Old Warlock Path

Warlock is two custom paths for Bard with Arelith specific changes.

Introduction

Arelith Warlocks enjoy many changes that benefit their summons and path abilities. The path has two options: Warlock#Fey Pact and Warlock#Abyssal/Infernal Pact. Mechanical changes are included in the #Class Mechanics on this page and explained in the #Arelith Changes section. Base mechanics for Bard can be found on NWNWiki. The #Roleplay Tips section provides suggestions for character development.

Note: Good/accidental/forced Warlock RP is not supported. All Arelith Warlocks have taken their pact voluntarily. The circumstances of this choice remain at the player's discretion.

For Arelith's purposes, every character with a Warlock pact makes the choice to pact, for whatever reason. -DM Watchtower

Class Mechanics

Fey Pact

Requirements

Alignment restrictions: non-good

Path: Warlock Fey Pact is a path for Bard. It can be obtained after creating your character in the starter area or by having 3 levels in Bard and talking to a special Non-player-character (NPC) in-game (IG) that is considered Find Out In Game (FOIG) information.

Base Class: Bard

Class Features

Hit die: d8

Proficiencies: armor (light, medium), shields, weapons (simple)

Skill points: 6 + int modifier ((6 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)

Class Skills: appraise, bluff, concentration, craft mastery, discipline, heal, hide, leadership, listen, lore, move silently, perform, ride, sleight of hand, spellcraft, taunt, tumble, use magic device

Unavailable feats: weapon specialization

Primary saving throw(s): reflex, will

Base attack bonus: +3/4 level

Spellcasting: Arcane (spell failure from armor is a factor), charisma-based (a base charisma score of 10 + the spell's level is required to cast a spell and the charisma modifier affects spell DCs), and unlimited spells, but knowly known from a pre-selected list, based on their pact. Regardless of which spells are chosen at level up, only those from the Warlock Pact's spell list will be available.

Level Progression

Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.

Lvl	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	HP	Spells
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Eldritch Blast (EB): Cold, Arcane Spell Failure reduction 20%¹⁰	8	Flare (0), Light (0)
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3		16	Sleep (1), Expeditious Retreat (1)
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3		24	Mage Armor (1)
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	EB: Electrical	32	Tasha's Hideous Laughter (2), Eagle's Splendor(2)
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4		40	Cure Light Wounds (1), Resistance (0)
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5		48	Charm Person (1)²
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5		56	Displacement (3)
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	EB: Positive	64	Charm Monster (3) ²
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6		72	Crushing Despair (3), Good Hope (3)
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	Warlock Resilience (WR): Uncanny Dodge I, 5/- DR vs Cold/Electrical, Woodland Stride	80	Invisibility (2), Entangle ³
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+7		88	Cloud of Bewilderment (2), Hold Person (2)¹, Ultravision (2)
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	EB: Magic	96	Slow (3), Haste (3)⁵
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8		104	Mind Fog (5), See Invisibility (2)
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+9		112	Dispel Magic (3)², Bear's Endurance (2)
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+9		120	Hold Monster (4)¹
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10		128	Energy Buffer (6), Nightmare (5)
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10		136	Eyebite (6), Summon Shadow ^{3, 4}
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11		144	Sound Burst (2), Cat's Grace (2)
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11		152	Dominate Person (4)²
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	WR: 5% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Cold & Electrical	160	Confusion (3)¹, Faerie Fire ^{3, 6}

Epic Fey Pact

Bonus feats: The epic Warlock gains a bonus feat every three levels after 20th. In other words, at levels 23, 26, and 29.

Epic bonus feats: arcane defense, epic skill focus (all but animal empathy), ~~epic spell focus~~*, epic will, great charisma, great dexterity, greater spell focus, greater spell penetration, improved combat casting

Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape

* Although in the list of available Epic Bonus Feats, the pre-requisites are not mechanically possible on Arelith

Level	Feats	HP	Spells
21st		168
22nd		176	Greater Dispelling (5)²
23rd	bonus feat	184
24th		192
25th		200	Dirge (6)
26th	bonus feat	208
27th		216	Irresistible Dance (6)
28th		224	Shadow Conjuration (4)⁸, Shadow Shield ^{3, 7}
29th	bonus feat	232
30th	WR: 10% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 20/- DR vs Cold & Electrical	240

Arelith Changes

Change	Level	Description
Fey Pact Spells	-	Warlocks may cast unlimited spells from a pre-selected list, based on their pact (regardless of which spells are chosen at level up, only those from the Warlock spell list will be available). Also, even though the Warlock technically has unlimited shots of magic, any spell lost to casting failure (defensive casting, spell failure on armour, etc) will actually lose you a spell slot. ¹ These spells do limited Eldritch Blast damage. ² These spells do no Eldritch Blast damage. ³ Implemented as a spell-like ability and can be accessed separately through the radial menu. Note: Spell-like abilities are not affected by Spell Foci for DC checks ⁴ Summon Shadow has a cooldown of 3 minutes (30 rounds). ⁵ Fey-pact Warlocks can cast Haste an unlimited number of times on themselves, and it may only be active on one other target at a time. Any casts on targets other than the warlock will be subject to a cooldown equal to 1 minute (10 rounds). ⁶ Fey-pact warlocks can only affect one target at a time with Faerie Fire; the Faerie Fire color depends on their chosen blast damage type when the spell is cast. ⁷ Shadow Shield existing Fey-pact-only VFX now changes colors depending on the active blast damage type when the spell is cast. ⁸ Fey-pact warlocks will use their active blast damage type for Mestil's Acid Breath rather than Acid damage when directly targeting a creature. (Magic damage is lowered by 5 in this case to account for defensive essences.)
Warlock Resilience	-	As a Warlock advances in level, she or he becomes more resilient against attacks, gaining resistance to damage types which vary by pact. For Fey Pact: Level 10: Uncanny Dodge, 5/- DR vs Cold/Electrical Level 20: 5% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Cold/Electrical Level 30: 10% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 20/- DR vs Cold/Electrical
Eldritch Blast	-	A Ranged Touch Attack must be made for any spell cast against a hostile opponent, and successful hits will inflict Eldritch Blast damage. When a spell is cast directly on a hostile opponent, Eldritch Blast damage of (Class Level/2)d6 + (Class Level/2) is dealt to the target in the chosen damage type, along with the spell effect. At Warlock 30, this is 15d6 + 15 for an average damage of 67.5. Certain spells (marked in the spell list) that apply disabling or debuffing effects, deal partial Eldritch Blast Damage of (Class Level)d3 to the target. Certain spells (marked in the spell list) that apply disabling or debuffing effects, deal no Eldritch Blast Damage While an AoE spell may affect multiple opponents, Eldritch Blast damage is dealt only to the target of the spell. Spell Resistance checks are made separately for the base spell and Eldritch Blast damage, meaning that one may penetrate while the other is blocked. Using Eldritch Blast will cause the Warlock's eyes to glow. Spells may be cast on the ground to avoid making a Ranged Touch Attack and activating eye glow. The damage types listed below may be selected by using the -warlock console command. The VFX of the eye glow may be chosen with commands also. Both may additionally be chosen in the radial menu Special Abilities > Bard > Warlock - Fey. Fey Pact damage is cold (class level 1), electrical (4), positive (8), magic (12).
Blood-Sealing Pact	-	Fey-pact warlocks get half their CHA bonus to blast damage.
Arcane Spell Failure Reduction	-	¹⁰ Arcane Spell Failure for Armor and Shields is reduced by 20% for pure-class Warlocks, or multi-class Warlocks with at least 6 levels in the class.
Bonus Language	-	Sylvan.
Spell changes	-	For specifics on all spells, see Spell changes.
Bardic Knowledge	-	Removed.
Bard Song	-	Removed. Note: not possible to get Curse Song as Bard Song is a prerequisite.
Hit Die	-	Changed from d6 to d8. Retroactively applied if Bard is multi-classed and Warlock path is taken after character creation.

Abyssal/Infernal Pact

Requirements

Alignment restrictions Abyssal: non-lawful non-good

Alignment restrictions Infernal: non-chaotic non-good

Path: Warlock Abyssal or Infernal Pact is a path for Bard. It can be obtained after creating your character in the starter area or by having 3 levels in Bard and talking to a special Non-player-character (NPC) in-game (IG) that is considered Find Out In Game (FOIG) information.

Base Class: Bard

Class Features

Hit die: d8

Proficiencies: armor (light, medium), shields, weapons (simple)

Skill points: 4 + int modifier ((4 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)

Class Skills: appraise, bluff, concentration, craft mastery, discipline, heal, hide, leadership, listen, lore, move silently, parry, perform, ride, sleight of hand, spellcraft, taunt, tumble, use magic device

Unavailable feats: weapon specialization

Primary saving throw(s): reflex, will

Base attack bonus: +3/4 level

Spellcasting: Arcane (spell failure from armor is a factor), charisma-based (a base charisma score of 10 + the spell's level is required to cast a spell and the charisma modifier affects spell DCs), and unlimited spells, but knowly known from a pre-selected list, based on their pact. Regardless of which spells are chosen at level up, only those from the Warlock Pact's spell list will be available.

Level Progression

Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	HP	Spells
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Eldritch Blast (EB): Fire, Arcane Spell Failure reduction 20%¹⁰	8	Flare (0), Light (0)
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3		16	Summon Creature (1), Lesser Dispel (1)¹
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3		24
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	EB: Acid, Eldritch Essence	32	Bull's Strength (2)
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4		40	Resistance (0), Grease (1)
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5		48	Protection from Alignment (1)
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5		56	Bestow Curse (3)
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	EB: Negative	64	Summon Creature (2)
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6		72	Darkness (2)², Crushing Despair (3)
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	Warlock Resilience (WR): Uncanny Dodge I , 5/- DR vs Fire & Acid	80	Dismissal (4)
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+7		88	Ultravision (2), Gust of Wind (3)
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	EB: Magic	96	Summon Creature (3)
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8		104	See Invisibility (2)
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+9		112	Dispel Magic (3)², Eagles Splendor (2)
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+9		120	Fear (3)¹
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10		128	Energy Buffer (6)
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10		136	Summon Creature (4)
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11		144	Cat's Grace (2)
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11		152	War Cry (4), Blindness/Deafness (2)¹
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	WR: 5% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Fire & Acid	160	Summon Creature (5), Magic Circle Against Alignment (3)

Epic Abyssal/Infernal Pact

Bonus feats: The epic Warlock gains a bonus feat every three levels after 20th. In other words, at levels 23, 26, and 29.

Epic bonus feats: arcane defense, epic skill focus (all but animal empathy), ~~epic spell focus~~*, epic will, great charisma, great dexterity, greater spell focus, greater spell penetration, improved combat casting

Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape

* Although in the list of available Epic Bonus Feats, the pre-requisites are not mechanically possible on Arelith

Level	Feats	HP	Spells
21st		168
22nd		176	Greater Dispelling (5)²
23rd	bonus feat	184
24th		192
25th		200	Summon Creature (6)
26th	bonus feat	208
27th		216
28th		224	Ice Storm (6)
29th	bonus feat	232
30th	WR: 10% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 20/- DR vs Fire & Acid	240

Arelith Changes

Change

Level

Description

Abyssal and Infernal Pact Spells

-

Warlocks may cast unlimited spells from a pre-selected list, based on their pact (regardless of which spells are chosen at level up, only those from the Warlock spell list will be available). Also, even though the Warlock technically has unlimited shots of magic, any spell lost to casting failure (defensive casting, spell failure on armour, etc) will actually lose you a spell slot .

¹ These spells do limited Eldritch Blast damage.
² These spells do no Eldritch Blast damage.

Warlock Resilience

-

As a Warlock advances in level, she or he becomes more resilient against attacks, gaining resistance to damage types which vary by pact. For Abyssal/Field Pacts:

Level 10: Uncanny Dodge I, 5/- DR vs Fire & Acid
Level 20: 5% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 10/- DR vs Fire & Acid
Level 30: 10% Damage Immunity vs Physical, 20/- DR vs Fire & Acid

Eldritch Blast

-

A Ranged Touch Attack must be made for any spell cast against a hostile opponent, and successful hits will inflict Eldritch Blast damage.

When a spell is cast directly on a hostile opponent, Eldritch Blast damage of (1d6 + 1)*(Caster Level/2) is dealt to the target in the chosen damage type, along with the spell effect.
Certain spells (marked in the spell list) that apply disabling or debuffing effects deal limited Eldritch Blast Damage of (1d3)*(Caster Level/3) to the target.
Certain spells (marked in the spell list) that apply disabling or debuffing effects deal no Eldritch Blast Damage.
While an AoE spell may affect multiple opponents, Eldritch Blast damage is dealt only to the target of the spell.
Spell Resistance checks are made separately for the base spell and Eldritch Blast damage, meaning that one may penetrate while the other is blocked.
Using Eldritch Blast will cause the Warlock's eyes to glow. Spells may be cast on the ground to avoid making a Ranged Touch Attack and activating eye glow.
The damage types listed below may be selected by using the -warlock console command. The VFX of the eye glow may be chosen with commands also. Both may additionally be chosen in the radial menu Special Abilities > Bard > Warlock - Fey.
Abyssal/Infernal Pact damage is fire (class level 1), acid (4), negative (8), magic (12).

Blood-Sealing Pact

-

So long as the Abyssal or Infernal Pact Warlock's Summon is present, the warlock receives no Charisma based bonus Eldritch Blast damage. Without a Summon present, the warlock receives bonus Eldritch Blast damage equal to their Charisma modifier.

Eldritch Essence

-

A warlock's eldritch blasts perform additional effects based on the damage type used. These eldritch essences apply to the Fire, Acid, and Negative damage types.

Essence of Fire: Reduces the affected target's AB, and buffs the summon's AB for 4 rounds. Does not stack; each successive strike merely renews the duration. Scales based on the warlock's caster level:

Warlock Level 4: -1 AB to Target, +1 AB to Summon
Warlock Level 12: -1 AB to Target, +2 AB to Summon
Warlock Level 20: -2 AB to Target, +3 AB to Summon
Warlock Level 28: -2 AB to Target, +4 AB to Summon

Essence of Acid: Reduces the target's AC, and buffs the summon's AC for 4 rounds. Does not stack; each successive strike merely renews the duration. Scales based on the warlock's caster level:

Warlock Level 4: -1 AC to Target, +1 AC to Summon
Warlock Level 12: -1 AC to Target, +2 AC to Summon
Warlock Level 20: -2 AC to Target, +3 AC to Summon
Warlock Level 28: -2 AC to Target, +4 AC to Summon

Essence of Life-Steal: Steal's the target's HP and heals the summon. This adds an extra 1d4 Negative blast damage for every 3 Warlock levels, and heals the summon for 1d4 for every 3 Warlock levels. No healing takes place if the target is immune to negative energy damage.

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.

Abyssal and Infernal Warlocks will summon alternate creatures with the Summon Creature line of spells.

Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration does not increase the tier as it normally does with Summon Creature, but instead, it will raise its stats slightly. Epic levels will continue to increase the power of Summon Creature VI as per the Summoning Changes. For the exact stats of the summoned creatures, read the summons article. Warlocks cannot use the -stream command to switch abyssal/infernal summons.

Warlock summons have a cooldown of (Spell Level + 1) rounds, starting the moment the creature is slain.

**Infernal/Abyssal Warlock Summons**
Level	Spell	Infernal	Abyssal
2	Summon Creature I	Lemure	Mane
8	Summon Creature II	Imp	Quasit
12	Summon Creature III	Erinyes	Succubus
17	Summon Creature IV	Osyluth	Vrock
20	Summon Creature V	Gelugon	Glabrezu
25	Summon Creature VI	Pit Fiend General	Balor Lord

Arcane Spell Failure Reduction

-

¹⁰ Arcane Spell Failure for Armor and Shields is reduced by 20% for pure-class Warlocks, or multi-class Warlocks with at least 6 levels in the class.

Bonus Language

-

Abyssal or Infernal for their respective paths.

Spell changes

-

For specifics on all spells, see Spell changes.

Bardic Knowledge

-

Removed.

Bard Song

-

Removed. Note: not possible to get Curse Song as Bard Song is a prerequisite.

Hit Die

-

Changed from d6 to d8. Retroactively applied if Bard is multi-classed and Warlock path is taken after character creation.

Class skill

-

Gain ride.

Roleplay Tips

How a Warlock is played varies from person to person, but here are some tips that apply to everyone.

If you are aiming to keep your identity as a Warlock a secret, be careful about using your invocations. You never know who might know enough about Warlock magic to identify you.
If your identity as a Warlock is openly flaunted, prepare to be shunned in character. Yes, even neutral warlocks. All the available pacts are made with dangerous and evil otherworldly beings.
A devil-pact Warlock would usually be a lawful character and/or have been given some kind of code to follow by the one they made the pact with. A demon-pact Warlock on the other hand would usually be a chaotic character. These tend to be the ones who flaunt their power openly.
Swearing fealty to X isn't the same as worshiping X. This means that you can still worship your previous deity.
You should know X's doctrines. But there will be a difference between the "believers" in those doctrines (more like worshipers), and those who follow the doctrines because of a pact (more or less willingly).
Hence, there will be a difference between being devoted to X (these characters will most likely blossom), and those reluctant or even defiant. The latter will most probably be mentally and spiritually corrupted (comparable to necromancers). They wanted the benefits of the pact, but are not 100% willing to pay the very high price for it.
At the very least, it is necessary to roleplay a significant influence from the pact. Believers will blossom from it. Those who did it for other reasons will most likely constantly run into problems wherever there is a conflict between the deity he/she serves and the doctrines of X.
Good/accidental/forced Warlock RP is not supported. All Arelith Warlocks have taken their pact voluntarily. The circumstances of this choice remain at the player's discretion.

For Arelith's purposes, every character with a Warlock pact makes the choice to pact, for whatever reason. -DM Watchtower

Warlock roleplay can be seen as a triangle of conflict between the one you make the pact with, your deity and your own selfish (and/or your community's) interests.

General Information

Warlocks have an overall poor reputation, a result of their dealings with otherworldly and often malevolent outsiders. However, not all warlocks are evil by nature and may use such deadly gifts for more benign purposes. How far the warlock goes to fulfilling their pact is entirely up to them, though corruption is an ever-present danger for warlocks of all stripes.

Likewise, many warlocks make pacts with several creatures, rather than just one, in order to access even more power, though all warlocks must eventually favor one pact over all the others. Like sorcerers many warlocks come from a supernatural bloodline and it has been said that warlocks are "born, not made." This is not true for all warlocks, though many do indeed come from Fiendish bloodlines. Those that aren't are still often touched by destiny in some special way, sought out by powerful extraplanar forces as tools and minions, altering their soul and giving them supernatural abilities beyond the ken of most mortals.

These forces behold warlocks to their power, though some break away from the chains of their servitude to forge their own destiny. More often, warlocks, by choice or by circumstance, become much like cruel and capricious beings they serve. Tieflings and others of Fiendish blood are powerfully drawn to the ways of the warlock and are among the most common to take the path. Humans, thanks in large part to their capacity for ambition, also breed many warlocks, hoping to find a path to power that does not take them a significant portion of their short lifespans. Half-orcs are also commonly warlocks, in part because the powers that choose to give patronage to warlocks do not discriminate between them and other, more "purebred" races.

Warlocks have varying views of those who differ from them, in part because of their outsider place in society. Generally, warlocks view other arcanists through a lens of bitter rivalry but many have a healthy respect for fighters' strength or clever rogues. Few warlocks get along well with practitioners of divine magic, in part due to their dealings with unholy powers, but warlocks rarely try to deliberately upset allies who could prove useful, which includes healing clerics.

Warlocks in Campaigns

Even more so than sorcerers, warlocks tend to be viewed with great suspicion and fear, and only the most infamous necromancers come close to provoking the distrust and enmity that warlocks commonly elicit. Even the least superstitious know that a warlock's power is derived from dangerous and evil patrons; and even a warlock whose worth has been proven time and again in the service of good might still be thought to have the potential for dark treachery.

Few towns or cities will long abide a known warlock in their midst - low-level warlocks often risk being assaulted by pitchfork-wielding mobs. Warlocks of moderate power rarely need fear outright attack, but they might find themselves subject to a variety of hints (subtle or otherwise) that their presence is unwanted. High-level warlocks are generally considered far too dangerous to offend, but they can often find themselves subject to harassment of a different sort as successive waves of crusading adventurers show up on their doorsteps, each intent on eliminating such a clearly malevolent threat.

Warlocks fare a little better when under the protection of a local lord, but few good-hearted nobles freely offer a warlock employment. The reputation of these fell arcanists is simply too black.

Like the sorcerer, the warlock is valued less for his counsel and knowledge than for his ability to wreak havoc against his foes, and those rare few who obtain a powerful patron likely serve as bodyguards or highly capable arcane warriors. Most warlocks never swear fealty to another individual, though, preferring to wield their unique power only in their own name.

Excerpt from The Complete Arcane

On Consorting with Fiends

If characters can be judged by the company they keep, then those who deal with Fiends - demons and devils - are surely evil beings themselves. Fiends are the ultimate expression of evil given animate form: literally evil incarnate. Destroying a Fiend is always a good act. Allowing a Fiend to exist, let alone purposefully summoning or helping one, is clearly evil.

Occasionally, a spellcaster may summon a Fiendish creature to accomplish some task. Such an act is "evil" but not terribly so. However, some characters, particularly those who worship demons or devils or see them as valuable allies, may work with (or for) Fiends to further their own ends. Worse still, some mortals sell their souls to Fiends in order to gain more power or support.

Although dealing with Fiends or selling souls is risky at best, the lust for power is a temptation too strong for some to resist. Yet Fiends have great power, infinite life spans, and a delight for double-crossing others, so it's not surprising that most characters who ask for a Fiend's aid end up on the wrong end of the deals they make.

Excerpt from The Book of Vile Darkness

On Demons: The Corrupter

The corrupter subtly brings the Abyss to the Material Plane. While it does employ temptation and lures beings into its influence with offers of favors and service, the Corrupter's nature keeps it from living up to all of its long-term bargains. While demons are known for impulsiveness, as ageless creatures, Corrupters have learned to look at least a short time into the future, recognizing that a little patience now might pay off with more chaos later.

Corrupters usually set up a base of operations somewhere on the Material Plane, finding or creating lairs reminiscent of their home. Indeed, Corrupter demons seek to corrupt more than just living creatures: they endeavor to change the Material Plane, and all other planes, into reflections or extensions of the Abyss. A haunted castle, a bottomless well, a labyrinthine maze of caverns hidden in a nearby hillside - any of these places could be home to a demonic corrupter.

Corrupter demons do venture out into the open, but they use disguises and possession (the demon's ultimate weapon) to collect souls and change the land to benefit their masters.

Here are a few examples of how well some kinds of demons align with the corrupter role.

Archetypical: Glabrezu, guecubu, nabassu (juvenile), succubus Interesting: Chasme, dybbuk, lilitu, marilith, nalfeshnee Unlikely: Armanite, babau, ekolid, mane

Excerpt from Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss

On Devils: Faustian Pacts

Devils take special delight in corrupting the souls of their enemies, and Faustian pacts have proven to be among the most effective ways to lure mortals stray. Such a contract exchanges the mortal's soul for any number of possible benefits. Over the centuries, many adventurers have proven themselves susceptible to the temptations inherent in Faustian pacts, because those pacts promise the sort of powers and abilities that adventurers covet.

Devils extend two types of contracts: the Pact Certain and the Pact Insidious. These terms are used only in the Nine Hells; they sound too sinister to share with prospective signatories.

In accordance with folklore, each contract is a physical object, whether a scroll or a small volume bound in fine leather and edged in gold. In it are scribed the terms of the contract in amazing detail. The devil always retains a copy of the contract and, if pressed, provides a second one to the signatory. Mortals must sign in their own blood to render the contract binding.

The Pact Certain is the favored choice of all devils who deal in Faustian pacts, but it is offered only to easy marks who have already proven themselves indifferent to the fates of their souls. A Pact Certain contains language in which the mortal explicitly affirms allegience to a Lord of Hell and promises to do their will in exchange for whatever benefits are offered.

The mere act of consciously assigning one's soul to a lord of Hell is, by the terms of the Pact Primeval, an irredeemably and intrinsically evil act.

A Pact Certain can be nullified only by proving that the bloody signature was extracted involuntarily through duress. According to the Pact Primeval, devils cannot reap signatures through torture or threats of force - including force against third parties. This rule does not, however, pertain to individuals who voluntarily sign a Pact Certain to ransom an imprisoned soul from Baator.

In a Pact Insidious, a devil promises to provide certain benefits for a mortal signatory in exchange for specified reciprocal favors. It does not explicitly bind the mortal's soul to Baator, nor does it require a statement of allegiance to any particular archdevil.

From the devil's point of view, such a pact is still an exercise in damnation - it is merely sneakier than a Pact Certain. A Pact Insidious allows a gullible mortal to believe he can gain the benefits of a flirtation with evil without suffering its consequences. Thus, it exploits the eternal self-delusion of the lazy and greedy.

A contract of this type is written to deliver its promises in stages. To reap the next stage of benefits, the signatory must perform a new service for the devil. A fool who signs a bargain rarely notices until it is too late that each service incrementally nudges him toward eternal damnation. Below are the most common corrupt acts requested at each stage and provided corruption value.

Using an evil spell (1)
Humiliating an underling (1)
Engaging in intimidating torture (1)
Stealing from the needy (2)
Desecrating a good church/temple (2)
Betraying a friend/ally for personal gain (2)
Causing gratuitous injury to a creature (3)
Perverting justice for personal gain (3)
Inflicting cruel or painful torture (4)
Inflicting excruciating torture (5)
Murder (5)
Inflicting sadistic torture (6)
Cold-blooded murder (6)
Murder for pleasure (7)
Inflicting indescribable torture (7)

Hidden provisions in the contract revoke the previous benefits if the mortal stops performing the specified tasks. Strict prohibitions forbid the mortal from disclosing the contents of the agreement to any third party. Though the contract does not explicitly say so, these prohibitions are meant to keep mortals away from meddlesome priests who would seek to absolve repentant signatories of their accumulated sins.

Excerpt from Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells

On Fey: Another World

Queen of Air and Darkness for fey inspiration.

Seelie and Unseelie Courts for more fey inspiration.

Redcaps, are another type of fey to take inspiration from for example. There are many other types of real-world based "fey" lore to draw inspiration for fey characters.

Not Forgotten Realms, but suggested for fey inspiration.

External Links

Information about default NWN base class Bard is available on NWNWiki.