Pathfinder in the Mists

[Mortavius]

I don't have any books to compare with at the moment, so I'm just going with my gut feelings reading the feats.

I like most of them. I especially like the expanded Improved Familiar rules; I think they need a more comprehensive write-up. Removing the elementals and other less-appropriate creatures and repopulating it with stuff from the Domains is great and something that should be done. We have enough creatures in Ravenloft that could serve after all.

Alignment Channel seems a bit cumbersome, asking the DM to integrate a new meaning to HP into his game and such. Would it be simpler just to say the DM determines in secret whether the creature is hurt or not, and the player doesn't know?

Cold One strikes me as a good feat for low level, but at higher levels, when most undead the PCs face will have some level of Intelligence, it becomes less useful. Should it be a scaling DC instead?

Perhaps Ethereal Empathy could be expanded to allow a limited form of Object Reading? Makes it a little more versatile; perhaps it could only be used on objects involved with strong emotions (murder weapons, etc.), but it could be a bit more interesting. I like the use of Sense Motive with it though.

Hollow strikes me as a feat that must be taken at first level, or perhaps the first feat taken after being brought back to life.

I like the Minor Magic feat; I can see expanding this one to include more domain-specific examples.

Skeptic should require a rank in any Knowledge skill except Arcana, the Planes, and Religion.

I think Voice of Wrath needs more. It's a cool idea for a feat, but how often do PC's go around laying curses? It could actually be a really good feat for the Witch class...maybe it enhances Hexes, and possibly increases the DCs of spells that lay curses as well?

How long does the Shaken effect from Warding Gesture last? Also, is a standard action that provokes opportunity attacks balanced against a -2 penalty to attacks, saves, skills, and ability checks? Especially considering most monster encounters won't use skills or ability checks (at least not nearly as much as attacks and saves)?

The family ones intrigue me, but I have some concerns.

I don't like things that say "+X to this skill in this situation." It's harder to keep track of in play and remember and much easier just to say "+x to skill."

Would it be better to just say that certain skills are always class skills for members of this family? For example, a Boritsi might be able to learn Bluff & Sense Motive easily if they chose, but they don't necessarily get a benefit if they go a different path?

Also, not sure I like that Mordenheim's blood can't be divine casters. I appreciate that it should be harder for them than most, but to outright say "no" goes a bit against the spirit of the edition. Maybe Concentration checks are harder for those from this family? Represents that it's not as easy while still giving a PC who wants the challenge the ability to play one.

Anyways, those are my gut feelings on the feats, keep up the great work!

[Ryan Naylor]

I've always loved the flavor of most Ravenloft feats, and you've done a good job fixing some of the rules issues. I like the way you folded the hypnotism skill into Heal. That seems very pathfinder. Similarly, changing Ethereal Empathy to a sense motive, rather than a straight-up Wis check. IMC, I allowed people with Ethereal Empathy to invest ranks into it to improve it, but I think folding it into an existing skill is a more PF way to do it. consider that yoinked.

I dunno about the family abilities as part of ancestral legacy. I think it might be better to make them traits or alternate racial traits (though it might be tough to make the latter work for use with human or part-human races. You should be able to be a Godefroy Caliban, for example, as you noted in the feat. But without checking now, I don't know if there are any racial traits that are common across all the human crossbreed races. probably not. )

I really can't see a way to make them alternative racial traits though. Finding something that is equivalent and could be swapped out for a von Zarovich legacy (for example) in dhampirs, humans, half-elves and giomorgo is going to be very difficult. There's certainly nothing that's common between them all. Also, a human Boritsi is still a human; they're surely just as flexible (i.e. bonus skill point, bonus feat) as any other human, they've just been raised in a certain way and have a certain genetic heritage.


Why would you rather traits than a feat?

[Ryan Naylor]

I like most of them. I especially like the expanded Improved Familiar rules; I think they need a more comprehensive write-up.

In what way? Do you mean giving a list of improved familiars, or more comprehensively describing what a pseudofamiliar can do?

Alignment Channel seems a bit cumbersome, asking the DM to integrate a new meaning to HP into his game and such. Would it be simpler just to say the DM determines in secret whether the creature is hurt or not, and the player doesn't know?

That's more or less as it is now; the text is really a hold over from the original form of this document. I'll change it.

Cold One strikes me as a good feat for low level, but at higher levels, when most undead the PCs face will have some level of Intelligence, it becomes less useful. Should it be a scaling DC instead?

I can't really see a rationale for your PC becoming colder as time goes on.

Intelligence doesn't scale with HD the way other stats do, and there are other feats that are clearly less useful at higher levels (that's why the fighter can swap them out, for example).

How would you do it?

Perhaps Ethereal Empathy could be expanded to allow a limited form of Object Reading? Makes it a little more versatile; perhaps it could only be used on objects involved with strong emotions (murder weapons, etc.), but it could be a bit more interesting. I like the use of Sense Motive with it though.

It is already, since you can read *all* the ethereal resonance within 30 ft, which includes that attached to objects. I'll reword it to make that clearer.

Hollow strikes me as a feat that must be taken at first level, or perhaps the first feat taken after being brought back to life.

Good point.

I think Voice of Wrath needs more. It's a cool idea for a feat, but how often do PC's go around laying curses? It could actually be a really good feat for the Witch class...maybe it enhances Hexes, and possibly increases the DCs of spells that lay curses as well?

If you had the feat, you'd probably lay more . And calibans and Vistani get the feat for free.

I'm wary of making it Spell Focus (curses and hexes) for balance reasons. First, because I don't want every witch in the game to be a caliban because of the extra power it gives them, second because I don't want ludicrous hex DCs, third, there are already mechanisms for that (Spell Focus and Ability Focus), and fourth, if it could do all that it becomes quite a powerful feat.

I am open to persuasion though.

How long does the Shaken effect from Warding Gesture last? Also, is a standard action that provokes opportunity attacks balanced against a -2 penalty to attacks, saves, skills, and ability checks? Especially considering most monster encounters won't use skills or ability checks (at least not nearly as much as attacks and saves)?

It is equivalent to a dirty trick manoeuvre, which is also a standard action that provokes an AoO. It is also ranged, so the AoO thing won't come up if you are even halfway clever about it.

Let's say 1d4 rds.

The family ones intrigue me, but I have some concerns.

I don't like things that say "+X to this skill in this situation." It's harder to keep track of in play and remember and much easier just to say "+x to skill."

Would it be better to just say that certain skills are always class skills for members of this family? For example, a Boritsi might be able to learn Bluff & Sense Motive easily if they chose, but they don't necessarily get a benefit if they go a different path?

There is precedent here in the way traits work as bonuses for specific things. What do others think? I kind of like the role differentiation; if it was just a skill bonus, or a class skill (which is equivalent to a +3 skill bonus, or the Skill Focus feat), why not take Athletic or Skill Focus and say it's because you're a Boritsi?

Also, not sure I like that Mordenheim's blood can't be divine casters. I appreciate that it should be harder for them than most, but to outright say "no" goes a bit against the spirit of the edition. Maybe Concentration checks are harder for those from this family? Represents that it's not as easy while still giving a PC who wants the challenge the ability to play one.

I'm not even entirely happy that a Mordenheim bloodline exists. Presumably, he once had some cousins who had children, and when the gods cursed him, they cursed all of them. Because it doesn't make any sense within the timeline or Adam's/Victor's story if Eva survived. This is something I feel Legacies of Blood did badly.

Surely if you wanted to play a Mordenheim priest, you could just name yourself Mortavius Mordenheim and not take the feat? I don't think membership of the family should be contingent upon taking the feat; it's just that these are the people whose apples fall close to the family tree, as it were.

Having said that, I will think about a concentration check penalty instead.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I really can't see a way to make them alternative racial traits though. Finding something that is equivalent and could be swapped out for a von Zarovich legacy (for example) in dhampirs, humans, half-elves and giomorgo is going to be very difficult. There's certainly nothing that's common between them all.

Yeah, that's what I figured, but hadn't checked.

Also, a human Boritsi is still a human; they're surely just as flexible (i.e. bonus skill point, bonus feat) as any other human, they've just been raised in a certain way and have a certain genetic heritage.

Though if the Boritsi heritage is a feat, that uses up their human bonus feat, so in a way, it's similar to an alternate racial trait.

Why would you rather traits than a feat?

Because that seems to be the "PF way". Traits are background-based. Feats are (mostly) training-based. Yes, there are some feats that are an innate part of who you are, but it seems like the intent is for that sort of thing to be a trait, and if the system were designed from scratch (i.e., not as an update to 3.x) they probably would have made that more solidly differentiated.

Of course, mechanically, feats are more powerful than traits, so there are balance issues to be worked out if they were made as traits, but you're already having to depower these feats a little bit, because they also come with money.

[Mortavius]

I like most of them. I especially like the expanded Improved Familiar rules; I think they need a more comprehensive write-up.
In what way? Do you mean giving a list of improved familiars, or more comprehensively describing what a pseudofamiliar can do?

I'm referring to a new table, with level requirements, alignments, etc.

Cold One strikes me as a good feat for low level, but at higher levels, when most undead the PCs face will have some level of Intelligence, it becomes less useful. Should it be a scaling DC instead?

I can't really see a rationale for your PC becoming colder as time goes on.
Intelligence doesn't scale with HD the way other stats do, and there are other feats that are clearly less useful at higher levels (that's why the fighter can swap them out, for example).
How would you do it?[/quote]

I don't mean a character getting colder per se. I understand that an Int check doesn't scale with HD, but it's one of those indirect scalings. PCs will be facing less "dumb" undead as they gain levels and more "smart" undead. So when you're low level, a DC 10 Int check is helpful, because you're facing ghouls, etc. But at higher levels? Vampires, Liches, Mummies, even Mohrgs have at least average if not better intelligence. Maybe the DC could be set at 10 + PC's Cha modifier? That wouldn't increase it greatly, but it would modify it a bit, and those PC's who invest in Cha could get a bit more benefit from it.

I think Voice of Wrath needs more. It's a cool idea for a feat, but how often do PC's go around laying curses? It could actually be a really good feat for the Witch class...maybe it enhances Hexes, and possibly increases the DCs of spells that lay curses as well?

If you had the feat, you'd probably lay more . And calibans and Vistani get the feat for free.

I'm wary of making it Spell Focus (curses and hexes) for balance reasons. First, because I don't want every witch in the game to be a caliban because of the extra power it gives them, second because I don't want ludicrous hex DCs, third, there are already mechanisms for that (Spell Focus and Ability Focus), and fourth, if it could do all that it becomes quite a powerful feat.

I am open to persuasion though.[/quote]

I agree with your points, but I still think the feat needs more. I disagree that if you had the feat you'd lay more curses, because usually laying a curse is cause for a Dark Powers check, so PC's avoid that. Plus, curses are long-term things. Most of the time a PC doesn't want to curse the monster and let it run away to suffer; they want to defeat the enemy then and there. An enemy who escapes is often viewed as a failure in the PC's eyes, because the villain can do more harm and the PC's have to work harder to find them again.

The family ones intrigue me, but I have some concerns.

I don't like things that say "+X to this skill in this situation." It's harder to keep track of in play and remember and much easier just to say "+x to skill."

Would it be better to just say that certain skills are always class skills for members of this family? For example, a Boritsi might be able to learn Bluff & Sense Motive easily if they chose, but they don't necessarily get a benefit if they go a different path?

There is precedent here in the way traits work as bonuses for specific things. What do others think? I kind of like the role differentiation; if it was just a skill bonus, or a class skill (which is equivalent to a +3 skill bonus, or the Skill Focus feat), why not take Athletic or Skill Focus and say it's because you're a Boritsi?[/quote]

Well, it's only sort of equivalent to a +3 bonus if it's a class skill. The PC only gets the +3 bonus if they actually put a point into it. They still have the choice to go another direction if they want to.

If you do go the route of saying "+x to this skill in this situation" I would caution that care must be taken to note what type of bonus "+x" is. In the past, I've had PC's try and stack as many bonuses as they can in specific areas to go with the theme of their character, and you don't want that to get out of hand.

Also, not sure I like that Mordenheim's blood can't be divine casters. I appreciate that it should be harder for them than most, but to outright say "no" goes a bit against the spirit of the edition. Maybe Concentration checks are harder for those from this family? Represents that it's not as easy while still giving a PC who wants the challenge the ability to play one.

I'm not even entirely happy that a Mordenheim bloodline exists. Presumably, he once had some cousins who had children, and when the gods cursed him, they cursed all of them. Because it doesn't make any sense within the timeline or Adam's/Victor's story if Eva survived. This is something I feel Legacies of Blood did badly.

Surely if you wanted to play a Mordenheim priest, you could just name yourself Mortavius Mordenheim and not take the feat? I don't think membership of the family should be contingent upon taking the feat; it's just that these are the people whose apples fall close to the family tree, as it were.

Having said that, I will think about a concentration check penalty instead.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?[/quote]

I agree with you on the Mordenheim bloodline; I don't care for it either. I understand the idea of the Gods cursing Mordenheim, but why his whole family? And even if they did curse his whole family, is redemption not possible? And wouldn't one of the best ways to seek redemption be to devote one's life to the service of such a God? And since we're talking about PC's here, that means the Cleric or Paladin class.

To whit, I actually really like the idea of Gonzoron suggesting that these family lines be traits rather than feats. Traits are directly tied to the background of the character, they seem to fit more than a feat. Actually, I could see things like Cold One and Hollow being traits too, though they'd have to be possibly scaled down and tweaked to work, as two traits are supposed to be the equivalent of a feat.

[Ryan Naylor]

Unfortunately life is getting in the way this week, so I shall have to come back to the feat conversation at a later date.

To keep you going, here is the lich, and the most famous exemplar thereof.

[Ryan Naylor]

Liches

Though the lure of immortality is strong in all who fear death, few creatures can avoid life’s natural end. Bodies become frail, minds crumble before the onslaught of age, and all the structures one has built come tumbling down, leaving one’s name in ruin, forgotten in the dust of history.
Those who would follow the path of the lich seek to halt life’s inevitable conclusion. Drawing on the powers of their faith or dark knowledge, the greatest spellcasters of the world transcend the boundaries of life through mysterious techniques unknown to the living.
One does not become a lich by accident or stumble into this form of undeath through misadventure. A lich is not a puppet, a blood-mad monster, or an accident of rage or despair. The lich is instead a creature of design and ultimate will, carefully and rationally planning its transition from life into undead immortality. Of all the undead, the lich is perhaps the most terrifying precisely because it chooses its own fate. The lich is a dangerous opponent: cagey, prepared, ambitious enough to want to tear its soul from its body, and smart enough to figure out how to do it.
It is not merely force of will that propels one to lichdom, nor is it the simple desire to avoid death, though these are certainly factors in the mindset of the would-be lich. Instead, those who would follow the path of the undying mind must seek out tomes of forbidden magic and lost lore. Though the initiates might not be evil when they begin, the process under which they become liches drives them slowly into the arms of corruption—the focus they must develop drives out all other concerns, including the civilized needs of friendship and love.

The Lich’s Phylactery
An integral part of becoming a lich is the creation of the phylactery in which the character stores his soul. The only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich can rejuvenate after it is killed (see Creating a Lich, below). Each lich must create its own phylactery by using the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.
The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

Lich

A lich is an undead spellcaster, usually a wizard or sorcerer but sometimes a cleric or other spellcaster, who has used its magical powers to unnaturally extend its life.
As a rule, these creatures are scheming and, some say, insane. They hunger for ever greater power, long-forgotten knowledge, and the most terrible of arcane secrets. Because the shadow of death does not hang over them, they often conceive plans taking years, decades, or even centuries to come to fruition.
A lich is a gaunt and skeletal humanoid with withered flesh stretched tight across horribly visible bones. Its eyes have long ago been lost to decay, but bright pinpoints of crimson light burn on in the empty sockets. Even the least of these creatures was a powerful person in life, so they often are draped in once-grand clothing. Multiclass fighters or clerics may still wear the armor of a warrior. Like its body, however, the garb of a lich shows all to well the weight of years. Decay and corruption are its constant companion.

The Lich Template
Creating a Lich
“Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), provided it can create the required phylactery. A lich retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: Same as the base creature + 2.
Alignment: Any evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks.
Senses: A lich gains darkvision 60 ft.
Armour Class: A lich has a +5 natural armour bonus or the base creature’s natural armour bonus, whichever is better.
Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, liches use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).
Defensive Abilities: A lich gains channel resistance +4, DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those granted by its undead traits). The lich also gains the following defensive ability.
Rejuvenation (Su): When a lich is destroyed, its phylactery (which is generally hidden by the lich in a safe place far from where it chooses to dwell) immediately begins to rebuild the undead spellcaster’s body nearby. This process takes 1d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the phylactery merely starts the process anew. After this time passes, the lich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it.
Melee Attack: A lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round as a natural weapon. A lich fighting without weapons uses its natural weapons (if it has any) in addition to its touch attack (which is treated as a primary natural weapon that replaces one claw or slam attack, if the creature has any). A lich armed with a weapon uses its weapons normally, and can use its touch attack as a secondary natural weapon.
Damage: A lich’s touch attack uses negative energy to deal 1d8 points of damage to living creatures + 1 point of damage per 2 Hit Dice possessed by the lich. As negative energy, this damage can be used to heal undead creatures. A lich can take a full-round action to infuse itself with this energy, healing damage as if it had used its touch attack against itself.
Special Attacks: A lich gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 lich’s HD + lich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the lich must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. Creatures with 5 HD or more must succeed at a Will save or be shaken for a number of rounds equal to the lich’s Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lich’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description, with a DC equal to the lich’s save DC). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lich seems dead, though a DC 20 Perception check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.
Undead Control (Su): A lich can control any undead of which it is aware within 1,000 ft per Hit Dice. The undead must have Hit Dice less than or equal to half the lich’s Hit Dice, and may make a Will save to resist. Targets that succeed on their save resist the lich’s control for one round, but the lich can continue to try to gain control next round. The maximum total Hit Dice the lich can control at once is 3 times its Hit Dice. Attempting to gain control and issuing orders to controlled undead is a free action.
Undead under the lich’s control have glowing pinpoint eyes like the lich itself. The lich can see and hear through the senses of one of its undead minions as a move equivalent action, although while doing so it can’t see or hear from its own senses. It is instantly aware if it is attacked though. It can return to its own body as an immediate action.
Special Qualities: A lich gains the following special quality.
Fiery Eyes (Ex): To a lich, it is as though neither light nor darkness exists. The lich can see perfectly in normal or magical darkness, and cannot be blinded by magical light (such as the flare spell).
Abilities: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, a lich has no Constitution score.
Skills: Liches have a +8 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks. A lich always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

[Ryan Naylor]

Elemental Lich

Elemental liches are another variation on the common lich. Their life forces are bound with both magic and the raw elemental forces of the Demiplane of Dread. Although they lack the control over undead that other liches possess, their ability to control of elementals—even to wrest control from others—and their powerful touch attacks make them formidable foes.
Elemental liches appear much the same as other liches, although their elementally infused nature betrays itself subtly in clinging mist, or weeping blood, or the stench of pyres or the grave.

The Elemental Lich Template
Creating an Elemental Lich
“Elemental lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature), that can create the required phylactery and summon elementals (either with spells, spell-like abilities or supernatural abilities). An elemental lich retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: Same as the base creature + 2.
Alignment: Any evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks.
Senses: An elemental lich gains darkvision 60 ft.
Armour Class: An elemental lich has a +5 natural armour bonus or the base creature’s natural armour bonus, whichever is better.
Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, elemental liches use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).
Defensive Abilities: An elemental lich gains channel resistance +4, DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those granted by its undead traits). The elemental lich also gains the following defensive ability.
Rejuvenation (Su): When an elemental lich is destroyed, its phylactery (which is generally hidden by the elemental lich in a safe place far from where it chooses to dwell) immediately begins to rebuild the undead spellcaster’s body nearby. This process takes 1d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the phylactery merely starts the process anew. After this time passes, the elemental lich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it.
Melee Attack: An elemental lich has a touch attack that it can use once per round as a natural weapon. An elemental lich fighting without weapons uses its natural weapons (if it has any) in addition to its touch attack (which is treated as a primary natural weapon that replaces one claw or slam attack, if the creature has any). An elemental lich armed with a weapon uses its weapons normally, and can use its touch attack as a secondary natural weapon.
Damage: An elemental lich’s touch attack uses negative energy to deal 1d8 points of damage to living creatures + 1 point of damage per 2 Hit Dice possessed by the elemental lich. Although negative energy, this touch cannot be used to heal undead, including the lich itself.
Special Attacks: An elemental lich gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 elemental lich’s HD + elemental lich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the elemental lich must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. Creatures with 5 HD or more must succeed at a Will save or be shaken for a number of rounds equal to the elemental lich’s Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same elemental lich’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Elemental Touch (Su): An elemental lich can channel the corrupted elements of Ravenloft through its touch. The lich can choose which element is channelled. If a victim fails their save, the effects of the touch (except the pyre touch) are permanent, unless remove curse, dispel magic or more powerful magic is used (see the bestow curse spell description, with a DC equal to the elemental lich’s save DC). Whether they succeed or fail their save, the victim can only be the target of an elemental lich’s touch once per 24 hours.
Blood Touch (Fort save): The target begins to bleed. They take an amount of bleed damage each round equal to the elemental lich’s Intelligence modifier -5 (minimum 1).
Grave Touch (Fort save): The target’s bones grind painfully against each other, resisting conscious control. The target is effectively entangled; the penalties associated with this are profane penalties.
Mist Touch (Will save): The target is infused with evil. Their moral alignment changes to evil, and they must immediately make another Will save or fall under the sway of the elemental lich, as though affected by dominate monster (CL 18th).
Pyre Touch (Fort save): The target catches fire. The target takes 1d6 points of damage. Each round thereafter, they can make a Reflex save to put the fire out. Unlike mundane fire, the character must succeed on 2 successive saves to extinguish the flames, and dousing them with water will not automatically extinguish the flames, although it does provide a +4 bonus to the save. Half the damage is fire damage, the other half is unholy damage.
Special Qualities: An elemental lich gains the following special quality.
Fiery Eyes (Ex): To an elemental lich, it is as though neither light nor darkness exists. The elemental lich can see perfectly in normal or magical darkness, and cannot be blinded by magical light (such as the flare spell).
Control Corrupted Elementals (Su): At will, the elemental lich can attempt to control an elemental as an immediate action, as the control summoned creature spell. The elemental immediately gains the Corrupted Elemental template. Furthermore, a corrupted or Ravenloft elemental not controlled by the lich will still not directly attack it unless the elemental’s summoner succeeds on an opposed caster level check.
Abilities: Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2. Being undead, an elemental lich has no Constitution score.
Skills: Elemental liches have a +8 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks. An elemental lich always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

[Ryan Naylor]

Vassalich

Vassaliches are the horrid servants of true liches, the masters of undeath. Many a mortal spellcaster has sought immortality or fostered a morbid fascination with death, but thankfully most of these villains lack the time, patience, or talent to follow the path to true lichdom. These lesser aspirants may enter into an unholy pact with a lich, gaining eternal life for the price of eternal servitude.
By their very nature, vassaliches are scheming, power-hungry creatures, willing to make any sacrifice to advance themselves. Vassaliches obey their masters perfectly at first, but obedience often chafes under the weight of time, and many vassaliches eventually come to plot against their masters — if their masters allow them to survive that long, of course.
Vassaliches are physically indistinguishable from true liches. Their flesh withers from their bones, and their empty eye sockets glow with pinpoints of hellish light. Many an adventurer has mistaken a vassalich for its more powerful master.

The Vassalich Template
Creating a Vassalich
“Vassalich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature) that undergoes the rite of creation (see the Vassalich’s Phylactery below). A vassalich retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR: Same as the base creature + 1 (adjusted for the loss of class levels; see below).
Alignment: Any evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead.
Senses: A vassalich gains darkvision 60 ft.
Armour Class: A vassalich has a +3 natural armour bonus or the base creature’s natural armour bonus, whichever is better.
Hit Dice: Drop half of the Hit Dice gained from class levels. Recalculate BAB, saves and skill ranks based on this lower value. Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. As undead, vassaliches use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).
Defensive Abilities: A vassalich gains channel resistance +4, DR 5/bludgeoning and magic, and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those granted by its undead traits). The vassalich also gains the following defensive ability.
Rejuvenation (Su): When a vassalich is destroyed, its phylactery (which is generally hidden by the vassalich’s master in a safe place where neither the vassalich nor its enemies can reach it) immediately begins to rebuild the undead spellcaster’s body nearby. This process takes 2d10 days—if the body is destroyed before that time passes, the phylactery merely starts the process anew. After this time passes, the vassalich wakens fully healed (albeit without any gear it left behind on its old body), usually with a burning need for revenge against those who previously destroyed it.
Melee Attack: A vassalich has a touch attack that it can use once per round as a natural weapon. A vassalich fighting without weapons uses its natural weapons (if it has any) in addition to its touch attack (which is treated as a primary natural weapon that replaces one claw or slam attack, if the creature has any). A vassalich armed with a weapon uses its weapons normally, and can use its touch attack as a secondary natural weapon.
Damage: A vassalich’s touch attack uses negative energy to deal 1d4 points of damage to living creatures + 1 point of damage per 2 Hit Dice possessed by the vassalich. As negative energy, this damage can be used to heal undead creatures. A vassalich can take a full-round action to infuse itself with this energy, healing damage as if it had used its touch attack against itself.
Special Attacks: A vassalich gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 vassalich’s HD + vassalich’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the vassalich must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same vassalich’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Chilling Touch (Su): Any living creature a vassalich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be slowed (CL = vassalich’s Hit Dice). Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description, with a DC equal to the vassalich’s save DC). The effect cannot be dispelled.
Special Qualities: A vassalich gains the following special qualities.
Fiery Eyes (Ex): To a vassalich, it is as though neither light nor darkness exists. The vassalich can see perfectly in normal or magical darkness, and cannot be blinded by magical light (such as the flare spell).
Enslaved (Ex): The vassalich is enslaved by its master. At will, the lich may drain levels from its vassalich servant. This functions similarly to energy drain, except that instead of imposing a negative level, the level and all of its benefits including spell casting abilities, are permanently lost. The lich gains 5 temporary hit points. This requires a standard action from the lich, and can occur at any range within the same plane. The vassalich does not receive a save. Liches typically use this ability to punish disobedient servants or keep them from becoming too powerful and gaining their independence.
Slip the Chains (Ex): Should the vassalich reach a caster level of 11 and gain possession of its phylactery, it can perform a ritual to create a true phylactery (provided it can meet the requirements) and free itself from its master. At the completion of the ritual, the vassalich loses the Vassalich template and gains the Lich template instead.
Abilities: Same as the base creature. Being undead, a vassalich has no Constitution score.
Skills: Vassaliches have a +8 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks. A vassalich always treats Climb, Disguise, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, skills are the same as the base creature.

The Vassalich’s Phylactery
Unlike liches, vassaliches do not create their own phylacteries; they rely on a lich to do so for them. This lich becomes the vassalich’s master. Like a lich, the only way to get rid of a vassalich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a vassalich can rejuvenate after it is killed.
Creating a vassalich’s phylactery requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 40,000 gp to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation. The potential vassalich must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 2nd or higher.
The most common form of phylactery is a small but precious gem, treated with potions and carved with magical runes. The gem is Diminutive and has 10 hit points, hardness 10, and a break DC of 20. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.
To create a vassalich, the lich must prepare a noxious potion similar to the brew used to create a lich. This potion must contain part of the lich’s own flesh. The potential vassalich must willingly swallow both the potion and the phylactery. It immediately dies and, if it meets the requirements of the ritual, is reborn moments later, bound to its new master. Its first action is typically to vomit the phylactery into its master’s waiting hand, ensuring its enslavement.

[Ryan Naylor]

Forsaken Lich

The means of attaining lichdom are extremely personal for mortal spellcasters, fraught with misinformation and peril. The smallest miscalculation in the potion of lichdom’s formula or most minute flaw in one’s phylactery can interrupt the process that infuses one’s mortal soul with overwhelming arcane and negative energies. Other times, an inexperienced wizard attempts the transformation, or erroneously consumes a formula produced for another spellcaster, instantly dying from the backlash of potent forces or condemning himself to a terminal but far more terrible end.
In these sorrowful cases, the process traps the soul of the would-be lich outside a phylactery that will not accept it and a body that has rejected it. The potent arcane forces tampered with by the lich’s failed creation also find themselves unleashed but uncontrolled, surrounding the newly formed abomination, empowering it but also slowly consuming its essence.
This creature, known as a forsaken lich, is granted the undeath it sought in life, but in a terrifyingly temporary fashion. For the miscalculations of its ambitions, the creature’s once-vibrant body shrivels and decays like that of a lich, but becomes a lifeless shell manipulated by the malicious soul and unchecked magical storm that envelop it, forces that control the corpse’s actions almost like a marionette. Yet this doom is temporary for nearly all who attempt this foul transition. With the soul unbound from the body and both spirit and corpse exposed to destructive arcane tides, both are slowly eroded. After 1d10 days, the forsaken lich’s body and soul are both consumed like a lit candle, eventually reduced physically to ashes, and spiritually to nothing—its essence utterly annihilated, scoured from existence for all time.


Ravener

Most evil dragons spend their lifetimes coveting and amassing wealth, but when the end draws near, some come to realize that all the wealth in the world cannot forestall death. Faced with this truth, most dragons vent their frustration on the countryside, ravaging the world before their passing. Yet some seek a greater solution to the problem and decide instead to linger on, hoarding life as they once hoarded gold. These foul wyrms attract the attention of dark powers, and through the blackest of necromantic rituals are transformed into undead dragons known as raveners.
Although its body quickly rots away, a ravener does not care for the needs of the f lesh. It seeks only to consume life, be it from wild animals, would-be dragonslayers, or even other dragons. A ravener is often on the move, changing lairs frequently as its territories become devoid of life.


Worm That Walks

Some spellcasters seek even stranger—or more desperate—paths to immortality. A worm that walks is created when an evil spellcaster performs a ritual to bind their life force to the plane of the living; the spellcaster drinks a magical potion, and dies. The flesh of the decaying body fats and instructs the very worms that gnaw, and these graveworms quicken not only on corruption but upon the spellcaster’s memories and magical power. The spellcaster’s very soul is consumed in this vile process, only to be split apart to inhabit each of the individual chewing worms in so many fragments. The result is a hideous hive mind of slithering life known as a worm that walks—a mass of worms that clings to the vague shape of the body that granted it this new existence, and can wield the powers and magic the spellcaster had in life. A worm that walks retains memories of its life as a spellcaster before its death, but is not undead—it is a hideous new form of undulant life.


Demilich

Demiliches are the final physical remnants of a lich. In their endless years of unlife, some liches lose themselves in introspection, and can no longer rouse themselves to face the endless march of days. Still others cast their consciousness far from their bodies, wandering planes and realities far beyond mortal ken. Absent the vitality of the soul, such a lich’s physical form succumbs to decay over the centuries. In time, only the lich’s skull remains intact. Yet the bonds of undeath keep the lich’s remains from final dissolution. Although the barest vestiges of the lich’s intellect remain within the skull, it can wake to terrible wrath should it be disturbed.

[Ryan Naylor]

Azalin Rex (Firan Zal’honan)
(Darkon)

Timeline
382 BC Firan born in Oerth.
397 BC Accidentally causes torturous death of his brother Irik (fails first Powers check). Becomes apprenticed to Quantarius. Wizard 1.
410 BC Wizard 4. Int +1. Middle aged (physical -1, mental +1)
426 BC Completes his apprenticeship. Wizard 7. Can cast lesser age resistance.
434 BC Becomes Earl. Peasants start calling him Azal’Lan. Wizard 8. Int +1. Old (physical -2, mental +1)
441 BC Marries Olessa and has her true love killed to ensure her loyalty (fails second Powers check).
450 BC Venerable (mental +1). Wizard 11. Develops steal vitality to prevent physical decline; physically old aged which he treats with a permanent age resistance.
459 BC Firan’s son Irik born; Olessa dies in childbirth, cursing Firan’s name. Wizard 12. Int +1
478 BC Publically beheads Irik for treason (fails third Powers check). Discovers the secrets of lichdom.
480 BC Becomes a lich and officially changes his title to Azal’Lan. Wizard 14.
493 BC Begins wars of conquest, expanding earldom (fails fourth Powers check).
542 BC Firan driven from castle and flees into the Mists. Meets Strahd. Wizard 16. Int +1.
547 BC Forlorn appears.
575 BC Arak created. Azalin goes to investigate the new land. Strahd copies his spellbook without his knowledge.
579 BC Strahd and Azalin accidentally create Mordent (fails fifth Powers check). Convinced he’s on the edge of a great discovery, Azalin enters the Mists and creates Darkon. Founds Kargat almost immediately. Wizard 18.
605 BC Urik von Kharkov becomes a vampire in service to the Kargat.
650 BC Kargat vampire Tavelia founds the Cult of the Overseer.
689 BC Vlad Drakov appears in Darkon and starts slaughtering villages. Falkovnia forms.
697 BC Azalin captures Hyskosa.
740 BC The Grand Conjunction/Great Upheaval
750 BC The Requiem
755 BC Azalin returns, bound to the remains of his son. Commissions the Doomsday Gazetteers.
760 BC Present day.

Powers Checks
Caress (Black Magic; attempting to summon fiend when Irik dies; 16%): +4 Knowledge (arcana)
Enticement (Violence; marrying Odessa and having her true love killed; 16%): Bonus feat
Invitation (Betrayal + Violence; executing Irik; 16%): Bonus feat, secrets of lichdom
Embrace (Black Magic + Violence; tyranny as ruler/drawn into Ravenloft; 4%): Undead dominion
Creature (Black Magic; magical experiments leading to creation of Mordent; 100%): Darklord, magical resources destroyed in the Requiem; changed to Modify Memory when reborn.

Base stats
S 10 D 12 C 12 I 15 W 12 Ch 15 (high fantasy)
Racial: Int +2 (human)
Levelling: Int +4
Age: Venerable (+ magic) (mental +3)
Template: Modifiers from being lich
Favoured class: skills
CR 23 (17 [levels] + 2 [template] + 1 [PC-level treasure] +3 [Powers checks/darklord abilities])

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 23 XP 820,000
Male Venerable Human Lich Wizard 18
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid)
Init: +0 Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, see invisibility, Perception +34
Aura: fear (60 ft radius, DC 26)
Defense
AC 25 Touch 15 Flat 24 (+1 Dex, +5 armour, +5 natural, +4 deflection)
Hp 210 (6 + 17d6 +144 + 18), DR 15/bludgeoning and magic
Fort +10 Ref +11 Will +21
SR 18
Channel resistance +10
DR 15/bludgeoning and magic
Immune: undead traits, electricity, cold
Resist fire 10, acid 10
Offense
Spd 30’
Melee Touch +9 (1d8+9 plus paralysing touch)
Missile Ray +9
Hand of the apprentice (dagger +1 human bane) +21/+23 [humans] (1d4+1 [+2d6+2 humans])
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
S 10 D 12 C — I 26 (32) W 16 (22) Ch 20 (26)
BAB +9/+5 CMB +9 CMD 24 (19)

Feats
Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Magical Arms and Armour, Craft Construct, Improved Familiar, Forge Ring, Combat Casting, Scribe Scroll, Still Spell, Silent Spell, Extend Spell, Dazing Spell, Sickening Spell, Toppling Spell, Quicken Spell, Persistent Spell
Skills
Bluff +19 (11), Craft (alchemy) +32 (7; 18 from headband), Diplomacy +19 (11), Escape Artist +18 (17), Fly +12 (8), Intimidate +25 (17), Knowledge (arcana) +36 (18), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +15 (1), Knowledge (engineering) +15 (1), Knowledge (geography) +15 (1), Knowledge (history) +32 (7; 18 from headband), Knowledge (local) +32 (7; 18 from headband), Knowledge (nature) +21 (7), Knowledge (nobility) +15 (1), Knowledge (planes) +32 (18), Knowledge (religion) +32 (18), Linguistics (Balok, Mordentish, Vaasi) +17 (3), Perception +34 (17), Sense Motive +34 (17), Spellcraft +32 (18), Stealth +23 (11)
Languages
Darkonese*, Dwarven, Elven, Draconic, Infernal, Balok, Mordentish, Vaasi

Treasure
(398,000 gp/530,000 gp)
Headband of mental superiority +6, ring of wizardry I/III and II/IV, ring of protection +4/energy resistance (fire, acid 10), hand of glory, black robe of the archmagi, crystal ball of telepathy, metamagic rods (reach, intensified, focus), permanent see invisibility, dagger +1 human bane, pearls of power (4 x 1st, 4 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd).
19,000 gp worth of wands (mostly for Imp familiar to use): summon monster III, black tentacles, magic missile (CL 7; 4 missiles), headband of vast intellect +2
Lots of scrolls

Special
Arcane bond (improved familiar)
Hand of the apprentice (14/day, 30 ft)
Metamagic mastery (5/day)
Alertness when familiar in arm’s reach (+2 Perception, Sense Motive)
Empathic link, scry on familiar 1/day
Fear aura, rejuvenation, paralysing touch, heal 1d8+9 hp as full round action, undead control, fiery eyes
Undead dominion
Modify memory
Mastery: undead and animal minions +7 vs mind-affecting magic and channel resistance
Sinkhole of evil

Squalimous (Imp Familiar)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft, detect magic, see in darkness; Perception +21
AC 26, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural, +2 size)
Hp 81 (9d10), fast healing 2
Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +12
DR 5/good or silver; SR 23; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10
Speed 20 ft, fly 50 ft (perfect)
Melee sting +14 (1d4 plus poison)
Space 2 ½ ft/0 ft
SLA (CL 6th): constant – detect magic; at will – invisibility (self only); 1/day – augury, suggestion (DC 15); 1/week – commune (6 questions, CL 12th)
S 10 D 17 C 10 I 14 (16) W 12 Ch 14
BAB +9 CMB +1 CMD 15
Dodge, Weapon Finesse; Acrobatics +9 (3), Bluff +16 (11), Craft (alchemy) +10 (7), Diplomacy +13 (11), Escape Artist +20 (17), Fly +26 (8), Intimidate +20/+12 to Medium creatures (17), Knowledge (arcana) +24 (18), Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4 (1), Knowledge (engineering) +4 (1), Knowledge (geography) +4 (1), Knowledge (history) +10 (7), Knowledge (local) +10 (7), Knowledge (nature) +10 (7), Knowledge (planes) +24 (18), Knowledge (religion) +21 (18), Linguistics (Balok, Mordentish, Vaasi) +6 (3), Perception +21 (17), Sense Motive +18 (17), Spellcraft +24 (18), Stealth +25 (11), Use Magic Device +11 (3; 9 from headband)
SQ Change shape (boar, giant spider, rat, raven; beast shape I)
Poison Sting—injury; Save Fort DC 13; 1/round for 6 rounds; 1d2 Dex; Cure 1 save.
Share spells, empathic link, deliver touch spells, speak with master
Equipment: wands: summon monster III, black tentacles, magic missile (CL 7; 4 missiles), headband of vast intellect +2

Spells
(4/11+4/11+4/11+2/10/6/6/5/4/3): Save DC = 21 + spell level; CL 20 for overcoming SR.
0 – acid splash, arcane mark, bleed, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, haunted fey aspect, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, spark, touch of fatigue (all)
1 – alarm, animate rope, change self, charm person, comprehend languages, decompose corpse, enlarge person, floating disc, hold portal, identify, magic missile, message, obscuring mist, ray of enfeeblement, restore corpse, sculpt corpse, silent image, unseen servant
2 – alter self, arcane lock, darkness, daylight, false life, flaming sphere, hideous laughter, invisibility, knock, locate object, magic mouth, minor image, mirror image, see invisibility, shatter, spectral hand, steal voice, web
3 – arcane sight, clairaudience/clairvoyance, death sight, dispel magic, enter image, fireball, fly, gaseous form, haste, hold person, lightning bolt, magic circle against evil/good, nondetection, ray of exhaustion, sands of time, seek thoughts, suggestion, summon monster III, vision of hell, wind wall
4 - animate dead, arcane eye, bestow curse, black tentacles, charm monster, confusion, contagion, dimension door, enervation, familiar melding, fire trap, fleshworm infestation, ice storm, illusory wall, minor globe of invulnerability, overwhelming grief, phantasmal killer, scrying, shadow conjuration, stoneskin, terrible remorse, wall of ice
5 - animal growth, bone seizure, dominate person, feeblemind, hold monster, lesser age resistance, magic jar, mind fog, passwall, permanency, polymorph, rapid repair, sending, shadow evocation, summon monster V, suffocation, telekinesis, wall of stone
6 - acid fog, age resistance, analyze dweomer, circle of death, create undead, contingency, disintegrate, enemy hammer, eyebite, flesh to stone, forceful hand, geas/quest, greater contagion, guards and wards, legend lore, mislead, permanent image, planar binding, project image, reanimate, steal vitality, stone to flesh, true seeing
7 - finger of death, forcecage, greater arcane sight, greater scrying, greater teleport, instant summons, limited wish, power word stun, spell turning, summon monster VII, temporary resurrection, vision
8 - binding, call construct, create greater undead, demand, incendiary cloud, maze, prismatic wall, shades, telekinetic sphere, trap the soul, weird
9 - crushing hand, energy drain, foresight, gate, mage’s disjunction, temporal stasis, wish

[Nemesio]

Thanks Ryan! Great Job As Always!

[Mortavius]

Very good work Ryan, as per usual. I've often wondered if Azalin should have the Wish spell though. Azalin's curse is that he cannot learn new spells, but the Wish spell can effectively duplicate for him any spell of lower level, with a few varying restrictions. This seems to circumvent his curse nicely.

[Zilfer]

Though in the books he has a few abilities that probably arent' covered just by spells... <.< maybe Wish makes up for that?

[Nathan of the FoS]

Very good work Ryan, as per usual. I've often wondered if Azalin should have the Wish spell though. Azalin's curse is that he cannot learn new spells, but the Wish spell can effectively duplicate for him any spell of lower level, with a few varying restrictions. This seems to circumvent his curse nicely.

I'd say that that's a reason he shouldn't have it, myself, but in his canon writeups (I believe this is true in 1e, 2e and 3e) he certainly does have it, which is the explanation for how he's able to do stuff like send people back in time.