Corrupter

Hit Die: d10.

Of the three unholy warriors presented here, none can match the corrupter in his capacity for evil. The despot serves as a guardian for those he oppresses and abuses, and the anti-paladin is often too self-destructive and capricious to be a long term menace. Additionally, their goals are often focused on large scales, and as such their evil is blatantly obvious. The corrupter, on the other hand, specializes in smaller scale perversions and cruelties. He may not rule nations or drive his enemies before himself with waves of fear, but the effects of his deeds are arguably more terrifying. The corrupter is a hidden evil, a lurking menace that use charm, guile, and deception to allow his evil to work like a slow poison in the souls of his victim.

The corrupter’s primary focus is to corrupt the faith of others; his favorite targets are good clerics. He uses the abilities granted by his deity to infiltrate the churches of other gods, usually in the guise of a mercenary looking to add purpose to his life in the form of newfound faith. Once he has corrupted as many priests as possible, bur before he is discovered, he moves on to a new church. Another favorite tactic is to quietly slaw the enemy clerics in a settlement, so that minions of his own faith can fill the void left by their passing; often, a town readily accepts the arrival of a new band of clerics when the previous ones have mysteriously been slain.

Corrupters are always neutral evil; they ignore the laws of the land as they see fit to work their evil, yet must remain focused and true to their own deities. All evil deities count at least a few corrupters among their faithful, although most worship deities of deception and temptation. A corrupter’s faith in his deity is absolute; he sees himself as a personal extension of his patron’s will and strives to undo the work of all other faiths. While he does his best to survive in the wake of his anguished victims, he never hesitates to make great personal sacrifices in order to ensure the success of his hateful goals.

The corrupters’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill)Bluff(Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Disguise(Cha), Forgery(Int), Hide(Dex), Knowledge (History)(Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

All of the following are class features of the corrupter.

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

Aura of Evil (Ex): The power of a corrupter’s aura of evil (see the detect evil spell) is equal to his corrupter level.

Detect Good (Sp): At will, a corrupter can use detect good, as the spell.

Smite Heathen(Su): A corrupter’s smite targets all creatures with the ability (including potential ability, such as a paladin or ranger who have yet to progress to a level that allows spellcasting) to cast divine spells, with the exception of worshipers of his own faith.

Divine Grace (Ex): At 2nd level, an anti-paladin gains a bonus equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Hidden Faith (Su): A corrupter’s faith in his deity becomes hidden when he reaches 2^nd level. He gains a +4 profane bonus to all Bluff, Disguise, and Forgery checks to maintain this deception, and any magical attempt to discern his actual faith fails unless the caster makes a successful level check (DC=the target’s corrupter levels + 10 )

Aura of Fear (Su): Beginning at 3^rd level, an unholy warrior exudes an almost palpable aura of menace and evil. Each enemy within 10’ of him suffers a -4 penalty on saving throws against fear effects. The unholy warrior himself is deaded to the emotion of fear, and is immune to all fear effects. This ability functions while the unholy warrior is conscious but not if she is unconscious or dead.An unholy warrior can suppress or active this ability as a free action

Disguise Self (Sp): At 3^rd level, a corrupter can cast disguise self, as the spell. He may use the spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to his Charisma bonus (minimum of once per day), at a caster level equal to his corrupter level.

Intercession (Su): When a corrupter reaches 4^th level, he gains the supernatural ability to cut divine spellcasters off from their source of power. To do so, the corrupter makes a turning check as a cleric three levels lower would. The result indicates the highest level divine spellcaster the corrupter can cut off from her connection to her deity. The turning damage result indicates the maximum total Hit Die of divine spellcasters within 60’ the ability can affect. The corrupter’s intercession affects the closest divine spellcasters it can first. Affect divine spellcasters cannot cast divine spells for 1 minute except if the corrupter has twice as many corrupter levels as the creature has divine spellcaster levels; in this case, the divine spellcaster loses the ability to cast divine spells for 24 hours. If the corrupter attacks an affected diviner spellcaster in any way, or the affected spellcaster receives an atonement spell, the divine spellcaster is freed from this effect. The corrupter’s allies and other creatures can attack the divine spellcaster without break the effect. The corrupter may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3+ his charisma modifier.

Spells: As per paladin with unique spell list dependant on class.

Fiendish Familiar (Sp): At 6^th level, a corrupter gains the Improved Familiar feat as a bonus feat, even if he normally couldn’t qualify for this bonus feat’s prerequisites. His new familiar must be an imp or a quasit. It benefits from the rules on page 52 of the Player’s Handbook. The corrupter’s class level counts as the "master class level" for the purpose of determining what benefits the familiar gains.

Fallen Soul (Sp): At 8^th level, a corrupter gains the ability to cast fallen soul, as the spell once per week. He may use this ability an additional time each week every additional four levels, to a maximum of 4 times a week at 20^th level.

Code of Conduct: A corrupter must be neutral evil, and loses all class abilities if he ever willingly commits a good act or an act that exposes his faith to an opposing religion and results in his detriment. He must strive to corrupt and taint all faiths apart from his own with a special focus on good faiths. He is allowed to make whatever vows or declarations are required to in order to maintain this deception, as long as he spends at least an hour each day in private prayer to his deity. He must strive to remain hidden, although the methods by which he undermines other faiths are left to his own discretion.

Associates: A corrupter can adventure with characters of any alignment, but remains suspicious and wary of good aligned characters. He tolerates the presence of good associates only as long as he is secretly working to convert them to evil. He will not continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code by resisting his efforts to convert them. A corrupter may only accept henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are neutral evil.

Corrupters choose their spells from the following list:

2^nd level: Cat’s grace, calm emotions, desecrate, detect thoughts, eagle’s splendor, enthrall, owl’s wisdom, silence, tongues

3^rd level: Clairaudience/clairvoyance, cure moderate wounds, dispel magic, glibness, greater magic weapon, inflict moderate wounds, magic circle against good, nondetection, obscure object, scrying

4^th level: Break Enchantment, cure serious wounds, dispel good, dominate person, dream, greater command, inflict serious wounds, locate creature, unhallow.