Cystic Devotee (3.5e Prestige Class)

Cystic Devotee

“	The cysts I house are a blessing, a blessing of limitless power.	”
—Gorthaur the Cruel, human dread necromancer

Cystic Devotees are obsessed with the Mother Cyst they have incorporated into their bodies. While implanting cysts into the living around them is gratifying, Cystic Devotees believe the possibilities are endless. Seeking to understand more about necrotic cysts, Cystic Devotees begin experimenting on themselves. They harvest cysts from their own subjects as well as those implanted by other casters. These gruesome treasures are then incorporated into their bodies. This experimentation gives the Cystic Devotee new powers, but it also exposes them to the manipulation of other holders of Mother Cysts.

Not content with self experimentation, Cystic Devotees also gain deeper understanding of necrotic cysts as a whole. Finally the Cystic Devotee learns to implant them in the undead and this fusion of the two necromantic methods yields powerful results.

Becoming a Cystic Devotee

Being a vessel for a Mother Cyst gives a caster access to some incredibly evil and powerful spells. A caster thus affected seeks to augment their control over cysts and begins experimenting on themselves as well as the undead they control.

Entry Requirements

Feats:	Mother Cyst, Spell Focus (necromancy).
Spellcasting:	Able to cast necrotic bloat spell.

Table: The Cystic Devotee

Hit Die: d4

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spellcasting
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Cyst Sense	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Necrotic Study, Cyst Host, Manipulate Cysts 2/day	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Manipulate Cysts 3/day	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Command Skulking Cyst	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Necrotic Study, Manipulate Cysts 4/day	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Necrotic Meta-Magic Focus	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Necrotic Study	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Creeping Necrosis	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Necrotic Study, Manipulate Cysts 5/day	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Necrotic Undead	+1 level in existing spellcasting class
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) Concentration, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Profession (any), Spellcraft.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Cystic Devotee.

Spellcasting: At each level, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Cystic Devotee, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.

Cyst Sense (Su): As your Cyst develops, it becomes sensitive to others nearby of its kind. You automatically detect the presence (although not the number or location) of any Necrotic Cysts, Skulking Cysts and Mother Cysts within 60 feet, and are aware of the types present. For example, if Kallen the Mad was within 30 feet of a Wizard with the Mother Cyst feat, two Fighters the Wizard had implanted with Necrotic Cysts, he would know that there were three cysts, and that some were Necrotic Cysts and others were Mother Cysts. This ability is always active.

Cyst Host (Su): The Cystic Devotee realizes that being a vessel of a Mother Cyst alone is not enough to truly understand the mysteries of Necrotic Cysts. The Cystic Devotee begins implanting necrotic cysts in his own body. Since the character is housing necrotic cysts, the character gains some of the weaknesses of the Undead for the purpose of effects or abilities that damage or cause other undead specific effects (i.e.- bane weapons, favored enemy, damaged by positive energy, spells that have specific effects vs Undead, etc).

She is also at the mercy of other casters with Mother Cysts and access to spells that have Mother Cyst as a prerequisite. However the character doesn’t suffer from increased vulnerability to spells from the necromancy school nor does the character suffer the additional damage from the natural weapons of undead creatures.

Manipulate Cyst (Su): As a standard action, you can use your own Mother Cyst to generate the following effects:

• Cystic Resistance: You gain a +1 profane bonus for every 3 Cystic Devotee levels to saves for a number of minutes equal to your Cystic Devotee level.

• Necrotic Power: You gain a +4 profane bonus to Strength for a number of rounds equal to your Cystic Devotee level.

• Necrotic Heighten: If the character has Heighten Spell and elects to use this ability the heightened spell gains an additional spell level (i.e. - a spell heightened to 4th level becomes 5th level) for free. The spell being heightened must have Mother Cyst feat as a prerequisite.

• Necrotic Nausea: The character’s body erupts with puss spewing sores that cause all within a 10 ft radius to be subjected the effects of stinking cloud and fear. Caster level equal to character’s highest spellcasting class. Roll saves separately for each effect.

• Necrotic Celerity: The character is able to increase his base speed as per expeditious retreat spell or increase his speed for special movement categories as per the accelerated movement spell for a number of rounds equal to your Cystic Devotee level.

• Control Organs: The character is immune to critical hits and sneak attack damage as per the undulant innards spell. Duration a number of minutes equal to your Cystic Devotee level.

• Harden Cysts: The character learns to defend themselves vs casters with Mother Cysts. She gains spell resistance equal to 10 plus her Cystic Devotee level to spells that have the Mother Cyst feat as a prerequisite. Duration a number of minutes equal to your Cystic Devotee level.

Using your internal cysts this way has drawbacks however. After the effect has expired, you become fatigued (–2 penalty to Strength, –2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the duration of the current encounter. The character also suffers 10 hp in damage that cannot be healed except by rest, a greater restoration spell, which heals 10 hp per casting, limited wish, or wish can heal all damage.

Necrotic Study (Ex): Add a spell to your spell list or spellbook that has the Mother Cyst feat as a prerequisite. It must be a spell level that you could cast at the level that you gain this benefit.

Creeping Necrosis (Sp): Starting at 8th level any necrotic cyst that you have implanted into a creature can become virulently active at your command. As a full round action, the character can attempt to awaken the cyst. Once creeping necrosis is activated the subject must make a Fort save (DC 10 + Primary spellcasting ability modifier + Cystic Devotee level). Activating this ability requires that the subject be within 10 miles per Cystic Devotee level. Creeping necrosis can only be attempted once per day per victim.

If the subject fails the initial save, the affected creature suffers for 1d4 days from a non-magical disease of the caster’s choosing (See DMG p. 292). Nothing, short of a limited wish or wish or the casting of remove curse followed by cure disease, can remove the disease. Characters with Heal skill can divine the true nature of the disease with a DC 30 Heal check. At the end of this period, the subject is affected by a necrotic burst as per the 4th level spell.

Command Skulking Cyst (Sp): Once per day you can take command of a skulking cyst and have it join the undead ranks under your command. The sulking cyst counts against the total number of undead that the character can control. The subject skulking cyst makes their save at -2, if the character created the skulking cyst an additional -2 penalty applies on the save. In all other ways this ability functions as per the command undead spell.

Necrotic Meta-Magic Focus (Ex): Three times per day, you can reduce by one level the cost of a metamagic feat applied to a spell where the Mother Cyst is a prerequisite. If you prepare spells, you can have only up to three such reduced cost spells prepared at any time.

Necrotic Undead (Sp): Once per day a Cystic Devotee can attempt to plant a necrotic cyst spell in a corporeal undead subject. The subject must have flesh and be under the control of the caster. Intelligent undead may resist the attempt with a Will save that Charisma based. If successful the caster can now apply a necrotic eruption spell on the subject at the time of their choosing as a standard action. The subject, regardless of their intelligence, save vs the necrotic eruption effect with a Will check modified by Charisma. If the subject’s save is unsuccessful, it explodes as indicated in the spell affecting targets in the blast area as indicated, however no skulking cyst is created.

Ex-Cystic Devotees

Playing a Cystic Devotee

Combat:

Advancement:

Resources:

Cystic Devotees in the World

“

”

NPC Reactions:

Cystic Devotee Lore

Characters with ranks in can research to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
11	.
16	.
21	.
26	.

Cystic Devotees in the Game

Adaptation:

Sample Encounter:

EL whatever:

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Classes → Prestige Classes