DEATH DEFIER CLASS

DEATH DEFIER

[based on Emmy Allen's idea: https://cavegirlgames.blogspot.com/2018/03/dancing-black-labyrinth.html]

The Death Defiers are a cult shrouded in secrecy and distrust. They worship neither life nor death, but the unknowable point where they cross into each other, the transition from one world to the next and if their theology is to be believed, back again. They preach that the afterlife is a vast, deep maze leading ever downward into oblivion. The Labyrinth of Souls. They claim to have mapped this endless purgatory and know all the secret routes back into life.

Alternative Progression: Death Defiers do not advance with XP and levels. Instead they gain a new Template each time they successfully return from the dead. The number of times you’ve cheated death directly corresponds to your strength as a Death Defier. Each journey through the Labyrinth deepens your understanding of the mysteries of death, unlocking new powers. Each Template has several options. When you gain the Template choose one one of them or choose an ability from a previous Template.
 

Requirements: To join this class you must undergo an initiation, commit ritual suicide, and transmigrate into a new body. Make a Defy Death check at +2, if successful you are now a Death Defier. Failure means you die. If you die during character creation treat it as a Pre-game Character Death. You may either take the Discarnate Soul class and return as a ghost or accept your death and roll up a new character.

Starting Equipment: Ritual knife (d4), The Psalter of Evil Prayers, black robes. One weapon of your choice (except Large), 12 ammunition appropriate to the weapon if it is ranged, one small weapon of your choice, light armor, one item of your choice from the Adventuring Gear table and d3 random items.

A: Death Cultist, Death Defier Skills, Mantle of Death, Defy Death, First Death Ability, +1 MD
B: Second Death Ability, +1 MD
C: Third Death Ability, +1 MD
D: Fourth Death Ability, +1 MD
E: Fifth Death Ability
F: Sixth Death Ability
G+: Death’s Mysteries (7+ Deaths)

A: Death Cultist

You begin with a copy of the The Psalter of Evil Prayers and one Necromancy spell. You can spend 10 minutes performing the funeral rites of your order to give a fellow cultist a +1 bonus on their Defy Death check.

A: Death Defier Skills

You gain 5 + ¼ Cunning points to spend on Ceremonialism, Cryptography, Defy Death, Heretical Doctrine, Necromancy, Religious Doctrine, Sorcerous Tongues, or Stealth.

Defy Death Skill: Your training as a psychopompic cartographer, your knowledge of the Labyrinth of Souls, and all the secret ways to elude death. No other class can take this skill.

A: Mantle of Death

You have a pool of tokens that can be spent to intimidate the living, interact more easily with the spirits of the dead, or better wield your powers. This represents the aura of death energy that always clings to you. A token can be spent to grant +2F to an intimidation or Necromancy check or to activate certain abilities. Each time you return to life you gain more Death Tokens. You may not have more tokens than your Will + Number of Deaths. You begin with 3 Death Tokens.

A: Defy Death

When you die you enter the Labyrinth. If you are reduced to 0 HP you can choose to die rather than fall unconscious. Make a Defy Death check at -2. If successful you elude the Guardians of Death, navigate the ever shifting pathways of the netherworld, and slip back into the living realm. If the funeral rites of the cult are performed over your corpse make the check at -1 instead (the Self-Sacrifice ability can also lower the difficulty). Keep track of the number of times your character dies, it is an important prerequisite to unlocking the more powerful abilities the cult commands.

If successful, your soul enters one of the soulless bodies the cult keeps in their temples. None of your old possessions make the journey with you (they remain with your old corpse) but the cult equips you with basic provisions to help you begin your next life. You gain one Death Token for every point you beat the TN by. You keep your Cunning, Wisdom, and Will attributes, Templates, Skills, Feats, Powers, Spells, Rituals, Boons and Prices. You must re-roll your other attributes, HP, starting money and equipment. You lose all of your Witchblood Templates. To determine if your new body has any Witchblood roll d6:

1. Nature Devil, 2. Star Devil, 3. Eternal Devil, 4. Bornless Devil, 5-6. Human Soul.

A result of 1-4 means you gain Template A in the corresponding Witchblood class.

A: First Death Abilities

Gravebreaker’s Fury: You no longer fear death and can now freely fight without regard for your own life. This makes you a terrifying opponent to face in battle. You can roll a d6 when you make a melee attack, add this number to your attack bonus and subtract it from your Defense until next round.

Summon Death’s Mantle: Anytime you see a creature die you gain one Death Token.

Self-Sacrifice: By staging your death as a ritual suicide you call mighty forces to witness your sacrifice and they open the way for your soul’s journey. There are several methods to perform the deed.

• The Easy Death: The most basic procedure is a ceremonial disembowelment that takes ten minutes to perform correctly and gives +1 to the Defy Death check.

• The Hard Death: The second ritual is far more painful, but its brutality gives it greater power. The Death Defier pens a talismanic scroll using a sheet of papyrus and a special sacred paint. This pigment contains many tiny pieces of relics from the bodies of past masters and a large quantity of lethal poison. The scroll is a map of the labyrinth covered with dozens of incantations to guard the journeying soul. The initiate pours beer or wine through the map so that the ink washes off and then partakes of the now fatal drink. The poison guarantees a long agonizing death that lasts for hours. While their innards are breaking down they sing hymns to the Guardians of Death and whip themselves (or otherwise torment their flesh in some manner). This unpleasant procedure gives them +2 to the Defy Death check.

• The Secret Death: The last rite is far more elaborate. It requires ceremonial costumes, props, and at least one other Death Defier. The cult’s oath forbids any outsiders from witnessing this ritual on pain of death. It contains a number of secret occult formulas and incantations and most importantly, the re-enactment of a brief scene from the cult’s initiation drama. A dialogue between the Descending Soul and Death. No one outside of the circle of initiation knows the manner of death this rite entails, but once it is over there is never a body left to dispose of. This method takes an entire night and grants a +3 bonus.

B: Second Death Abilities

Mantle of Souls: Spend a Death Token to get +4 Defense against one attack.

Aegis of the Last Death: Keep track of the source of damage that killed you in your last life (fire, sword, arrow, poison, etc.). You have +2 Defense (or Save) against that type of damage. This is magical protection. What this ability protects against changes each time you die in a different way.

C: Third Death Abilities

Atavistic Transmigration: The temple keeps a store of soulless animals so they always have emergency vessels. The viable human host bodies sometimes run out and they consider it sinful to miss a returning cultist’s soul. The incredible efficacy of using human-souled animals as spies has led to some members volunteering for the duty. You have received the training necessary to take part in this program. While in an animal body you gain the stats and limitations of that form but keep your own Cunning score. If the species is incapable of human speech you cannot cast spells. The animal body lasts until the next time you die. Each time you return to life you can choose if you want a human body or an animal one. The usual animals on hand are cats, dogs, and small birds. It is possible, though difficult and expensive to prepare a more exotic animal as a host.

Mangy Alley Cat
HP: 3 Morale: 3 No Armor Claws: d3 Special: It almost always lands on its feet. Nightvision.

Ill-Tempered Dog
HP: 4 Morale: 4 No Armor Bite: d4 Special: It can track by scent.

Weary Crow
HP: 2 Morale: 2 No Armor Peck: d2 Special: It can fly.

Mantle of Blood: Whenever someone near you takes damage that results in them Bleeding, you may steal their shed life force to heal yourself. Their spilled blood flows into you and the aura of power around you burns crimson. Spend a Death Token to recover as much HP as they lost that round.

Grave Sight: Your constant exposure to death has awakened many faculties that are normally dormant in others. Spend a Death Token to perceive the spirit world and its inhabitants clearly (you temporarily gain two ranks of Second Sight). This lasts for 10 minutes. In addition to the usual information Second Sight provides, you can roughly gauge a creatures current HP. You can communicate with spirits and summon them to you if you know their names. This is more of an invitation than a command, if a spirit doesn’t want to come when you call for it, it doesn’t have to (the DM makes a Reaction Check).

D: Fourth Death Abilities

Armor of the Last Death: Keep track of the sources of damage that killed you in your last two lives. You have +4 Defense and Save against those types of damage. What this ability protects against changes each time you die in a different way.

Blade of the Last Death: If the last thing to kill you was a melee weapon, you may summon a ghostly, flaming replica of that weapon at will. You draw this spectral weapon out of your body, from wherever the fatal wound was on your last corpse. It is magical, can strike both physical and spiritual enemies and deals its normal weapon damage plus d6 necrotic damage. Enemies with the Incorporeal power don’t gain any bonus Defense against your attacks. It lasts for a single battle.

E: Fifth Death Abilities

Weapon Pact of the Last Death: If the last thing to kill you was a melee or ranged weapon (not poison, a fall, or some other cause) you can make a pact with the ruling spirit of that weapon. If you died by the sword, you can forge a pact to ward you from all swords for the duration of your current lifetime. Each time you die, your pact is ended and you may choose to strike a new one, but this isn’t something you have to do and it isn’t automatic. To gain the boon of the Weapon Pact, you must call the proper spirit and negotiate with it. Summoning and treating with the spirit takes a week of effort. The traditional price to establish the pact is the soul of the person who last killed you and the weapon they killed you with. Both must be ritually sacrificed at the culmination of the week-long ceremony. The agreement is that the specified weapon will never strike you. All attack checks with the prohibited weapon automatically fail against you. Projectiles miss you or the firing mechanism jams, blows with melee weapons miss or glance off you harmlessly or random circumstance intervenes to protect you. You may never have more than one Weapon Pact.

Thanaturgy: Your authority and power over spirits has grown. If you know a spirit’s name you may command it to appear before you. This summons requires no ritual, only the spoken command and certain words of power. It takes a single action to perform. If the spirit is hostile or does not wish to appear, make an opposed Will check. If you win it comes to you and must remain for d6 minutes. You may bargain or negotiate a pact, but beyond forcing it to appear you cannot command it to do anything.

F: Sixth Death Abilities

Conjoined Souls: When you are reborn using your Defy Death power, you may now smuggle another spirit back into life. They live within your new body, sharing it with you. This demon is bound to you, giving you access to powers you don’t normally possess and strengthening your magic. You may spend a Death Token to activate one of its Demonic Powers for a day. This lets you use that power as though you were casting a spell (make a casting check with at least 1 MD). You may activate as many powers as you wish each day, as long as you have the tokens to spend. You may also draw on its magic when casting a spell or performing a ritual to gain +2 MD or RD. Demons want to further their own agendas or indulge their vices. For each power you activate, they get to make a small request of you. If you refuse too many requests they can leave you and return to the underworld. This is a traumatic experience that deals 1d6 damage and stuns you for a round. A particularly angry demon might wait until you are in a precarious position before leaving.

You can attempt to convince a specific demon to agree to this arrangement, or grab a random lesser demon who’s desperate to live again.

Grave Evocation: Your reputation and influence in the spirit world is far reaching. If you know a spirit’s name you may summon it. This requires no ritual, only a single thought and a simple gesture. It is a free action to perform, but you may only do this once per round. If the spirit is hostile or does not wish to appear make an opposed Will check with +2F. If you win it comes to you and must remain for up to half an hour. You may negotiate with it or command it to preform an action (it must obey you once). Ordering a spirit in this manner is almost certain to anger them.

Death Reflection: When you would be killed by physical damage you may spend a Death Token and attempt to transfer the injury that should have killed you to someone else within your line of sight. Make a Cunning check. If successful, all of the damage from that attack is inflicted on them instead.

G: Death’s Mysteries (Death 7+)

On your seventh death and all deaths that follow, you must make a choice. Either you return to life normally, in which case you choose an ability from the previous lists or you attempt to learn one of the great secrets of the netherworld. This will give you immense power, but the penalty for failure is severe. Your Defy Death check has a -8 penalty. If you fail your soul is lost in the Labyrinth and cannot return (though another Death Defier could try rescuing you). If you succeed you gain one of these abilities:

Legion of the Dead: You can spend a Death Token to summon 4d8 Wraiths. They obey all of your commands unquestioningly. They vanish after one hour.

“PERISH!”: You are so used to death, you no longer need to be killed. You can simply will your heart to stop beating and die whenever you want. This new talent may also be turned outward, letting you will others to die. You must be able to see your victim. Spend three Death Tokens and make an Opposed Will check. If you succeed you tear out their soul and consign it to wander the Labyrinth, lost and powerless. They die instantly. Creatures with more HP than you are immune to this ability.

Soul-Forged Flesh: Enduring so much injury and trauma over so many lives has strengthened your inner fires. Your spirit re-knits your flesh, remaking it in your own perfected image each time you are wounded. After a battle ends you recover all HP lost in the fight. Additionally, you automatically recover 1 HP every round.

Resurrectionist: You have discovered the secret of bestowing life to the dead. When you Defy Death you may reanimate a nearby corpse and use it as your next vessel. It must be within a mile of where you died, in reasonably functional condition, and may not previously have been undead. If your old body meets these criteria you can attempt to revive it. When you resurrect a corpse it functions exactly like a normal rebirth with the Defy Death power, except that you are now undead and suffer from a Vampire Bane (see the Solomonar class ability Undead Wizard). Using this ability lets you add ¼ of your Necromancy Skill to the Defy Death check’s TN.

Punishment Demon: You have bound one of the Guardians of Death and may summon it into your body to possess you when the situation is desperate enough. All Guardians are shapeshifters of tremendous power. When you call the Guardian into yourself it will reshape your body to its liking, forcing your hands into claws, or causing wings to erupt from your back, or any combination of changes it pleases. The end result is always something monstrous and deadly. You become the Guardian for one hour:

Guardian of Death
HP: 30 Morale: - Stygian Cloak: -d4 Obsidian Claws: d6 Demonic Powers: roll for 2d4 of them.

After the hour has ended it gains full control of your body for 1d3 hours, during which time it will hunt and kill those it deems its prey. Its only desire is to inflict retribution upon those who sin. You can attempt to end the possession early with an Opposed Will check, but this might anger the Guardian.

Time Demons: You have found a way to cheat the Labyrinth. By mating with cosmic Time Demons who carry your essence into the past, you are able to split your soul in half and implant part of it into an infant born around the same time you were. Your soul stays dormant within them as they grow up. In the present a random NPC becomes your Soul Host (50% chance you are blood related). When you die, the bond between you and your Soul Host snaps the rest of your soul into their now adult body, displacing them entirely. As long as you have a Soul Host you never have to risk getting lost in the Labyrinth of Souls. While you have a Soul Host but before you die and claim their body, all magical attacks against you have a 50% chance of accidentally targeting them instead (no matter where they are). Additionally, your maximum HP and MD are reduced by half. The rite to summon the Time Demons takes a full day and night. You can have multiple Soul Hosts, but each one divides your HP and MD again.