Dark Sacrifice (3.5e Variant Rule)
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Contents
Dark Sacrifice[edit]
This rule is more or less a remake of the sacrifice rules found in Book of Vile Dorkness. Firstly, a dark sacrifice is usually performed by a cleric or priest in order to garner the service of a dark deity, elder evil, or a fiend lord in a ceremony that lasts for at least 1 full hour.
A dark sacrifice either requires a Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (The Planes), or Knowledge (Dungeoneering) check, based on the entity the sacrifice is made to. The sacrifice must be performed in a way that reflects the entity in question. For example, if you make a sacrifice to Juiblex, feeding the victim to an ooze is a perfectly valid way to perform the sacrifice.
| Modifier | Elements |
|---|---|
| +1 | For each extra hour to the Ceremony, to a maximum of +5. |
| +2 | If conducted in front of a creature important to the entity (a outsider servant, for example). |
| +2 | If conducted during a period of time important to the entity (dusk, a certain date, or a certain day of the week). |
| +2/+4 | If conducted within a desecrated/unhallowed area. |
| +1 | If the victim is good-aligned. |
| +1 | If the victim is the cleric of an opposed deity. |
| +1 | If the victim is of a kind (race, class, etc.) particularly hated by the deity. |
| +1 | If the victim is a virgin (of course!) |
| +1 | Victim offers itself to the entity (either by being duped, mind-controlled, or genuinely willing). |
| +3 | At least one participant has dark insight of 5 or more. |
| +4 | At least one participant has the sacrificial mastery feat. |
| +5 | At least one participant has the forbidden knowledge feat and incurs wisdom burn as part of the ritual. |
| +* | If the victim is personally hated by the entity (bonus varies, can go as high as +20). |
| −10 | Victim isn't sentient (additionally, the total sacrifice roll is capped at 15). |
The sacrifice is only completed once the victim has been killed, if there is any interruption during the ritual, the total roll is made with a −8 penalty. This can cause a sacrifice to be annulled for the merest accident or disturbance; better to delay it a bit than anger the entity with a botched ceremony. After the ceremony is completed, every active participant rolls the appropriate check, using the highest among them to determine the reward. Any choice in the reward is decided by vote of each participant, with the one who rolled highest as the tie breaker.
Other penalties and bonuses may apply to the sacrifice roll (up to the DM). Identifying a unfavorable condition requires a DC 15 knowledge check.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 or Lower | As 1, plus the entity is insulted and sends forth minions to punish the blasphemer (EL 6). |
| 1 | All participants in the ceremony take 1d6 vile damage and a −1 penalty on all d20 rolls for 24 hours. |
| 10 | No Result |
| 15 | One Least Effect |
| 25 | One Lesser Effect or two Least Effects |
| 40 | One Greater Effect or two Lesser Effects or three Least Effects |
| 50 | As DC 40 or a single limited wish. If the limited wish is chosen, the DC of this effect increases forevermore by 5 for all creatures who participated in the sacrifice. |
Sacrifice Effects[edit]
When a sacrifice is well-made, the entity rewards its followers, sometimes generously. Some of the effects below are vague and their full extent is up to the DM.
Least Effects[edit]
Abundance and Prosperity: Servants of the entity gather food and wealth for the participant or a group of their choosing.
Dark Artisan: The entity helps in the creation of one or more magic items worth 100 gp in total; the item radiates evil instead of its proper magical aura.
Evil Sickness: A single creature of the participant's choice is struck by a contagion spell (DC 20).
Natural Divination: The entity shows signs of the future to the participant. Once in the next 24 hours, each participant may observe natural phenomenons to gain an insight bonus on a single skill or ability check equal to his or her charisma modifier. Using this ability requires 10 minutes of study and must be used within the next hour.
Protection: The participants are protected as per protection from alignment (with an alignment of their choice) for 1 hour.
Lesser Effects[edit]
Call Servant: The entity sends one of its servants with a CR equal or lower than highest CR among the participants; the servant's initial's attitude is friendly with the participant but not under their control. This is a [calling] effect.
Dark Insight: One creature designated by the participant gains a dark insight score of 0 if it didn't have a dark insight score, or increases its dark insight score by 2 (once per creature only).
Dreamer's Insight: The entity sends a vision of the participant's wishes to a creature or group of creatures through a dream.
Vision: One creature designated by the participant receives a divination and vision (caster level 20th) and takes 1d10 points of wisdom burn. If its wisdom reach 0 because of this burn, the creature dies horribly and messily. If the creature can't take wisdom burn, the request fails.
Greater Effects[edit]
Call Avatar: As call servant, except the creature's CR is not limited to the CR of the participant. The called creature is typically of a CR no higher than 15, but sometimes the entity may make an exception and send a stronger or weaker creature. The entity itself or other creature with a CR of 21 or higher cannot be called with this ability.
Call Multiple Servants: As call servant, except you can call a number of creatures whose total CR is equal or lower than the highest CR among the participants.
Dreamer's Demand: As dreamer's insight, except it also carries an insidious suggestion to follow the message (DC 20).
Malediction: A single creature of the participant's choice is struck by a bestow curse spell.
Weather Control: As per control weather as a druid with the same caster level as the creature with the highest CR among the participants.
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