DREAD WITCH
HEROES AND ANTIHEROES
CHAPTER 5
“Fear cuts more deeply than any sword, consumes more completely than any spell. It rages like a conflagration, burning away the flesh of the weak, burning the weakness out of the strong. Fear is power, and that power is mine.” —Illyra Zorren, dread witch, to her first apprentice The dread witch is a spellcaster who manipulates fear as readily and effectively as other casters manipulate magic itself. Drawing power from her own fear, she can cause even the brave to run screaming into the night or drop to their knees and beg for mercy. A dread witch is at her most dangerous when cornered and overpowered; at high levels dread witches are among the most terrifying of opponents—literally.
BECOMING A DREAD WITCH The path of the bard or sorcerer is the most efficient way to become a dread witch. Most dread witches are innate spellcasters, and their various abilities based on force of personality (that is, Charisma) make such spellcasters more efficient. Wizards can become dread witches as well, with the proper course of study, but it doesn’t come to them quite as easily. Charisma is the primary requirement, in order to make the most efficient use of her class features. Intelligence is useful for skill points (and for spells, if she is a wizard). As always, Constitution grants hit points, the better to survive frightening circumstances. Entry Requirements Saving Throws: Base Will save +4 Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks Spellcasting: Ability to cast cause fear and scare Special: Must have suffered at least one fear effect against which she failed her save
CLASS FEATURES Dread witches sacrifice a level of spellcasting advancement in order to gain immense power over fear itself—both their own and that of others. Spellcasting: At every dread witch level except 1st, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class you belonged to before you added the prestige class. You do not, however, gain any other class benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before Table 5–5: The Dread Witch Class Base Fort Level Attack Bonus Save 1st +0 +0 2nd +1 +0 3rd +1 +1 4th +2 +1 5th +2 +1
98
Ref Save +0 +0 +1 +1 +1
becoming a dread witch, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day. Master of Terror (Ex): Your fear-based spells become more potent. The save DC of any spell you cast with the fear descriptor increases by 1. This bonus stacks with Spell Focus. Furthermore, add the spells bane and doom to your arcane spellcaster list as 2nd-level spells. In addition, you become adept at making people uneasy with the right word, expression, or gesture. You gain a bonus to all Intimidate skill checks equal to +2 per class level. Unnatural Will (Ex): You gain Unnatural Will (see page 124) as a bonus feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites. Absorb Fear (Su): Starting at 2nd level, you can turn your own fear, whether natural or mystical in origin, into extra power for your spells. (See Dread on page 59 for more on nonmagical fear.) Any time you are exposed to a condition that could make you shaken, all your spells function at +1 caster level; if the condition could make you frightened, they function at +2 caster level; if panicked, they function at +3 caster level. These bonuses last for the duration of the fear effect, or for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier, whichever is less. (Of course, if you fail your saving throw against the condition, you might not be in a position to use the bonuses, but you do have them.) These bonuses are treated in all ways as though you had failed the save. In other words, if you are subject to a spell that causes panic on a failed save but only frightens those who make the save, you gain the bonus from being panicked even if you make the save. You can, instead of gaining these bonuses, choose to cast a single extra spell; this casting does not use up a spell slot. You must make this choice the instant you are subject to the fear effect, and once you have made your choice you must cast the spell within a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier. You can cast an additional cantrip if shaken, an additional 1st-level spell if frightened, or an additional 2ndlevel spell if panicked. If you are subject to a second fear effect while still enjoying the effects of the first—either the granted benefits or holding the extra spell—you must decide whether to keep the original effect or replace it with the new one; you cannot benefit from more than one fear effect at a time. Fearful Empowerment (Su): Starting at 3rd level, once per day you can add the fear descriptor to any spell you cast that has some sort of visual manifestation. For example, you could apply it to a fireball, to a summon monster spell, or
Hit Die: d4 Will Save Special +2 Master of terror, Unnatural Will +3 Absorb fear +3 Fearful empowerment 1/day +4 Delay fear, greater master of terror +4 Fearful empowerment 2/day, horrific aura, reflective fear
Spellcasting — +1 level of existing spellcasting class +1 level of existing spellcasting class +1 level of existing spellcasting class +1 level of existing spellcasting class
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Profession, and Spellcraft.
