MAGEWRAITH

Salorras Paragon: Magewraith · Base path: Apostle (Cleric) — shadow-priest of Kaith’otl, Keeper of Myths. A 10-level 3.5e prestige class for the oracular death-priests of the Arcanawrath, who wield the entropic necromancy of the Pale Thread and the power of the Plane of Shadow.

The magewraiths are a small circle of elite clerics of the deity Kaith’otl within the Arcanawrath sect. They represent the religious side of the sect, and their convictions are as foggy as the doctrine of the Keeper of Myths. Their acts often make no sense to the minds of common folk, and the long labor of these occult priests remains unknown — beyond the fact that they serve fervently in the safekeeping of the forbidden knowledge of the Forbidden Archives in the city-state of Naerys. The first magewraith in history is said to have been the trueborn mystic-entropist Ymenos Talak’Er.

Magewraiths have a direct relationship with negative energy and with the Plane of Shadow. They are among the very few in the world with access to priestly spells of necromancy — the entropic strand of the Pale Thread — and so can influence the vital energy of other living creatures, controlling the threads between life and death. They are usually accompanied by undead servants, and their shadowy “gifts” are met with awe or unease; such uncommon things unsettle even the most experienced “ordinary” mages of Salorras.

As the inner world of the magewraiths is woven together with the dark arts of necromancy, the price they pay is not negligible. Over the years their skin turns pallid white and the pupils of their eyes pitch-black or deep blue, while their “aura” can confuse animals and other creatures of nature. It is a rare thing to see a magewraith in public view, especially during the hours of the sun, owing to their intense photosensitivity.

The opinion of those of other faiths leaves them indifferent — so long, at least, as it does not touch on matters of interest to them. While magewraiths seem to act at random, in truth everything rests on the insight they draw from the veil of knowledge of the Knowledge domain. They know that all things in the world hide a deeper reason for being, and that the fate of every creature contributes to the unfolding of possible historical events.

Though the magewraiths have much in common with the entropists of the Arcanawrath, the powers and knowledge of the two rest on different foundations. The magewraiths draw their knowledge directly from the Sage of Enigmas, unlike the entropists, who studied the dark treatises of necromancy.

To be initiated into the ranks of the magewraiths, one must first travel to the inner sanctums of Salorras — usually to otherworldly places that may stand apart from reality. There they are tested by their distant god, and only if they prove worthy enough may the path of Forbidden Knowledge “open” to them. After initiation they cease to travel. They remain in Naerys as guardians of the ancient secrets, waiting stoically for the omens that will send them on their next mission. Several of these missions, for some reason, are manhunts for those who stole from, defamed, or betrayed the Arcanawrath. From this the magewraiths took their name, for thanks to the Knowledge domain they “haunt” the sect’s enemies, following them wherever they flee. Without moral restraint, these “wraiths” do not return to Naerys until their mission is complete.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a magewraith, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Feats: Skill Focus (Knowledge [arcana]), Spell Focus (necromancy), Weapon Focus (any natural weapon).

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks.

Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd-level divine spells, and access to the Knowledge domain.

Special: The character must receive omens from the god Kaith’otl that lead them to the path of Forbidden Knowledge. This rarely happens to anyone who is not a member of the Congress of Mysticism or the Arcanawrath sect.

The Magewraith

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Spellcasting
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Daylight flaw, extra domain, necrotic weave	—
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Darkvision	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Necrotic imbue, shadow jump 20 ft.	—
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	—	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Incorporeal touch, shadow jump 40 ft.	—
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	—	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Lifesense, shadow jump 80 ft.	—
8th	+6	+6	+2	+6	—	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
9th	+6	+6	+3	+6	Shadow jump 160 ft., shadow walk 1/day	—
10th	+7	+7	+3	+7	Negative conduit 1/day	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class

Class Skills

The magewraith’s class skills (and the key ability for each) are Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the magewraith prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency. A magewraith is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor (light, medium, and heavy), and with shields (except tower shields).

Spells per Day. Beginning at 2nd level, and at every even magewraith level thereafter, the character advances their divine spellcasting — gaining new spells per day (and an increase in caster level) as though they had gained a level in the divine spellcasting class they belonged to before — but none of that class’s other abilities. If the character had more than one divine spellcasting class before entering, they choose which one to advance.

Daylight Flaw (Ex). While a magewraith is exposed to natural sunlight (or to sources producing similar light, such as the daylight spell), they take a –1 penalty per magewraith level on attack rolls and skill checks, and cannot use the necrotic weave ability.

Extra Domain (Su). A magewraith gains access to one additional domain, chosen between the Death and Shadow domains. If they choose the Death domain, its domain spells are not subject to the wild-magic instability of the Pale Thread — they function like any other spell.

Necrotic Weave (Ex). In Salorras the necromancy of the Pale Thread is wild and unstable, every casting risking an unpredictable surge. When a magewraith casts a spell with the necromancy descriptor from the cleric spell list, they can partly master this instability: they may reroll the d% that determines the spell’s wild-magic effect (on the necromancy wild-magic table), choosing whichever of the two results they prefer. They may use this ability as often as they like in a day, but each spell cast allows only one reroll. It cannot be used while the magewraith is exposed to daylight.

Darkvision (Su). At 2nd level, a magewraith can see in the dark as though permanently under the effect of the darkvision spell.

Necrotic Imbue (Sp). Once per day, as a standard action, a magewraith’s weapon gains a +1 profane bonus and deals an extra 1d6 negative energy damage per three magewraith levels (to a maximum of +3 and 3d6). These bonuses stack with an already-magical weapon, except that for piercing damage reduction only the higher of the two enhancement bonuses applies. The effect lasts a number of rounds equal to the magewraith’s Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round).

Shadow Jump (Su). At 3rd level, a magewraith can “travel” through shadows, as the dimension door spell, except that the movement passes through the Plane of Shadow and so both origin and destination must be in at least some shadow. The magewraith can jump up to 20 feet per day this way, divided as they like (one 20-foot jump, or two 10-foot jumps, and so on). This total increases to 40 feet at 5th level, 80 feet at 7th level, and 160 feet at 9th level.

Incorporeal Touch (Su). Once per day, as a standard action, a magewraith can turn one of their hands into that of a wraith for 6 rounds. Any living creature touched by the immaterial hand (an incorporeal touch attack) must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + magewraith levels + the magewraith’s Charisma modifier) or take 1d8 points of Constitution drain. For each point of Constitution drained, the magewraith gains 3 temporary hit points. The drained Constitution returns only by magical means (such as restoration).

Lifesense (Su). At 7th level, a magewraith can sense and locate living beings within 60 feet, exactly as if they had blindsight. They also automatically gauge the vital energy of every creature, as though they had cast deathwatch.

Shadow Walk (Sp). At 9th level, once per day, a magewraith can use shadow walk as a spell-like ability.

Negative Conduit (Su). At 10th level, a magewraith becomes a “living conduit” of negative energy. From this point on they are healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy — as an undead creature would be — though they gain none of the other traits, weaknesses, or benefits of the undead type.

In addition, once per day a magewraith can channel a terrible measure of negative energy drawn straight from the core of the Negative Energy Plane: a touch attack dealing 1d8 points of negative energy damage per caster level (maximum 20d8). The purity of this energy allows the target no Will save for half damage. The magewraith may instead channel this energy to heal themselves or an undead creature.

Ex-Magewraiths

A magewraith who loses the favor of Kaith’otl — abandoning the keeping of the Forbidden Archives, or turning from the Arcanawrath — ceases to receive the god’s omens and loses the spell advancement and the shadow- and death-gifts of this class, though the bodily marks of the necromancer’s price remain. The god of secrets does not readily forgive a keeper who lets a secret slip, and such a fallen wraith is as often hunted by their former circle as forgiven.