BANISHER..

[The Hive Mind]

The jungle had been hot for the past few weeks, not that Xakt minded. His home on the Abyss never dropped below the boiling point of water . . . so long ago since he dwelled there. The mortals whisper that 10,000 years is nothing to a demon—ah, but if it were true! Finding a village of elves to terrorize seemed to be just the thing to take his mind off of eternity, so he had caught and skinned several children, hanging them by their necks just outside the settlement. That was seven days ago. That was before the arrival of El’theal.
What had started as fun and games now became a matter of survival. The elf seemed to know exactly where Xakt was going, and had rooted him out of every hiding place the demon knew. Now he crouched under a fallen log like a dirty orc, hoping the elf would pass him by. Somehow he did not believe it would be so. The wounds caused by the elf’s daggers would not heal, and they bled the life from Xakt’s body in a constant rush of super-heated air.
Flifft. Flifft. What was that noise? Flifft. Flifft. Xakt looked down and saw a flap of skin blowing across one of his wounds, and grinned as only a demon does. Does an elf have me jumping at shadows now? Biting down, he tore off the offending chunk of flesh, spiting it to the ground and looking up at the graying sky. Perhaps he would have an easier time eluding the elf once night fell.
The demon never saw the arrow that pierced his throat. He heard a sharp pop as a hole opened beneath his chin, and the gout of flame that escaped the wound marked it as a mortal blow. El’theal appeared over him now and brought his face down to Xakt. The demon tried to bite him, but found his jaw to be without strength. In an instant, El’theal separated the demon’s head from his body. He heaved it into the forest, a gruesome warning to the demons of the Aruun . . . El’theal is here.

Banishers mostly originate in the Aruun jungle, where imprisoned fiends from forgotten planes have long gathered. Others may occasionally travel to the jungle to learn the arts, intent on defeating some local threat, but it takes a rare combination of commitment and strength to actually desire confrontation with one of these horrors. There is no doubt that these hunters represent the greatest threat to the demons of Eredane, many of whom have been driven to Izrador’s side for protection.

The banishers see themselves as avengers, bringing down justice on those who would prey on mortals. They are often driven by vengeance and obsession as much as for concern over others. In their eyes, any outsider is an intruder, whether it be lawful or chaotic, good or evil.


Banishers as characters

It is said that banishers are made, not born. Perhaps a demon terrorized a character’s home as he was growing up, or maybe he just felt an intense hatred upon first encountering one of the abyssal horrors. Sometimes the goal of defeating a demon, or even sev- eral, appeals to a warrior who needs an achievable goal to drive him in the fight against the Shadow. Deep in the Aruun, the banishers’ first priority is simply protecting their homes. The war against Izrador often seems a far- off threat to those who haven’t been touched by it direct- ly. While there, they may hire their services out to groups unfamiliar with the dangers of the jungle, or sim- ply follow behind, hoping to use the newcomers as bait to draw out a demonic foe.

Banishers sometimes travel to other lands to find prey or to share their knowledge with others who might benefit from it. While traveling through Eredane, they are likely to “liberate” communities of any outsiders they find, be they good or evil. From their point of view, they are simply cleansing Eredane of an infestation.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

Skills: Knowledge(arcana) 2 ranks, Knowledge(nature) 5 ranks, Survival 8 ranks.
Feats: Magecraft, Track.
Special: The character must have fought and killed an outsider.

Class Level / Base Attack Bonus / Fort Save / Ref Save / Will Save / Special
1st ----------------+1 ------------+2 --------+0 ---------+2 -------Hunter of the damned +2
2nd ----------------+2 ------------+3 --------+0 ---------+3 -------Detect demon
3rd ----------------+3 ------------+3 ---------+1 ---------+3 ----Spellcasting, strike at the demon'sheart (5)
4th ----------------+4 ------------+4 ---------+1 --------+4 --------Hunter of the damned +4
5th ----------------+5 ------------+4 ---------+1 --------+4 --------Resist demonic magic
6th ----------------+6 ------------+5 ---------+2 --------+5 --------Strike at the demon's heart (10)
7th ----------------+7 ------------+5 ---------+2 --------+5 --------Hunter of the damned +6
8th ----------------+8 ------------+6 ---------+2 --------+6 -------Spellcasting
9th ----------------+9 ------------+6 ---------+3 --------+6 -------Strike at the demon's heart (15)
10th --------------+10 ------------+7 --------+3 --------+7 --------Hunter of the damned +8

Class Skills: Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcanae) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int),Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str) and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Banishers gain no additional proficiencies with either weapons or armor.

Hunter of the Damned (Ex): The banisher gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks using them against outsiders. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such cratures. These bonuses increase by +2 at 4th, 7th, and 10th levels.

Detect Demon (Sp): At 2nd level, a banisher can use the detect demon spell-like ability at will. This abilitiy works like the detect evil spell, except that it only reveals the presence of outsiders.

Spellcasting: At 3rd and 8th levels, the banisher gains a Spellcasting feat of his choice.

Strike at the Demon's Heart (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, any weapon the bansiher wields, including the ammunition of missle weapons, ignore 5 points of damage reduction of any outsider it strikes. Every three levels thereafter, this number increases by 5.

Resist Demonic Magic (Ex): Starting at 5th level, the banisher gains a bonus equal to half his class level on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities of outsiders.