Potentate

The Potentates began life as a group of curious arcanists whose amoral outlook on life allowed them to pursue avenues of research not open to other wizards. Based in the land of Sorostrae, these wizards were allied with the Arcanum Incognita but many of them chaffed at the power and influence that church held over wizardry. They sought to find a way to break free of the shackles of the Arcanum Incognita - to no longer be dependent upon them for resources and spells. They were wizards who wanted to become like sorcerers. They wanted all the versatility and the freedom of sorcery but not the price.

This research was kept secret from the Arcanum Incognita. The ruling members of the Potentates, including a powerful transmuter called Elsabette Morketh, moved their research from Sorostrae to the tiny island of Varosh many miles to the south. The choice of this island was not a coincidence. Inside the volcano of Varosh dwelt a being a such great power it was worshipped as a god by the local fire giants. This divine energy of this creature, Vargus, leaked away into the ground tainting the earth and the minerals within. The mithril that the Potentates could mine on Varosh had peculiar qualities that they could use to their advantage.

The Potentates created a process by which a sorcerer could be magically connected to a wizard as a living battery. A set of special mithril bracelets and necklace was placed on the sorcerer, and a linked bracelet on a Potentate. The potentate was gifted with complete dominion over the sorcerer and could use the sorcerer's life energy to spontaneously cast magic through the link.

For several seasons the Potentates remained on the island perfecting the process, although Morketh and the others realised that this was only a short term solution. Their sorcererous thralls often died, and there was a limited number of sorcerers available to them. On 48 First Snow 199 the Desideratum Veritas raided Varosh and broke the ring of Potentates. Many potentates were killed, and the others fled. This was not the end of the story however, for over the following years separate cells of Potentates existed still practising their terrible ways. On 40 Brightday 204, Morketh and many other Potentates returned to Varosh to continue their experiments. However, their presence was discovered and thanks to the intervention of the Chosen of Narramc and the Arcanum Incognita Varosh (and the Potentates) were destroyed on 10 Dark Days 204. However, although broken, the Potentates have not been destroyed. And it is possible that some wizards in Urova still practice this foul process.

Game Rule Information

Potentate is a new prestige class created for the Iourn setting, although it is easily adapted to other settings. The following game related statistics apply to the Potentate. Note that these statistics make use of my house rules, and some work may need to be done to convert the class into standard D&D.

Hit Die: d4

Requirements

To qualify to become a Potentate, a character must fulfil all of the following criteria:

Alignment: Any non-good.
Spellcraft: 10 ranks
Knowledge (arcana): 10 ranks
Feats: Heighten spell or any two other metamagic feats
Spells: Must be an arcane spell-caster who has to prepare spells in advance, and have the power to cast fourth level spells.
Special: Must belong to the Potentate group originally formed on the island of Varosh and have access to bracelets and necklace spun from the Vargus-enchanced mithril.

Class Skills

The class skills of a Potentate, and the key abilities for those skills, are as follows: Concentration (Con); Craft (Int); Decipher Script (Int); Knowledge, all skills (Int); Profession (Wis); Speak Language; Spellcraft (Int)

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Potentates gain no additional proficiency in weapons or armour.

Spells per day: At each Potentate level the characters gains new spell-points and casting ability as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spell-casting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. This only applies to arcane spell-casting classes that are required to prepare their spells in advance. She does not, however, gain any other benefits a character of that class would enjoy, such as bonus feats. If a character had more than one such spell-casting class before becoming a Potentate, she can choose which class to advance. Levels of Potentate and previous arcane spell-casting classes stack when determining the power of the character's familiar, caster level and spell-points.

Potentate Resources: A first level Potentate has access to the organisation of the Potentates. Depending when in the Iourn time-line you are playing, these resources can be great or small. The character has access to the Potentate support structure and may be able to ask for aid, new spells and the use of laboratories for preferential rates (or even free). She has her own set of mithril bracelets and necklaces enough for all the thralls she owns. She begins play with a thrall (see below). Should this thrall die the Potentates may be able to replace it, or to suggest a means for acquiring a new one.

Sorceress Thrall: The potentate begins play with a single thrall. This thrall is normally a sorcerer of seventh level (average 39 hit points), but may be higher or lower at the discretion of the GM. As long as the necklace and bracelets are attached to the thrall it is under the permanent influence of a dominate person spell with the following differences: when faced with an order that goes against the thrall's nature it may make a will saving throw at DC 30 to ignore that one command. This minor mutiny does not free the thrall, it is still as much under the command of the Potentate as it was before. The thrall can be commanded into self-descructive or suicidal acts in the same manner. There is never any chance of the thrall shaking off the mental dominion. If the thrall moves more than 100 feet per Potentate level from its master then it falls into a catatonic stupor and will do nothing, until it is brought within range. A dispel magic cannot affect the bracelets and necklace. A Mordenkainen's disjuncture may destroy them, using the rules for destroying artefacts.

In addition to Vampiric Casting (see below) the Potentate can cause the thrall to feel intense pain. This is frequently used as a punishment. Thralls cannot use their own spell casting powers and, although they can speak, many choose not to. Over time, the thralls develop a perverse loyalty to their Potentate. Only the Potentate who controls the thrall may remove the bracelets. Potentates cannot share thralls.

Vampiric Casting (Su): From second level, the Potentate can draw power through the link to her Sorceress Thrall, using the thrall's life-energy to power spells. In order for this to work, the thrall must be within 100 feet per Potentate level and be wearing the mystical bracelets and necklace; the Potentate must be wearing the linked bracelet.

So linked, the Potentate may cast any spell in her repetoire without preparation in a manner similar to a sorcerer. Metamagic feats applied to spells cast in this manner increase the casting of 'one action' spells to a full round action. For each spell level cast through the link, the thrall takes one point of damage. For example, if the Potentate cast a seventh level spell, the thrall would take seven points of damage. This damage cannot be healed by any known magical means, including Wish. However, the damage will heal naturally, albeit slowly. The thrall will naturally heal this damage at one point per day.

Often, Potentates cannot wait to allow their thralls to recover. A thrall reduced to zero hit points has had its internal organs liquefied by the Vampiric Casting. It melts into a puddle of fleshy goo and boils away in one round. Only true resurrection is capable of restoring to life someone who has suffered this fate. The mystical bracelets and necklace are not harmed by this process and can be transferred to another thrall.

At 2nd level the Potentate gains the ability to use Vampiric Casting to cast any of her first level spells through the link. The Potentate's proficiency increases with each level of the prestige class, until ninth level spells can be drawn through the link at 10th level.

Obviously, if the Potentate has an insufficient caster level to a cast a spell, that spell cannot be cast using Vampiric Magic regardless of the Potentate's class level. For example, a Figher 8/Wizard 3/Potentate 10 has the effective spell casting power of a 13th level wizard. He can cast no more than seventh level spells, regardess of the fact that, as a 10th level Potentate, he has the capacity to power ninth level spells from his thrall.

Note that the Vampiric Magic ability is in addition to any spell casting ability the Potentate already has. For example, a Wizard 7/Potentate 10 has the effective spell casting power of a 17th level wizard, with a large number of spell-points that are used for the purpose of preparing spells. The Potentate can still prepare and cast spells in this manner without harming her thrall. As a 10th level Potentate, this character can also draw life-energy from her thrall and cast up to ninth level spells without having to prepare them, but this does not affect her spell-point total or her currently prepared spells.

Additional Thrall: At level five, and every five levels there-after the Potentate gains the ability to command additional thralls. This is very useful for the Potentate that does not wish to kill its thralls as it enables one or more to be left 'fallow' to recover from the process of Vampiric Casting. The Potentate can control two thralls at 5th level, three thralls at 10th and so on.

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