Touch of the Inhuman: Evil

Introduction

Evil spirits are cruel, foul beings, dark spirits that often inhabit regions of the spirit world devoted to the punishment and torment of mortal souls. These fould beings have many different appearances, widely varied by culture, but they are almost universally horrible and terrifying to behold. they take on many different roles, sometimes as tormentors, others as gatekeepers, executioners, taskmasters, or simple mindless entities composed of pure cruelty. The arrival of an evil touched is almost never greeted by grateful parents. Evil spirits create touched in those vulnerable to their influence, those that have fallen to corruption or evil. Some are ‘rewards’ for those who indulge in foul acts, but they may place them to bring as much sorrow and strife as possible, particularly in good or holy organizations and families.

Description

Physical Description: Devil touched are as widely varied in appearance as their inhuman sources. Some are perfectly human looking with unusually dark features. Others are decidedly inhuman in appearance, with traits such as short horns on their foreheads, a barbed tail, hooved feet, or crimson skin. Many seem to bear the scent of brimstone or sulfur on their breath, or they may seem to darken any room they enter.

Personality: Evil touched are not controlled by their heritage. More than any other spiritual source, they often fight their nature and the dark impulses they inherit. Many seek to prove, both to themselves and to those around them, that they are not inherently evil, that they can accomplish good. These ones stand strong against their darker impulses, becoming truly virtuous individuals. Of course, not all can be strong in the face of such drives. The incessant urges can wear down all but the most unyielding of resolves. When evil touched do succumb to their darker natures, they tend to sink deep into corruption, reveling in cruelty and debauchery.

In the World: Evil touched are born to a world that fears the potential darkness they bear, and many are killed as infants. Those that avoid this fate are usually hidden away from the outside world, both for their safety and from shame, and may even be outcasts in their own homes, regarded with fear and shame by their parents and siblings. As they grow, their inhuman traits and powers become increasingly pronounced and powerful. Those that grow into adults often become adventurers in some fashion or another, allowing them to escape the persecution that follows them, at least for a while. They often use their great powers to either oppose evil of spread it far and wide. Priests are common among the evil touched, but relatively few spirits will make an evil touched into a Chosen One. Warriors are also relatively common, as are rogues and gunslingers.

Ability Modifiers

• +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom Evil touched have forceful personalities and can be quite persuasive, but they are often somewhat out of touch with reality.

Universal Abilities

• Lesser Telepathy Evil touched are able to sense the minds of those nearby, though their ability as not refined as their spiritual sources. They can communicate silently and empathically with any non-mindless creature within 60 feet. This communication only allows them to convey emotions and simple concepts, such as fear, anger, or hunger. Any creature in this area can send similar emotional messages to the touched. In addition, they can focus on a single non-mindless creature in range to read their passive emotions, gaining a +2 competence bonus to all charisma-based skill and ability checks against them. The targeted creature can make a will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the evil touched’s hit die + their charisma modifier) to resist this reading.

Optional Abilities

• Corrupting Influence The evil touched has a skillful tongue and a tendency to worm their way into the mind of allies. They gain the ability to weaken the defenses of those they manipulate. If they successfully make a bluff or diplomacy check against a creature, that creature takes a -1 penalty to resist any of their charisma-based skills for 24 hours. If they succeed on another bluff or diplomacy check against a creature taking this penalty, the penalty is increased by 1, to a maximum penalty equal to the evil touched’s hit die, and the duration of the effect is renewed.
• Cruelty The evil touched particularly enjoys hurting creatures of goodness. They gain a +1 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls against good creatures. This bonus is doubled against outsiders with the good subtype.
• Curse The evil touched can imbue an item with foul luck, cursing it. They can curse an item with a standard action melee touch attack. A curse remains on an item for one hour, and they can curse up to one item per hit die at a time. Different kinds of items inflict different kinds of penalties.
  • Weapon A cursed weapon makes its wielder less skillful, inflicting a -1 profane penalty to attack and damage rolls.
  • Armor/shield A cursed piece of armor or shield is less protective, inflicting a -1 profane penalty to armor class.
  • Equipment A cursed piece of worn equipment makes the wielder less powerful. The touched selects a single ability score. The cursed equipment inflicts a -1 profane penalty to all skill or ability checks based on that ability.
  • Tool A cursed tool impedes its user’s attempts to use it, inflicting a -2 profane penalty to all skill checks made with it.
• Dark Aura The evil touched is surrounded by an aura of darkness. This aura reduces the ambient light within 30 feet of the touched by one step. In addition, the darkness has a minor additional effect, selected from the list below. The touched can suppress or resume this ability as a free action.
  • Concealing Shade The aura of darkness conceals the truth. Creatures in the area gain a +1 circumstance bonus to bluff and stealth checks, and take a -1 circumstance penalty to sense motive or perception checks made to detect a lie or see through a disguise.
  • Painful Shade The aura of darkness makes the living weaker and weaker. Any living creature in the area at the start of the touched’s turn takes one point of nonlethal negative energy damage. Any creature in the area with 0 or fewer hit points instead takes one point of negative energy damage, which is enough to start a creature bleeding if stable.
  • Frightful Shadow The darkness makes everything more intimidating. Any creature in the area gains a +1 circumstance bonus to intimidate checks, and the duration of all fear effects on creatures in the area is increased by one.
• Darksight The evil touched is drawn to shadows, at home in the deepest darkness. They can see normally in darkness, even magical darkness. However, sudden exposure to bright light blinds them for one round. As long as they remain in an area of bright light, they are dazzled.
• Deadly touch The evil touched can inflict foul wounds on their enemies with a touch. They gain a pool of points equal to 2 x (the evil touched’s hit die + their charisma modifier). As a standard action, they can make a melee touch attack. If it hits, they can expend points from their pool to deal an equal amount of damage to the target. This ability cannot be used to heal undead. Any points expended from this pool are regained after a standard period of rest.
• Hellfire Strike The evil touched can strike with the burning fury of fiends. As a swift action, they can declare their next melee attack to be a hellfire strike. If the attack is successful, their weapon flashes with unholy fire as it hits, it deals extra damage equal to the hit die, half fire damage and half untyped. If the attack misses, or they do not attack before the end of their turn, the attempt is wasted.
• Hellish Minion The evil touched gains the services of a hellish minion. A hellish minion is a demonic version of a familiar that attaches itself to the touched. The most common form for a hellish minion is a black cat, raven, owl, or snake, but they can take the form of any animal suitable to be uses as a familiar (once selected, this form cannot be changed). See familiar for the basics. However, there are some important differences to note. If the touched would gain a familiar, their hellish minion gain the traits a familiar of the touched’s sorcerer/wizard level would possess in addition to their normal traits.
  • The hellish minion uses it‘s master’s hit die instead of their wizard/sorcerer level to determine their abilities.
  • A hellish minion is treated as an outsider instead of a magical beast.
  • If a hellish minion is lost or slain, it reforms after 24 hours, appearing somewhere near its master. The touched can summon their hellish minion to their side from anywhere on the material plane with a one-minute ritual.
  • A hellish minion does not gain the ‘share spells’ ability. Instead, it gains the ability to see normally in darkness, even magical darkness.
  • A hellish minion does not gain ‘deliver touch spells’ ability. Instead, the hellish minion is infused with hellfire. Their natural attacks deal extra damage equal to the master’s HD, half fire and half untyped.
  • A hellish minion gains ‘speak with master’ as normal, however, instead of speaking aloud, the hellish minion gains the ability to telepathically communicate with it’s master as long as it is within 60 feet.
  • A hellish minion does not gain the ‘speak with animals of it’s kind’ ability. Instead, it can now use it’s telepathy to communicate with any creature with an intelligence score within 60 feet. This is rarely used, as it somewhat gives away the hellish minion’s true nature.
  • A hellish minion does not gain the ‘scry on familiar’ ability. Instead, the range of the minion’s telepathy with it’s master increases to one mile.
• Hellish Resistance The evil touched is resistant to the destructive energy of the pit. They gain energy resistance 5 against Acid and Fire.
• Resilience The evil touched inherited fiendish resilience from their spiritual source. They gain a +2 racial bonus to saves against poison, disease, and fear effects.
• Soul Keeper The evil touched possesses power to sever souls from the dead and dying. They can spend a full round action to use this ability on a dead or dying creature they can touch. A dying creature instantly dies. A body that has been affected by this ability cannot be restored to life by any means. It cannot be raised as an undead creature, or have the soul restored to it. Attempts to do so fail. In order to restore a creature affected by this ability to life, an entirely new body must be created.
• Winged The evil touched has feathered, leathery, or even insect like wings, and while they cannot fly, they can use them in some capacity. They take no damage from falling, as though subject to a constant non-magical feather fall effect, as their wings give them enough lift to avoid falling painfully. In addition, they gain a +2 racial bonus on acrobatics checks from the extra balance and lift their wings offer.