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Page 1: TOME OF WICKED THINGS - DriveThruRPG.com · 2018. 4. 28. · Evil clerics, inquisitors, and even the occasional fighters who revere evil deities make excellent antipaladins. The path

TOME OF WICKED THINGS- R E D U X -

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CREDITS-Producer-

Scott GladStein

-deSiGnerS-Scott GladStein, caleb alySworth, SaSha hall

-editorS-aPril halcomb, ian SiSSon, chriStoS Gurd

-art-hermadolPh, maciej ZaGorSki, matt morrow, Storn cook

-GraPhic deSiGn/layout-Scott GladStein

OGL Compatible: Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/compatibility for more information on the compatibility license

Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the PathfinderRoleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

A Product of Little Red Goblin Games, LLCQuestions? Comments? Contact us at:

[email protected]://littleredgoblingames.com/

© 2014, All Rights Reserved

TOME OF WICKED THINGS- R E D U X -

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It Is So Much Fun To Be Bad . . .Those who turn from the light often find themselves cast in the shadow. Called by various foul names and titles, such as antipaladins or blackguards, these forsaken few are the champions of malice. They embody the sinful ways of their patron gods or the fiends they serve. Antipaladins are great warriors before they are approached by the envoys of darkness who empower them. They are seduced by wicked words and paid in unholy things. For their service, antipaladins are given what their hearts desire: power, wealth, or status. Whatever the reason, these champions of darkness are often the right hands of powerful clerics or leaders of wicked cults themselves.

Evil clerics, inquisitors, and even the occasional fighters who revere evil deities make excellent antipaladins. The path to power is as varied as it is seductive. Paladins who fall to the darkness are few and far between, but the results are terrible and magnificent.

Within the pages of this guide, you will find new options for the antipaladin alternative, building on the information presented in the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide.

Play ing an Ant ipa l ad in/Evi l Charac t e rIntegrating an antipaladin into a party of heroes is often a challenge. Many times, a GM will place alignment restrictions, or the majority of players (if not all) will be of a good alignment. An antipaladin’s code is not conducive to playing in a typical gaming party’s dynamic. It can cause both in-game and player conflicts, and the player may find himself struggling to shoehorn his character into the party’s quests. Here are a few options for fitting an antipaladin (or any evil character) into a game.

Play It Stra ight :An antipaladin’s code of conduct allows him to commit good acts if it is in the service of his darker ends. If these ends are not at odds with the ends of the party (see “The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend” below), this can act well. For example: An antipaladin wants to eliminate a lich that is trying to seize land that houses a cult to the antipaladin’s dark lord. The party might rally and join the antipaladin in the good fight of killing the lich. Generally, conflict happens when a loud and proud antipaladin encounters any good-aligned characters with strong convictions. In order to appease them, an antipaladin may have to abide under certain restrictions while in the party. These restrictions could include no excessively cruel acts, not communing with dark spirits, etc.

Play It Dir ty :Rather than being overt, an antipaladin’s player can gloss over his evilness. He can pretend he is not evil and try to hide it. Nondetection might be required of him, or a convenient lie may need to be ready to explain his alignment if magically searched. A word of caution: be prepared for the moment of revelation and when it will ultimately occur; the antipaladin and the party will need to be ready to deal with their consequences. Additionally, it can be a roleplaying challenge when the player’s friends around the table know that his character is a scumbag but their characters in-game do not. Because this type of advanced roleplaying is required, it may not be suitable for every game and party; therefore, it is important to talk to the whole party beforehand.

WICKED THINGS

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Evi l For a Reason :Sometimes a character can be evil for a reason completely unrelated to the party. (This applies less to antipaladins and more to evil-aligned party members.) Sometimes a character is consumed by revenge, or he has a legitimate issue with a traditionally good-aligned party. For example, a grief-stricken warrior might be waging a bloody war of revenge against the ones who slew his brothers; their deaths determined him to commit his life to doing anything necessary to find and kill their murderers. Characters like this may be evil to their cores - going so far as to not have issues killing people who are otherwise innocent - but a core reason has infested their hearts and this reason is unrelated to the party. A character with this type of background might say, “Look. I’ve done some dark things; I’m not proud of it - but it had to be done and I’m going to keep doing it.”

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend :Though he makes a strange bedfellow, an antipaladin’s goals may align with those of a good party if they have a common enemy. An antipaladin might have specific knowledge and/or access to a mean(s) of combatting evil that a good party would normally lack (see “Evil as a Weapon” below) and can commit wicked acts to further the party’s end that would make a paladin shudder. However, once the alliance ends, things can slide downhill quickly and possibly explosively. For example, after the evil dragon is dead, the antipaladin might find himself as the target of a smite evil or two if he did not make a proper truce that allowed him an escape option at the end.

Complex i ty and Bigger Things :Antipaladins have the capacity to be just as dynamic and diverse as other characters. Being evil may not define their personalities entirely, and they are quite capable of recognizing things bigger than themselves. Similarity to how a paladin can swear loyalty to a king or power, an antipaladin can swear loyalty to an evil-aligned king or power. Additionally, an antipaladin’s loyalty can be big or small. For instance, a character’s dark powers may twist his personality, but he would never change the loyalty to his family. There is just as much to explore when creating an evil-aligned character personality as there is for any other characters.Sa

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Slave to Evi l :Building on complexity, the path to evil is not always clear. Evil is seductive and powerful. It can coil its tendrils around the unwilling and can corrupt even the purest of person if it finds a foothold. For instance, a warrior could be a slave to a demon lord’s bidding in return for his wife’s soul; a paladin could be under a curse or punishment for his hubris; or a character can be a mere puppet of another without any real understanding or recollection of what is happening. Having a player with a complex history can offer a GM a new or additional theme of redemption to the story plot (see “Road to Redemption” below).

Road to Redempt ion :Once evil has seduced, it can leave an empty shell of a person behind. This empty shell may recognize the error of his way and work to right the wrongs of his life. However, redemption is an uphill battle and few fully make it. Nonetheless, the act of repentance can be enough, regardless if true redemption was even possible. Characters and parties who play with themes of redemption need to be ready for trials and tribulations. These themes can be rich storehouses of roleplaying experiences as characters and their players are forced to crawl their way up from the darkness. A word of caution: an antipaladin must be careful not to break his code or he could result in a loss of class features or strength. However, the road to redemption might meld an antipaladin into a paladin.

Evi l as a Weapon :Sometimes the best tool to use against evil is evil itself. For instance, a man consumed by a need to destroy something evil might seek out a greater evil to help him strike back at the cause of his pain. Similarly to the other ways of playing evil characters or antipaladins, this style has vast opportunities for complexity. Combining the “Evil as a Weapon” idea with the “Slave to Evil” idea could make for a backstory mixed with goals and a strong plot line; this could eventually lead to plots built off the “Road to Redemption” section. The opportunities are limitless!

Evi l Charac t e r Dos and Don ' t sThe following is a summary list of some of the ideas presented above and is a short list of things to do or to avoid if you want to play an evil character who gets along with a good party.• Do not work against the party.• Do not betray the party.• Do not antagonise the paladin or other

“obnoxiously good” characters.• Do not make a big deal of your alignment or

constantly remind party members.• Use complexity: Make a character who is more

than his alignment and offer a reason for it.• There are shades of gray that the alignment

system does not explicitly cover. Use this to your advantage.

• Sample good reasons for evil: Anger, revenge, grief, elitism, misunderstood, etc.

• Sample bad reasons for evil: Insanity, “just a jerk,” absurdist philosophy, etc.

• Be subtle with your wickedness.• Understand how to play evil.• Cutting off the heads of townsfolk for no reason is

amateur hour. Every person has reasons, superficial and/or deep, for their actions; evil characters do as well, and you need to be ready to defend your actions.

• Seeking revenge on someone who wronged you, even in a minor way, offers you a reason for your madness. Get creative with how you torture or punish your enemy.

• Hide behind laws and objective morality.• Prove that you are useful to the party on a regular

basis.

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Evi l By Any Other Name : Ant ipa l ad ins Of Lawfu l Al ignmentThe antipaladin class requires the character to be of a chaotic evil alignment. However, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that a lawful antipaladin could exist. To play a lawful antipaladin, you need to make the following changes:

claSS FeatureS:• The bonus provided by the fiendish boon class

feature cannot produce the anarchic weapon enhancement but can instead produce the axiomatic weapon enhancement.

SwaP the FollowinG SPellS:• Protection from law to protection from chaos• Communal protection from law to communal

protection from chaos• Magic circle against law to magic circle against

chaos• Dispel law to dispel chaos

code oF conduct:A lawful antipaladin walks a thin line between nobility and amoralism. A lawful antipaladin must be of lawful evil alignment; he loses all class features except proficiencies if he ever willingly commits an unprovoked evil act or an overabundance of good acts that do not serve evil ends. Additionally, the lawful antipaladin’s code requires that he respect the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts and act with honor (not lying, not cheating, and so forth), but he must admonish and oppress with extreme prejudice those who are weak or otherwise below him.

Associates: While he may adventure with good or neutral allies, a lawful antipaladin avoids working with chaotic characters, characters who hinder his plots/goals, or anyone who consistently proves themselves as useless or weak. A lawful antipaladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are non-good and non-chaotic.

Tab le 1 -1 : Ant ipa l ad in Al ternate Favored Class Bonusesrace bonuS Source

Aasimar Add +1/2 to the amount of damage the antipaladin causes with touch of corruption, but only when the antipaladin uses that ability on an evil creature.

Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide

Dhampir +1/5th extra bleed damage any time you cause a bleeding effect. Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide

Dwarf +1 bonus on Concentration checks when casting antipaladin spells. Pathfinder Core Rulebook

Halfling +1/4th damage to the antipaladin’s touch of corruption. Pathfinder Core Rulebook

Human +1 to the antipaladin’s energy resistance to one kind of energy (maximum +10).

Pathfinder Core Rulebook

Pariah +1/3rd luck bonus to AC against critical confirmations. Little Red Goblin Games Racial Guide

Ratel +1/4th Strength bonus when using your frenzy racial ability. Little Red Goblin Games Racial Guide

Reds (Heckitans)

+1/2 spell resistance against spells with the good descriptor. Collected Goblin Rations 2012-2014

Warped +1/4th to smite damage against good outsiders. Tome of Twisted Things

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Black Knightan archetyPe For antiPaladinS For the

PathFinder rolePlayinG Game

Where once chivalry flourished, now only deceit festers. Donning the dark armor of a black knight is a last resort, not an honor. Concealing one’s identity for fear of reprisal is the antithesis of chivalry. Many see this cowardice as unforgivable. A man should be able to look into the eyes of the man who will kill him. A black knight conceals his identity and claims victory at any cost. He has no qualms about exploiting the moral weaknesses of others.

Rider of He l l (Su) :At 2nd level, the black knight gains a bonus on Ride and Intimidate checks equal to 1/2 his black knight level.This ability replaces the unholy resilience class feature.

Blackened Shie ld (Sp) :At 3rd level, the black knight gains the benefits of undetectable alignment on himself constantly. At 6th level, he additionally gains nondetection constantly. He may raise or lower these spell-like abilities as a swift action. This ability replaces the plague bringer class feature.

Overwhe lming Charge (Ex) :At 3rd level, the black knight’s mount can ride down anything with fiendish determination. The black knight gains the Trample bonus feat. Additionally, the black knight does not suffer any penalty to his AC after making a charge attack while mounted.This ability replaces the aura of cowardice class feature.

Dark Steed (Sp) :The black knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, fierce, and domineering steed to serve him. This mount is usually a heavy horse (for a Medium black knight) or a pony (for a Small black knight), but more exotic mounts, such as boars, camels, or dogs, are also suitable. This mount functions as the druid’s animal companion, using the black knight’s level as his effective druid level. Fiendish mounts have an Intelligence of at least 6.

At 5th level, the black knight gains his fiendish mount, as well as the ability to magically call his mount to appear immediately adjacent to his side. He can use this ability once per day as a full-round action. Every 4 levels after 5th, he gains an additional use of this ability, for a grand total of 4 times per day at 17th level. This magical calling is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to 1/3rd the black knight’s level. At 11th level, the mount gains the fiendish creature simple template and becomes a magical beast for the purposes of determining which spells affect it.

At 15th level, the black knight’s mount gains spell resistance equal to the black knight’s level + 11. Should the black knight’s mount die, he may not summon another mount for 30 days or until he gains a black knight level, whichever comes first. During this 30-day period, the black knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

This ability replaces the fiendish boon class feature.

ANTIPALADINARCHETYPES

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Bravoan archetyPe For antiPaladinS For the

PathFinder rolePlayinG Game

A “bravo” is the term used to refer to a mercenary of known infamy. Regarded as cruel and immoral, a bravo violates every rule he can find to come out on top or complete the job. He also violates every rule of decency and makes a point to mock social taboos. They serve as bloody swords for hire, selling their skills to the highest bidder until a bigger payday comes along.

Alignment: Neutral or chaotic evilA bravo cannot use the lawful antipaladin rule above.

Gui l e (Ex) :The bravo knows no shame. He fights dirty and revels in it. The bravo gains the sneak attack ability (as described in the rogue’s entry in Chapter 3 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook). This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by +1d6 every time an antipaladin without this archetype would normally gain an additional use of smite good.

Additionally, the bravo can use this ability against any good-aligned creatures he strikes, even if he is not flanking them or they are not flat footed.

This ability replaces the smite good class feature.

Black Hear t (Ex) :At 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the bravo gains a rogue talent as if he was a rogue equal to his antipaladin level.

This ability replaces the cruelty class feature.

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Dark Ange lan archetyPe For antiPaladinS For the

PathFinder rolePlayinG Game

Dark angels are saints in sinner’s clothing, using the very power they fight against to destroy those who would destroy them. They subverted the astral order of things and violated ancient rules to allow themselves to steal the very power of darkness to use it against its most devoted servants. Some are overt about their mastery of the dark arts and appear as religious extremists or even heretics. Most keep their purity of heart hidden, wallowing in wickedness to learn how to best cripple it.

Alignment: Any Good

examPleS oF lore:• Your church has bound a Prince of Hell and

compelled it to make pacts through brute force and divine trickery.

• Somewhere in your ancestry lurks a wicked creature, and you have found a way to tap into that darkness, despite your valor, to do battle with even more foul things.

• You have been the subject of a powerful curse but have learned to use it to your advantage.

• Your order is a covert and militant arm of your church that has approval to use dark rituals to empower yourselves, so that you may better know the nature of evil and combat it.

• A fallen angel has offered his services to your order in order to seek redemption. He is willing to teach any who serve your church the wicked ways he has come to know while offering divine protection to your eternal soul.

Code of Conduc t :While an individual dark angel’s code of conduct varies, they all share the following aspects:The dark angel must be of a good alignment and loses all class features except proficiencies if he ever falls to a non good alignment. He may cheat, backstab, and use any means at his disposal in his crusade against evil. On occasion, he may need to seek redemption if he has done particularly offensive things. Additionally, the dark angel code requires that he follow orders, even to his death, from a single authority (generally a church or order) and destroy any creature conceived of evil (evil-aligned outsiders, undead, evil dragons, etc.).

Ex-Dark Ange l s :A dark angel who ceases to be of a good alignment or who violates the code of conduct loses all dark angel spells and class features (including the service of his fiendish servant, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). He may not progress any further in levels as a dark angel. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations (see atonement), as appropriate.

Associates: While he may adventure with good or neutral allies, the dark angel avoids working with evil characters or with anyone who consistently offends his moral code. Under exceptional circumstances, the dark angel can ally with evil associates but only to defeat what he believes to be a greater evil. The dark angel is not above using evil against itself but he will always punish the wicked.

Sou l of Evi l (Sp) :The dark angel does not gain an aura of evil but does not radiate an aura of good. Instead, he is treated as if he was under an undetectable alignment spell at all times. The dark angel may dismiss it at will and reactivate it as a swift action.

This ability replaces the aura of evil class feature.

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Devi l on a Leash (Su) :Keeping taints within a pure body is a challenging and tasking ordeal. Once per day, the dark angel must pray for at least 1 hour and attempt a Will save (DC 10 + dark angel level). Failure results in one of the events as described on table 2-1: Devil On a Leash at any time during the day, seemingly at the most inopportune times. The GM should roll this secretly.

Failure to pray at all results in the loss of class features.

Sain t in Sinner ' s Clothes :The dark angel receives the detect evil and smite evil class features of the paladin. A dark angel’s smite interacts with the rest of an antipaladin’s class features as if it were smite good.

This ability replaces the detect good and smite good class features.

Tab le 2-1 : Dev i l On a Leashdice roll

reSult deScriPtion

1 Summon Horde

The dark angel attracts the attention of evil outsiders, causing 1d4 evil outsiders to be summoned. The nature of them is up to the GM, but they should be of a lower CR than the dark angel.

2 Negative Feedback

The first time per day the dark angel either casts a spell with the evil descriptor, an inflict spell, or channels negative energy, it backfires. If it is a spell, the spell targets the dark angel rather than the intended target. If it is a use of channel negative energy, it only damages the dark angel. If there is a save associated with this, the dark angel automatically fails it.

3 Betrayal* The benefit of dark angel’s fiendish boon class feature turns on him. Either his fiendish servant turns on him and begins to attack him for 1 hour, or his weapon becomes cursed for 1 hour, becoming a -2 version of that weapon - rendering it devoid of any beneficial weapon enhancements.

4 Negative Level

The dark angel’s powers backlash on him and cripple him. He suffers 1 negative level per 4 dark angel levels (minimum 1) for 1d4 minutes.

5 Reversion The dark angel begins to radiate a holy glow and detects as being good-aligned for 1d4 minutes. During this time he is compelled to tell the truth (as per zone of truth).

6 Possession At the time of his prayer, the dark angel becomes possessed (as per magic jar) by an evil outsider of equal CR to his total character level. While the player of the dark angel should be covertly informed of this, other players should not be. The dark angel does not recieve a save for this. If not exorcized within 1 hour, the evil outsider is automatically expelled.

*If the dark angel does not have the fiendish boon class feature yet, reroll.Sam

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