Ruin Chanter
(Monster Manual V pg 132-133)
Ruin Chanter CR 14 | Monster Manual V pg 132-133
Usually CN Medium fey (air, earth)
Init +11; Senses low-light vision; Listen +26, Spot +26
Languages Auran, Common, Giant, Sylvan, Terran
AC 31, touch 17, flat-footed 24; Dodge, Mobility (+7 Dex, +14 natural)
hp 190 (20 HD); DR 15/cold iron and magic
Immunities disease, poison
SR 23
Fort +12, Ref +19, Will +15
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Melee +2 adamantine light mace +20/+15 (1d6+7)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +10; Grp +15
Special Actions bardic music (countersong, fascinate 4 creatures, inspire courage +2, inspire confidence, suggstion, inspire greatness 2 creatures, song of freedom), call ruin elemental, infirmity of body, infirmity of mind
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20th): 3/day—crushing despair (DC 21), rusting grasp (+15 melee touch, DC 21), spike stones (DC 21)
Abilities Str 20, Dex 25, Con 23, Int 18, Wis 17, Cha 25
SA bardic music, call ruin elemental, infirmity of mind, infirmity of body, spell-like abilities
Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (light mace)
Skills Concentration +15, Hide +30, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +27, Knowledge (history) +27, Listen +26, Move Silently +30, Perform (singing) +30, Search +20, Spot +26, Survival +26, Tumble +30
Advancement 21–40 HD (Medium)
Bardic Music (Su) A ruin chanter has the bardic music ability of a 12th-level bard (PH 29).
Call Ruin Elemental (Su) Once per week, when a ruin chanter is aware of interlopers within the ruins it calls home, the ruin chanter can conjure a ruin elemental (MM5 page 134) after an hour-long ritual. During the ritual, a storm (DMG 94) appropriate for the climate strikes the ruin chanter’s home. When the ritual is complete, the storm disappears suddenly and a ruin elemental appears, ready to do the ruin chanter’s bidding. Since the ruin elemental serves the ruin chanter until the elemental is destroyed, it’s possible for a ruin chanter to have more than one ruin elemental serving it.
Infirmity of Body (Su) By pointing its finger, a ruin chanter can prematurely age an enemy’s body. Doing so imposes a –6 penalty to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, and causes the victim’s hair to turn white, skin to wrinkle, and posture to stoop (Fortitude DC 27 negates). The penalty lasts for 1 hour or until the victim receives a remove curse spell. A ruin chanter cannot place both infirmity of body and infirmity of mind on the same creature. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Infirmity of Mind (Su) With a wave of its hand, a ruin chanter can render a creature senile and unable to reliably tell friend from foe. This ability functions as a confusion spell (Will DC 27 negates) and makes victims appear elderly just as infirmity of body does. Infirmity of mind lasts for 1 hour or until the victim receives a remove curse spell. A ruin chanter cannot place both infirmity of body and infirmity of mind on the same creature. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Ruin chanters, personifications of worldly decay, act as guardians of ancient sites. They channel their sorrow into melancholy songs of glories past and powers of decomposition.
HD:d6
Level | Bab | Fort | Ref | Will | Feature | Ability Score Increase |
1 | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Fey Body, Archaic Knowledge, Word of Breaking, Ruinous Music 1/day/HD, Projection, Curse Song | +1 Cha |
2 | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Armor of Music, Focus on Architecture | +1 Dex |
3 | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Inspire Incompetence (-2) | +1 Cha |
4 | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Call from the Ruins | +1 Dex |
5 | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Command (1) | +1 Cha |
6 | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Spellbreaker Chant | +1 Dex |
7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Spell Resistance | +1 Cha |
8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | +6 | Inspire Incompetence (-5) | +1 Dex |
9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Command (2) | +1 Cha |
10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Inspire hatred | +1 Dex |
11 | +8 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Will not be Silenced | +1 Cha |
12 | +9 | +4 | +8 | +8 | Command (3) | +1 Dex |
13 | +9 | +4 | +8 | +8 | Inspire Incompetence (-7) | +1 Cha |
14 | +10 | +4 | +9 | +9 | Song of Shattering | +1 Dex, +1 Cha |
Skills:6+int modifier per level, x4 if taken at first level.
Class Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Concentration, Decipher Script, Hide, Jump, Intimidate, Knowledge (architecture and engineering), Knowledge (History), Knowledge (nobility and Royalty), Move Silently, Perform (Chant), Perform (Oratory), Perform (Poetry), Perform (Sing), Search, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival.
Weapons and Proficiencies:
The Ruin Chanter has the exact
weapon and armor proficiencies as the Bard. However, since it does not cast spells, the Ruin chanter does not gain cast Arcane spells in Light armor without Arcane Spell Failure.
Ability Score Increases: The Ruin Chanter gains +1 Cha at odd levels, +1 Dex at even levels, and at level 14, it gains an additional +1 Cha for a total of +7 Dex and +8 Cha.
Fey BodyAs a Fey creature, the Ruin Chanter has the following:
- 6-sided Hit Dice.
- Base attack bonus equal to 3/4 its total Hit Dice (as cleric); this is unlike most Fey, which normally gain 1/2 BaB.
- Good Reflex and Will saves.
- Low-light vision.
- Fey eat, sleep, and breathe.
Features:Archaic Knowledge : Every Ruin chanter has a special knowledge pertaining to the past and antiquity. It takes a knowledge check with a bonus equal to its Ruin Chanter level + its Intelligence modifier to see whether it knows some relevant information about ancient notable people, legendary items, or what used to be in places before now.
Word of Breaking (Su): Ruin chanters know how to disrupt just about anything. As a Standard Action, the Ruin Chanter may utter a baleful word with a suitable gesture. It makes a Ranged Touch attack that, upon a hit, deals 1d8+Cha bonus Sonic damage. This damage increases by 1d8 every 3 HD the Ruin Chanter has.
This ranged attack provokes an Attack of Opportunity just as a spellcaster producing a spell would.
The range for this ability is 25' +5'/HD; at level 11, this ability's range improves to 100' +10'/HD
Ruinous Music (Su): Ruin Chanters weave suffering and tragedy into the world from their musical performance. Once per day per hit die, it can use its song or poetics to produce magical effects on those around him (to any it desires, usually its enemies). While these abilities fall under the category of music and the descriptions discuss chanting or playing music, they can all be activated by reciting poetry, chanting, singing lyrical songs, singing melodies, whistling, or any spoken performance. Each ability requires both a minimum Ruin Chanter level and a minimum number of ranks in the Perform skill (of some vocal performance) to qualify. Each technique of Ruinous music takes 1 daily use unless otherwise specified.
Ruinous Music counts as Bardic Music for purposes of qualifying for feats and Prestige Classes. It therefore also benefits from feats such as
Extra Music,
Lingering Song, and so on.
Projection (Ex): Ruin Chanters are feared for their ability to project their voice. A normal use of their Ruinous Music has a Medium-range emanation: 100' +10' per Ruin Chanter HD. However, the Ruin Chanter can opt to
Project its music to Long Range (250' +25'/HD) if it expends an extra use of its Ruinous Music and takes 1 point of Constitution damage. This Con damage can only be cured by natural (non-extraordinary/magical/psionic/supernatural) means.
The range of any ability is of course still subject to further change, such as by the
Resounding Voice spell.
Curse Song (Su): A Ruin Chanter with at least 1 rank in Perform may apply baleful magic to all it desires. Those that hear this performance take a -1 penalty to Damage rolls, Fortitude saves, Will saves, and AC. This penalty increases by -1 for every 4 HD the Ruin Chanter has (-2 at 4, -3 at 8, etc).
This song persists for as long as the Ruin Chanter sings it and 5 rounds thereafter.
Inspire Incompetence (Su): A 3rd level Ruin Chanter with 6 ranks in Perform may choose to make it more difficult for those around him to accomplish tasks. Anyone that can hear this spoken chant takes a -2 competence penalty to all skill checks, Reflex Saves, and Initiative. The Ruin chanter may choose to exclude any it wishes from this powerful dirge. This penalty increases by 1 every 3 levels (-2 at 6, -3 at 9, etc).
This performance can last for as long as the Ruin chanter concentrates, for up to 2 minutes.
Command (Sp): A Ruin Chanter of at least 5th level and 8 Perform ranks may spend a use of Ruinous Music to affect a single creature already afflicted by its Curse Song with a
Command, like the spell, except that it must be within hearing range of the Chanter. At higher levels, the Chanter may Command multiple creatures affected by its Curse Song.
Spellbreaker Chant (Su): A 6th-level Ruin Chanter with at least 9 ranks in Perform may take use of its Ruinous Music to make magic difficult to cast in its area. Any spell cast or power manifest within range of this song has a 25% chance of failure, plus 5% of failure per bonus of Cha, to a maximum of 80%. Like other songs, if the Ruin Chanter stops concentrating on the song, it will only linger for 5 rounds after he stops his chant.
This ability does not stack with the Spellbreaker Song
feat from Complete Mage, pg 35.
Song of Shattering (Su): A 14th level Ruin Chanter with at least 17 ranks in Perform may expend uses of its Ruinous Music to play this unearthly tune. It has two options with this performance.
First, it may expend 4 uses of Ruinous Music to cause damage to a (non-living) object up to 200# per Hit Die the Ruin Chanter has. It focuses its music into the object, which takes 1d12+Charisma Modifier sonic damage per HD of the Ruin Chanter; this damage bypasses all hardness and Damage Reduction.
Second, it may expend 1 use of Ruinous Music to use
Greater Dispel Magic[/i], as the spell, except that it does not provoke Attacks of Opportuity to use, it affects both Magic and Psionics; and you use a Perform check to make the Dispel Check.
Ruin Chanters and Ruin Elementals are immune to the effects of this ability.
Armor of Music (Ex): Beginning at level 2, the Ruin Chanter draws resilience from the mystical energies it procures. The Ruin Chanter gains a Racial bonus to its Armor Class equal to its Charisma modifier.
Focus on Architecture: As long as the Ruin Chanter has 5 ranks in both Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) and Knowledge (History), it gets a +3 bonus to each skill. As long as it has 13 ranks in each skill, it gains a +10 bonus to both of them and whenever it rolls a skill check for either skill, it rolls twice and takes the better result.
Call from the Ruins (Ex): At level 4, if it has at least 5 ranks in all of Perform, Knowledge (history) and at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering), the Ruin Chanter can begin great mastery of its domain.
Once per week, it may take an hour-long ritual. It talks of the sorrow and loss from the past; of the terrors yet to come; of the uselessness of the struggles of man and how it stands upon the folly of men and all in-between. For this hour, a storm rages (See DMG pg 94), and it is unquenchable, even by magical spells such as Control Weather. However, the Ruin Chanter does not take damage from a storm conjured by this ritual.
At the end of the hour the storm abates, and the Ruin Chanter must make either a Knowledge (History) or a (Architecture & Engineering) check, its choice. A Ruin Elemental appears with Hit Dice equal to 1/3 its total check, ready to do the ruin chanter’s bidding (but if its check is lower than a 3, then no Elemental appears). Since the ruin elemental serves the ruin chanter until the elemental is destroyed, it’s possible for a ruin chanter to have more than one ruin elemental serving it.
A Ruin Chanter may only control 2 HD of Ruin Elemental for every 3 HD it has. If one of its Elementals grows in HD beyond its capacity to control it, it may choose which one to keep control of. These freed Elementals are likely to remain friendly to the Ruin Chanter that brought it into sentience; however, this is entirely up to GM discretion.
Finally, a Ruin Elemental is treated as if it were a Humanoid, not an elemental, in regards to any ability of the Ruin Chanter's that is Mind-affecting.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A Ruin Chanter's music and its tendency to break things around it eventually translated its body into one with magical resistance. At 7th level, it gains SR equal to 12 + its total HD.
Inspire Hatred (Su): At 10th level, with 13 ranks in Perform, the Ruin Chanter can evoke hatred in a single living creature within 30 feet that has an Intelligence score of 3 or higher. At 12th level and every 3 levels thereafter, it may affect an additional creature (two creatures at 12th level, three at 15th, four at 18th, etc). To inspire hatred, you must sing, speak, or perform, and the target must hear you. The target is entitled to a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your total HD + your Cha modifier) to resist this mind-affecting ability. The effect lasts for as long as the target hears you and for 5 additional rounds thereafter.
An affected creature develops an unreasoning hatred of another creature that you indicate. The affected creature attacks the object of its hate as directed, to the exclusion of other opponents. If the affected creature is attacked, it can defend itself as normal, but as soon as possible, it resumes attacking the object of its hate. Creatures compelled to attack an ally can attempt a new Will save each round to break free from this supernatural effect.
Will not be Silenced (Ex): Beginning at 11th level, a Ruin Chanter's abilities are immune to spells, powers, and effects like
Silence that would otherwise suppress and prevent sound in their areas of effect.