Arrikhan
Description
The neutral evil arrikhan creates for his god a framework of evil on which to operate and subdue key proponents of good. Few have the cruelty and dedication that it takes to walk the arrikhan's path, but those few are rewarded with the power to conquer, to harm, and to smite. In a land of scheming wizards, unholy priests, bloodthirsty dragons, and infernal fiends, the arrikhan is a beacon of darkness to be especially feared.
Characteristics: Divine power strengthens the arrikhan and gives him special powers. It wards off harm, protects him from disease, lets him harm others, and guards his heart against fear. The arrikhan can use this power to destroy good. Even the least experienced arrikhan can detect good, and more experienced arrikhans can smite good foes and rebuke undead. In addition, this power draws a mighty steed to the arrikhan and imbues that mount with strength, menace, and dark magics.
Alignment: Arrikhans must be neutral evil, and they lose their divine powers if they deviate from that alignment. Additionally, arrikhans swear to follow a code of conduct that is in line with evilness.
Religion: Arrikhans need not devote themselves to a single deity – devotion to the spread of dismay is enough. Those arrikhans devoted to a god are meticulous in observing religious duties and are received (if feared) in every associated temple.
Background: No one ever chooses to be a arrikhan. Becoming an arrikhan is answering a call. Most arrikhans answer the call and begin training as adolescents. Typically, they become squires or assistants to experienced arrikhans, train for years, and finally set off on their own to further the causes of evil. Other arrikhans, however, find their calling only later in life, after having pursued some other career.
Races: Humans, with their ambitious souls, make feared arrikhans. Half-orcs, who often have human ambition, may also find themselves called into service as arrikhans. Goblins, orcs and other humanoids of an evil bent may hear the call.
Among the more cultured humanoids, arrikhans are almost unheard of. But even an elf, lover of freedom and purity, may fall from grace given the right circumstances.
Other Classes: Even though arrikhans are in some ways set apart from others, they are well known to team up with those whose skills and capabilities complement their own.
They work well with evil clerics, and they include others who are hard-working, depraved, and dedicated to the cause of evil. While they cannot abide good acts by their companions, they are otherwise prepared to work with a variety of people quite different from themselves. Charismatic, scheming, and rightfully feared, the arrikhan often takes a leadership role even if serving another.
Role: The arrikhan's chief role is as a melee combatant, and his high Charisma opens up leadership opportunities.
Game Rule Information
Arrikhans have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Charisma enhances an arrikhan's self-protective capabilities and undead rebuking ability. Strength is important for an arrikhan because of its role in combat. A Wisdom score of 14 or higher is required to get access to the most powerful arrikhan spells, and a score of 11 or higher is required to cast any arrikhan spells at all.
Alignment: Neutral evil.
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills: The arrikhan's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Nobility And Royalty) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the arrikhan.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Arrikhans 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 an arrikhan's aura of evil (see the Detect Evil spell) is equal to his arrikhan level, just like the aura of a cleric of an evil deity.
Detect Good (Sp): At will, an arrikhan can use Detect Good, as the spell.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day, an arrikhan may attempt to smite good with one normal melee attack. He adds his Charisma bonus (if any) to his attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per arrikhan level. For example, a 13th-level arrikhan armed with a longsword would deal 1d8+13 points of damage, plus any additional bonuses for high Strength or magical affects that would normally apply. If the arrikhan accidentally smites a creature that is not good, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the arrikhan may smite good one additional time per day, to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.
Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, an arrikhan gains a bonus equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Deadly Touch (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, an arrikhan with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can cause wounds with a successful touch attack. Each day he can deal a total number of hit points of damage equal to his arrikhan level × his Charisma bonus. An opponent subjected to this attack can make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 paladin level + arrikhan’s Cha modifier) to halve the damage dealt. An arrikhan may choose to divide his deadly touch among multiple recipients, and he doesn't have to use it all at once.
Alternatively, an arrikhan can use any or all of this power to cure damage to undead creatures, just as an Inflict Wounds spell does. Using deadly touch is a standard action.
Aura of Doom (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, an arrikhan radiates a malign aura that causes enemies within 10 feet of her to take a –1 penalty to attack rolls – whether the arrikhan is the target of the attack or not. This ability functions while the arrikhan is conscious, but not if he is unconscious or dead.
Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a arrikhan gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases (such as mummy rot and lycanthropy).
Rebuke Undead (Su): When an arrikhan reaches 4th level, he gains the supernatural ability to rebuke undead. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. He rebukes undead as an evil cleric of three levels lower would.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, an arrikhan gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells (the same type of spells available to the cleric, druid, and ranger), which are drawn from the arrikhan spell list. An arrikhan must choose and prepare his spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, an arrikhan must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (Wis 11 for 1st-level spells, Wis 12 for 2nd-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an arrikhan's spell is 10 + the spell level + the arrikhan's Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, an arrikhan can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on the accompanying table. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. When the spells per day table indicates that the arrikhan gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level (for instance, 1st-level spells for a 4th-level arrikhan), he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Wisdom score for that spell level The arrikhan does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
An arrikhan prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though he cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure or inflict spell in its place. An arrikhan may prepare and cast any spell on the arrikhan spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.
Through 3rd level, an arrikhan has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, his caster level is one-half his arrikhan level.
Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, an arrikhan gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve him in his crusade against good. This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium arrikhan) or a warpony (for a Small arrikhan).
Once per day, as a full-round action, an arrikhan may magically call his mount from the infernal realms in which it resides. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the arrikhan and remains for 2 hours per arrikhan level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action.
The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the arrikhan may release a particular mount from service (if it has grown too old to join his crusade, for instance). Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed, including barding, saddle, saddlebags, and the like. Calling a mount is a Conjuration (Calling) effect equal to a spell level 1/3 the arrikhan level.
Should the arrikhan's mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The arrikhan may not summon another mount for thirty days or until he gains an arrikhan level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the arrikhan takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Cause Disease (Sp): At 6th level, an arrikhan can inflict disease with his touch (as the Contagion spell), once per week. He can use this ability one additional time per week for every three levels after 6th (twice per week at 9th, three times at 12th, and so forth).
Code of Conduct: An arrikhan must be of neutral evil alignment and loses all class abilities if he ever willingly commits a good act. Additionally, an arrikhan's code requires that he acknowledge authority figures as long as they continue to be strong advocates of evil, weed out the weak, help only those who further the aims of evil, and sow destruction and death at all opportunities.
Associates: While he may adventure with characters of any evil or neutral alignment, an arrikhan will never knowingly associate with good characters unless it specifically serves his needs, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. An arrikhan may accept henchmen and followers of any alignment, but may only accept cohorts who are neutral evil.
Ex-Arrikhans
A arrikhan who ceases to be neutral evil, who willfully commits a good act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all arrikhan spells and abilities (including the service of the arrikhan's mount, but not weapon, armour, and shield proficiencies). He may not progress any farther in levels as an arrikhan. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations, as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, an arrikhan may be a multiclass character, but multiclass arrikhans face a special restriction. An arrikhan who gains a level in any class other than arrikhan may never again raise his arrikhan level, though he retains all his arrikhan abilities.
The path of the arrikhan requires a constant heart. If a character adopts this class, he must pursue it to the exclusion of all other careers. Once he has turned off the path, he may never return.
Level Progression
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Spells Per Day
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Starting Packages
Race: Human.
Armor: Scale mail (+4 AC, armor check penalty –4, speed 20 ft., 30 lb.).
Heavy wooden shield (+2 AC, armor check penalty –2, 10 lb.).
Weapons: Longsword (1d8, crit 19–20/×2, 4 lb., one-handed, slashing).
Shortbow (1d6, crit ×3, range inc. 60 ft., 2 lb., piercing).
Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 3 + Int modifier.
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Feat: Weapon Focus (longsword).
Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative.
Gear: Backpack with waterskin, one day's trail rations, bedroll, sack, flint and steel. Hooded lantern, three pints of oil. Quiver with 20 arrows. Wooden holy symbol.
Gold: 6d4 gp.
