Grim Harvester (3.5e Class)

Grim Harvester
Specialist-sorcerer specializing in necromancy, cold, darkness, and death. Uses a scythe for some spellcasting, Gets bonuses when attacking plants.

Making a Grim harvester
Alignment: Any.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the grim harvester.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Grim harvesters are proficient with all simple weapons, and scythes. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a grim harvester’s gestures, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.

He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a grim harvester must (see below). To learn or cast a spell, a grim harvester must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a grim harvester’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the grim harvester’s Intelligence modifier. Like other spellcasters, a grim harvester can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The grim harvester. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score. A grim harvester’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A grim harvester begins play knowing five 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new grim harvester level, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: grim harvester Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a grim harvester knows is not affected by his Intelligence score; the numbers on Table: grim harvester Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the grim harvester has gained some understanding of by study. The grim harvester can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.

Upon reaching 3rd level, and at every odd-numbered grim harvester level after that (5th, 7th, and so on), a grim harvester can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the grim harvester “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level grim harvester spell the grim harvester can cast. A grim harvester may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level. Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a grim harvester need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.

A knack provides a +2 competence bonus to any Concentration check while casting or maintaining spells which the caster has a knack for, a +2 competence bonus to Spellcraft checks to identify a spell which to caster has the knack for, or to identify the effect of a spell which the caster has a knack for, and a +2 competence bonus to Use Magic Device checks to use an item built from a spell which the user has a knack for, or to use an item built from multiple spells, all of which the user has a knack for.

Each knack spell must be of the descriptor which benefits from his knack, but otherwise may be chosen freely from the grim harvester, druid, and sorcerer spell lists. The grim harvester may choose spells that qualify due to energy substitution, but in that case only know the substituted form. If the spell’s components include DF, the spell instead requires a grim harvester’s scythe as a focus.



Grim Harvester’s Scythe

A grim harvester’s scythe acts as a focus for arcane spells with the DF component, provided the spell in question has the Necromancy school or has the cold, darkness, &/or death descriptor.

Moderate necromancy; CL 1st; grim harvester; Price 43 gp; Weight 10 lb.

Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the bonus against plants increases by 2.

Any grim harvester rebukes or commands such creatures. A grim harvester may attempt to rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. A grim harvester with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

She can use this quivering scythe attack once a week and she must announce her intent before making her attack roll. Constructs, oozes, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected (although plants can). Otherwise, if the grim harvester strikes successfully with a scythe or sickle and the target takes damage from the blow, the quivering scythe attack succeeds. Thereafter the grim harvester can try to slay the victim at any later time, as long as the attempt is made within a number of days equal to her grim harvester level. To make such an attempt, the grim harvester merely wills the target to die (a free action), and unless the target makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the grim harvester’s level + the grim harvester’s Wis modifier), it dies. If the saving throw is successful, the target is no longer in danger from that particular quivering scythe attack, but it may still be affected by another one at a later time. The frequency increases to 1/day at 16th level, 1/hour at 17th level, 1/10 minutes at 18th level, 1/minute at 19th level, and 1/round at 20th level.