Vorpal Knight

Some believe the soul to be the immortal essence of the mortal body—the seat of will, understanding, and personality. It is this very philosophy that drives the vorpal knight. By harnessing the souls of their enemies they become more powerful. Every soul they claim fills them with new knowledge, skills, and vitality. It is a sad existence however; for the more they slake their vile thirst, the emptier they become, until only a deep reservoir of darkness remains that nothing can satisfy but the souls of others. Most become unnatural beings, their own souls twisted and defiled to the point that they are no longer considered to be what they once were.

Role: A vorpal knight excels at combat—defeating their enemies, collecting their souls, and forging them into greater power. While each soul grants them a wide variety of options, few can match these monsters on the battle field.

Alignment: Any non-good.

Hit Die: d10

Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

Class Skills

The vorpal knight’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: Vorpal Knight

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Assess (Sp) (at-will), bonus feat, consume soul, infernal constitution, mark soul 1/day, reservoir
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Reservoir
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Reservoir
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Bonus feat, mark soul 2/day, reservoir
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Reservoir
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Reservoir
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Bonus feat, mark soul 3/day, reservoir
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	Reservoir
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Reservoir
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Bonus feat, empower aspect (lesser), mark soul 4/day, reservoir
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	Reservoir
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4	Reservoir
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Bonus feat, mark soul 5/day, reservoir
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4	Reservoir
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Empower aspect (greater), reservoir
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5	Bonus feat, mark soul 6/day, reservoir
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Reservoir
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6	Reservoir
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Bonus feat, mark soul 7/day, reservoir
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Master of souls, reservoir

Class Features

The following are class features of the vorpal knight.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A vorpal knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) and shields (including tower shields).

Bonus Feat

At 1st-level and every three levels thereafter, a vorpal knight may select a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement.

These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as combat feats, or any feat pertaining to the vorpal knight class. Vorpal Knight class feats include; Aspected Volatility, Infernal Burst, Infernal Release, Reap the Harvest, Renewing Breath, Renewing Breath (Greater), and Stoked Soul (all of these feats are described in the product “Racial Profiles Expanded: Hungry Souls” (this source of this content).

Mark Soul (Su)

Once per day, a vorpal knight can mark the soul of a foe they wish to take, so long as the target’s HD does not exceed her class level by three or more. For example, a 3rd level vorpal knight can mark the soul of a monster with 6 HD, but not one with 7 HD.

As a swift action, the vorpal knight chooses one target within sight to mark. If this target is a living creature (not a construct, mindless undead, or otherwise soulless creature), the vorpal knight adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her vorpal knight level to all damage rolls made against the target of her mark. Regardless of the target, mark soul attacks automatically bypass any damage reduction (DR) the creature might have.

In addition, while mark soul is in effect, the vorpal knight gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier (if any) to her AC against attacks made by the target of the mark. If the vorpal knight targets a creature that is considered to be soulless, the mark is wasted with no effect.

The mark’s effects remain until the target is dead or the next time the vorpal knight rests and regains her uses of this ability. Once the creature targeted by mark soul is defeated, the vorpal knight may take its soul and add it to her reservoir, if she has enough reservoir slots. At 4th level, and every three levels thereafter, the vorpal knight may use mark soul one additional time per day as indicated on the table above, to a maximum of seven times per day at level 19.

Consume Soul (Su)

When a vorpal knight defeats a marked creature and could otherwise add its soul to a reservoir slot, she may instead choose to consume it. A consumed soul grants the vorpal knight a number of consumption points equal to her total combined HD and class levels. As a swift action, the vorpal knight may expend one or more consumption points to be healed for 1d8 hit points per consumption point. A vorpal knight may only expend points equal to her level at one time in this way, and has a maximum consumption pool equal to her vorpal knight level.

Additionally, once per day, a vorpal knight may consume any soul she currently has stored in a reservoir. Doing this causes her to lose all aspects of the consumed soul, but adds a number of consumption points to her pool equal to half her vorpal knight level (minimum 1). Using this ability requires a high level of concentration, and cannot be performed in stressful situations, such as combat.

Assess (Sp)

As a move action, the vorpal knight can focus on a single target and determine its HD and class levels. This functions as the assess spell, with a caster level equal to the vorpal knight’s.

Infernal Constitution (Su)

Beginning at 1st level, a vorpal knight gains a +1 insight bonus to her AC for every three souls she possesses in her reservoir.

Reservoir

The vorpal knight begins with a single reservoir at 1st level and gains a new one every level thereafter. A reservoir is used to house a marked soul from a defeated creature, which the vorpal knight may use to gain certain feats, racial traits, and special abilities. These are referred to as aspects of the soul. Once a soul is added to an empty reservoir, the vorpal knight must choose a single aspect from the soul to apply to herself. Some aspects, like special abilities, require other aspects to function. Each type of aspect is explained in further detail later.

Empower Aspect (lesser)

Starting At level 10 a vorpal knight may choose up to two aspects from any soul with 5 HD or less.

Empower Aspect (greater)

At level 15 a vorpal knight may choose up to two aspects from any soul with 10 HD or less.

Master of Souls (Su)

At 20th level a vorpal knight becomes a master of souls, and may choose two aspects from any soul she possesses. She may also mark the soul of any creature, regardless of its HD, and gains the maximum amount of health back that she would receive from the consume soul class ability, without having to roll.

Soul Aspects

A marked soul has several traits that make up their being. A vorpal knight can draw upon these to increase her strength, defense, and even grant her special abilities. Certain aspects may only be equipped when the vorpal knight is strong enough to control it. In the same way, some aspects may only offer a partial bonus until requirements are met. For a full list, refer to Table: Aspect Restrictions.

Table: Aspect Restrictions

Level	Maximum Aspect Types*	Max Natural Armor Bonus	Max Damage Reduction	Allowed Immunities	Usable Attacks & Special Abilities	Usable Movement & Speed
1st	1	+1	+1	Sleep effects	Natural attacks	30 ft.
2nd	1	+1	+1	Deafness	Phylocrux (Sp)	30 ft.
3rd	1	+2	+3	Blindness, hunger	Special attacks Extraordinary (Ex)	40 ft. Swim
4th	2	+2	+3	Nauseated		40 ft.
5th	2	+3	+3	Fear, shaken, bleed, charm	Special attacks Supernatural (Su)	40 ft. Climb
6th	2	+3	+5	staggered, dazed		50 ft.
7th	3	+4	+5	Paralysis, drowning		50 ft. Fly (average)
8th	3	+4	+5	Mind-affecting		50 ft.
9th	3	+5	+5	Poison, disease		60 ft.
10th	3	+5	+10	Fire, cold, acid, electricity		60 ft. Burrow
11th	4	+6	+10	Petrification, gaze attacks		60 ft.
12th	4	+6	+10	Stun		70 ft.
13th	4	+7	+10	Sonic, channel energy		70 ft.
14th	4	+7	+10	Level drain, ability drain		70 ft.
15th	4	+8	+15	Precision damage, critical hits		80 ft. Any
16th	5	+8	+15	Force, psionics		80 ft.
17th	5	+9	+15	Spells, magic		80 ft.
18th	5	+9	+15	Death effects		90 ft.
19th	5	+10	+15	Weapon damage		90 ft.
20th	5	+10	+20	Any		100 ft.

*The vorpal knight may only have so many of a single type of aspect. Types include; damage reduction, feats, immunity, languages, natural armor, natural attacks, phylocrux, resistances, senses, skills, special attacks, speed, and spell resistance.

Damage Reduction (DR): A vorpal knight may choose one form of damage reduction if it is available. For example, if the creature has DR 10 vs cold iron or evil, she would have to choose between having DR 10 vs cold iron, or DR 10 vs evil.

Feats: A vorpal knight may choose to take any one feat possessed by the slain creature. They are still required to meet the feats prerequisites.

Immunity: A vorpal knight may choose one aspect of immunity if it is available from the slain creature. For example if the creature is immune to both electricity and petrification, the vorpal knight may choose to become immune to either electricity or petrification.

Languages: A vorpal knight gains every language possessed by the slain creature. This includes additional communication methods like telepathy.

Natural Armor: A vorpal knight may choose to equip a slain creature’s natural armor. This bonus does not stack with natural armor granted by spells or spell-like abilities. In such a case, the vorpal knight uses the higher armor bonus.

Natural Attacks: A vorpal knight may choose to take the aspect of any natural attack possessed by the slain creature. The damage dealt by this attack is always the same as the creature’s. For example, a barghest has a x2 claw attack that deals 1d4+4 damage, so the damage dealt would be 1d4 with any additional effects, such as grab. After acquiring a natural melee attack, it may manifest physically on the vorpal knight’s body. In the case of the barghest’s claws,the vorpal knight would gain a wicked set of sharp digits.

Phylocrux (Sp): Beginning at 2nd level a vorpal knight may gain a spell-like ability called a phylocrux when they digest a creature. The spell-like ability gained depends on the creature’s type and total combined HD, and/or class levels.

A vorpal knight may only use spell-like abilites acquired this way a number of times per day, similar to how a sorcerer or oracle casts their spells. See Table: Phylocrux Uses Per Day.

Table: Phylocrux Uses Per Day

Level	Tier 1 1st-5th	Tier 2 6th-10th	Tier 3 11th-15th	Tier 4 16th-20th
1st	3	—	—	—
2nd	3	—	—	—
3rd	3	—	—	—
4th	3	—	—	—
5th	3	—	—	—
6th	5	3	—	—
7th	5	3	—	—
8th	5	3	—	—
9th	5	3	—	—
10th	5	3	—	—
11th	7	5	3	—
12th	7	5	3	—
13th	7	5	3	—
14th	7	5	3	—
15th	7	5	3	—
16th	9	7	5	3
17th	9	7	5	3
18th	9	7	5	3
19th	9	7	5	3
20th	9	7	5	3

Type	Spell-Like Abilities by Hit Dice
	1-5	6-10	11-15	16-20
Aberration	Long arm	Cure serious wounds	Nightmare	Walk through space
Animal	Speak with animals	Animal aspect, greater	Strong jaw	Summon nature’s ally VIII
Construct	Stone fist	Burrow	Stoneskin	Iron body
Dragon	Burning hands	Draconic reservoir	Dragon’s breath	Form of the dragon III
Fey	Disguise self	Fey form I	Breath of life	Euphoric tranquility
Humanoid	True strike	Haste	Truespeak	Shout, greater
Magical Beast	Cure light wounds	Fly	Hold monster	Protection from spells
Monstrous Humanoid	Enlarge person	Monstrous physique I	Animate dead VI	Giant form II
Ooze	Corrosive touch	Vomit twin	Ooze form I	Ooze form III
Outsider	Reduce person	Protection from energy	Elemental body II	Summon monster VIII
Plant	Entangle	Cure serious wounds	Plant shape I	Cure critical wounds, mass
Undead	Grasping corpse	Vampiric touch	Undead anatomy II	Inflict critical wounds, mass
Vermin	Ant haul	Vermin shape I	Insect plague	Verminous transformation

In the event an unlisted creature type is slain, ask your GM what spells might be appropriate substitutes, using the following as a general guideline, based upon the creature’s Hit Dice:

Hit Dice: 1-5—1st level spell or lower, 6-10—3rd level spell or lower, 11-15—5th level spell or lower, 16-20—8th level spell or lower.

Resistances: A vorpal knight may choose one type of energy resistance if it is available. For example if the slain creature has cold and fire resistance 10, he may choose a resistance of 10 to cold or fire.

Senses: A vorpal knight can choose any of the following senses if the slain creature possessed them: all-around vision, blindsight, darkvision, lifesense, low-light vision, and scent.

Skills: The vorpal knight may select any skill mentioned in the monster’s entry, or that a character had ranks in. She gains a bonus equal to one half her vorpal knight level on all checks with that skill. Additionally, the vorpal knight is treated as if they were trained in that skill.

Special Attacks: At 3rd level, a vorpal knight may choose to take a creature’s extraordinary special attacks. Starting at 5th level they may take supernatural special attacks. For instance, a behir has a breath weapon (20-foot line), that deals 7d6 electricity damage, with a reflex (DC 20) save for half, which can be used every 1d4 rounds. It also has a rake with 6 claws that deal 1d4+6 damage each. The vorpal knight may choose to equip the aspect of any one of these special attacks.

Speed: A vorpal knight may choose one type of movement or speed the slain creature possessed. For example, if the creature had a movement speed of 40 feet and a fly speed of 100 feet; the vorpal knight could choose to overwrite her old base speed with the new one. Or she could choose to gain a fly speed of 100 feet. Additionally, no matter how good the slain creature’s fly maneuverability (poor, average, good, perfect), the vorpal knight may only ever have a fly maneuverability of average or lower.

Spell Resistance (SR): A vorpal knight may choose to take a creature’s spell resistance as her own if it is available. If she takes another soul with spell resistance, they do not stack, she uses the greater of the two.