Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The Venerable Archmage 08-19-04, 01:24 PM	In the campaign I'm currently running, some of the action takes place on Cathrys, the second layer of Carceri. As you may know, this is a generally not nice place covered in acidic jungles and razor sharp grasslands. A rogue Baatezu noble has set up shop on one of Cathrys's orbs and is hoping to conquer it (she's been working on the conquest for five millenia and is making convincing progress). To this end, she is systematically burning the grasslands and deforesting the jungle to make it safer for her human minions. Naturally, this fits well with the Blighter prestige class, which I can imagine some of her more powerful minions having. However, the Blighter prerequisites restrict the class to ex-druids previously capable of 3rd level druidic magic. I can see this prestige class being pursued from the start of a character's career, rather than just taken by the odd druid that falls away from nature. To this end, I want to tweak the prestige class's prerequisites to allow non-druids to take it. Moreover, the Blighter is a sort of druidic equivalent of the blackguard or the Ur Priest, but both the Blackguard and the Ur Priest are also available for characters who were just bad to start with. Why not for the Blighter? How about the following adjusted prerequisites? Alignment: Any evil Base Attack Bonus: +4 Skills: Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks Special: Druids may not take this prestige class. Only ex-druids who have turned their backs on nature and thus lost their druidic abilities may qualify. Are these prerequisites too easy to fulfill, do you think? If so, what others should I add?
Sphyre 08-20-04, 05:37 AM	I DO like your idea, I was actually considering having my druid become a blighter :) I think it's even neater to be like that without having once been a druid. The old prerequisites for the blighter allowed you to have your first level of blighter to be your 7th. you needed 5 levels of druid, and then another level of druid or a full BAB class to get you the next level. Your new one can be taken at level 6th by going first 5 levels as ranger for bull bab and knowledge nature as a class skill (or, actually 4 levels of a medium bab class, and then one level of ranger for the last bab and knowledge nature for that level, dumping a full 8 points into nature at 5th level (human and at least 12 int or non human and at least 14 int) This is particularly potent with 4 levels of monk as the prerquisite: Monk 4/Ranger 1/Blighter X +10 ft, 1d8 unarmed damage, Wis bonus to ac, 2 bonus feats (1st and 2nd level monk feats), evasion, Still mind, Ki strike (Magic), Slowfall (20 ft), 1st favored enemy, track, wild empathy BAB: 4 Base fort save: 6 Base Refl save: 6 Base Will save: 4 ALL before you get in the class that stacks - but a druid has to give up stuff to get in, namely he becomes a +4 bab 5/2/5 base save with skills 5th level character with no class features to get in - making falling into blight the worst path to get in. I do suggest that you do 2 things. 1) Increase the Knowledge Nature to 9. This makes it so whoever you're playing you're most likely going to take 2 levels of a class with Knowledge (Nature) as a class skill. 2) Develop an Ex druid bonus. Druids know the weaknesses of what they once protected. I would suggest this: If the character has(all bonuses are cumulative): 1-2 Druid levels: Retains his animal companion but is treated as druid level 1st for purposes of advancement of the companion. 3-4 Druid levels: he gains +1 undead wildshape, and gets it at Blighter 1. This means at blighter level 1 he gains undead wildshape 1/day, blighter level 3 it's 2/day and so on 5-6 Druid levels: Druid levels stack with Blighter levels for determining Blighter caster level 7+ Druid levels: The Blighter uses the the druid spells per day list instead of blighter spell list. The Level of the druid spell list used is equal to Druid levels + Blighter levels. For example a 7th level Druid/1st level Blighter uses the spells per day list of a 8th level Druid for his Blighter spells. This allows a Druid who turned it's back on nature to show signs of it, along with allowing high level ex druids to convert their casting ability to blighter casting, keeping it at the role of a full caster.
The Venerable Archmage 08-20-04, 08:15 AM	Thanks. It did occur to me that the druid has to give up lots in order to take the PrC, but only after posting the first time. I'll... well, I'll take your suggestions. :)
Sphyre 08-20-04, 10:02 AM	As my friend noted, caster level for the blighter druid levels already stack for purposes of caster level. For that purpose the 5-6 levels of druid thing might need to be fixed a bit. When I think of something, i'll post it.
Sphyre 08-20-04, 10:32 AM	Here's what we came up with: 5-6 Druid levels: Instead of the animal companion being that of a 1st level druid it advances as normal where blighter level stacks with druid for determining advancement. It also gains the Blighted Template: Blighted: Type changes to undead (undead traits, no con score, change all HD to d12s, even the ones gained through advancement of the animal companion) +4 turn resistance Gains Toughness as a racial bonus feat. (Note that they are still intelligent undead, and thusly still accrue skill points and feats as normal)