Campaign Design - Base Classes: Unholy Warrior

Unholy Warrior
(adapted from The Unholy Warrior's Handbook)

Forces of evil empower these characters. Unholy warriors are offensive powerhouses that champion the cause of wickedness. As leaders of the diabolic, they employ weapons and armor that instill fear in their foes. They employ a number of savage techniques aimed at maiming their enemies and spreading the chill hand of fear among the good.

Reinforcing their combat skills are supernatural abilities determined by their own particular lord of darkness. These powers manifest themselves in the form of domains similar to clerical domains, except that they provide distinct bonuses, feats, or unusual options for use in and out of combat. Each domain confers two tiers of abilities. Most abilities granted from these domains improve as the character grows in power, while others are front-ended, giving quick reward with no long-term benefit. In addition to these powers, unholy warriors gain gifts of darkness, spells, and servants to round out their abilities.

In the Three Worlds campaign, unholy warriors serve one of seven Lords of Hell, collectively referred to as the Seven Sins or the Dark Seven. Technically, there are eight Demonic Lords represented, but Tunar and Tuni are so closely aligned that they share the sin of Envy and their unholy warriors serve both of them together. These infernal powers are:

Bål	Demon Lord of Gluttony
Halpas	Demon Lord of Wrath
Iku-Tyrma	Demon Lord of Sloth
Ishi	Demon Lord of Pride
Kivutar	Demon Mistress of Lust
Surtan	Demon Lord of Greed
Tunar and Tuni	Demon Mistress and Lord of Envy

Unfortunately, evil masters are fickle. The unholy warrior must consistently prove his worth to his lord, whether by slaying entire villages or simply sacrificing powerful magic relics stolen from temples devoted to good deities. The dedicated unholy warrior may grow mighty indeed, but must be vigilant against his rivals, for each seeks the status of his better while reviling his lesser.

Abilities: Charisma is the defining statistic determining one's capacity for self-realization, and is key to many of the unholy warrior's skills of deception and treachery. Many of the domain powers granted to holy warriors determine their potency on this attribute; for unholy warriors, Charisma is the determining factor for all things related to casting spells, including level availability, DCs, and bonus spells. Next to Charisma, the unholy warrior should focus on Strength, as this attribute is vital for combat. Finally, Constitution increases hit points, aids in Concentration checks, and is the determining factor in resisting the many poisons and diseases to which this character is exposed.

Alignment: Any evil.
Hit Die: d10.
Luck Die: d3.

Class Skills

• Skill List: The unholy warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft: Any (all skills taken individually) (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge: Religion (Int), Knowledge: the Planes (Int), and Ride (Dex).


• In addition, each Lord of Sin grants their unholy warriors access to additional skills, as follows:
  
  
  

  Bål	Disguise and Intimidate
  Halpas	Intimidate and Spot
  Iku-Tyrma	Intimidate and Swim
  Ishi	Any one Knowledge skill and Sense Motive
  Kivutar	Diplomacy and Intimidate
  Surtan	Disable Device, Open Lock, and Sleight of Hand
  Tunar and Tuni	Diplomacy, Gather Information, Innuendo, and Intimidate



• Note: Because the Three Worlds campaign uses the Skills by Character house rule, the list of class skills given here is only included for the sake of completeness, and is not used by characters in the campaign setting.
• Skill Points at 1^st Level: (2 + Intelligence modifier) x 4.
• Skill Points at Each Additional Class Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the unholy warrior:

• Base Attack Bonus: Medium. An unholy warrior gains +1 base attack bonus per class level.


• Fortitude Base Save Bonus: Good. An unholy warrior gains a +2½ base Fortitude save bonus at first level, and an additional +½ base Fortitude save bonus per class level.


• Reflex Base Save Bonus: Poor. An unholy warrior gains +¹⁄₃ base Reflex save bonus per class level.


• Will Base Save Bonus: Poor. An unholy warrior gains +¹⁄₃ base Will save bonus per class level.


• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Unholy warriors are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with all armor and all shields (except for tower shields).


• Domains: Unholy warriors gain domains granted by the dark powers they worship. Unlike clerical domains, these abilities are not enhanced spell lists and granted powers. Instead, they reflect the martial nature of the unholy warrior. At 1^st level, an unholy warrior may choose two domains from those granted by their patron. This grants four abilities, two from each domain. At 2^nd level, he gains an additional ability from each domain. Thus, by 2^nd level, the unholy warrior has six domain abilities.
  
  
  The unholy warrior domains associated with each of the Seven Sins are as follows:
  
  
  

  Bål	Earth, Gluttony, Horror
  Halpas	Air, Hate, Wrath
  Iku-Tyrma	Pain, Sloth, Water
  Ishi	Magic, Pride, Treachery
  Kivutar	Corruption, Disease, Lust
  Surtan	Evil, Fire, Greed
  Tunar and Tuni	Darkness, Envy, Undead



• Rebuke Undead: At 3^rd level, the unholy warrior gains the ability to rebuke, command, or bolster undead as a cleric two levels lower would. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Unholy warriors may take the Extra Rebuking feat to rebuke more times per day.


• Gift of Darkness: Unholy warriors gain rewards for their services to the powers of evil. At each level an unholy warrior receives a Gift of Darkness, she gains a supernatural or spell-like ability as defined by her particular faith.
  
  
  
  • Bål: Unholy warriors devoted to Baal become corpulently obese. As the unholy warrior grows in weight, his fat forms a tough blubber, resistant to piercing and bludgeoning attacks. At 5^th level, an unholy warrior dedicated to Bål gain DR 1/slashing. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, his DR increases by 1. Therefore, at 8^th level, an unholy warrior devoted to Baal will have 2/slashing. Magically enhanced weapons add no benefit to bypassing this supernatural ability.
  
  
  • Halpas: Upon reaching 5^th level, an unholy warrior devoted to Halpas gains Halpas' Fury, usable once per week. Similar to a barbarian's rage ability, Halpas' Fury is more violent and mindless. The unholy warrior gains +6 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and a +4 morale bonus on Will saves. His frenzy in combat reduces him to a mere beast without regard for his own well-being, so he suffers a -4 penalty to Armor Class, a -4 penalty to Intelligence, and a -6 penalty to Charisma. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, he may use this ability one additional time per week. Otherwise, Halpas' Fury functions as a barbarian's rage. The barbarian's rage ability stacks with the bonuses and penalties granted by this supernatural ability.
  
  
  • Iku-Tyrma: An unholy warrior devoted to Iku-Tyrma gains the ability to smite non-aquatic creatures once per week. Before attacking the target, the unholy warrior must declare that his smite ability is being used. He adds his Charisma modifier as a bonus to his attack roll and adds his unholy warrior class level to any resulting damage roll. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, he may use this ability one additional time per week. This is a supernatural ability.
  
  
  • Ishi: Once per week per gift of darkness, an unholy warrior devoted to Ishi gain the spell-like ability to cast true strike as a free action. As with any free action, he may not use this ability more than once per round. Aside from its quickened casting time, this ability functions as the spell of the same name.
  
  
  • Kivutar: Unholy warriors devoted to Kivutar gain the spell-like ability to cast contagion, usable once per week, using their unholy warrior level as their caster level. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, he may use this ability one additional time per week.
  
  
  • Surtan: Unholy warriors devoted to Surtan gain the spell-like ability to cast combust, usable once per week, using their unholy warrior level as their caster level. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, he may use this ability one additional time per week.
  
  
  • Tunar and Tuni: Unholy warriors devoted to Tunar and Tuni gain the spell-like ability to cast death armor, usable once per week, using their unholy warrior level as their caster level. Every time the unholy warrior gains a new gift of darkness, he may use this ability one additional time per week.


• Dark Ally: At 6^th level, the dark forces lend a foul ally to serve the unholy warrior on his question to spread misfortune. The unholy warrior may choose to call this companion at any point during or after this level. The unholy warrior's master determines the exact nature of the companion insofar as form, alignment, and other abilities. All dark allies receive benefits based upon the level of the unholy warrior as described in the table here. The dark ally is a tool. Despite the master-slave relationship, there is no empathic link between the steed and rider. The dark ally is hereafter a magical beast regardless of its base creature type.


• Spells: Beginning at 4^th level, an unholy warrior gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the unholy warrior spells list. To cast a spell, the unholy warrior must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level, so an unholy warrior with a Charisma of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Unholy warriors gain bonus spells are based on Charisma, and saving throws against these spells have a Difficulty Class of 10 + spell level + Wisdom modifier. When the unholy warrior gets 0 spells of a given level, the unholy warrior gains only bonus spells. An unholy warrior without a bonus spell for that level cannot cast a spell of that level. An unholy warrior has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare. An unholy warrior prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does.
  
  
  
  The unholy warrior's list is modified by the power he worships, as detailed on the unholy warrior spell list.
  
  
  
  Through 3^rd level, an unholy warrior has no caster level. Starting at 4^th level, an unholy warrior's caster level is half his class level.

Unholy Warrior

Level	Special	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1st	2 unholy warrior domains	-	-	-	-
2nd	Secondary domain powers	-	-	-	-
3rd	Rebuke undead	-	-	-	-
4th	-	0	-	-	-
5th	Gift of darkness	0	-	-	-
6th	Dark ally	1	-	-	-
7th	-	1	-	-	-
8th	Gift of darkness	1	0	-	-
9th	-	1	0	-	-
10th	-	1	1	-	-
11th	Gift of darkness	1	1	0	-
12th	-	1	1	1	-
13th	-	1	1	1	-
14th	Gift of darkness	2	1	1	0
15th	-	2	1	1	1
16th	-	2	2	1	1
17th	Gift of darkness	2	2	2	1
18th	-	3	2	2	1
19th	-	3	3	3	2
20th	Gift of darkness	3	3	3	3

Home     Base Classes