Murder-Call Apostle · Salorras Codex

Salorras Paragon: Murder-Call Apostle · Base path: Apostle (Cleric) — assassin-priest of Nerkan Thak’Ar, god of murder. A 5-level 3.5e prestige class for the divine killers of the Betrayer’s faith — usually a cleric/scoundrel who blends sneak-attack lethality with the dark gifts of the murder-god.

In the world there are few priests of Nerkan Thak’Ar, god of assassins, and fewer still are the apostles of the murderous doctrine. The life of an apostle of murder is a lonely road with a grim epilogue, and the anointing they receive from the heartless god is more the conscription of a higher calling than a divine grace. Those who choose to walk the deeper path of the Self-Slayer God are people who live the act of murder as the holy chalice of their fated existence.

Because the priesthood of the Betrayer is unorganized, there is no set teaching by which a new priest receives their gifts; the direction a priest must take to touch the quintessence of the assassin rests solely on their own deeds. Acts horrific and violent, full of the will to sow misery, fear, and social upheaval, occur across the world under the heavy and shadowed veil of night, so that the priests may draw the attention of their god.

As this dark vortex of unholy acts unfolds, it may be that Nerkan Thak’Ar comes to value the “art” of some priest-assassin and visits them during their prayer. After each such meeting between a priest and the Self-Slayer God, there are two outcomes — one is that the world is rid of a dangerous killer once and for all, should the Dark Blade gather their soul into the demiplane of Sehh Saye. The other is an ill turn of fortune for the people of Salorras, as the world receives the wrath of a priest-assassin steeped in the abhorrent and terrible power of the darkest of all deities.

What most of the world does not know about these terrifying figures of Salorras is that, for all the chaos and bloodthirst that fills them, they have managed to organize cells in galleries at various points of the world, where they “display” the dead bodies of their victims as trophies — sometimes whole, sometimes in pieces. This was established hundreds of years ago, for while they gave the soul of their victim to Nerkan Thak’Ar, they themselves could not rest unless they completed their “work of art” for later generations of killers to admire. So arose an informal organization, known to few by the name the Gallery of Murder, with very few members, all of them merciless killers in the name of the Dark Blade.

The appearance of the apostles of murder is not any one thing. Most often they look like plain, everyday people, the better to blend into a crowd, ever watchful for the chance to land their next macabre blow. Of course, there are also those who, in the frenzy of seeking their next bloodbath, wish to see absolute horror in their victim’s gaze and hear the pleading of their trembling voice, and so choose a fittingly dark and repulsive garb for that purpose.

This heartless way of life is almost always followed by clerics of the murder-god’s doctrine, who also possess excellent abilities as scoundrels or assassins, though historically there were some who were spontaneous divine casters or even legatees. These beasts, forever plotting how they will murder their next victim, can — to the world’s misfortune — be found in any inhabited region of the planet.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a murder-call apostle, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Feats: Improved Feint.

Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Diplomacy 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks.

Spellcasting: Ability to cast divine spells.

Special: Sneak attack class feature, and access to the Death domain.

The Murder-Call Apostle

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Spellcasting
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Backstab (sneak attack +1d6), murder call (2/day)	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	—	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Murder call (3/day)	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	—	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Backstab (sneak attack +2d6), final rest, murder call (4/day)	+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class

Class Skills

The murder-call apostle’s class skills (and the key ability for each) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the murder-call apostle prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency. A murder-call apostle is proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor, but not with shields.

Spells per Day. From 2nd level on, each time a murder-call apostle gains a level they advance in divine spellcasting as though they had gained a level in the divine spellcasting class they belonged to before — gaining new spells per day (and, where relevant, an increase in caster level) — but none of that class’s other abilities (improved turn or rebuke undead, more frequent remove disease, and so on). At 1st level the apostle likewise advances their divine class, as shown on the table. If the character had more than one divine spellcasting class before entering, they choose which one to advance.

Backstab (Sneak Attack). The murder-call apostle’s killing strikes deepen the lethal precision of a true assassin. They gain sneak attack +1d6 at 1st level, increasing to +2d6 at 5th level. This stacks with sneak attack from any other class (such as the scoundrel), and functions in all respects as the standard sneak attack: it applies when the target is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC or is flanked, only against living creatures with discernible anatomy, and the extra dice are not multiplied on a critical hit.

Murder Call (Sp). The apostles of murder delve into and extend the dreadful power of Nerkan Thak’Ar’s murder portfolio (the Death domain). They may invoke the god’s death-dealing strike — an unholy killing blow drawn from their bond to the Self-Slayer God — beginning at 1st level twice per day as a move action (rather than a standard action). The strike is treated as having a +3 enhancement bonus for the purpose of piercing damage reduction (ignoring DR overcome by a +2 or lesser enhancement). At 3rd level the apostle may use it three times per day, and the strike counts as +4 enhancement; at 5th level, four times per day, counting as +5 enhancement.

Final Rest (Sp). Reaching the height of their power, the apostles of murder gain the ultimate boon of their religion. Any killing they commit with the murder-call strike utterly annihilates the victim, and the soul is borne forever to the “abode” of the cold-hearted god Nerkan Thak’Ar.

Any living being slain in this way is permanently erased from existence as it is consumed by a cold black flame, crossing the threshold of Nerkan Thak’Ar into Sehh Saye. No spell can return the soul or body of the victim to the material world, except a carefully warded wish followed by a true resurrection.

It is rumored that the apostles of murder, when they close the circle of their life in this vain world, “retire” by ending it with the act of suicide, dedicating it to the pitch-black doctrine of their religion.

Ex-Murder-Call Apostles

An apostle who turns from the doctrine of Nerkan Thak’Ar — abandoning the calling of murder, or losing access to the Death domain — is cut off from the god’s gifts: they lose murder call and final rest, and can no longer advance the class, though they retain their sneak attack, earned by their own hand. The Betrayer is not a forgiving patron, and an apostle who breaks faith is as likely to become the next “work of art” in the Gallery of Murder as to be welcomed back.