Reaper (3.5e Class)

Reaper
Believing themselves called to their task, Reapers see themselves as guides upon the path of life and death, primarily death... Though most are loners, hermiting themselves from the world, a rare few seek to spread knowledge throughout the world, thereby lessening peoples fear and hatred of their kind.

Alignment: Any non-good.

Starting Gold: 5d4 x 10

Starting Age: Moderate

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Reaper.

Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Dread Crown, Eternal Glacier, Hero's Edge, and Stone Dragon.

Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by a reaper is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.

You learn additional maneuvers at higher levels. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered reaper level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: You can ready all three of the maneuvers you know at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to exercise again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in practice, you can change your readied maneuvers.

You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until you recover them, as described below).

You can recover all expended maneuvers with a Full round action. You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance while you are recovering your expended maneuvers, but you can remain in a stance in which you began your turn.

Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to warblades. At 4th, 10th, and 16th level, you can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All the stances you know are available to you at all times, and you can change the stance you are currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.

Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Reapers are proficient with all martial and simple weapons, as well as with light and medium armors and bucklers, light, and heavy shields.

That scythe becomes tied to their very soul, becoming a conduit for their purpose and their weapon of destruction. The reaper adds the scythe's HP to his own, and they share this pool of HP. If brought to 0, the scythe is broken and the reaper dies. The scythe cannot be broken with a single Strength check, and instead must be sundered to destroy it. The reaper may enchant the scythe normally, though it doesn't gain additional HP (10, regardless of the scythe's material), only hardness. Finally, as a supernatural action, the reaper may call the scythe to his hand with a move action as long as he and the scythe are on the same plane.

By meditating for 8 hours and expending 100 xp per class level, the reaper may bind himself to a different scythe, breaking all ties with his former weapon.

Mindless undead see them as though they were other undead, and do not willfully attack them unless ordered to, or until the reaper takes some offensive action against them. Furthermore, intelligent undead are more apt to feel closer to the reaper than to other living creatures, granting the reaper a +2 bonus to Charisma checks when interacting with undead.

 (Su): At second level: A reaper's unique nature grants it the ability to distinguish between characters on the cusp of death, and those who have passed beyond the veil. A number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier, you may activate deathwatch as a swift action, though this only lasts for a single minute at a time.

At 15th level this ability improves, granting you permanently the effects of the deathwatch spell.

 (Su): At second level: The scythe of a reaper is more than just a weapon; it is an instrument for binding souls. Whenever a creature dies within 30' of the reaper, and as long as the creature is not of the construct, elemental, ooze, outsider, or undead type, the reaper may take an immediate action to bind the creature's soul into his scythe. The souls appear as small gems with sizes corresponding to the number of HD they possessed, and you may only have a number of souls at a time equal to twice your Charisma modifier, or up to 7, whichever is lower. Make sure to keep track of each creature's HD.

Creatures whose souls have been bound cannot be rebound, even if they are ressurected, and can only remain bound for up to seven days before they are automatically released. Any abilities that use souls within the gems automatically release that soul. A creature whose soul is bound cannot be ressurected by any means, though the use of a Wish or Miracle spell can release it earlier than expected from the soulbind.

 (Su): At third level: The reaper may use souls he's captured for his own benefit, ingesting his enemies' souls and using their power to fuel his own life force. As a swift action, the reaper may consume a soul to regain 1d6 HP. For every five HD the soul possessed, increase the amount of HP regained by 1d6.

By taking longer (a full-round action), the reaper may ingest the soul more completely, multiplying the number of d6 rolled by three.

 (Su): At fourth level: The end of a hose may be compressed to increase the force of the water at the end. So can a soul as well. By ejecting a soul quickly through his scythe, the reaper increases the raw destructive power that is dealt by his weapon. As a swift action, the reaper may expend a single soul from his scythe, causing the next attack that hits during this turn to deal an additional 1d6 damage. For every three HD the soul possessed, increase the damage dealt by 1d6.

At 5th, 11th, and 17th level, the reaper gains a single feat from the following list that he meets the prerequisites for (prefaced with their source): * You count as undead, or having no Constitution score for the purpose of these feats.
 * Book of Vile Darkness: Deformity (Clawed Hands), Deformity (Eyes), Deformity (Face), Deformity (Gaunt), Deformity (Obese), Sacrificial Mastery, Vile Martial Strike, Willing Deformity
 * Champions of Ruin: Bloodsoaked Intimidate, Demonsworn Knight, Disciple of Darkness, Evil Brand, Evil Embraced, Flay Foe, Hellbound Knight, Mutilator, Natural Bully, Scion of Sorrow, Skewer Foe, Snatch Trophy, Thrall to Demon, Tormented Knight, Touch of Benevolence
 * Libris Mortis: Daunting Presence, Death Master*, Eviscerator*, Ghost Scarred, Improved Toughness, Lifesense*, Necromantic Might, Necromantic Presence, Tomb-Tainted Fortitude, Tomb-Tainted Resilience, Tomb-Tainted Soul, Tomb-Tainted Vitality.
 * Player's Handbook: Improved Shield Bash, Mounted Combat, Persuasive, Quick Draw
 * Tome of Battle: Blade Meditation, Martial Study, Martial Stance, Rapid Assault, Stone Power, Vital Recovery

 (Su): At sixth level: The thread you carry that pierces into the world of the dead is always with you, and others can unconsciously feel it. All creatures within 10' of you take a -2 morale penalty to their attacks and the DCs of their abilities while they remain within 10' of you, unless they make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + Charisma modifier). Creatures who exit and then re-enter need to make a new save, but if a creature successfully saves then they are immune to your aura for 24 hours.

 (Su): Honing his power, at 7th level the reaper may purge a soul from his soulbound scythe with such force that it blasts out to damage his foes. As a standard action, the reaper may eject a single soul from his scythe, making a ranged touch attack at a distance of 100' in a green ray. Creatures hit with this ray take 1d6 damage for every 2 HD the soul possessed.

 (Su): Your connection to the realm of the dead grows stronger, inspiring fear in those who do not share your might. When you charge, make a full attack, or cast a spell that either targets an enemy or includes an enemy in its area, you gain the ability to create fear within their hearts. One enemy targeted or within the area targeted must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Cha modifier) or be shaken for 1 minute. Regardless of its success or failure on the saving throw, any creature exposed to this effect is immune to your frightful presence for the next 24 hours. Creatures with a number of HD equal to yours -8 are instead Frightened rather than Shaken.

 (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, you may entice wandering souls beyond the veil to come forth by offering a shard of one of souls stored in your soulbound weapon. As a standard action, expend a single soul to cast Summon Undead (Spell Compendium). The effective caster level is equal to four less than the HD of the soul offered, and you may cast the highest grade of Summon Undead that could be cast using that caster level.

Thus, if a level 10 soul were offered, you could effectively cast Summon Undead III, which requires a caster level of 5 or higher.

 (Su): You reach the point where souls are not just power, but matter, to be manipulated and bent to your will. At 12th level as a move action, you may expend a soul to teleport 10' per HD the soul possessed (as per Dimension Slide).

 (Su): Grave Hands (Su): Graveyards have ties to the realm of the dead, and at 14th level you learn to desecrate a section of ground, causing it to become a temporary graveyard filling with the inhabitants of the realm of the dead. Using this ability is a standard action which uses two of your stored souls, or as a swift action if you use up four souls. You designate an area of ground within a range of 100' with a 20' radius. Enemies within that area must make a Reflex saving throw at the start of each turn or take 5d6 damage and are immobilized for a round, suffering half damage and no status condition if they save as hands crawl up and pull them down, ravaging at whatever they can reach. This area lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier before dissipating (minimum one round).

 (Su): As your power begins to culminate, you find that the undead and their special types of attacks have no effect on you. At 16th level, the reaper is under constant effect of death ward.

 (Su): The culmination of your power finally reaches its pinnacle. At 20th level, you may forcibly rip a recently-dead creature (dead for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier or less) back across the veil, enslaving their spirit and forcing them to fight for you. As a standard action that uses a number of soul gems whose total HD are equal to twice the number of HD your target possessed. You must be next to the target's body, or if their whole body is completely gone, within 5' of the stop where they died.

Upon doing so, the target is immediately brought to life at full HP and under no ill effects, fighting or acting at your command at their full strength for a number of rounds before disappearing back through the veil. This target may only be used on a creature once before it must be actually resurrected, then killed again before this ability can be used upon it once more.

<!--

Human Assassin Starting Package
Weapons: Shortsword.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Feat: Stealthy.

Bonus Feats: Skill Focus (Move Silently).

Gear: Masterwork Leather Armor.

Gold: 1d4 gp.

Playing a Assassin
Religion: Assassins can follow any deitiy or belief. However, many tend to go with the least hostile ideology toward killing. In fact, assassins of good deities may find themselves complexed, and lawful deities tend to frown the illegal act of stealthy killing.

Other Classes: Assassins get along well with rogues, and have conflict with Paladins and good party members. Otherwise they does not tend to have conflict with other classes.

Combat: An assassin is a combat rogue, she fights and kills on par with a fighter or a martial adept and is able to pack a huge punch with sneak attack. However the d6 make you a glass cannon and you are not a good skillmonkey or trapfinder. You extend your use of stealth to only one thing: combat.

Advancement: An assassin should remain an assassin from 1 to 20. Few classes offer her a countinuity in all of her abilities, and no martial adept or roguish PrC really fit her need.

Assassin in the World
"Some kill for duties, some kill for revolutionary causes, some kill for power or fun. Some even kill for good. No matter why you kill, the method is always the same."

Daily Life: Assassins must know how to blank their emotions, and killing people isn't always easy for the good assassin. But really, assassins have no fixed daily lives. An orc assassin will live a very different life than a human guild assassin.

Notables: The Righteous Plague, a mysterious female assassin who lived in the great metropolis of Thereleflor. She killed about one hundred crime lords and thugs during her rather short career. Shortly after killing the last big crime boss she surrendered herself to the local police and was hanged. However, she still remain a legendary and beneficial figure among the common people of the city. She is a prime example of a lawful good assassin.

Organizations: Assassin organizations are widely different. Some are cult-like organizations who kill for dark deities. Some are guilds who kill for profit, other are justiciars killing criminals. No matter the origin and purpose, assassin organizations are many and worldwide.

NPC Reactions: NPCs almost always react negatively to the assassin, if they know she is one. In fact most people tend to think assassins are rogues.

Assassin Lore
Characters with ranks in knowledge (local) can research assassins to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Assassin in the Game
Adaptation: COMING SOON.

Sample Encounter: COMING SOON.

EL whatever: COMING SOON. -->