Heart Of The Swarm

Heart of the Swarm 

Experiencing life as another, through another’s eyes is heady. The ability to use new abilities, to indulge the senses and to cast aside the boundaries of flesh becomes addictive. Those able to enter into the consciousness or bodies of others sometimes lose themselves after a multitude of ‘borrowings’. It becomes increasingly harder for them to come back to their real body until one day it becomes impossible.

 These powerful beings have great power. The Heart of the Swarm prestige class allows the slow progression of the character. In that way, the NPC can return to foil the PCs time and again before achieving his/her full potential. Likewise, an evil character can experience the process in slow steps while continuing to adventure with his/her allies, rather than gaining all the template’s powers at once and immediately surpassing his/her comrades in terms of sheer power.

 The Heart of the Swarm prestige class has two special requirements. First the character must start with a background or character class that requires the manipulation of insects or small creatures. Transmuters, Necromancers, Druids, Rangers and others can take on this template class.

Secondly, they must be able to cast spells at a caster level of 4th level or higher. The potential Heart of the Swarm character uses mostly spells (50% or more) that are used to summon, control, change or modify the temperament/perceptions of a being in some way. The potential Heart of the Swarm character must also have spells that influence the thoughts of others. Psioniscists are especially attracted to this prestige class.

 Heart of the Swarm characters are rarely trained due to the nature of the slow discovery of their powers and the addictive pull of power. It is possible that a character may be trained by Heart of the Swarm adept before they undertake the final transformation.

 Adaptation: The Heart of the Swarm character may use undead, magical or even construct creatures as long as they are of a type that can or does swarm. Heart of the Swarm characters can worship a deity of stealth and secrets. A twist would be if the Heart of the Swarm was undead or dead during the process of becoming a Heart of the Swarm. Possibly Heart of the Swarm characters can use their own effigy or spell-stitched creatures.

 Hit Dice: d6


Requirements: To qualify to become a Heart of the Swarm, the character must fill all of the following criteria. 

Alignment: Any but lawful good.

Skills:  Concentration 5 ranks

Feats: Malevolence, Still Spell, Verminfriend, Vermin Control

Spells or Spell-like Abilities: Must have a Dominate Animals spell on class spell list, whether the character is able to cast it or not.

Special: Character must possess animals of the swarm type on a regular basis.

 

Class Skills:

The Heart of the Swarm’s class skills (and the key abilities for each) are: Concentration (Con), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Int) (all skills taken separately), Spellcraft (Int), and Profession (Wis).

Skill Points at each level: 2 + Con Modifier

 

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Heart of the Swarm character gains no additional proficiencies with armor or weapon.

Spells Per Day/Spells Known: At each odd-numbered level a Heart of the Swarm gains new spells per day (and spells known if applicable) as if he/she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class which he/she had joined before adding the prestige class level. She/he does not gain any benefit a character of that class would have gained (such as the bonus feat sometimes gained by a wizard). If s/he had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Heart of the Swarm, s/he must decide which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.

Animal Telepathy (Su): A Heart of the Swarm unlocks one of the most basic elements of his/her mental craft at 1st level, gaining the ability to communicate with creatures within 100 feet regardless of intelligence or language ability.

Befriend Vermin (Sp): Starting at 2nd level, the Heart of the Swarm can use his/her knowledge of vermin to influence their actions once per day. This ability functions as a Vermin Friendship spell except the number of vermin affected is 1d100 per level. The Heart of the Swarm can use Speak With Vermin once per day/level as a free action.

Nature Sense (Vermin) : The Heart of the Swarm can identify vermin species, their habits, likes, dislikes, special traits and languages (verbal and non-verbal) with perfect accuracy. He/she knows what their favorite foods and habitats are.

Mind Read:

 

Charm The Swarm:


Ride The Swarm: [5th level]: The Heart of the Swarm can project their consciousness into a swarm of vermin. This ability has no duration. As a living swarm, the Heart of the Swarm moves as a single entity; if separated into two or more portions, the larger portion retains his sentience while the smaller portion dies. She/he can resume his natural form as a move-equivalent action. This is a spell-like ability.

The Heart of the Swarm must return to his/her body at least once per every 36 hrs to exercise it, feed it, and retain a link with his/her original mind. Failure to do so can result in the loss of sentience (DF 15 Save vs will for every hour after 12 hrs that the character fails to do so). A failure on the will save indicates that the Heart of the Swarm has permanently become linked to the swarm and lost his/her sentience.

It may be possible to continue to play this character as if they were under a curse. As long as his/her body remains alive or able to be resurrected, it is possible to put the Heart of the Swarm back in his/her original body. Removal of the body to another plane will also sever the link between the Heart of the Swarm and his/her body. Therefore it is essential that the Heart of the Swarm arrange to have his/her body well-protected and guarded any time he/she is absent from it.

If the Heart of the Swarm’s body becomes badly damaged (more than 40%), he/she may become distracted and return to his/her body. If the body dies or becomes destroyed then the Heart of the Swarm has a 50% chance (+5% per level) to retain his/her sentience and individuality in the swarm.

Swarm Master/Mistress[10th level]: The Heart of the Swarm’s type changes to Vermin. She/he becomes immune to mind-affecting spells and gains darkvision up to 60 feet. In addition, vermin now recognize him as one of their own and ignore his presence unless provoked or attacked by him or commanded by another.

The Heart of the Swarm can now easily enter the consciousness of a swarm and control it, rarely returning to his/her normal body. The Heart of the Swarm usually adopts one swarm at a time, controlling its actions, seeing through its eyes and ears, and relaying information to allies or hirelings. When a swarm dies, becomes severely reduced in numbers or even trapped, the Heart of the Swarm can move to another vermin-like swarm within 100 feet (+100 feet per level up to 1,000 feet).

Hivebody [11th level]: The Heart of the Swarm can permanently leave his/her body. However this ability requires the construction of a phylactery from the original body. The Heart of the Swarm will instruct its host swarm to hollow out its original body, drying and preserving it as they do. After all the organs are removed and eaten by the swarm, the body will be converted into a multitude of chambers suitable for housing small vermin.

The body is then hidden and warded. Possessions of great value are often secreted within the body which is used as an emergency lair. Often the Heart of the Swarm will breed their own new swarm in their old body.

The body can be transformed into a type of flesh golem, animated, or disguised as long as it is not destroyed or more than 20% of the body is changed in structure and appearance. If the Hivebody is somehow destroyed and the Heart of the Swarm is in a swarm at the time, it may find a new body to link with and possess (DF 15 Will check to leave the swarm and do this).

Once the Hivebody has been completed, the Heart of the Swarm can avoid permanent destruction as long as his/her phylactery/body survives. If the swarm dies or is destroyed, he/she reappears 1d10 days later in a new swarm within 1d4 miles of the hivebody or the destruction of the old swarm. The new swarm has all the abilities and powers of The Heart of the Swarm, though any items he/she was carrying are lost (probably taken by those who slew his/her old form). Likewise, any spells or effects bound to his/her old form with permanency do not spontaneously appear on his/her new one.

The Heart of the Swarm rarely exacts revenge directly. They prefer to learn as much as they can about opponents before weaving complicated plots of revenge.

Undying Swarm [12th Level]: The Heart of the Swarm gains the abilities of the undead which it shares with its host swarm. A swarm possessed by the Heart of the Swarm with this ability no longer sleeps, ages, eats, drinks, breaths, is affected by poisons, mind affecting or paralyzing spells or spell-like effects, or charm spells or spell-like effects.

The Heart of the Swarm’s type changes to undead, and she gains all the normal benefits and drawbacks that go with that type. She no longer has a Constitution score, so she loses any Constitution bonus or penalty to hit points, saving throws, and skills. She also becomes immune to many attacks (including critical hits and sneak attacks, rendering her fortification ability redundant), but she is subject to turn and rebuke attempts and is immediately destroyed if brought to 0 or fewer hit points (though her phylactery prevents “permanent” destruction). All of her Hit Dice (current and future) increase to d12s. (Rather than rerolling all her Hit Dice, just add 4 hit points for every d4 she previously had, 3 hp for every d6, 2 hp for every d8, and 1 hp for every d10.) In addition, her alignment immediately changes to evil if it was not already.

Turn Resistance (Ex): The Undying Swarm gains +4 turn resistance. She is treated as an undead with 4 more Hit Dice than she actually has for the purpose of turn, rebuke, command, or bolster attempts.

Immunities (Ex): The Undying Swarm is immune to cold, electricity, and polymorph, though she can still use polymorph effects on herself.

 

Comments are closed.