Reaper, Variant (3.5e Prestige Class)

Artwork by Unknown

Reaper

The strong dragon born fighter fought long and hard, but in the end he was run through on a large blade from behind. When he looked back with acceptance in his eyes he saw nothing but shadow in a hood, and heard only one thing as the sounds of battle faded from his mind "Your time has come my friend, and I must guide you to your next life."

The Grim Army

The Grim Army in essence a vastly large group of reapers that work under Death. Since Death cannot be everywhere at once, reapers work to maintain the balance in all of the planes. Their duty is to not only keep balance, but also to eliminate those that seek to defy death, such as immortals other than Gods. He ferries and keeps track of every soul on any given plane and sends reapers to areas in need of some minor reaping or a grand purge. Seen by many as a force of evil because of their work reapers are usually feared, however they can be of any alignment from lawful to chaotic and good to evil.

Requirements

Alignment: Any alignment

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Special: Made contact with a Reaper some way, and have been approved to act as a Reaper once the other conditions have been met. Ways to do this could include, dying, being around those who are dying/dead, or combing a battlefield after the fighting has finished.

Proficiency: Must be proficient with Scythes, and have Weapon Focus with Scythes

Race Any Humanoid.

Table: The Reaper   Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spells per Day
		Fort	Ref	Will		0	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	8^th	9^th
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Marked For Death	4	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Reap Soul	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Reaper Adaptation	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Deep Sleep	4	3	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Reapers Weapon of Choice, Greater Weapon Focus:Scythe	4	4	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+6/+1	+2	+5	+2	Soul Re-purpose	4	4	3	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Denial	4	4	4	2	0	0	—	—	—	—
8th	+8/+3	+5	+2	+5	Scythe Mastery	4	4	4	2	0	0	0	—	—	—
9th	+9/+4	+6	+2	+6	Grim Leap	4	4	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	—
10th	+10/+3	+6	+3	+6	Safe Passage, Full-Bloodless Reaper, Greater Weapon Specialization: Scythe	4	4	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Climb, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Move Silently, Ride ,Spellcraft.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor proficiency: Reapers gain proficiency with all Armors.

Spells: Reapers casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a Reaper must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Reaper's spell is 10 + the spell level + the Reaper’s Charisma modifier.

Reapers can cast spells in Light armor without arcane spell failure chance.

Like other spellcasters, a Reaper can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given in the character advancement table. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score. When the spell table indicates that the Reaper gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Charisma score for that spell level.

Upon reaching 5th level, and at every Reaper level after that a Reaper can choose to exchange one current spell with a spell he has previously learned. In effect, the Reaper “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged. A Reaper may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.

Marked For Death (Su): A reaper of 1st level or higher may attempt to Mark a creature for Death, hence the name. The reaper gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, and Spot checks when using these skills against this creature. He also gets a +2 bonus on damage rolls against all creatures of the same type. A reaper may only mark one creature at a time. This mark remains active for as long as the creature lives, or until the reaper dismisses it. The reaper is always aware of the general location of his chosen target as long as it is within the same Plane. So he can guess at where the marked creature is within about a ten mile radius of where it really is These bonuses increase by +2 every even reaper level.

Reap Soul (Su): Starting at 2nd level, a reaper can collect souls from any living creature, excluding undead, gods, and beings without a soul, that is dealt a lethal blow from a Reaper using his scythe. Collected souls are stored in the Scythe of the Reaper. Typically a Reaper will grant the soul passage to the plane it is meant to go to upon death, however the reaper may keep the souls it captures as long as they like, but may only store 3 within their weapon. If the reaper gains a new scythe the souls will be transferred upon first equipping. The scythe gains +1 to attack rolls for every soul stored within their scythe. (Max: 3)

Reaper Adaption (Su): A reaper upon reaching 3rd level goes through a state of change to befit it's new role in life and death. The reaper may pick one of four adaptations to occur but is not allowed to change this decision later on. You grow a pair of wings that vary in type depending on which adaptation you choose. They allow flight at a speed of 60 feet (good maneuverability). You can even fly while carrying a medium load, though your fly speed drops to 40 feet in this case.

Wraith: The reaper that takes this adaptation will gain dull feathered wings, much like those of an angel. They become faster, quieter and without a doubt deadlier. The reaper will gain +2 to move silently and gain 20 ft. to their speed, both on foot and flying as well as become trained in Intimidate. This speed boost is also added to whatever mount the Reaper may be riding. Reapers that take this Adaption tend to be chaotic in nature and are individuals who lead lives of reckless freedoms, without any realization to the consequences of their actions. This is not to say they are BAD or EVIL, but most wraith reapers do genuinely have foul tempers, rash judgement, and little discipline.

Seraph: Reapers that take this adaption will gain soft colorful wings, akin to an angels wings as the wraiths wings are. They become more approachable and Charismatic as a result of the colors and the soft appearance of their wings. The reaper will gain + 2 to their charisma score, and to their diplomacy as well as become trained in Diplomacy. Seraphs also learn two additional languages of their choice per level, regardless if their starting race doesn't allow it. Reapers that take this adaptation lead lives of charity and good will, and almost always put others before themselves. A Seraph Reaper is, mostly, entirely selfless. You could say that Seraphs are the boy/girl scouts of the Reaper order, working their hardest to earn badges/qualifications and completing tasks to better Reaper society. Seraphs also tend to flock together, and do their best to better one another.

Fae: Fae Reapers are identified by whimsical style wings, typically butterfly or what could be called "Fairy" wings. They're not usually taken seriously, so people tend to let them do as they please, and from their usually friendly nature, Fae Reapers find it extremely easy to make friends in new or hostile environments, especially with wildlife since they also tend to ferry the souls of animals more than that of humanoids. Fae Reapers gain an animal companion as if they we're Druids, and follow the same rules in the process. Fae also become trained in handle animal. Fae Reapers are usually exceptionally friendly and caring of those in their party weather or not they happen to reapers as well.

Drake: Drake Reapers are identified by scaley, leathery, dragon wings in deep, gemstone colors. They are the upbeat adventuring type, always looking for the next big quest to venture out on, not so much for fame and glory, though that is a nice perk to them, but for adventuring sake. Drakes gain an additional 4 skill points per level due to their adept ability to learn from their actions, weather successful or not. (Meaning every level gained in the class will earn 8+Int. Modifier instead of 4+Int. Modifier skill points.)

Deep Sleep (Su): A Reaper of 4th level or higher that casts a spell that puts a target to sleep, such as the sleep spell raises the HD indicated by the spell by 5 and the duration is doubled. The spell also gains a +5 against will checks to negate.

Reapers Weapon Of Choice(Su): At 5th level, Reaper no longer needs to worry about their weapon being damaged, destroyed or lost. By using an hour of meditation after acquiring a desired Scythe a Reaper can make their Scythe their weapon of choice and can summon it from thin air in any location as if they were drawing it. The scythe becomes indestructible but can still be torn from the Reapers grip (though all they have to do is summon it again by drawing it on their turn or going and retrieving it maually.) Souls Reaped using the Reap Soul ability gained at second level can be stored inside the scythe and will stay even if the scythe is lost or stored away to be summoned again later. Scythes when 'sheathed' become stored and are sent to another plane safely hidden until needed.

Greater Weapon Focus: Scythe: At 5th Level, Reapers automatically gain the Greater Weapon Focus feat for Scythes, regardless if they have taken any levels in the fighter class or not. You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using Scythes. This bonus stacks with other bonuses on attack rolls, including the one from Weapon Focus.

Soul Re-purpose (Su): At 6th level, a reaper can do a few things with the souls he has captured. He can discharge a soul to strike fear into their opponent (+5 against will checks, if it fails all attempts for twenty four hours afterward on the same target will fail), Heal themselves or an ally within 20 ft. (+2d10 hitponts of healing), Take on the appearance and voice of the captured soul. (+10 to disguise checks and lasts up to 24 hours or until the reaper dismisses the form) or glean one piece of information from the soul that it knew before death. All of these actions are treated as Standard Actions.

Denial (Su): At 7th level, a reaper has the ability to cast fear into his enemies just by standing within their sight causing them to become Panicked.. (+5 against will checks, if it fails all attempts for twenty-four hours afterward on the same target will fail) The reaper can point at an enemy that is looking at, or in their general direction and strike fear into them, this works much like the spell Fear. The creature effected becomes panicked unless it succeeds on a Will save. If cornered, a panicked creature begins cowering. If the Will save succeeds, the creature is shaken for 1 round. Denial can only be used 3 times/day.

Scythe Mastery (Ex): Starting at 8th level, Reapers become so adept with their ability to wield a scythe that when wielding scythes their damage dice becomes 2D6 and their crit-threat range becomes 19-20 (unless another effect raises the threat range or damage die, then use the higher. This does not stack with any other feat or ability that raises threat range or damage dice)

Grim Leap (Su): At 9th level, the reaper has accessed the ability of the Grim Reaper to get to his target no matter the obstacle. Using Grim Leap the Reaper has the ability to move teleport short distances (1-15ft.) provided that there is space. The reaper can only use this ability once/3 reaper levels a day meaning at level 9 they can use this ability 3 times a day upon learning it. If a Reaper attempts to use Grim Leap to teleport to a space that is already occupied they will take 3D6 damage, and will instead be telported to the nearest unoccupied spot within 5 ft of the space where they wished to move to in the first place. If there is no spot within range the Reaper takes an additional 1D6 and Grim Leap does not work, however the Reaper still loses that Grim Leap for the day.

Safe Passage (Su): At 10th level Reapers become immune to terrain damage such as walking through thorns or such other treacherous terrain by not walking, they seemingly float just above whatever surface they are standing on, this can include water and thin air if they wish (However the reaper can only walk straight out onto air as if it were a flat floor and take steps down. He may not walk up thin air.) This also makes traps that use pressure plates useless if the reaper is already using this ability. However if they step onto one un-aware or it would still activate. They also gain the ability to travel between plains twice a day.

Greater Weapon Specialization: Scythe: At the 10th and final level, Reapers automatically gain the Greater Weapon Specialization feat for Scythes, regardless if they have taken any levels in the fighter class or not. You gain a +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make using the Scythes. This bonus stacks with other bonuses on damage rolls, including the one from Weapon Specialization.

Full-Bloodless Reaper (Su): Reapers that survive to 10th level also become full blooded, or rather bloodless, reapers. The Reaper becomes immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, charmed effects and death effects and effects that cause bleeding. He does not breathe, eat, or sleep unless they wish to. He is also immune to critical hits. A Reaper can in fact die at this stage, however not in the traditional sense. If death occurs and nothing is there to resurrect the Reaper within a day, their soul shall leave the body and reform in the last location that they rested at at the cost of losing all the XP they had gained to to the next level, bringing them back down to the minimum for their current level. That being said they will lose all equipment that they had on them at the time since it will be lying in place of their dead body The soul exception to this would be the Scythe which they can just summon to their side. The reaper will also appear as a skeleton until one of two conditions have been met. 1) The Reaper finds their body and reclaims it, or 2) 72 hours have passed since death. Once either condition has been fulfilled the reaper will regrow it's flesh instantaneously. While in their skeletal form the reaper has a -10 check on all charisma related skill checks except for intimidate, which gets a +2.

Playing a Reaper

Reapers tend to work well with their scythes, despite the fact that it's a strange weapon to use on the battle field. When used correctly it can be a deadly, and stylish, weapon of Death. One of the main tactics of the reaper is to make their opponent 'Helpless' (A helpless character is paralyzed, held, bound, sleeping, unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent’s mercy. A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (–5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a prone target)), Typically by striking fear into enemies, stunning them, or putting them to sleep. It is recommended that the player takes a level as a Bard to learn the spell Lullaby to put enemies to sleep easier. The scythes x4 Crit and the minimum of at least 2 Damage makes for a great Coup de grâce and as a two handed weapon the strength modifier is increased by x1.5 adding to the already possible damage of 8 on a medium sized scythe. Upon choosing a Reaper Adaptation you can play a somewhat different role in the party. All Reapers have the capability of doing well in mounted combat, especially Fae with their ability to handle animal. Drakes can potentially become the Faceman for a group without one already, or at the least become much more skill based than the average melee type character. Wraith are able to storm the battlefield quickly, get where they need to be, and make some enemies wet themselves in the process. Seraphs can be a decent Faceman if you don't wish to use the Drake, the extra languages definitely come in handy when dealing with ancient puzzles or trying to get a better deal at a Orcish market. Make good use of the Deep Sleep bonus to all your sleep spells, as they come in handy when you need a Coup de grâce.

Advancement: This class can be taken whenever the player feels but it is recommended to get it to level 10 before the character reaches level 20 to take the Epic Reaper class.

Abilities: Strength and Charisma/Constitution should be your highest scores to increase your damage output, your charisma based skills, or get the maximum amount of bonus spells possible. Intelligence is a nice substitute to get more skill points if you are running a more skill oriented character though.

The Epic Reaper

Uran knelt in respect before Death in his throne who held his grand scythe across his lap and gazed down upon him. He moved not for several minutes until Death spoke to him, to which he looked up into the hollowed sockets of his eyes. "You are indeed a great Reaper, Uran. You have earned your place as a true Grim Reaper." Death stood up and walked toward Uran gracefully and gestured with bone fingers to rise. "Take This scythe, and use it well." He sagaciously murmured before handing the one of a kind scythe to Uran and and sending off with a true Death Scythe.

Table: The Epic Reaper   Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Soul Charged
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Skeletal Visage
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Hollowed Mount
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Soul Revised
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Reapers Cloak
6th	+6/+1	+2	+5	+2	Reaper Vision
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Soul Retrieval
8th	+8/+3	+5	+2	+5	Eternal Slumber
9th	+9/+4	+6	+2	+6	Soul Companion
10th	+10/+5	+6	+3	+6	Death Scythe, Disaster
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Climb, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Move Silently, Ride ,Spellcraft.

Class Features

Soul Charged (Su): The amount of souls that can be stored inside a 1st level Epic Reaper's scythe becomes 5, and their Wisdom modifier is also applied to the Reaper's AC.

Skeletal Visage (Su): A 2nd level Epic Reapers gain the ability to shed their flesh voluntarily gaining +5 to intimidate and +5 to checks dealing with fear (i.e. Reaper's Denial Ability.) Also they also get a -5 penalty to all charisma based skill checks other than Intimidate. While in their skeletal state they do not count as undead. After a day, or 1d4 hours of meditation, the Epic Reaper will revert back to their natural state, losing both their bonus and penalties.

Hollowed Mount (Su): A 3rd level Epic Reaper will turn any mountable creature that has a friendly attitude toward's them, that they mount will become a Skeletal version of itself that will burn from the center of it's chest with blue Soul Fire. The mount if able to fly, such as a Pegasus, it's wings will still work as the flesh between the bones will now exist as the same blue soul fire at the core of their chest. This fire does not deal any damage to the Hallowed Mount or the Epic Rider and will not damage the saddle or other equipment equipped to it, however it does provide up to 30 ft. of light and will burn anyone who attempts to ride the Hollowed Mount without the Epic Reapers Permission.

Hollowed mounts retain all of the same stats as before their transformation.

Hollowed Mounts when created are bonded to the reaper in much the same way as their scythe, except that in order to summon a Hollowed Mount an Epic Reaper must use a Full-Round Action to call for it.

Hallowed Mounts cannot be summoned if there is not enough room, or if the Epic Reaper is indoors. A Epic Reapers cannot have more than one Hallowed Mount of the same kind, and may only have as many Hallowed Mounts as his Epic Reaper level / 2 (i.e. A 10th level Epic Reaper may only have 5 Hallowed Mounts.)

Hollowed Mounts will live as long as the reaper survives, when their hitpoints reach 0 they do not die, instead they vanish into a burst of Soul Fire causing 1D10 fire damage to enemies within close burst 1 of the Hollowed Mount and the Reaper will simply fall and take the according damage of falling from their mount but no damage from the Soul Fire burst. After a Hollowed Mount is defeated they must take 72 hours to regenerate before being called again.

If a Reaper wishes to get a new mount but they have the maximum amount possible, or they don't wish to have one of their old Hallowed Mounts, they can summon the Hollowed mount they wish to get rid of and travel to an appropriate outer-plane to release it. Once there the mount will resume it's natural form and live in paradise and the Reaper now has regained a slot for a new Hollowed Mount.

Soul Revised (Su): A 4th level Epic Reaper, is able to control the souls he collects much better to the point he can use them in more ways than the Soul Re-purpose ability. Now the Reaper can discharge souls in a few new ways, or use the maximum of 5 souls to get better effects out of the ways he already can. He can discharge all five souls to strike fear into their opponent (+10 against will checks, if it fails all attempts for twenty four hours afterward on the same target will fail), Heal themselves or an ally within 20 ft. by discharging all five souls in the scythe (+2d20 hit points of healing), glean as much information from one of the souls he discharges that it knew before death. He can also use a soul or number of souls to cast an extra spell(s) a day depending on how many souls are discharged, (i.e. after discharging 1 soul from his scythe the Epic Reaper earns and additional level 1 spell for the day, after discharging 2 souls from his scythe the Epic Reaper earns an additional level 2 spell for the day, and so on.) You can reuse this ability up to the number of souls you have collected. All of these actions are treated as Standard Actions.

Reapers Cloak (Su): A 5th level Epic Reaper earns the ability to craft himself a Reapers Cloak by discharging five souls from his scythe while meditating for a full day. Once the Epic Reaper has done this they gain a one of a kind cloak that will fit only them, to others it looks like whatever the Reaper wishes, but there is always a hood that casts a shadow over the Reapers Face, giving them a +3 to Disguise checks. The Reapers Cloak counts as cloth armor and provides an Armor Bonus of +4, has a Maximum Dexterity bonus of +8, with no spell failure chance or weight.

Reaper Vision (Su): A 6th level Epic Reaper gains the ability to use Reaper Vision for 1 min/per Epic Reaper level/a day. When using Reaper Vision the reaper may 'turn off' everything in it's line of sight and only see the souls residing in the bodies of the living around him. During this process his eyes glow softly, not enough to provide a light source, but enough to give away his position if an enemy happens to look in his direction. The souls the Epic Reaper sees during this show only their alignment by using various colors, unless they are Marked For Death, in which case the target's soul will appear to be engulfed in blue flames.

Soul Retrieval (Su): A 7th level Epic Reaper can give his own life to revive a fallen ally. As a full round action he can take his scythe and place the bottom of it's snath to the center of the allies chest, if he does so, a bright light will come down from above and strike the Scythe, blinding all enemies within for two rounds 30 ft. (reflex save halves to one round) Once the light hits the scythe his ally is revived and he dies on the spot.

Eternal Slumber (Su): An 8th level Epic Reaper's that casts a spell that has an instantaneous death effect such as Destruction gains a +5 against Fortification saves, and if his target makes a successful partial save that would allow the spell to deal damage instead, the target takes an additional 2D6 damage.

Soul Companion (Su): A 9th level Epic Reaper that uses the Reap Soul, against a helpless target that has a friendly attitude toward him, or preforms a Mercy Killing on a target that wishes to die, like a dying soldier on a battle field, (A full round action that behaves much like a Coup de Grace, except the target dies instantly without rolls against the hit.) can take their Soul as a Soul Companion. Soul Companions appear as small orbs of light that vary from size depending on the strength of the soul before death weaker souls tend to be an inch across while stronger ones could be about 5 inches across, and flit around the Epic Reaper on his square and provide 10 ft. of light/the number of Soul Companions (Max. 3). They are only visible to the Reaper, that they are bonded to and can provide advice that will gain the reaper +1 in one skill depending on who the soul is. (For example: A soul that used to be a historian would give +1 to Knowledge: History) The bonus that the Soul Companion provides is determined by the DM. Soul Companions can be dismissed to allow for a new one, but cannot be retrieved afterwards.

Death Scythe Upon reaching 10th level, an Epic Reaper gains his ultimate weapon. A Death Scythe. This Scythe takes on the appearance that it's wielder wishes so long as it maintains it's scythe standards so that it still resembles a scythe that matches his size.

The Death Scythe instantly replaces a Reapers current scythe, but the souls stored inside are safely added to it without worry of loss. The Death Scythe deals 2D10, it's critical is x6. It deals an additional 1D10 against, spirits, undead, and immortals including gods.

The Death Scythe can hold an additional two souls from the Reap Soul ability, raising the maximum amount of souls that can be stored to 7 souls.

The Death Scythe also provides the wielder immunity to mind altering effects while equipped such as sleep and fear.

Disaster (Su): A 10th level Reaper has unlocked the skill to cause a single accidental death caused by a natural disaster or some other kind of accident once per week against mortal targets such as animals, monsters, humanoids, or certain undead with physical bodies like a zombie. For example, A reaper that wishes for a target inside a wagon or carriage full of guards to perish need only point at the wagon or person and a disaster will occur, like for instance, one of the wheels could suddenly break causing the target and only the target to fall out and break his neck. How exactly the target dies is up to the DM. This is a line of sight spell and only a single target can die from this ability. Depending on the method chosen by the DM for the target to die, the target does get a save if they are not asleep or bound or otherwise unaware of their surroundings. If the target does get such a save the DC is 35 for a successful save.

Reaper Lore

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

Knowledge (Religion)

DC	Result
10	Reapers are the beings that ferry souls to the afterlife
15	Reapers typically wield Scythes, however can use other weapons as needed to reap the souls of the dead, and those who need to be dead. Right now.
20	Reapers have vicious grudges against immortals and seek only their demise.
25	Reapers Follow the Grim Reaper, the master of death.
30	Reapers are adept at magic effects to put their targets to sleep to make them helpless, so they can then put them into the big sleep.
35	The Grim Reaper is the only reaper known able to kill an immortal, and take his soul, and his subordinates are said to nearly match his strength though they all lack this ability.

---

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