Madness Disciple (3.5e Prestige Class)

Madness Disciple

“	There are worlds beyond our understanding. Worlds, beings, so outside our realm of comprehension that they would make you mad. But these Disciples, they welcome this madness, claiming it is not insanity, but true and unfettered clarity. And who knows, maybe they are correct, and it is we who are mad after all.	”
—Telbanath Olvret, venerable archmage

The Madness Disciple has glimpsed realms beyond comprehension, and in them sees power. The Disciple endeavors to understand these alien realms, and in doing so can gain great power. However, as his mind begins to function in alien ways, he loses focus in the 'real' world. While he sees a world in perfect clarity, others who cannot understand only see him as insane.

Prerequisites

• Skills: Knowledge (the planes) 9 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks
• Spells: Able to cast 3rd level divine spells
• Special: Must have suffered significant psychological trauma through some event, such as a visit to the Far Realm or similar plane.

Table: The Madness Disciple

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day/Spells Known
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Bonus Domain, Willful Madness (+4), Strain of Madness (-2)	+1 to existing divine class
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Manifest Madness 1/day	+1 to existing divine class
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+3	Precision of Madness 1/day	+1 to existing divine class
4th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Clarity of Madness 2/day	+1 to existing divine class
5th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Willful Madness (+8), Strain of Madnss (-3)	+1 to existing divine class
6th	+4	+2	+2	+5	Manifest Madness 2/day	+1 to existing divine class
7th	+5	+2	+2	+5	Precision of Madness 2/day	+1 to existing divine class
8th	+6	+2	+2	+6	Clarity of Madness 3/day	+1 to existing divine class
9th	+6	+3	+3	+6	Willful Madness (immune)	+1 to existing divine class
10th	+7	+3	+3	+7	Madness Born, Manifest Madness 3/day, Strain of Madness (-4)	+1 to existing divine class
Class Skills (2+ Int modifier per level) Concentration (con), Diplomacy (cha), Heal (wis.), Knowledge (Arcana) (int.), Knowledge (The Planes) (int.), Knowledge (Religion) (int.), Scry (int)

Class Features

All the following are class features of the Madness Disciple:

Spellcasting: At each level, the Disciple's spellcasting improves as if he had gained a level in a divine spellcasting class in which he already has levels. However, he does not gain any other benefit of that class. If he has levels in more than one divine spellcasting class, he must choose which to improve.

Bonus Domain: At 1st level the Madness Disciple gains access to the Madness Domain (pg. 139 Complete Divine) if he does not already possess it. If he already has access, this class feature has no effect. If he does not already have access to domain casting, he gains the domain's granted power, but does not gain the extra spells.

Willful Madness (ex): As the Madness Disciple walks down the path of insanity, the alien workings of his madness begin to protect his mind from outside influence. At 1st level he gains a +4 save bonus vs. illusion, and mind affecting and fear effects. At 5th level this bonus increases to +8 and at 9th level he becomes completely immune to these effects. This is an extraordinary ability.

Strain of Madness: As the Disciple walks down the path to power he must sacrifice some of his sanity. This manifests itself as a penalty to his will saves and wisdom based skill checks. At 1st level he suffers a –2 penalty. At 5th level this increases to –3, and at 10th level it becomes –4. Note that this includes the penalty from the Madness domain.

Manifest Madness (sp): As the Disciple’s insanity grows, it becomes so profound that his delusions become reality. At 2nd level, once per day the Disciple can cast a summon monster spell of the highest spell level available to him. Any creature he summons has the pseudonatural creature template. If the creature would normally have a different template (such as summoning a celestial creature), this replaces that template. At 6th level this ability can be used twice per day, and it can be used three times per day at 10th level.

Precision of Madness (su): Sometimes the Disciple’s lunacy allows him to act with a profound insight and precision that only comes from the deepest fits of insanity. As a free action, he takes a natural 20 on his next attack roll. This can be used for weapon attacks or for touch or ranged touch attacks in the case of some spells. At 3rd level he can use this once per day, and at 7th level he can use this ability twice per day.

Clarity of Madness: Those who follow the path of madness can sometimes act with a clarity that comes from true insanity. The Madness Disciple can tap this insanity more often than even the most devout lunatics. This allows him to use the power granted by the Madness domain more often than usual. At 4th level he can use it twice a day, and at 8th level he can use it three times a day. The strain of madness penalty does not apply when this ability is used.

Madness-Born: At 10th level the Disciple’s insanity has become so profound that the natural laws begin to lose their hold on him. He is thereafter treated as an outsider (native) rather than a humanoid. He gains darkvision (60 ft.) if he does not already possess it. He gains damage reduction 2/-, or his existing damage reduction improves by 2. He gains a flight speed equal to his base land speed with good maneuverability. If he already has a flight speed, use the better of the two values. This flight is a supernatural ability, but the damage reduction and darkvision are extraordinary abilities.

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