Aboleth Disciple (3.5e Prestige Class)

Aboleth Disciple
"If you remembered what I can, you would find no sleep at night, mortal."

The aboleth, ancient tyrants, first race to draw breath upon the prime material. With their psionic abilities, endless memories, and immortality they dominated the budding first ages, building empires of slaves and experiementing in all manner of unholy arcane and psionic experimentation. Such experimentation was their eventual downfall, but the genes of their strange creations persist to this day, hidden useless fragments which remain dorment until touched with psionic spark. At some point, a species of quasi-aboleth were made out of non-aboleth stock, and the ability to revert into this primal form is hidden away.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the aboleth disciple.

You do not, however, gain power points per day and new powers known or any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. Rather you gain the power points listed here by the class. If you had more than one manifesting class before becoming an aboleth disciple, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining powers, manifester level, and powers known.

 (Ex): The racial memories of lives before you suddenly awaken within your senses. The memories are vague and random, but certainly those of ancestors past. An aboleth disciple may make a special ancient lore check with a bonus equal to his aboleth disciple level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. (If the aboleth disciple has 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), he gains a +2 bonus on this check.) If he has bardic knowledge or similar, this ability stacks with it.

A successful ancient lore check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function. A aboleth disciple may not take 10 or take 20 on this check; this sort of knowledge is essentially random.

Requiring to stay at least a little moist, the aboleth disciple becomes vulnerable to drying out. The aboleth disciple counts as a water-based creature for spells which deal additional damage to such beings, and if they take enough damage from thirst or starvation to be rendered unconcious, they enter a state known as "the Long Dreaming". The body hardens in a leathery shell and the aboleth disciple is rendered immobile and helpless. He gains +6 to his natural armor (offsetting the loss of dexterity) and DR 5/adamantine. He does not exit this state even if he becomes concious again, until completely submerged in water which heals 1 point of damage from thirst a round. He is still aware and able to see, but unable to do anything including purely mental actions. Being trapped in such a state is worse than death, but fortunately easily avoided so long as the aboleth disciple never allows defeat by dessication to come to pass.

 (Ex): The aboleth disciple's skin transforms into a rubbery substance too thin to be called solid and too thick to be called mucus. It grants him a natural armor bonus equal to 1 + his class level.

These increases stack and are gained as if through level advancement.

 (Ex): At 2nd level, a aboleth disciple gains two tentacle attacks that deal 1d4 + strength modifier in damage. The tentacles sprout from his body, and an aboleth disciple is considered proficient with these attacks.

 (Ps): At 3rd level an aboleth disciple taps into the vast psionic powers of his namesake. He gains the following as psi-like abilities: 1/day- disable, false sensory input, mindlink.

At 6th level, the psi-like abilities change and improve. 3/day- disable, false sensory input, mindlink; 1/day- ego whip, id insinuation, psionic dominate, thought shield.

At 9th level, the psi-like abilities change and improve again. At will- disable, false sensory input, mindlink; 3/day- ego whip, id insinuation, psionic dominate, thought shield; 1/day- psionic modify memory, remote viewing, wall of ectoplasm. The saving throws for all psi-like abilities are Charisma based.

 (Ex): At 3rd level an aboleth disciple who is underwater changes his immediate surroundings into a vicous cloud of mucus that extends out in a 5 foot aura. Any creature coming into contact or inhaling this chemically altered water must succeed on a Fortitude save DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Constitution modifier or lose the ability to breath air for the next 3 hours (but gains the ability to breath water). The afflicted creature suffocates in 2d6 minutes if removed from the water. Renewed contact with the mucus cloud and another failed save renews the duration for another 3 hours. The aura does not function outside of water.

At 6th level, your mucus oozes even on the surface. Any creatures striking you with natural attacks or unarmed strikes are subject to the effect of the mucus cloud. However the mucus coat on your body is weaker than when underwater, and a successful saving throw renders the subject immune to your mucus coat for 24 hours (they are not immune to your mucus cloud if the are subsequently submerged in water with you).

At 9th level your underwater aura extends to a 10 foot radius, and you gain the ability to make a touch attack as a standard action, forcing the subject to save or be effected as if struck by your mucus cloud, regardless if they are underwater or on the surface.

 (Su): At 4th level, a aboleth disciple can attempt to enslave one living creature within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a Will save DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Charisma or be affected as if dominate person was cast on the target, caster level equal to character level. An aboleth disciple has telepathy with the enslaved subject andthe subject obeys the aboleth disciple until freed by remove curse, and can attempt a new save every 24 hours to break free. The control is also broken if the aboleth disciple dies or travels more than 1 mile from its slave. He may only have one enslaved subject from his enslave ability at a time, if he gains another he must release the first one (though they are subject to other abilities, such as an acutal casting of dominate person). The aboleth disciple gains an additional use of enslave every 3 levels after.

 (Ex): At 4th level an aboleth disciple's body begins to radically mutate. They gain breathing vents along their back, neck, or chest, their eyes become blank red orbs devoid of pupils, and they grow a fish tail. Their inhuman appearance is now very obvious, gaining a +2 bonus on intimidate checks. They can no longer wear normal armor but must wear armor for unusual and monsterous creatures (you are permitted to modify existing armor, the cost of unusual armor is x2 the mundane price of the same armor for a normal person).

The aboleth disciple benefits from the changes, gaining darkvision out to 60 feet (or improving existing darkvision by +30 feet), gaining the Aquatic subtype with the amphibious special quality, allowing him to breath both air and water. You may speak aboleth without need of augmentation, as you now have the appropriate number of "speaking holes". He gains a swim speed equal to his base land speed, and gains a +8 bonus on swim checks. He may take 10 on swim checks even if rushed or threatened.

 (Su): At 5th level an aboleth disciple's stomach becomes ble to digest all manner of organic matter both cooked and uncooked, and he develops a taste for intelligent beings eaten fresh. If the aboleth disciple consumes the nervous system of an intelligent being which has perished in the last 24 hours, he gains flashes of memory and insight from the consumed being. He may borrow either the skill ranks or a feat from the consumed creature for the next 24 hours. He can ignore racial requirements but otherwise must qualify for the feat to use it. He retains the skill ranks or the extra feat until the duration expires or he consumes another being, overwriting the old benefit with a new one.

 (Ex): At 7th level an aboleth disciple undergoes another terrible mutation. His body hunches and elongates, becoming more fish-like with humanoid limbs hanging off of them, and he develops a third eye. He appears more aboleth than whatever the creature's former race was, gaining an additional +2 bonus to intimidate. He gains two additional tentacles, and the reach of his tentacles increases by +5 feet. His swim speed increases to x1.5 his base land speed as he becomes more adapt in the water than on land.

 (Ex): At 8th level the aboleth disciple's vast memories stretch back far and sometimes provide brillent insight onto a situation that the disciple remembers from ages past. Once per day he may duplicate the effect of psionic moment of prescience as an extraordinary ability. In epic levels he gains another use of this ability at 11th and every 3 levels after.

 (Ex): At 10th level the transformation is complete. The aboleth disciple loses his arms and legs, gaining small tentacles which have the mobility to act as hands and which are capable of wielding weapons as before. His body completely shifts into that of an aboleth of the size of the original creature. As a particular surface aboleth the aboleth disciple loses his land speed and instead gains an extraordinary hover speed (good) equal to his former land speed. For all purposes his hover speed is his land speed and things which applied to land speed now applies to his hover speed. He loses his boots item slots but retains all other item slots and gains an additional four ring slots fit around his main tentacles.

The aboleth disciple gains telepathy out to 100 feet and +2 Str, +4 Con, and +2 Wis. The aboleth disciple becomes immortal and no longer has a maximum age. His type changes to Aberration, and he may count as a member of initial race or as an aboleth as benefits him, including qualifying for aboleth only feats and prestige classes. As the eons pass, eventually the aboleth disciple will grow to the size of a normal aboleth and be utterly indistinguishable from an aboleth.

The epic aboleth disciple gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic aboleth disciplefeats) every 3 levels after 10th.

Epic Aboleth Disciple Bonus Feat List: <-list of bonus epic feats->

Playing a Aboleth Disciple
Combat: An aboleth disciple is a psionic character who may have a few powers known, but does not focus on them. He may be a gish, and with a healthy consitution bonus and the reach of his tentacles he can make for an ideal tank.

Advancement: The Aboleth Disciple can qualify for the Savant Aboleth prestige class, or focus his efforts elsewhere. Psionic gish classes help greatly.

Resources: Aboleth Disciples are usually loners and insane, or cursed, but some aboleths have been known to foster and evolve aboleth disciples as their own for some sinister purpose known only to itself.

Aboleth Disciples in the World
"Gods should respect their elders..."

NPC Reactions: Surely, this giant monsterous fish swimming through the air looking like a beast out of time and sanity won't cause a stir? But who are we kidding, the aboleth disciple desires to become a monster, and the NPCs shall treat him as such.

Aboleth Disciple Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Dungeoneering can research aboleth disciples to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Aboleth Disciples in the Game
Adaptation: Instead of awakening a latent power this might result in the direct tampering of an aboleth upon the PCs, resulting in a massive character shift.

Sample Encounter: Pending

EL 15: