Pale master
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Pale Master is a default prestige class with Arelith specific changes.
Contents
Introduction
Arelith Pale Masters enjoy changes that benefit their spellcasting and necromatic skills. Mechanical changes are included in the #Class Mechanics on this page and explained in the #Arelith Changes section. Base mechanics can be found on NWNWiki. The #Roleplay Tips section provides suggestions for character development. Also, #Keep In Mind... there are some special expectations for Pale Master.
Keep In Mind...
Palemaster does not require a token. Becoming a palemaster is not an unwilling process. Any characters that suggest Palemastery was forced upon them or a cursed will likely have a DM talk to them about their concept.
Please note also that Palemasters are NOT liches, they are alive ... ish.
Finally, please keep in mind alignment. Playing a "good" PM while being a non-good alignment will have you chatting with the DM Team.
Class Mechanics
Requirements
Alignment restrictions: any evil (may be any neutral with Normal Award)
Multi-classing: May not have any Druid levels
Class: Must have 3 levels of an arcane caster class (bard, sorcerer, wizard, harbinger, warlock)
Class Features
Hit die: d6
Proficiencies: no additional proficiencies are gained
Skill points: 4 + int modifier ((4 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)
Class Skills: concentration, craft mastery, heal, hide, intimidate, lore, move silently, sail, spellcraft
Unavailable feats: craft wand, scribe scroll, weapon proficiency (exotic), weapon proficiency (martial), weapon proficiency (simple), weapon specialization
Primary saving throw(s): fortitude, will
Base attack bonus: +1/2 level
Summon Stream: Abomination, Zombie
Level Progression
Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Feats | HP | AC (dodge) bonus |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | bone skin | 6 | +1 |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | animate dead | 12 | +1 |
| 3rd | +1 | +3 | +1 | +3 | darkvision | 18 | +1 |
| 4th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | summon undead | 24 | +2 |
| 5th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | deathless vigor | 33 | +2 |
| 6th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | undead graft | 42 | +2 |
| 7th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | tough as bone | 51 | +2 |
| 8th | +4 | +6 | +2 | +6 | 60 | +3 | |
| 9th | +4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | summon greater undead | 69 | +3 |
| 10th | +5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | deathless master touch Epic Spell Focus: Necromancy* |
78 | +3 |
Epic Pale Master
Bonus feats: The epic pale master gains a bonus feat every three levels. In other words, at levels 13, 16, and 19.
Epic bonus feats: automatic quicken spell, automatic silent spell, automatic still spell, epic energy resistance, epic spell focus, epic spell penetration, epic spell: dragon knight, epic spell: epic mage armor, epic spell: epic warding, epic spell: greater ruin, epic spell: hellball, epic spell: mummy dust, improved combat casting, Greater Spell Focus, Greater Intelligence, Arcane Defense.
Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape
| Level | Feats | HP range | AC Bonus |
| 11th | 84 | +3 | |
| 12th | 90 | +4 | |
| 13th | bonus feat, Epic Spell: Mummy Dust* | 96 | +4 |
| 14th | 102 | +4 | |
| 15th | deathless mastery | 113 | +4 |
| 16th | bonus feat, Epic Spell: Dragon Knight* | 119 | +5 |
| 17th | 125 | +5 | |
| 18th | 131 | +5 | |
| 19th | bonus feat | 137 | +5 |
| 20th | 148 | +6 |
Arelith Changes
| Change | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Class Skills | - | Pale masters on Arelith gain access to Intimidate and Sail as class skills. Pale masters on Arelith lose access to Listen and Leadership as class skills. |
| Bonus Spells | - | At levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 the character gains new spells per day as if the character had also gained a level in their highest caster class. No new spells granted through this ability. This does not grant spells known for spontaneous casters. More details on NWNwiki.
|
| Summon Familiar | - | Can take Summon familiar feat as a general or bonus feat. |
| Dispel Resistance | - | Pale Master levels count as full caster levels for the purpose of resisting dispels. |
| Palemaster Spells | - | Some spells work differently for the pale master.
|
| Epic Spells | - | At higher levels, the Pale Master may gain the following feats for free:
|
| Summoning Changes | - | For specifics, read Summoning Changes which details how summons are changed on Arelith and Summons which details each specific summon stream and what is summoned at each tier of the stream.
|
| Undead Spell Resistance | - | Undead summoned by a Pale Master have scaling spell resistance equal to 6 + Pale Master level. |
| Dracolich Stream | - | Gain access to the Dracolich Stream. |
| Bone Skin | 1 | The Bone Skin bonus from Pale Master has been halved. Pale Masters now get +1 AC at level 1 and +1 AC at every fourth level. This has been implemented as a scripted Dodge AC bonus in lieu of the Bone Skin feat. |
| Undead Graft | 6 | Undead Graft's Touch is on a ten minutes cooldown.
|
| Deathless Master Touch | 10 | Deathless Master's Touch is on a ten minute cooldown.
|
| Deathless Mastery | 15 | Deathless Mastery was moved from 10th level to 15th level. |
Roleplay Tips
By Lualyrr Terrana, credit -Th3Roxxorzs-
Necromancy is usually a poor choice for arcane spellcasters. Those who really want to master the deathless arts almost always pursue divine means. However, an alternative exists for those who desire power over undead, without losing too much of their arcane power. Enter the pale master, who draws on a font of special lore that provides a macabre power all its own. Sorcerers and Wizards make powerful pale masters. Additional spellcasting ability is sacrificed for a stronger melee presence.
Deathless mastery : The Roleplay of an important feat.
At level 15, a pale master gains the Deathless Mastery feat.
- - In Tome and Blood (DnD book): "His body becomes partly mummified, and he is no longer subject to critical hits."
- - In Libris Mortis (DnD book): "His body becomes partly mummified (though he is not truly undead), and he becomes immune to [long list - not gained in NWN]. He still needs to breathe, eat, and sleep as normal for his type, and he still ages normally."
Thus by being "partly mummified," he still needs to breathe and eat. Mummification involves the removal of organs, but breathing and eating require several organs, if not all.
Basically, the pale master is a necromancer that gives parts of their living body up for undead augmentations. For example, the natural AC bonus that the class gets is their skin turning hard and bony. As they gain levels, they look more and more like the undead that they control. In Tome and Blood actually said that at level 10, most onlookers confuse the Pale Master for an undead.
- - Palemaster isn't simply mastery of the undead, it is breaking the bounds between life and death, it's in a sense, a loss of vitality, not related to the desire to control and create undeath necromancers have.
- - The Palemaster is also striving to serve the existence he previously knew in reshaping his body as he sees fit, to resemble undeath (The undead graft, and the vital changes necessary for the immunities that he gains). Likewise, these changes increase his link to the undeath. Whereas a necromancer would force undeath to do his bidding through spells and the like, a Palemaster differs by being able to use his growing link with the undead to coax them into doing what he wishes. Breaking the boundaries that people usually think exist between undeath and life.
A good approach I've read might be self-mummification. Here is a caricaturization. (Mind you, this is a subjective view, but an interesting approach, give it a magical twist, dismiss it, but if it can help to give you a guideline; as long you keep in mind that the Palemaster wishes to defy/shape Death, to twist his own self to resemble it by "experimenting" on his body)
- -First, the pale master makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes all of the internal organs. It is important to be well-rested and nourished before beginning the ritual.
- -Second, the liver, lungs, stomach, heart and intestines are washed and packed in salt, which will dry them out.
- -Third, the pale master stuffs his empty body with salt and waits for it to dry for at least 12 hours, preferably in a dry area with an abundance of negative energy.
- -Fourth, after sufficient time drying, the body is washed with water, then covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic.
- -Fifth, the dehydrated internal organs are returned to the body and reconnected with one another. The other organs are discarded. The remainder of the body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and any linen used during the embalming process.
- -Finally, the body is covered again with good-smelling oils.
In essence: taken out, semi-mummified, returned (and also reconnected). Still magically working (Organs) and are required (since the pale master isn't really undead and can breathe, eat, ect).
Keep in mind that not all mummification is done through the old Egyptian techniques. There is also natural mummification, where a corpse becomes desiccated and somewhat preserved. It's conceivable that a Pale master's body could become much drier. Picture the skin becoming leathery and creased, the eyes sinking a bit, the lips drawing back a little to expose the teeth more. Finger and toe nails would appear longer as the skin retracts, cheeks would appear a little sunken. Losing all that moisture, they'd be much leaner looking, and might actually fit the phrase, "Death warmed over."
About the dead and controlling the dead:
Animate/Create spells make a dead body into an undead creature. At some point in casting this spell, a corpse becomes undead. Whether that happens elsewhere and it's summoned to you, or whether you're carrying part or all of the corpse to be animated on you is up to you. Summon Undead abilities are summon abilities. This represents a pale master's connection with undeath, and allows him to call his undead buddies to his aid.
External Links
- Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.
