Aptropal ScionThis creature’s hairless, overlarge head surmounts its wet, wrinkled, and bloated humanoid body. Its eyes are glassy and vacant. Its arms are too slender, and its tiny hands end in cruelly sharpened nails, while its legs are atrophied, dead things that hang useless below it.Atropal scions are clots of divine flesh given form and animation by bleak-hearted gods of death. When a stillborn godling rises spontaneously as an undead, a great abomination is born. If that abomination is defeated, but any fragment or cast-off bit of flesh remains, an atropal scion may yet arise from those fragments, lessened in power from its divine beginnings, but no less hateful for its stature.
An atropal scion is a power to be reckoned with, and once animate in the world, seeks power over both life and unlife in an unrelenting bid for domination that only its lifeless tissue is able to sustain.
Table 1: The Aptropal Scion
Hit Die: d12Level BAB Ref Fort Will Wis NA Special Abilities
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
1 +0 +0 +0 +2 +0 +1 Aptropal Scion Body, Fast Healing, Magic of the Dead Gods
2 +1 +0 +0 +3 +1 +2 Rebuke Undead
3 +1 +1 +1 +3 +1 +3 Damage Reduction
4 +2 +1 +1 +4 +2 +4 Unholy Grace
5 +2 +1 +1 +4 +2 +5 Flight
6 +3 +2 +2 +5 +4 +6 Death Gaze
7 +3 +2 +2 +5 +3 +7
8 +4 +2 +2 +6 +4 +8 Negative Energy Aura
Class skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Spellcraft, Spot
Requirements:None
Class FeaturesA soul-numbing cold comes before and follows an atropal scion. The life energy of heroic creatures is suppressed in its foul aura, and the life force of lesser creatures is extinguished. It directs its spell-like abilities and death gaze upon those foes its mere presence cannot kill.
Aptropal Scion Body The Aptropal Scion loses all other racial bonuses, and gains the following Undead traits.
* No Constitution score.
* Darkvision out to 60 feet.
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
* Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
* Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
* Heals naturally.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
* Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
* Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
* Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
* Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
It is a medium sized undead with a slam dealing 1d8 + Strength modifier damage with a base speed of 20 feet.
Ability Score IncreaseAt each even level it gains a +1 bonus to its Wisdom.
Natural Armour IncreaseAt each level, the Aptropal Scion gains a +1 bonus to its natural armour.
Fast HealingAn atropal scion gains fast healing equal to its class level (max +8).
Rebuke Undead (Su) An atropal scion can rebuke or command undead as a cleric of the same level as the atropal scion’s HD.
Damage ReductionThe Aptropal Scion gains damage reduction 10/adamantium
Unholy Grace (Su)A Aptropal Scion adds its Charisma modifier as a bonus on all its saving throws and as a deflection bonus to its Armor Class.
Magic of the Dead Gods (Sp)At each level of the Aptropal Scion class, the character gains some small, but increasing, measure of the power that he might have had. His caster level is equal to his class level.
At first level, he gains the ability to cast
speak with dead three times a day.
At second level, he gains the ability to cast
invisibility three times a day.
At third level, he gains the ability to cast
desecrate three times a day.
At fourth level, he gains the ability to cast
dispel magic three times a day.
At fifth level, he gains the ability to cast
animate dead three times a day.
At sixth level, he gains the ability to cast
bloodstar three times a day.
At seventh level, he gains the ability to cast
cone of cold three times a day.
At eighth level, he gains the ability to cast
teleport three times a day.
At 12th hit dice, he gains the ability to cast
create undead three times a day.
At 13th hit dice, he gains the ability to cast
plane shift three times a day.
FlightThe atropal scion gains a fly speed of 30 feet (good).
Death Gaze (Su) Death, range 60 feet; Fortitude DC 10 + 1/2 class level + charisma negates. Humanoids who die from this attack are transformed into free willed wights 24 hours later.
Negative Energy Aura (Su)A 60-foot-radius negative energy aura surrounds an atropal scion. All undead in the aura (including the atropal scion) are treated as if they have +4 turn resistance and fast healing 5. Living creatures in the aura are treated as having two negative levels unless they have some sort of negative energy protection or protection from evil. Creatures with 2 or less HD fall dead in the negative energy aura (and, at the atropal scion’s option, rise as wights under the atropal scion’s command 1 minute later).
Magic EternalIf the Aptropal Scion subsequently takes a level in an arcane casting class, his levels in Aptropal Scion stack with the arcane casting class.