Necrocarnate

Strong evocation; CL 9th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, essentia pool, summon monster I, haste, plus fl ame blade, fl ame strike, or fireball; Price 86,000 gp; Cost 43,156 gp; Weight 5 lb.

“Death is but the first of the agonies that I will visit upon your soul.”

—Igalla Pallasi, necrocarnate

Dealers in death and torturers of souls, necrocarnates number among the most evil creatures in any world. Skilled in the arts of meldcraft, these twisted beings once drew upon the soul energy of incarnum. Their unbridled lust for power at any price has led them into dark rituals that corrupt soul energy into necrocarnum. Necrocarnum is a dark reflection of incarnum, whose use gives even the most evil incarnates and totemists pause. An evil incarnate might draw upon the soul energies of evil creatures and planes, but a user of necrocarnum gains her power from the torture of good souls. Indeed, the necrocarnate subjects pure souls to agony and torment far beyond the limits possible in mortal life, draining them of their very essence in pursuit of her hideous power.

BECOMING A NECROCARNATE

Almost all necrocarnates begin their careers as evil incarnates, but set their sights on the path of the necrocarnate early. To more quickly master the power of necrocarnum, a candidate for this prestige class should take the Necrocarnum Acolyte feat as early as possible and seek out the Union of Darkened Souls at the fi rst opportunity. Only a few meldshapers of other alignments dare to venture into the shadowy world of necrocarnum. They might seek out its power after some great personal tragedy, or after a fi end has led them down a path of darkness and depravity, or after exposure to some other life-altering force or event. Such individuals fall so far into depravity and evil that they lose any connections with good that they once had and take up the mantle of the necrocarnate. Whether they come to the prestige class by choice or by fate, however, these fallen meldshapers are just as destructive and cruel as any necrocarnate who was evil from the start.

Entry Requirements

Alignment: Any evil.

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 10 ranks.

Feat: Necrocarnum Acolyte.

Meldshaping: Ability to shape soulmelds, ability to bind soulmelds to the crown, feet, and hands chakras.

CLASS FEATURES

As a necrocarnate, you improve as a meldshaper and gain special benefits when using soulmelds with the necrocarnum descriptor, which are known as necrocarnum melds. You gain no essentia for attaining higher levels, but you do gain several special abilities that allow you to trap the soul energy of dying creatures and turn it to your own ends. All of the following are class features of the necrocarnate prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You gain no new profi ciencies with weapons, armor, or shields. Harvest Soul (Su): Unlike a traditional meldshaper who relies entirely on his own pool of soul energy to power his soulmelds, you tap the soul energy of others for your power. Beginning at 1st level, you can perform a short ritual to capture the soul energy of a newly dead corpse. This ritual requires 1 minute of uninterrupted concentration plus the corpse of a living creature that has been dead for no longer than 1 hour per necrocarnate level you possess. At the end of the ritual, you gain a number of essentia points equal to one-half your necrocarnate level (rounded up). This benefi t lasts for 24 hours. No corpse can be used for this purpose more than once. At 10th level, you can perform this ritual as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

Improved Meldshaper Level: Each time you gain a level of necrocarnate, you also increase your meldshaper level as if you had gained a level in the meldshaping class to which you belonged prior to gaining the necrocarnate level. You do not, however, gain any other abilities of that class, such as additional melds, extra chakra binds, increased essentia, or new tiers of chakra binds. Necrocarnum Soulshield (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, you can use the tortured souls that form necrocarnum soulmelds to help you avoid danger. By tapping into this soul energy, you gain a profane bonus on all saving throws. The value of this bonus equals the number of necrocarnum

Base Attack Fort Ref Will Level Bonus Save Save Save Special

1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Harvest soul (1 minute), improved meldshaper level 2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Necrocarnum soulshield 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Chakra binds (arms, brow, shoulders) 4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Extra chakra bind, extra soulmeld 5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Essentia trap 6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Necrocarnum zombie master (half damage) 7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Extra soulmeld 8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Chakra binds (throat, waist), extra chakra bind 9th +4 +3 +3 +6 Expanded necrocarnum meld capacity 10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Extra soulmeld, harvest soul (full-round action) 11th +5 +3 +3 +7 Chakra bind (heart) 12th +6 +4 +4 +8 Extra chakra bind 13th +6 +4 +4 +8 Chakra bind (soul),extra soulmeld, necrocarnum zombie master (2 zombies) Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Profession, Spellcraft

soulmelds that you currently have shaped. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to one-half your necrocarnate level.

Chakra Binds: As you attain higher levels, you can bind your soulmelds and magic items to additional chakras, gaining new powers based on the combination chosen. At 3rd level, you can bind your soulmelds or magic items to your lesser chakras (arms, brow, and shoulders), in addition to any other chakras you have available. When you attain 8th level, your greater chakras (throat and waist) become available for chakra binds. At 11th level, you can bind soulmelds or magic items to your heart chakra, and at 13th level, you can bind them to your soul chakra.

Extra Chakra Bind: Upon attaining 4th level, you gain one additional chakra bind. At 8th level and again at 12th level, you gain one more extra chakra bind. Extra Soulmelds: When you attain 4th level, the number of soulmelds that you can have shaped increases by one. You gain this benefi t again at 7th, 10th, and 13th level. Essentia Trap (Su): Starting at 5th level, you can capture some of the soul energy from a creature that has just died and use it to give yourself a short-term increase in power. To activate this ability, you must be within 100 feet of the creature, have line of sight to it, and take an immediate action no more than 1 round after its death. The essentia trap grants you a number of essentia points equal to one-half the creature’s character level, which you can invest as part of the same action used to activate the ability. This ability is usable once per round, and the extra essentia lasts until the end of your next turn.

Necrocarnum Zombie Master (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, you take only half the normal damage (1/2 the zombie’s HD, minimum 1) when using the necrocarnum circlet crown chakra bind (see page 78) to create a necrocarnum zombie. At 13th level, you can have up to two necrocarnum zombies animated simultaneously; the maximum HD of each zombie equals your necrocarnate level. Furthermore, each zombie’s essentia pool increases by an amount equal to the points of essentia invested in your necrocarnum circlet.

Expanded Necrocarnum Meld Capacity (Ex): When you attain 9th level, the essentia capacity of each necrocarnum meld you shape increases by 1. This increase stacks with the increase provided by the incarnate’s expanded soulmeld capacity.

PLAYING A NECROCARNATE

As a necrocarnate, you value personal power beyond all else. You are willing to torture the souls of other creatures to harvest such power. Because necrocarnum is formed from the agony of innocent souls, its use is an evil act. That fact matters little to you, since you long ago renounced the pursuit of truth and light. While many necrocarnates belong to a shadowy organization known as the Union of Darkened Souls, others prefer to follow their own agendas. Thus, you are free to choose whether to go your own way or join with others who share your warped power.

Combat

You approach combat in much the same way other meldshapers do, using soulmelds to adjust your offensive and defensive capabilities according to the opposition you face. Unlike other meldshapers, you also take every opportunity to turn your foes’ soul energy into fuel for your own dark powers. By the same token, you are perfectly willing to sacrifi ce the lives of your servants and allies to better your own combat prowess, especially if you control a necrocarnum zombie. You also take a certain delight in horrifying your opponents into surrendering by using your necrocarnum zombie to demonstrate the fate that awaits them should they lose. You employ a two-part approach to defeating a particular group of foes. During the fi rst encounter, you concentrate on destroying at least one of the opponents while observing the tactics and capabilities of the others. You have no compunctions about fl eeing the encounter and abandoning your necrocarnum zombie should the opposition appear too diffi cult to defeat. When next you meet the same group, however, you secure a different zombie and choose soulmelds with an eye toward exploiting any weaknesses that your foes displayed in the fi rst encounter. At higher levels, you can refi ne this tactic even more. By gathering information about your foes before meeting them in combat, you can prepare appropriate soulmelds for the fi rst confl ict.

Advancement

You might have been drawn down the path of the soul-tormentor because you were already in service to a powerful necrocarnate, or your descent into depravity might have been the result of some personal tragedy. However you fi rst came to wield necrocarnum, you have hungered for more of its power ever since. If you have a mentor, the relationship is fraught with distrust. Though you need his instruction to increase your own personal power and he needs a willing and able servant, you both know that the arrangement cannot last. At some point, one of you will try to slay the other, or you will strike out on your own. Because of the hatred with which the rest of the world views necrocarnates, you must protect yourself from a wide variety of foes. The more power you gain, the more likely it becomes that adventurers or members of some good organization will seek to stop you from harvesting souls and using necrocarnum soulmelds. Regardless of your foes’ combat prowess and dedication, your great versatility lets you adjust your abilities to meet almost any challenge. By acquiring a necrocarnum zombie with particularly potent abilities, shaping soulmelds that exploit the weaknesses of a particular group of foes, and acquiring magic items with the right mix of abilities, you can emerge from the most trying of encounters with not only victory, but also the souls of your opponents.

Resources

Reaching out to your fellow necrocarnates for aid would only make it clear that you were weak, and therefore easy prey for any who wanted more power. For that reason, you seldom ask other necrocarnates for aid, nor do they make many requests of you. For much the same reasons, you would not even think of contacting the Union of Darkened Souls for aid except as a last resort, since you would be far more likely to end up as someone else’s necrocarnum zombie than to receive the support you wanted.

Illus. by W. Reynolds

“No act is more evil, and no action less justifi ed, than the torture of a soul. Those foul creatures who deal with necrocarnum are beyond redemption, beyond remorse. I remain forever their most implacable foe.”

—Meredythe Gorvabyn, Pentifex Monolith

Necrocarnates face suspicion and persecution anytime they encounter someone who understands the evil force behind their powers and abilities. If members of this prestige class espouse any common purpose at all, it is the pursuit of individual power. Because they put this single goal above all else in life, necrocarnates have little interest in fi tting into society or working with others. Since the use of necrocarnum is an evil act, necrocarnates are best used as villains—or at best hostile NPCs. A member of this prestige class makes a worthy foe for player characters, and encountering one can provide a strong impetus for PCs to learn about incarnum. Furthermore, the fact that necrocarnates do not have to belong to an organization gives you as DM the freedom to include an NPC necrocarnate in almost any setting.

Daily Life

A necrocarnate conducts her business by stealth and subterfuge; she is suspicious of everyone, including any temporary allies she might have. If her use of necrocarnum is discovered, she is likely to face opposition from adventurers or other stalwarts bent on driving her away from normal communities.

Notables

Necrocarnates recognize Akker Zemd (NE male human incarnate 7/necrocarnate 8) as the foremost member of the Union of Darkened Souls. The organization has little in the way of rules or offi cial structure, but its members follow the will of Akker. From his secret lair beneath the sewers of a great human city, Akker continuously seeks to increase his own power and that of the union. No other necrocarnates share this dwelling, but rumor holds that he has hordes of necrocarnum zombies as guardians and servants. Unlike other necrocarnates, who see only the opportunity for a moment of extra power in a fellow necrocarnate’s weakness, Akker is willing to offer protection and aid to lesser necrocarnates—provided that they bind themselves fully to his cause.

Organization

Because necrocarnates are by nature a suspicious and treacherous lot, working together does not come easily to them. Some, however, have chosen to band together into a loose society known as the Union of Darkened Souls. Necrocarnates might choose to join this organization for many reasons, not the least of which is protection against those good creatures who understand the nature of necrocarnum and have sworn to hunt down its users. The origins of this organization are as shadowy and sinister as necrocarnum itself. Few know of its early days, but those who do whisper of an ancient and powerful creature that taught the fi rst necrocarnates their craft and drew them together. Necrocarnates believe that this being still exists and serves to this day as the driving force behind the union, guiding the hand of Akker Zemd. On the rare occasions that they speak freely, these sages of necrocarnum lore claim that the shadowy master behind the union desires nothing less than the destruction or corruption of every mortal soul. Some claim that it is a powerful lich—the last survivor of some long-dead empire who has been driven insane by millennia of undeath. Others insist that the union is just another facet of a plot designed by the devious mindfl ayers, and still others hint that some powerful demon lord or evil deity is behind the organization. But whatever its origin, the union is clearly a force for utter evil built on a mutual lust for power.

NPC Reactions

Igalla Pallasi, a necrocarnate Only evil creatures ever have friendly attitudes toward necrocarnates. In normal society, they are shunned and even hunted by those who understand the evil that they represent. Even people who do not understand necrocarnum or the evil nature of its use are repulsed by the twisting, haunted visages that swim visibly beneath the surface of every necrocarnum meld. Necrocarnates wishing to enjoy the comforts and resources of ordinary civilized cities must conceal their activities, refrain from shaping necrocarnum melds, and deal only with closely trusted associates or servants too cowed by their power to oppose them. For this reason, necrocarnates looking for even a modicum of

stability seek out communities and nations of evil creatures. The risks inherent in living deep within a mind flayer enclave or among the dark towers of a drow city are great, but necrocarnates prefer to operate in the open among those who understand their ways than to endure the pressures of constant concealment. Necrocarnates face a world full of enemies. The most significant and organized of these is the Pentifex Order, an organization of incarnates, soulborn, totemists, and members of other classes who have dedicated their lives to preventing the misuse of incarnum. To them, the use of necrocarnum—the very antithesis of all that they strive to protect and preserve—is the greatest evil imaginable. The Pentifex Order is described fully beginning on page 209. Other enemies can arise from nearly every conceivable corner of the campaign world. Adventurers might seek out a necrocarnate in his lair with the express purpose of putting an end to his evil. A necrocarnate discovered living in normal society might become the target of military forces ranging from a town militia to an organized unit of the kingdom’s regular army. The most subtle and dangerous opposition, however, comes not from the ranks of good creatures, but from other necrocarnates scheming and plotting to gain ever more personal power, even at the expense of their own allies. Necrocarnates sometimes join armies of evil creatures because nearby combat provides an opportunity for them to increase their own power. Both the actual battles in which such an army engages and the infighting that invariably occurs within the ranks keep the necrocarnate supplied with fresh corpses from which to draw soul energy as well as a never-ending supply of potential necro carnum zombies.

NECROCARNATE LORE

Characters with ranks in the Knowledge (arcana) skill can research necrocarnates, necrocarnum, or the Union of Darkened Souls to learn more about them.

DC 10: Necrocarnum is a dark and twisted form of incarnum. Though it is a source of great power, its use is corrupt and evil.

DC 15: Those who use necrocarnum are called necrocarnates. These evil men and women have great meldshaping ability, but they are dangerous and reclusive. Some, though not all, belong to an organization known as the Union of Darkened Souls.

DC 20: Skilled necrocarnates can shape necrocarnum into many different melds, including one that allows them to fl ood a corpse with raw necrocarnum. Such corpses rise as necrocarnum zombies—horrid undead that are capable of using soul energy on their own.

DC 30: The use of necrocarnum is evil because it involves the torment of souls. Shaping or using a necrocarnum meld causes great pain to the pure souls tapped for energy.

NECROCARNATES IN THE GAME

Necrocarnates make excellent recurring villains. With their diverse and sinister soulmelds, they offer dozens of intriguing combat options for use against PCs. In addition, the fact that each PC’s death means more power for the necrocarnate increases the threat posed by the encounter and ensures that the villain is a memorable one. The horrifi c visuals of necrocarnum soulmelds also add atmosphere to any combat involving these dark wielders of stolen soul energy. Necrocarnates know that they face opposition from good creatures who understand the nature of their powers, so they work hard to prepare escape routes in advance and magic that allows them to fl ee quickly when needed. Indeed, necrocarnates regard the ability to choose when and where a confl ict takes place as an essential component of their personal power rather than a mark of cowardice.

Adaptation

Since necrocarnates are irrevocably evil, they are not suitable as player characters in most campaigns. By stripping away the visual effects from necrocarnum soulmelds and renaming a few key abilities, however, you could create a parallel prestige class dedicated to the preservation and protection of pure souls. This mirror-image class might use a substance called vivicarnum—a pure and holy version of necrocarnum channeled from the purest of unborn souls. The actual mechanics of the class could remain the same, and even necrocarnum zombies could still be used. Simply rename them (call them “reborn,” for example) and recast them as holy vessels given a second brief chance at life by the miracle of vivicarnum.

Encounters

Necrocarnates can appear anywhere, but they prefer to limit their vulnerability by ensuring that other evil creatures are present to occupy their enemies should they have to fl ee. Most necrocarnates appear with a necrocarnum zombie or two in tow.

EL 9: Igalla Pallasi never goes anywhere without her girallon necrocarnum zombie (see page 187). As long as it remains within 30 feet of her, it gains turn resistance equal to twice the essentia she has invested in her necrocarnum circlet. Since she currently has 1 point invested, her zombie has turn resistance +2.

Igalla Pallasi CR 9

Female human incarnate 7/necrocarnate 3 NE Medium humanoid (incarnum) Init +0; Senses blindsight 30 ft. against undead, Listen +2, Spot +2 Languages Common, Infernal AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 17 hp 77 (10 HD) Resist cold 5 Immune disease Fort +15, Ref +6, Will +15 Speed 30 ft. (6 squares) Melee +1 unholy heavy mace +8 (1d8+4) or Melee necrocarnum touch +6 (3d8; see necrocarnum touch soulmeld) or Ranged necrocarnum ray +4 (3d8; see necrocarnum touch soulmeld) Base Atk +4; Grp +6 Atk Options +3 profane bonus on damage rolls and attack rolls to confirm critical threats against living creatures