Blighter

Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +4

Alignment: Any nongood

Special: The character must be an ex-druid previously capable of casting 3rd-level druid spells, Profession skill must be herbalist.

Summary

When a druid turns away from the land, the land turns away from her. Some ex-druids make peace with this change; others seek to restore the bond. A few, however, actually embrace their disconnection from nature and become forces of destruction. These few, called blighters, bring desolation wherever they tread.

A blighter gains her spellcasting ability by stripping the earth of life. A swath of deforested land always marks her path through the wilderness.

The vast majority of blighters are nomadic loners constantly in search of green lands to destroy. Some are grim; others laugh at the destruction they wreak. Almost all, however, are friendless and mad. What puts them over the edge is the knowledge that nature gets the last laugh: To gain their spells, they must seek out the richest forests of the land, even if it’s only to destroy them. Thus, even though they’ve turned away from nature, they must constantly return to it.

Only human ex-druids seem attracted in any number to the blighter’s path. Legends say that a few elven druids have also turned to destruction over the millennia—a terrifying prospect given how much land they could destroy in their long lifetimes.

In many ways, the blighter is to the druid what the blackguard is to the paladin. While it’s likely that blighters are loners, you could also develop a secret cult of blighters devoted to ruining the world’s ecology.

Role: Spell DPS

Characteristics: Limited Casting. Anti-Druids that favor sickness and deforestation

Source: Complete Divine

Game Rule Information

The Blighter has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Wisdom is needed for your casting and deforestation abilities.

Alignment: Any Nongood

Hit Die: d8

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Blighter's class skills are Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (herbalist) (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Wilderness Lore (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Blighter.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Blighter is proficient with whatever they were already proficient with prior to taking levels in this class.

Spells per Day/Spells Known: Since blighters are ex-druids, they lose their druid spellcasting abilities. However, they gain access to new, more destructive spells. At each blighter level, the character gains spells per day according to Table 1-1. She must choose her spells from the blighter spell list. The blighter's caster level is equal to her blighter level plus her druid level.

To cast a blighter spell, a blighter must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the spell's level, so a blighter with a Wisdom of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Blighter bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + Caster level. When the blighter gets 0 spells per day of a given level (for instance 2nd-level spells for a 2nd-level blighter), she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. A blighter has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare, just as a druid. A blighter prepares and casts spells just as a druid does (though a blighter cannot spontaneously cast summon spells).

The blighter gains access to her daily spells through deforestation. If she goes more than 24 hours without deforesting a wooded area, she cannot cast spells until she does so.

The default divine focus for any spell cast by a blighter is a desiccated sprig of holly or mistletoe. Any material component for a blighter's spell must have been dead for at least a day before use.

Deforestation Sp: A blighter can kill all nonsentient plant life within a radius of 20 feet per blighter level as a full-round action once per day. If a potentially affected plant is under the control of another (such as a druid's liveoak or a dryad's home tree), the controller can make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + blighter level + blighter's Wis modifier) to keep it alive. Affected plants immediately cease photosynthesis, root tapping, and all other methods of sustenance. Like picked flowers, they appear vibrant for several hours, but within a day, they turn brown and wither. Except for plants selected by a controller, nothing can grow in a deforested area until it has a hallow spell cast upon it and it is reseeded.

Deforestation enables a blighter to cast her daily allotment of spells. This ability works in any terrain, but deforesting a sandy desert, ice floe, or other environment with only sparse vegetation does not empower the character to cast spells.

Blightfire Su: Starting at 2nd level, as a standard action, a blighter can unleash a scorching blast of fire. This effect deals 5d6 points of fire damage to all creatures within 10 feet (Reflex half; save DC is 10 + blighter's class level + blighter's Wis modifier) and ignites flammable objects it touches. Blighters delight in starting wildfires and often use this ability to do so.

Sustenance Ex: At 2nd level and higher, a blighter no longer needs food or water to survive.

Undead Wild Shape Sp: At 3rd level, the blighter gains a version of the wild shape ability. Undead wild shape functions like the druid's wild shape ability, except that the blighter adds the skeleton template to the animal form he chooses to transform into. The blighter's animal form is altered as follows: -Type changes to undead. -Natural armor bonus is +0 (Tiny animal), +1 (Small), +2 (Medium or Large), or +3 (Huge). - +2 Dexterity, no Constitution score. -Immunity to cold. -Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning.

The blighter gains one extra use per day of this ability at every even blighter level after 3rd. In addition, she gains the ability to take the shape of a Large skeletal animal at 5th level and a Huge skeletal animal at 9th level.

Speak with Dead Animal Sp: Starting at 4th level, a blighter can converse with dead animals. This ability functions like a Speak with Dead spell cast by a cleric of a level equal to the total of the character's druid and blighter levels, except that it affects only corpses of animal creatures. It is usable once per day.

Contagious Touch Sp: At 5th level and higher, a blighter can produce an effect like that of a Contagious Touch spell once per day. She gains one extra use per day of this ability for every two additional blighter levels she acquires.

Animate Dead Animal Sp: This ability, gained at 6th level, functions like an Animate Dead spell, except that it affects only corpses of animal creatures and requires no material component. It is usable once per day.

Unbond Sp: Beginning at 8th level, a blighter can temporarily separate a bonded animal or magical beast (such as an animal companion, familiar, or mount) from its master once per day. The target creature must be within 40 feet of both its master and the blighter. If the master fails a Will save (DC 10 + blighter level + blighter's Wis modifier), the bond terminates as if the servitor had died, though this does not cause experience loss in the case of a familiar. Normally hostile creatures attack their masters but are otherwise unaffected. The bond returns after 1 minute per blighter level, restoring all benefits. Alternatively, the master can regain the servitor through the normal methods of acquisition.

Plague Su: At 10th level and higher, a blighter can spread disease over a large area. This ability functions like the contagious touch ability, except that no attack roll is required, and it affects all targets the blighter designates within a 20-foot radius. Plague is usable once per day.

Table 1-1: Blighter Progression
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	0th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Deforestation	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Blightfire, sustenance	5	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Undead wild shape 1/day	5	3	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Speak with dead animal, undead wild shape 2/day	6	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Contagious touch 1/day, undead wild shape (Large)	6	3	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Animate dead animal, undead wild shape 3/day	6	3	3	3	2	1	0	—	—	—
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Contagious touch 2/day	6	4	3	3	3	2	1	0	—	—
8th	+6	+6	+2	+6	Unbond, undead wild shape 4/day	6	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	0	—
9th	+6	+6	+3	+6	Contagious touch 3/day, undead wild shape (Huge)	6	5	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	0
10th	+7	+7	+3	+7	Plague, undead wild shape 5/day	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	3	2	1

Bonus Spells

In 3.6e, spellcasters who have a limited number of spells per day are granted additional spell slots based on their casting stat modifier according to the table below. In order to receive the bonus spell slots, they must already be able to cast spells of that level.