Forsaker (3.5e Class)

Forsaker
Let's be honest, magic wins in the world of D&D. Even those who are not spellcasters often owe much of their strength in magical gear, magical augmentations, or supernatural effects. Without magic, everyone suffers... except the forsaker. Originally members of a sect of the Believers of the Source, a Sigil faction who believed all have the power within them to become as gods, forsakers abandon the ways of magic, denying its power over them and relying on their own inner strength and effort.

Making a Forsaker
Abilities: While it can be argued that any ability score can be important for a forsaker, most choose to Strength and Constitution, working with the physical and non-magical means of bypassing danger. A strong Dexterity helps their AC which does not benefit from magical AC boosting items, and a strong Charisma helps both socially and with some of their extraordinary abilities. Wisdom benefits their saves and skills, and Intelligence gives them more skill points to work with, something they benefit more than most with. Fortunately for forsakers everywhere, forsakers benefit from having good ability scores all over.

Races: Any race can become a forsaker, be it because of a hatred of magic, a desire to excel without benefit, or a profession in slaying mages.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 12d4&times;10 gp (300 gp).

Starting Age: As fighter.

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

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Forsakers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

The effect is extraoridinary, a result of dedication and inner strength.

Believers of the Source claim that this is proof of the inner divine spark in mortals manifesting as some manner of ego shield.

The effect is extraoridinary, a result of dedication and inner strength.

 : Forsakers lack magic, but are extremely skilled and talented individuals. Choose a number of skills equal to your base Intelligence modifier (minimum 1, not including untyped bonuses). You gain your class level as an circumstance bonus to these skills. Each time you level in Forsaker, you can switch what skills receive the bonus.

A forsaker may never use magic or magical items. If the forsaker had any spellcasting abilities from levels or race, they become unable to cast spells. If the forsaker had any supernatural abilities these powers are similarly non-functional. Forsakers only can activate extraordinary abilities from other classes or from their race. In addition they cannot use magical equipment, and any magic items they pick up have their magic suppressed until removed or dropped. Forsakers must resist all magic, even friendly spells, making saving throws if possible. A forsaker who does not try to resist magic or who somehow purposefully benefits from using magical equipment may fall and become an ex-forsaker (see below).

Forsakers sever their ties to magic by taking their magical ability and binding it to an object, called a bonded object. Bonded objects can be anything that is non-expendable, but must be masterwork or have a value of 100 gp or greater. Performing the bonding ritual takes 8 hours, and the forsaker must keep it within their company to benefit from his class features. If it is out of his ownership for more than 24 hours, he loses use his class abilities until he regains the object or assigns a new one. Bonding with an object increases the objects hardness and hp by your class level while it is so bound.

For the purposes of this ability any other magical or supernatural ability such as powers, infusions, invocations, soulmelds, and supernatural (but not extraordinary) maneuvers are considered to be the same as magic.

 : Forsakers form mental armor against the effects of magic. They gain spell resistance equal to their HD + 10. At 5th level, this rises to their HD + 15. It becomes overwritten by Magic Immune at 10th level.

Forsakers are skillful and clever, and have greater use out of skills than most. You may use any of the superior skill options so long as you have at least 1 rank in that skill. All effects created by superior skills are extraordinary effects, and any saving throws are DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Charisma, where applicable.

Forsakers gain 1/2 their level as a competence bonus on all skills as well, as they don't have access to most skill boosting magical gear.



 : At 2nd level, a forsaker knows how to best take advantage of the mundane items he possesses. He uses his class level to determine the maximum Dexterity of the armor or shield he wears, and subtracts his class level from any armor check penalty imposed by his armor or shield.

 : At 2nd level, the forsaker's body must grow tough to endure the blows of others and with no magic to protect him. He gains DR/- equal to 1/2 his class level (round down).

 : At 2nd level, a forsaker may take a standard action to analyze his surroundings for the scent of magic. This functions exactly like detect magic except it is an extraordinary ability which provokes attacks of opportunity when used.

 : At 3rd level, a forsaker must adapt his body to handles the rigors of danger without relying on magical aid. He becomes immune to blindness, deafness, and fear as he learns to adjust his senses and steady his mind. At 6th level, his fortitude strengthens, granting him additional immunities to disease, poison, and the sickened conditions, and light fortification. At 9th level, he becomes immune to ability damage, fatigue, and paralysis. At 12th level, he becomes immune to ability drain, energy drain, and nausea, and gains moderate fortification. At 15th level, he becomes immune to polymorphing effects (including petrification and turning into dust if slain by destruction), death, and exhaustion. Finally at 18th level, he gains all the immunities and abilities associated with mind blank, and immunity to dazing and stunning, and heavy fortification. His immunities are powered by pure force of will, and he may lower his immunities and subject himself to these conditions as a standard action if nessicary.

 : At 3rd level, a forsaker's body begins to adapt to the danger around him and his inner spark gives him the strength to endure. He gains fast healing equal to his class level.

He must still meet the requirements of the bonus feat as usual.

 : At 4th level, a forsaker begins to force his will into his weapon to bypass damage reduction and strike incorporeal creatures as if using a magic weapon. At 8th level, this ability improves to also bypass damage reduction as if using a weapon aligned to his own alignment (for example, a LG forsaker would deal lawful and good damage with a sword) and act as ghost touch weapons. If the forsaker is TN, choose one alignment which your weapons bypass. At 12th level, his weapons bypass damage reduction based on materials such as silver or cold iron. At 16th level, his weapons bypass any aligned damaged reduction, not just his own alignment. Finally at 20th, he completely ignores damage reduction, including DR/epic and DR/-.

 : At 4th level, a forsaker retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If a forsaker already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.

 : At 5th level, the forsaker can break the bonds of magic with his attacks. As a standard action, the forsaker makes a single melee attack (or ranged attack within 30 feet) and deals damage as normal. In addition a dispel effect goes off against one magical effect currently in place, using his class level as his caster level for the check. This ability has no cap on maximum caster level possible. Even if you are not using dispelling strike, on a confirmed critical hit the extra dispelling effect goes off.

 : At 6th level, the forsaker learns how to protect his allies from the power of magic. As a standard action the forsaker makes an area anywhere between a 5 to a 30 ft. radius centered on him which lasts for 1 round or until expended. If any magical effects go off or pass through this area, the magic is negated and the runica effect ends (so it can stop at most 1 spell a round). It does not differ between ally and enemy spellcasting, and does not effect pre-existing creatures or objects created by magic.

At 11th level, this becomes a swift action. At 16th level, you may use this as an immediate action, ensuring you negate at least 1 spell a round.

 : At 7th level, the forsaker uses his knowledge of freeing himself from the bonds of magic to help free himself from other bonds. He is constantly under the effects of an extraordinary freedom of movement.

 : At 7th level and higher, a forsaker can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the forsaker by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has forsaker levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.

 : At 8th level, the forsaker gains the MagebaneMIC enhancement to any weapon he uses, except offering a +2 bonus to attack and +2d6 damage against creatures with spellcasting ability or spell-like abilities (rather than just arcane only). Creatures with only supernatural abilities are not affectd.

 : At 9th level, the forsaker mere existence is anathema to the flow of magic. Up to Cha modifier times per day (minimum 1) a forsaker can duplicate the effects of an antimagic field as an extraordinary effect which provokes attacks of opportunity. However mage's disjunction functions normally against it. At 13th level, he may cast it at will and choose to project it into a 30 ft cone.

 : At 10th level, a forsaker has cast of magic completely, gaining the magic immunity of a golem. In effect, he has infinite spell resistance against magic.

 : At 11th level, a forsaker has grown used to seeing the flow of magic and how it bends away from his presence. He is constantly under the effects of arcane sight as an extraordinary effect.

 : At 14th level, the forsaker's fast healing becomes the more powerful regeneration ability, allowing him to regrow limbs and turn lethal damage into non-lethal. This regeneration is bypassed by any energy damage (acid, cold, electric, fire, or sonic).

 : At 15th level, the forsaker's magic immunity shuts out even magic which has been conjured and otherwise made real. He is utterly immune to magic, even spells with SR: No in their description. He ignores the obsctructions of magical walls and fogs, and summons cannot interact with the forsaker (though the forsaker can interact with the summon). Only SR: No spells with a duration of instant (such as a wall of stone) have any effect, as it leaves a real solid object in its wake.

 : At 16th level, the forsaker's antimagical presence weakens the magically created effects of force. He may attack and destroy the normally invincible force effects like wall of force, threating them as if they had hardness 10 and 10 hp per caster level.

 : At 17th level, a forsaker's denial of magic has grown so strong that he begins to deny the supernatural physics of the world entirely. By doubting the stability of the layers between the planes, he is able to walk to any plane at his choosing. He may walk in any direction of his choosing and end up in the location or plane of his choosing within 1d4 minutes, as if using shadow walk.

 : At 19th level, a forsaker's rejection is so strong, he has begun to reject the concept of death. Even if the forsaker is killed, he will respawn within 1d10 days near his bonded object. The only way to prevent his return is by destroyng his bonded object before he has been respawned.

 : At 20th level, any magical attack which strikes the forsaker instead heals him for 2 points per caster level of the effect. In addition, he can make a touch attack as a standard action against enemy spellcasters and force them to expend 1d10 spell levels worth of spells or spell-like abilities, at random or at the forsaker's choosing. This touch attack does not heal the forsaker.

Ex-Forsakers
Those who willingly and purposefully use magical equipment or cast spells lose all class benefits except HD, skill points, BAB, feats and bonus feats, and saves. The restrictions such as loss of spellcasting abilities and magic item use still apply, and their bonded object becomes a normal mundane object once again. They cannot level in forsaker until they atone (through honesty, not the spell) and perform the ritual to create a new bonded object. Ex-forsakers can choose to abandon the way of the forsaker and regain their spellcasting and magic using abilities, but in doing so they may never regain their forsaker abilities.

Epic Forsaker
Ability Bonus: The enhancement bonus to ability scores rises by 2 at 23rd and every four levels beyond.

AC Bonus: The deflection bonus to AC is equal to 1/2 your class level.

Armor/Weapon Bonus: The enhancement bonus to armor, weapons, and shields increases by 1 at 24th and every four levels beyond.

You must meet the pre-requisites as normal.

Human Forsaker Starting Package
Weapons: Masterwork Longsword (bonded object).

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 9 + Int modifier.

Feat: Power Attack.

Bonus Feats: Cleave.

Gear: Chain Shirt.

Gold: 180 gp.

Playing a Forsaker
Religion: Forsakers and religions often do not get along. While there is nothing anti-thestic within the philosophy of forsakers, the fact remains that deities often grant their followers spells, and clerics are one of many spellcasters forsakers perform best against. As such, clerics are not fans of these divine magic destroying beings.

Other Classes: Most parties rely on magics, so forsakers stand out for better or worse. Though certainly a dangerous foe, as an ally they make excellent protections against enemy spellcasting forces.

Combat: Forsakers are mainly a front-line class, equipped with amazing ability scores, saves, hp, and defenses. How they fight is largely a matter of feat choice. They lack the number of feats of a fighter, but usually have enough to make it through with their chosen build.

Advancement: Forsakers do not multiclass with supernatural classes, but they work well with the more mundane arts of martial initiators, as well as classic physical options such as barbarian, rogue, and monk.

Forsakers in the World
"The power they wield is not their own. Strip a wizard of his gifts, and he is but a commoner with an ego."

Daily Life: Forsakers may not be noticed as anything unusual in common folk, but among mages or god forbid, magic heavy societies they stand out (and are often considered a blight or cursed due to the likelihood of magic failing in their presence). Forsakers are wise to tred carefully around casters, for casters fear them and seek to drive them away.

Notables: Des was a mysterious assassin who devastated several mage guilds in Sigil. Who hired him and why still remains unknown.

Organizations: Forsakers usually avoid organizing in large groups to evade attention. However a forsaker is often picked up by an older forsaker and trained in the ways. Others may possess monk-like temples whose practitioners believe that by rejecting magic, they become closer to nirvana or spiritual enlightenment of a sort.

NPC Reactions: Forsakers who manage not to reveal their nature are treated well, but those that do may be seen as a menace to the safety that magic brings.

Forsaker Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Arcana can research forsakers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Forsakers in the Game
Adaptation: The reasons of the forsaker can be many. They can hate magic, use antimagic as a tool, or actually be born anathemic to magic, a antimatter version of a sorcerer whose sheer mundanity twists the world in her image.

Sample Encounter: The witch hunts have begun and forsakers prowl the land, seeking to topple the rule of the wizard Tippy and her distorted universe she has created. Do the PCs fight them for the survival of magic itself, or help destroy wizardkind?

EL 10: PENDING