COLLABORATOR

[The Hive Mind]

In this Last Age of Aryth, when all of Eredane lays vulnerable before the armies of a dark god, the temptation to escape destruction through damnation can be overwhelming. What is the lesser evil: to die for a cause and join the legions of the Fell, or to survive the onslaught of evil and carry some shred of your culture and your people through the darkness and into the years beyond? What is the lesser evil: to be smothered by the tyranny of Shadow or to defeat an unholy god with the help of a petty demon? Some souls ally with Aryth’s demons to save their own skins, but some believe that evil can best combat evil. Whether he sees himself as a profiteer struggling in the space between two great armies or as a strategist exploiting a valuable and dangerous resource, every collaborator is involved in a perilous business.

Hit Die: d8.



Requirements

Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Diplomacy 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks.
Feats: Deceitful or Negotiator, Magecraft
Alignment: Chaotic neutral or true neutral.
Special: Must be able to speak the Black Tongue.

Class Level / Base Attack Bonus / Fort Save / Ref Save / Will Save / Special
1st --------------+1 ----------------+2 -------+0 -------+0 -----Obsidian tongue +2, art of magic, improved spellcasting
2nd --------------+2 ----------------+3 -------+0 -------+0 ------Imp, immunity to fear
3rd --------------+3 -----------------+3 -------+1 ------+1 -------Obsidian tongue +4
4th --------------+4 ----------------+4 --------+1 ------+1 -------Dark Invitation
5th --------------+5 ----------------+4 --------+1 ------+1 -------Obsidian tongue +6
6th --------------+6 ----------------+5 --------+2 ------+2 -------Shadow-tapping
7th --------------+7 ----------------+5 --------+2 ------+2 -------Obsidian tongue +8
8th --------------+8 ----------------+6 --------+2 ------+2 -------Savvy host
9th --------------+9 ----------------+6 --------+3 ------+3 -------Obsidian tongue +10
10th ------------+10 ----------------+7 --------+3 ------+3 -------Respect

Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Collaborators gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Obsidian Tongue (Ex): The collaborator knows how to appeal to the ego of an agent of Shadow; he can dissuade suspicion and wield the dark humor of the orcs. When making Bluff, Diplomacy, and Gather Information checks involving servants of Izrador, he adds the listed bonus to his roll. The collaborator always takes on the role of the lesser being when using this ability. He humbly begs or dares to suggest, and never makes demands.

Improved Spellcasting (Ex): Each time the character achieves a new collaborator level, he gains one new spell of any school and level he can cast (according to his new level). A collaborator can learn additional spells according to the normal rules for learning spells.

In addition, the collaborator's effective caster level increases by one. This affects level-related spell effects, caster level checks, and the level of spells that the character can learn. It does not grant him any bonus spells or spell energy.

Collaborator levels stack with channeler levels for the purposes of determining the highest-level spells the character can cast. A character with more channeler and collaborator levels than levels in other classes adds +1 to his character level to determine the highest-level spell he can cast. For example, a chn5/clb3/wld7 can cast up to 8th-level spells.

Art of Magic (Ex): The collaborator gains spell energy equal to his class level each day. This bonus spell energy stacks with that gained from the Magecraft feat and channeler levels.

Imp (Ex): Collaborators slowly develop reputations as negotiators, go-betweens, and social connectors in the corrupt courts of Erenland and beyond. At 2nd level, the collaborator first attracts the attention of evil powers outside the purview of Izrador and gains a courtesan imp as a hireling, if he wants one. Unlike regular hirelings, however, a courtesan imp improves over time: it gains one Hit Die for every three levels the collaborator gains in any class.

Immunity to Fear (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, the collaborator is immune to all fear effects, magical and otherwise.

Dark Invitation (Su): At 4th level, the collaborator learns to entice evil spirits and demons to do his bidding. The collaborator gains the Greater Spellcasting (Conjuration) feat for free and a summon monster spell of any level he can cast, in addition to the spell he gains this level from improved spellcasting.

Shadow-Tapping (Su): At 6th level, the collaborator learns how to tap the divine power Izrador radiates across the lands in his control. The collaborator gains access to the granted abilities and spells from any two of Izrador's domains and is able to cast these spells regardless of the schools he knows. The collaborator must still be of a sufficient level to cast these spells and pays for them using his spell energy as normal.

Savvy Host (Su): At 8th level, the collaborator attracts even more powerful demons and is able to communicate with them, regardless of their race or background. The collaborator gains the Augment Summoning feat for free, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. The collaborator can communicate with any creature he summons as though he were under the effects of a tongues spell cast be an 18th-level channeler. Plus, the collaborator gains one summon monster spell of any level he can cast, in addition to the spell he gains this level from the improved spellcasting ability.

Respect (Ex): At 10th level, the collaborator finally receives genuine respect and recognition by the forces of Shadow, even if that respect is derived from lies and second-hand stories. The collaborator gains a variation of the Leadership feat for free. The followers and cohorts he attracts are always servants of the Shadow: orcs, goblins, and humans from the lowest ranks of Izrador's armies. These followers work with the collaborator only when he is within their territory, village, or city. When the collaborator leaves, they stay behind. In each occupied city or subjugated countryside the collaborator visits, however, he is able to drum up local followers for specific, short-term assignments (generally no more than one day per collaborator level). Any changes to the collaborator's Leadership score (through the death of a follower, for example) stay with him, even when gathering new followers in a new region--word travels quickly.

Followers understand that they may be engaging in unusual or tangential assignments, but become suspicious if asked to perform duties seemingly contrary to the will of Izrador. The collaborator may have to disguise assignments. For example, he may order a squad of orcs to escort "slaves" rather than "escapees," or ransack a house for magical contraband and claim that whatever's found will be turned over to the legates. The collaborator's followers immediately turn on him if ordered to attack other loyal followers of Izrador.