Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uratoh 07-29-07, 06:30 PM	As commented in their issue in Dragon, Rakshasae in Eberron can't gain experience/power like most, instead relying on souls, etc to bolster themselves (and thus advance/gain levels). Today my PCs stumbled into a status quo encounter of an Ac'char Rakshasa (MM3) running a town, fought him, and as his opening move he Trap the Soul'd the 14th level Barbarian in the party. He ultimately escaped near death... Obviously they'll see him again...I'm trying to determine what sort of advancement/power he can gain from a single soul of great power, being 14th lv and all...
Dragom 07-29-07, 09:18 PM	Use the Barghest rules...
SSj3goblin 07-29-07, 11:08 PM	IIRC, this was stated in the dragon article about the lords of dusts. It said that a Rakashasa (or any LoD for that matter) had no use whatsoever for a soul and couldn't receive someone's soul after its death. However, the fact that people really believe (when they "sell their soul") that the fiend owns them and their souls gives them tremendous power.
Uratoh 07-29-07, 11:24 PM	hm, I coulda sworn...how to Rakshasae gain power again? I know they dont gain levels etc the 'normal' way...
Kinger 07-31-07, 07:01 PM	I would think, not having read the article at all, that a Rahkshasa's power is not dependant on literal souls. Rather, their power is based on the number of "souls" they currently manipulate. And by "power" I mean the political kind, rather than hitdice and caster level. A Rahkshasa with minimum hitdice would hold a higher "rank" amongst his or her fellows than one with more hitdice if he or she has more successful schemes in play. Take the Rhakshasa I'm making up on the spot: Gashara. Gashara's not got any extra hitdice. In a straight-up fight, Mullmanaroth The Defiler, another fiend I'm making up on the spot, with his extra 5 caster-levels of awesomeness, would kick her ass up and down the Demon Wastes no sweat. However, Gashara is viewed with more respect by her peers because she was the one who got a high-level and beloved dragonmarked heir excoriated, lead a party of Dol Arran paladins to their deaths in a middle-of-nowhere swamp in the Shadow Marches without revealing herself or casting a single Magic Missile, and currently orchestrates the actions of no less than four Cults of the Dragon Below in Breland and one village of Puritans in Aundair. Mullmanaroth? Well, he razed a church in Thrane a while ago (hence the moniker), but in doing so was identified by the Church of the Silver Flame. He's now being actively hunted by its most competant Templar, and dare not show his face in Ashtakatla due to shame. That's how I view Rakshasa, anyway. They're immortal. They're bored. They screw with the mortals for kicks, and if you get caught or things go ass-up, you get humiliated which is almost worse than death. Death is a temporary thing, after all. Humiliation, though? That lasts until nobody else remembers it.. and Rakshasa have loooooong memories.
Psymnotica 07-31-07, 09:37 PM	If I'm remembering correctly, Rakshasa gain power from potent mystical effects - artifacts, magic locations, Urolok, etc. Hold on, let me go look it up. Okay, in issue 337 of Dragon, page 58 the article talks of them gaining power. It says that under most normal circumstances Rakshasa of Eberron cannot gain experience, so they may be able to increase their hit dice by tapping into the energy from mystical sources or by acquiring artifacts. Some (the most ambitious) seek to gain the power of the Rajahs themselves. Hope that helps. Psymnotica
Uratoh 07-31-07, 10:03 PM	Hmm, so while it looks like he can't gain exp/levels/etc from getting a soul, he does have absolute control over it (Seeing as he doesnt need a component focus etc for his Trap The Soul spell, it must be sealed within his own body...) and thus would probably be able to release the body for use as a Death Knight minion...(those wacky Ac'char rakshasa and their undead...)...provide a great hook too, since he will do everything he can to kill the PCs, but they want to free their old friend...