Reaper of Nerull (3.5e Prestige Class)

Becoming a Reaper of Nerull

Primarily fighters, a Reaper of Nerull often wades into the thick of the fight, protected by the hand of their god. Becoming a Reaper of Nerull has many effects on one's minds and bodies. Within the first few weeks, the Reaper will begin to notice that food and drink levy little pleasure any more, food tastes like ash and any drink turns to flavourless water in their mouths. They will quickly learn that life's pleasures are slowly wasting away. The warm feel of sunlight loses its pleasant touch and the feel of another's company becomes meaningless. Eventually, the only action that brings any joy to the Reaper any longer is the thrill of killing. The thrill of that look in anothers eyes when your blade sinks into their heart and their life-blood spills out down its length.

A change in the Reaper's physiology is that their body becomes cold. Their essence of life is supplemented by the flow of divine magic through their body. Their skin whitens and their eyes brighten, giving them a somewhat manic and ghostly appearance. The change is not too noticeably strange to those who did not already know the Reaper prior to their ascendancy.

“	”Oh, the drama and agony! Die on your feet, dogs! Cling to your last scraps of dignity, stop running and DIE ON YOUR FEET!”	”
—Crull, Half-Elf Reaper, Heard by the only survivor of the massacre of Brightrock.

Entry Requirements

Base Attack Bonus:	+10
Alignment:	Any Evil
Patron:	Nerull
Special:	Only a high level cleric of Nerull or Nerull himself can grant access to a person wishing to enter this prestige class.

Table: The Reaper of Nerull

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Nerull's Scythe, Ethereal state
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Bonus Fighter Feat, Withering Touch
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Drain Soul, Unescapable
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Bonus Fighter Feat, Improved Nerull's Scythe
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Death Siphon
6th	+6	+5	+2	+5	Bonus Fighter Feat, Manifest Death, Greater Nerull's Scythe, Gale of Entropy
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Decipher Script (Int), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Move Silently (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Reaper of Nerull.

Proficiencies: The Reaper is considered proficient with scythes and sickles.

Immunities: A Reaper of Nerull's bodily functions are supplemented by ethereal magics. They are kept alive through the will of Nerull. Reapers are treated as undead for most purposes. They gain Darkvision 60ft. Immunity to all Mind-affecting Effects, Immune to Bleed, Death Effects, Disease, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep and Stunning. Immune to Nonlethal Damage, Ability Drain, Energy Drain, Exhaustion and Fatigue. They are immune to any effect that requires a fortitude save. They do not need to breathe, eat or sleep.

Nerull's Scythe: At will, as a swift action, the Reaper can transform any weapon he is holding into a scythe which emanates the clammy miasma of death. This scythe counts as magic for overcoming damage reduction, has a +2 enhancement bonus, and has the Frost enhancement. Alternatively, the Reaper can transform any two weapons he is holding into two +1 Sickles. In either form, the blades are poisoned and any creature struck by it must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus) or suffer 1d4 temporary Dexterity drain. This transformation lasts for as long as the reaper wields the weapon. The weapon retains any enchantment bonus To Hit and Damage while it is a scythe. (Note that weapons with their own personality have a 70% chance to resist the transformation if they wish to do so.)

Ethereal State: As a free action, the Reaper can shift a portion of his physical being into the Ethereal plane. This spell-like ability functions exactly like a Blur spell and can be used or dismissed at will. It also allows the Reaper to phase through thin materials such as panes of glass or thin metal bars.

Bonus Fighter Feat: The Reaper may take a fighter specific feat as a bonus feat.

Withering Touch: Once per day, the Reaper of Nerull can curse a creature with less than your Hit Dice + 5 with the Withering Touch. As a full round action, you make a melee touch attack which forces an enemy to make a fortitude save each round for 5 rounds (DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus). Failing one of these saves withers the target, dealing negative energy damage equal to 1d2x10 percent of an opponent's total Hit Point. This ability has no effect against creatures that are not living such as undead and constructs, and has no effect against creatures immune to critical strikes.

Drain Soul: Once per day, as a standard action, the Reaper can use Drain Soul on a target with less than your Hit Dice + 5. This requires line of sight and has a 60ft range. The target must make two Will Saves DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus. Should the target fail both saves, they die instantly and their soul is absorbed and is used to bolster the Reaper, granting him 2d8 temporary Hit Dice and +2 Str and +2 Dex per 2 HD of the drained target for the next hour. Should the Target succeed on their first save there are no ill effects and Drain Soul is used for the day. If the target should fail his first Will Save but pass the second they are gripped with the embrace of death, you gain +2 Str and Dex and the target becomes Stunned for one round, is Blinded for 1d4 rounds and exhausted. This ability has no effect against creatures that are not living such as undead and constructs, and has no effect against creatures naturally immune to critical hits.

Unescapable: Once per day the Reaper of Nerull can, for 10 minutes, gain a fly speed equal to twice that of their land speed with perfect maneuverability.

Improved Nerull's Scythe: Any weapon the Reaper transforms into a scythe has a +4 enhancement bonus and the frost enchantment or a pair of sickles, each with a +2 enchantment, and an improved poison. When hit, an opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus) or suffer 1d3 +2 temporary Dexterity loss.

Death Siphon: Recently slain creatures improve the Reaper's healing. Each creature slain within the last hour that is within a 30 ft. radius of the Reaper, grants the Reaper Fast Healing 1, adding up cumulatively to a maximum of Fast Healing 5.

Manifest Death: The final and most terrifying ability of a Reaper of Nerull, the ability to manifest the essence of death itself by transforming himself into a terrible skeletal visage. Once per day, the Reaper is able to undergo a painful yet instantaneous transformation to become a killing machine. Assuming this form is a move action and lasts for a duration of 5 rounds plus 1 round per enemy slain while in this form. The stats are:

• +20ft to all forms of movement speed
• increases natural reach by 5ft.
• gains +5 natural armor bonus
• gains two scythe-like claw attacks that deal 2d6+5 each. Creatures struck by a claw attack must make a Fortitude save against (DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus) or temporarily lose 2d6 Dexterity. These weapons also benefit from any Weapon Focus or Weapon Specialization the Reaper would have for Scythes OR Sickles.
• gains selective immunity to all levels of spells.
• gains heightened senses which allow him to see invisible opponents. Invisible opponents are still afforded a 20% miss chance as their forms are blurred and shifting.
• gains an improved version of Death Siphon; increasing the range to 100ft. radius and its maximum stack to Fast Healing 10

Greater Nerull's Scythe: Any weapon the Reaper transforms into a scythe has a +5 enhancement bonus and the frozen burst enchantment and an improved poison or a pair of sickles, each with a +4 enhancement bonus and the frozen burst enchantment, and an improved poison. When hit, an opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Character Level + Wis Bonus) or suffer 2d3 +1 temporary Dexterity loss. (Weapons with personalities only have a 10% chance to resist the change.)

Gale of Entropy: Once per week the Reaper of Nerull can create a 30ft cone of blasting wind that drastically ages and withers creatures and objects. All creatures caught in its effect must make Fortitude saves until they succeed. Fortitude save DC 10 + class Level + Wis Bonus + 2 per failed save. The wind causes any creature within the cone to age at an incredible rate, moving up to their next age for each failed save. Those who surpass their maximum age category die instantly. Any objects caught in the wind will change as though affected by years of idleness. Eg; Water stagnates, food spoils, metal rusts, wood rots and stone is eroded down.

Ex-Reapers

For a Reaper to renounce his God is like person renouncing the beating of their hearts. For a Reaper to stop worshiping the only true God, Nerull, he dies. Nerull is Swift and unforgiving in his punishment. In game terms, a Reaper is unable to select any class to increase in level which has a Good alignment requirement as the Reaper would have turned their back on Nerull and he would cease to supplement their bodies requirements with magic. They would die in agony as their body begins to shut down and eventually break down.

Reapers of Nerull in the World

“	”There are thousands of you but only three of us... So tell me, Captain, why have you not begun your attack yet?”	”
—Alistar, Human Reaper, Before the massacre of Brightrock

Role in the World: Reapers of Nerull serve a very specific purpose. They are, for all intents and purposes; pest control. Reapers are crowned such so as to exact the will of their God; to kill and kill until they are killed themselves. While not berserk killers, they will take life when-ever and where-ever they wish to.

NPC Reactions: While a Reaper is hard to detect when not killing, NPC's are often put ill-at-ease by a Reaper's lack of compassion or empathy and their apparent joy in the idea of ending lives. Reapers are often hunted once they have exposed their true tendencies as they are considered violent mass-murderers.

“	”A ring a' ring o' soldiers A courtyard full o' corpses A slash an' a slash an' They all fall down...”	”
—Baroul, Elven Reaper, During the massacre of Brightrock

Reaper of Nerull Lore

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

Knowledge (Religion, The Planes or History)

DC	Result
10	Reapers of Nerull are a fairy-tale told to scare children and old ladies.
20	Among the previously documented exploits of Reapers of Nerull, you wonder how it is that, if they leave no survivors, there is even documentation of them in the first place.
30	It is said that witnessing the slaughter that a Reaper of Nerull can wreak is enough to break the will of the most battle-hardened soldier.
40	The most feared and powerful Reaper of Nerull in history, Sarbaska, was once a kindly human king who cared for his citizens and subjects, but one night Nerull came to him in a dream and told him that great slaughter would befall his beautiful city. Sarbaska begged Nerull to help him and Nerull gave Sarbaska a portion of his power. Over the years Sarbaska became bitter and cruel. He traded his crown for a cowl and his scepter for a scythe and dealt harsh punishments on all those in his kingdom. This continued until his heinous actions caught the attention of Palor, who's champion; Trudó, told Sarbaska that he was the death and ruin that Nerull foresaw, or more accurately, caused. Sarbaska would not believe him and a great battle ensued, leaving both of them mortally wounded and dieing. In their final moments, both prayed to their gods. Trudó prayed for his god to bring them both life while Serbaska prayed for his god to bring them all death. In the end neither gods intervened and Serbaska's wife ran to Trudó, tending to his wounds and ignoring her husband. He died watching her save his enemy and it is said that, perhaps, in those final moments he finally felt remorse for what he had done.

Reapers of Nerull in the Game

Adaptation: Reapers of Nerull will only be able to exist in D&D worlds where Gods often take interest in the activities of the common people.

In-Game Role: The Reaper of Nerull is an army-killing class which specializes on taking on large groups of low level enemies. When faced with champions such as Lvl 20 Paladins, they are much less effective.

Sample Encounter: Word from a cluster of small towns that a beast of unknown origins has begun attacking and killing people on sight. As the party near the area they encounter more and more refugees seeking to escape the slaughter in their home towns. Speaking to these refugees will reveal to the party that creature killing people takes the form of a hooded man wielding a sickly scythe and the ability to rip the soul from your very body. Eventually, they reach a town and see this maniacal killer kill two guardsmen in a single swipe of his scythe and continue on to the party, regardless of their class/race composition. His single mindedness is only made clearer when he ignores any form of diplomacy and will perform a Coup de grace strike against any party member who does not take up arms, at which point the DM may remind them what a fool they are. The Reaper has these statistics

Game Stats

Unknown Reaper

CR 18

	Male Human Fighter 15, Reaper 5
	CE Medium humanoid
Init/Senses	+4/Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages	Common
AC	22, touch 14, flat-footed 18
hp	180 (20 HD)
Fort/Ref/Will	+16/+10/+11
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee	+3 Scythe [2d4+9, crit x4, 10 lb, Heavy, Piercing or Slashing]
Base Atk/Grp	+24/+19/+14/+9/+24/+19/+14/+9
Abilities	Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 12
Feats	Weapon Focus (Scythe), Weapon Specialization (Scythe), Greater Weapon Focus (Scythe), Greater Weapon Specialization (Scythe), Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Improved Disarm, Combat Reflexes, Mobility, Spring Attack, Endurance, Die Hard
Skills	Climb +6, Escape Artist +5, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (Religion) +17, Listen +4, Search +9, Spot +4, Tumble +5,
Possessions	Magic Chain Shirt +2, Scythe, 2 Daggers, Bag of rotten fruit/meat, Holy symbol of Nerull, Cloak of Armour +2.
Patron Deity	Nerull

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