Monstrologer

Monstrologers give the needs and interests of monsters primacy over those of their own kind. They usually feel alienated or distant from other people, preferring solitude and the company of the monsters they love. Some monstrologers hate the Noble Races and send their charges against them; others simply seek to protect the creatures that adventurers love to kill. All monstrologers have an empathy for nature, but they disagree with druids who see monsters as unnatural.

Rejecting civilization, monstrologers are often druids or rangers. A few clerics of Jancassis become monstrologers, seeking to use monsters as agents of revenge. Some monstrologers with arcane backgrounds simply seek to study and research monsters; others want to create and tinker with new forms of life.

As NPCs, monstrologers tend to fall into two camps: preservers and improvers. Preservers see monster-kind as threatened by the noble races; their mission is to protect and sustain monsters and their homes from intrusion, exploitation, theft, and death. Improvers, on the other hand, tend to see monsters as clay to be shaped, as proxies to be deployed, and as friends to whom they give gifts. But all monstrologers are uncomfortable in "civilized" places, entering them only in great need.

Hit die: d8

Requirements

• Base Attack Bonus: +5
• Base Will Save: +3
• Skill: Knowledge [nature] 8 ranks or druidic Nature Sense
• Skill: Handle Animal 6 ranks
• Skill: Wilderness Lore 6 ranks
• Special: Must be an exile from civilization (see below)
• Special: Monstrologers sever all ties that once bound them to society and family. A monstrologer candidate must show this alienation in some way. Here are a few possibilities (Pick just one of these!):
  • Outcast: The candidate is a criminal, hunted, or on the run. Perhaps she broke taboos or laws. Perhaps she was framed or falsely accused. For whatever reason the candidate is not welcome in her former home, and she has become disillusioned with society in general.
  • Mocked: The candidate has suffered abuse and mockery, most often because of some obvious physical deformity. He hates those who mocked him and feels intense loathing for almost all people.
  • Insane: The candidate suffers from some form of insanity that has driven her from society. This could be a simple phobia, such as a fear of crowds, fear of being indoors, or fear of people. Or it could be a serious disorder, like paranoid delusions or a manic tendency to fly into homicidal rages.
  • Evil: The candidate seeks power over others and selfishly uses monsters in order to advance his plan of destruction and conquest. Or the candidate simply desires to inflict pain and suffering on the Noble Races through his monsters and minions. Evil is an option for NPCs only.

Table -- The Monstrologer

Lvl...Att...Will...Refx...Fort...Special Abilities
.1.....+0....+2.....+0.....+2.....Target Monsters, +1 spellcast lvl
.2.....+1....+3.....+0.....+3.....Choose Specialty, +1 spellcast lvl
.3.....+2....+3.....+1.....+3.....Lesser Favored Enemy, +1 spellcast lvl
.4.....+3....+4.....+1.....+4.....Monstrous Creation or Defend Region, +1 spellcast lvl
.5.....+3....+4.....+1.....+4.....Tend Monsters, +1 spellcast lvl
.6.....+4....+5.....+2.....+5.....Breed Specialty, +1 spellcast lvl
.7.....+5....+5.....+2.....+5.....Monstrous Spawn or Befriend Region, +1 spellcast lvl
.8.....+6....+6.....+2.....+6.....Greater Favored Enemy, +1 spellcast lvl
.9.....+6....+6.....+3.....+6.....Uplift Monsters, +1 spellcast lvl
10.....+7....+7.....+3.....+7.....Master Specialty, +1 spellcast lvl

Class Skills

The monstrologer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Animal Empathy (Chr), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animals (Chr), Heal (Wis), Intuit Direction (Wis), Knowledge [nature] (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Scry (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Wilderness Lore (Wis).

Note: Monstrologers only can use Animal Empathy, Handle Animal, and Ride with monsters at no penalty.

Skill Points per level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features

• Monster Ethos: Any aberration, beast, dragon, magical beast, or vermin, as listed in the Monster Manual, is a monster. Animals are not monsters. Monstrologers may not directly or indirectly harm monsters except with subdual damage. However, they are free to use magic to control and direct monsters. They often direct monsters to attack others, but they will not send their creatures on suicide missions (this prohibition does not apply to summoned monsters, who return, unharmed, to their place of origin if they die). If a monstrologer violates this Ethos, she loses all special abilities until she has atoned by spell or by performing deeds of compensation.

• Weapon & Armor Proficiencies: Monstrologers are proficient in light and medium armor and shields. They are proficient with all simple weapons. Druid monstrologers, however, remain bound by their oaths to use only certain weapons and armor. Arcane monstrologers usually avoid armor because it interferes with spell casting.

• Spells & Spell Progression: When a new monstrologer level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (better wildshape, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of monstrologer to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a monstrologer, she must decide to which class she adds her monstrologer levels for purposes of determining spells per day when she first adopts the PrC.

• Sect: With their typically poor social skills, monstrologers seldom gather in groups, being as fearful of each other as they are of most people. Some have affiliated themselves with certain Druidic Circles. Some monstrologers do associate at second hand -- their monstrous minions meet to exchange letters and packages. In this way, news, knowledge, and supplies trickle though the very loose monstrologer community.

Special Abilities

• Target Monsters: The monstrologer loses the ability to cast spells that target specific non-monster creatures. However, the monstrologer gains the ability to cast spells that are monster-specific. These changes are listed in the Appendix, below.

• Choose Specialty: The monstrologer selects one kind of monster to be her specialty: aberration, beast, dragon, magical beast, or vermin. With specialty monsters, she gains a bonus on skill checks (Animal Empathy, Bluff, Handle Animals, Heal, Listen, Ride, Sense Motive, Spot, and Wilderness Lore) equal to her level. Moreover, the DC for her spells targeting specialty monsters is increased by her level. She gets a saving throw bonus against these creatures equal to her level. Finally, she gets a bonus equal to her level in combat with these monsters: at the start of each round, she applies part of the bonus (from none to all) to attacks and the remainder to AC.

• Lesser Favored Enemy: The monstrologer gains a favored enemy bonus of +1 against all non-monsters. This ability is just as a ranger, giving a bonus to weapon damage, Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Wilderness Lore checks. If the monstrologer has ranger levels, then when this ability is gained, he loses all his prior favored enemy bonuses and stacks ranger and monstrologer levels for determining the size of the favored enemy bonus: +1 at level 3, +2 at level 8, +3 at level 13, and +4 at level 18. Note that favored enemy bonuses apply to ranged and melee touch attacks (like rays).

• Monstrous Creation or Defend Region
  • Monstrous Creation: The monstrologer gains "Monstrous Creation" as a special class-exclusive item-creation feat. Using the same procedures, costs, and rules for making magic items, the monstrologer can warp or alter monsters, generally boosting abilities or adding new ones. Monsters altered with this feat become sterile.
  • Defend Region: The monstrologer gains the Regional Spell Specialization feat, letting him cast spells at +2 caster levels within the geographic region defined by the DM as a "monster preserve." Add +1 to the saving throw DC of all spells the monstrologer casts in the preserve. But he casts all spells outside the preserve at -1 caster level.

• Tend Monsters: All monsters under the monstrologer's care heal damage at twice their normal rate. All monsters reared by a monstrologer reroll ones and twos on hit dice. All Handle Animal training times for monsters are in days instead of months, and rearing times are in months instead of years.

• Breed Specialty: The monstrologer knows how to successfully breed monsters within his specialty, both of the same species and of different species. Within the same species (say, two gorgons), matings are always successful. Across species (say, a gorgon and a dragonne), hybrid matings succeed at a rate of 10% plus 1% per level. Stats for successful hybrids are determined by the DM, working with the BGC. All hybrids are sterile. Note that to arrange breedings, a monstrologer often uses magic to control behavior.

• Monstrous Spawn or Befriend Region
  • Monstrous Spawn (requires Monstrous Creation): Monsters created or altered with the Monstrous Creation and Breed Specialty abilities are fertile and breed true 50% of the time. Of course, breeding new species requires both a fertile male and a fertile female.
  • Befriend Region (requires Defend Region): Within the monstrologer's home monster preserve, no monster (except non-native or summoned monsters) will attack or harm the monstrologer. In fact, monsters tend to help and defend the monstrologer, unless it totally opposes the monster's nature to do so.

• Greater Favored Enemy: The monstrologer's favored enemy bonus vs. non-monsters rises to +2.

• Uplift Monsters: All monsters -- friends and foes -- within medium range of the monstrologer (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) are cured of all non-magical disease. Moreover, all monsters in range gain healing ability as if they were wearing a ring of regeneration (DMG 194) -- healing 1 hp per hour and regrowing lost parts. The monstrologer cannot turn this ability off, and this aura alerts all monsters in range to the location of the monstrologer.

• Master Specialty: All monsters of the character's specialty within close range (25 feet plus 5 feet per two levels) are affected as by a mass charm spell. Even those affected monsters who save treat the monstrologer as if he were under the effect of a sanctuary spell. This ability "turns off" for ten minutes if the monstrologer (or his allies) inflicts damage on a specialty monster.

Spell Appendix

Monstrologers cannot cast the following spells: Animal Friendship, Animal Growth, Animal Messenger, Animal Shapes, Animal Trance, Calm Animals, Charm Person, Charm Person or Animal, Command, Command Plants, Control Plants, Control Undead, Create Greater Undead, Create Undead, Detect Animals or Plants, Detect Undead, Diminish Plants, Disrupt Undead, Dominate Animal, Dominate Person, Elemental Swarm, Giant Vermin, Greater Command, Greater Magic Fang, Halt Undead, Heal Mount, Hold Animal, Hold Monster, Hold Person, Imbue with Spell Ability, Invisibility to Animals, Invisibility to Undead, Locate Creature, Locate Object, Magic Fang, Mount, Neutralize Poison, Obscure Object, Plant Growth, Protection from Evil/Chaos/Law/Good, Repel Metal or Stone, Repel Vermin, Repel Wood, Speak with Animals, Speak with Dead, Speak with Plants, Summon Monster, and Summon Nature's Ally.

Monstrologers instead gain access to the following spells:

Level 0

• Daze Monster - just like Daze, except the spell applies to a monster with up to five hit dice.
• Detect Monster - just like Detect Animals or Plants, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Discipline Monster - just like Disrupt Undead, except the spell affects a monster and causes only subdual damage.
• Monster Friendship - just like Animal Friendship, except the spell applies to a monster. Note that all the caster's former animal friends desert the monstrologer when the PrC is gained.
• Monster Messenger - just like Animal Messenger, except the spell applies to a small or tiny monster.

Level 1

• Calm Monster - just like Calm Animals, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Invisibility to Monsters - just like Invisibility to Undead, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Monster Mount - just like Mount, except it summons a medium or large non-flying monster with up to four hit dice to serve as a loyal mount, but not to fight.
• Monster Trance - just like Animal Trance, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Protection from Monsters - just like Protection from Evil/Chaos/Law/Good, except the spell applies to monsters, not to a particular alignment.

Level 2

• Charm Monster - just like Charm Person or Animal, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Command Monster - just like Command, except the monster does not have to understand the caster's language.
• Monster Fangs - just like Magic Fang, except the spell applies to all of a monster's natural attacks.
• Speak with Monsters - just like Speak with Animals, except the spell applies to monsters.

Level 3

• Hold Monster - just like Hold Animal, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Locate Monster - just like Locate Creature, except the spell applies only to a monster.
• Neutralize Monster Poison - just like Neutralize Poison, except the spell applies to the poison of a monster.
• Obscure Monster - just like Obscure Object, except the spell applies only to a monster.

Level 4

• Greater Command Monster - just like Greater Command, except the spell affects monsters who then obey the command regardless of language.
• Greater Monster Fangs - just like Greater Magic Fang, except the spell applies to all of a monster's natural attacks.
• Imbue Monster with Spell Ability - just like Imbue with Spell Ability, except there is no minimum Int or Wis, and no need for any components (like a spell-like ability).

Level 5

• Dominate Monster - just like Dominate Animal, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Monster Growth - just like Animal Growth, except the spell applies to monsters.
• Shrink Monster - just like Shrink Item, except the spell applies to a willing monster.

Level 6

• Create Monster - just like Create Undead, except the spell creates any monster in the caster's specialty with hit dice up to half the caster's level. The caster has no control over the created monster.
• Heal Monster - just like Heal Mount, except the spell applies to a monster friend.

Level 7

• Monster Shapes - just like Animal Shapes, except the spell gives targets the shape of monsters.
• Monster Swarm - just like Elemental Swarm, except the spell summons random monsters from the caster's specialty.

Level 8

• Repel Monster - just like Antipathy, except the spell affects all monsters.

Level 9

• Create Greater Monster - just like Create Monster, except with a hit dice limit up to twice the caster's level.

• Special: The monstrologer also gains access to Summon Monstrous Ally instead of Summon Monster and Summon Nature's Ally. The new Summon Monstrous Ally ranges from I to IX, and it summons monsters equivalent in power to those of the other spells.

• Spell Acquisition: Divine spell casters gain access to these spells as they do all spells. Wizards lose any forbidden spells in their books and may replace them with any from the above list that they can cast. Sorcerers and Bards have a one-time chance to "forget" spells they know in order to learn spells from the list above. As they gain levels, arcane casters gain spells normally.

Note to the DM:

Playing a monstrologer is not easy. They are reclusive, anti-social, people-haters who generally want to be left alone. It requires an excellent background to justify why a monstrologer would become associated with an adventuring group. They simply won't enter cities unless forced. They are outcasts for good reason, and they are not welcome in civilized lands. Certainly, no usual village, town, or city would tolerate the monsters that these characters often have as friends. It might make more sense to have a monstrologer in a group that is already nature-heavy -- full of druids, rangers, gnomes, elves, and barbarians. But only allow this PrC if it works in the game and if the character has earned it through great role play.