Deathmaster Prestige Class
By: Magnus Khaine
Email: Magnus_Khaine@yahoo.com
Last Updated: 03-13-2002

Deathmaster
Prestige Class
  Deathmasters are spellcasters who seek to gain knowledge of all the mysteries of death and undeath. Some study the anatomy and processes of the physical body in order to better understand what sustains life, and therefore, what causes death. Others explore the nature of the soul and the spiritual energy from which it is formed. All deathmasters are veritable sages in the lore of the undead. Most use this knowledge to gain power through the command of undead, and often seek immortality by becoming undead themselves. A rare few use their lore only to better hunt and destroy unliving creatures.
  Necromancers and clerics of deities associated with the domains of Death and Undeath are the most common characters to become deathmasters.

Requirements
Heal: 4 ranks.
Knowledge (Undead): 8 ranks.
Knowledge (The Planes): 2 ranks.
Knowledge (Religion): 2 ranks.
Feats: Skill Focus (Knowledge (Undead)), Spell Focus (Necromancy), Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy).
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 7 different necromancy spells, one of which must be 3rd level or higher.

Class Skills
The deathmaster's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Alchemy (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int, exclusive skill) Spellcraft (Int)

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the deathmaster prestige class.
  Hit Die: d4.

  Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The deathmaster is proficient with the dagger (any type), scythe, and sickle. Deathmasters are not proficient with any armors or shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble.

  Spells per Day: A deathmaster continues training in magic as well as his studies of death and undeath. Thus, when a new deathmaster level is gained, the character gains new spell abilities as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. All spell-oriented abilities of the previous class are increased, including spells per day, spells known, and caster level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, such as bonus feats. This essentially means that he adds the level of deathmaster to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster levels accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before he became a deathmaster, he must decide to which class he adds each level of deathmaster for purposes of determining spell abilities when he adds the new level.

  Necromantic Spell Access: At 1st level, the deathmaster gains access to all necromancy spells, as well as spells from other schools that specifically deal with undead, corpses (or parts thereof), and spirits/souls. These spells are added to the spell list of the previous spellcasting class of the deathmaster. If the previous spellcasting class uses divine magic, then all of the new spells are prepared and cast as divine spells. If the previous class uses arcane magic, then all of the new spells are learned, prepared, and cast as arcane spells. In cases of spells that require a divine focus component, the arcane version replaces this with a non-divine focus; a rune-inscribed bone. The level of the spell for the deathmaster is equal to the cleric/domain or sorceror/wizard level of the spell, whichever is lowest. This applies regardless of whether the deathmaster is an arcane or divine spellcaster. For example, animate dead is a 3rd level spell for a cleric, and a 5th level spell for a sorceror or wizard, but a deathmaster can cast it as a 3rd level spell even if he uses arcane magic. The Spell Access Table below lists all of the spells from the Player's Handbook to which the deathmaster gains special access. Note that the deathmaster also retains access to all the spells available to his previous spellcasting class.

  Rebuke Undead (Su): A deathmaster of 2nd level has the supernatural ability to rebuke and command the undead (see the Player's Handbook, pages 139-140). He rebukes and commands undead as would an evil cleric of equal level. If the deathmaster is also a cleric with the Death or Undeath domains he may add the levels of that class to his deathmaster levels for purposes of determining the most powerful undead he can rebuke, his rebuking damage, and the number of undead he can command at one time.

  Imbue Turn Resistance (Su): A 4th level deathmaster gains the supernatural ability to imbue the undead he creates with a turn resistance equal to his charisma bonus. If he becomes undead by his own power, such as through the use of the Archlich class ability, this turn resistance applies to him as well.

  Extra Rebuking: At 6th level the deathmaster gains a bonus Extra Turning feat. It increases the number of times he can rebuke undead by +4, as it would for an evil cleric.

  Negative Energy Resistance (Ex): An 8th level deathmaster gains a +2 resistance bonus to all saving throws versus necromancy spells, as well as negative energy effects used by the undead. These save bonuses stack with those that come from the feat Arcane Defense (Necromancy) and the Spurn Death's Touch ability from the Hunter of the Dead prestige class.

  Archlich (Su): At 10th level, the deathmaster unlocks the secrets to the process of becoming an archlich. Use of this knowledge is optional, so the deathmaster may opt not to undergo the transformation immediately, if ever. If the character becomes an archlich, apply the lich template on pages 216-217 of the Monster Manual, with some exceptions. Do not apply the organization and treasure aspects of the template, as those are things the character must aquire through play. An archlich keeps the same alignment it had in life, and is not forced to shift to evil. An archlich is better able to blend in with mortal society because it has a spell-like ability similar to a permanent gentle repose spell upon itself that keeps it's body from rotting away like that of a normal lich, and it may suppress it's fear aura and paralyzing touch abilities at will. A deathmaster that becomes some other sort of undead through other means may not later become an archlich, unless he can somehow become mortal again before undergoing the transformation ritual.

Deathmaster Advancement Table
Class	Base	Fort.	Ref.	Will.	Special			Spells per Day
Level	Attack	Save	Save	Save
1st	0	0	0	+2	Necromantic Spell Access	+1 level of existing class
2nd	+1	0	0	+3	Rebuke Undead			+1 level of existing class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3					+1 level of existing class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Imbue Turn Resistance		+1 level of existing class
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4					+1 level of existing class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Extra Rebuking			+1 level of existing class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5					+1 level of existing class
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Negative Energy Resistance	+1 level of existing class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6					+1 level of existing class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Archlich 			+1 level of existing class

Spell Access Table
0 level - Disrupt Undead, Inflict Minor Wounds
1st level - Cause Fear, Chill Touch, Death Watch, Detect Undead, Invisibility to Undead, Inflict Light Wounds, Ray of Enfeeblement
2nd level - Death Knell, Gentle Repose, Ghoul Touch, Inflict Moderate Wounds, Spectral Hand
3rd level - Animate Dead, Contagion, Halt Undead, Inflict Serious Wounds, Speak with the Dead, Vampiric Touch
4th level - Death Ward, Enervation, Fear, Inflict Critical Wounds, Poison
5th level - Circle of Doom, Magic Jar, Slay Living
6th level - Circle of Death, Create Undead, Harm
7th level - Control Undead, Destruction, Finger of Death, Greater Restoration
8th level - Clone, Create Greater Undead, Horrid Wilting, Trap the Soul
9th level - Astral Projection, Energy Drain, Soul Bind, Wail of the Banshee

Skill Notes
  Knowledge (Undead): You know information about undead; how they are created, their powers and weaknesses, their behaviors, and various other facts and legends about them. The check for knowing a bit of useful information about a type of undead can range from DC 10 for mindless walking dead such as skeletons and zombies, DC 15+ for undead such as ghouls, ghasts, shadows, wights, and wraiths, and DC 20+ for greater undead such as ghosts, liches, mummies, specters, and vampires. Knowledge about a specific or unique undead creature is more difficult to research, thus the DC for knowing information like that can range from DC 25 - 30.