a will based DC of 15 or become insane.( uses 10 power points Standard action).
Nightmare form As the curse that is your blood take more and more power, it gives you the same aspect as the beast they want you to be. Therefore, as a full round action, you can Shape-shift into your Nightmare form. Your biting deals 2D8 and your claws deal 2D10. Your flesh is acid-based therefore everyone that touches it that is not immune to acid take 2D6 damage for 1D4 round. You can also spit corrupted blood out of your mouth, dealing 2D6 acid and making the opponent drenched in it paralyzed for 1D4 round from the horror that the blood touching his body makes him feel. (DC17) They also need to make a will save of DC17 or become insane from the pain that the blood/venom in your claws/teeth gives them.(uses 20 power points Full Round Action)
Growing curse The curse now allows you to Use any Psion Discipline Powers from Level 1 to 10 of Discipline. The downside is that you drain the power to cast the spell from your own vital force, therefore you lose 25HP x Power lvl used.(Power points are still required to access augments)
Ties that binds You blood is now speaking to you. You must feel crazy, and you are right. You gain the ability to let the voices lash out a powerful scream that echoes all around you. As a full round action you can force all opponents within a 40ft radius to make a DC10+Con.+1/2 Class level will save or be frightened and stunned for 1D8 round. You can use this one time per Day.
It's not me, it's the voices You are becoming so insane that listening to the voices in your head becomes comforting to you. As such, you can pass two rounds to listen to them to negate the effect of madness.
Blood wings You can now use your blood to create wings. As a standard action to grow said wings, doing so deals you 1d8 damage but you can fly as high as 30 feet with perfect maneuverability for 2 hours. You can use them as weapons as well, dealing 2D8 damage + con modifier
Trial of the nightmare When successfully attacking your opponent, you can infect them temporarily with the curse of the nightmare. They must attempt a DC10+ Con.+1/2 class level will save to not be controlled. If they fail, they are controlled for 1 hour per Living nightmare level. They will do everything in their power to protect the living nightmare and will do everything they say, without question(only works on one person at a time).
Ultimate resistance You are now immune to any attack that targets your mind.
Absolute control You gain the absolute control over your head, mind and soul. You can now make a Saving throw (Will based) to have a chance to not lose your mind in combat or in tricky situation. You Need to pass a DC10+Con.+1/2 class level to keep control over the whole situation. If you fail, you go insane as normal.
Blood trivial Wave Your blood has reached the peak of it's power. You can now gather a surge of black blood in your veins, taking 8d10 piercing damage to stab your abdomen and release the flood. Your blood will spurt out in a cone in front of you that spreads up to 120 feet, any being that is drenched in your blood must succeed a DC15+Con.+1/2 class level fortitude saving throw or be rendered insane and attacks each other (If alone, the opponent starts to attack himself) They also take the same amount of damage you originally did to yourself, Half damage (round down) if reflex DC15+Con.+1/2 class level is successful.
Campaign Information[edit]
Playing a Living nightmare[edit]
Religion: The living nightmare can have any religion that he desire, but will often choose to not believe in anything but his own power.
Adaptation: It can be quite tricky to bring a Living nightmare to your campaign, especially if the other characters are Lawful or good. Quite a bit of RP should be done with this class to fully understand the dept of the character and to let people see he is not only an insane maniac.
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