Arc Lord (3.5e Prestige Class)

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Arc Lord

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Editing:	Constructive edits welcome

Contents 1 Arc Lord 1.1 Becoming an Arc Lord 1.1.1 Class Features 1.2 Campaign Information 1.2.1 Playing an Arc Lord 1.2.2 Arc Lords in the World 1.2.3 Arc Lord Lore 1.2.4 Arc Lords in the Game

[edit] Arc Lord

“	Do you know what happens to an orc when it's struck by lightning? The same thing that happens to everything else.	”
—"Doc" Sy Monsoon, Halfling Arc Lord

Forged from the union of mortal flesh with one of the most primal forces of nature, the Arc Lord strides across the battlefield with skittering fingers of lightning crawling across his body, assaulting his foes with devastatingly fast, electrically-charged blows. He does not fear the assaults of his enemies, for he knows that even as they attempt to harm him, they wound themselves & that even should he fall, in doing so he will strike down his enemies & rise again.

[edit] Becoming an Arc Lord

Anyone with an affinity for lightning who seeks to lead from the front with minimal close support will be at home with the precepts of the Arc Lord. Storing, manipulating & releasing electrical energies with a thought, the Arc Lord is an individual who strives to be the strongest & the fastest, a true nightmare to their foes - as long as they are affected by electrical damage.

Constitution is the key ability score for Arc Lords, with many of their abilities being linked to it. As a melee combat class, Strength & Dexterity are also useful. Due to thier naturally high Constitution scores, Dwarves often make excellent Arc Lords, while Elven Arc Lords are almost unheard of. Many Half-orcs who live in wilderness areas choose the path of the Arc Lord, especially those who live in stormy climates.

Entry Requirements

Racial restriction:	Any non-aquatic.
Base Attack Bonus:	+4
Ability Scores:	Minimum Constitution 15+.
Special:	Must have been reduced to negative hit points by shock damage & survived.

Table: The Arc Lord

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Arc Bolt, Elemental Absorbtion (shock), Shock Charge
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Arc Field, Evasion
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Lightning Speed, Shocking Synergy
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Defibrilate, Shocking Stun
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Improved Shocking Synergy
6th	+6	+5	+5	+2	Greater Elemental Absorbtion (Shock), Improved Evasion
7th	+7	+5	+5	+2	Bolt From The Blue, Shock Nova
8th	+8	+6	+6	+2	Elemental Conversion
9th	+9	+6	+6	+3	Greater Shocking Synergy, It Lives!
10th	+10	+7	+7	+3	Detonate, Elemental Immunity (Shock)
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) Balance, Concentration, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Spot, Tumble.

Table: The Epic Arc Lord

Level	Special
11th	Improved Shock Charge
12th
13th	Master of Shocking Synergy
14th
15th	Hyperactive
16th
17th	Power Drain
18th
19th	Arc Form
20th

[edit] Class Features

Arc Lords are the personification of lightning tamed, as such, their abilities reflect this & all revolve around the storage, manipulation & (semi)controlled discharge of electricity, in order to strike harder & faster. All of the following are class features of the Arc Lord.

Arc Bolt^[1] (Sp): Focussing his internal reserves, the Arc Lord aims his open hand at a target & discharges a short-range (15 ft. +5 ft. per level of Arc Lord) bolt of lightning at a target, doing D8 shock damage per Shock Charge used (maximum 50% Arc Lord levels (round up) charges per blast). This effect counts as a spell-like ability & is a ranged touch attack.

Elemental Absorbtion (shock) (Ex): As a result of his costant exposure to high levels of electrical energy, the Arc Lord gains damage resistance (shock) 5/-. Furthermore, for each 5 points of shock damage or part thereof recieved (including that negated by this effect), the character recieves an additional Shock Charge.

Shock Charge (Ex): The Arc Lord is a master of storing & manipulating electrical energy within his own body. After a restful sleep, the he receives a number of Shock Charges to bring his total up to his Arc Lord level plus his Constitution modifier. These charges are used to power many of the Arc Lords other abilities. An Arc Lord can store up to double his starting allotment of charges without ill effect, but any charges over the starting allotment fade at a rate of -1 charge every D6 rounds. If the number of charges an Arc Lord has ever exceeds double his starting allotment, he must discharge the excess charges within 1 round or suffer 2D6 damage per charge with no save possible.

Arc Field^[2] (Sp): By projecting his innate electrical power beyond the confines of his own skin, the Arc Lord can expend up to the his Constitution modifier Shock Charges to activate a shield that covers himself & any carried gear. This shield deals D6 damage/charge to melee attackers per strike. It also affects the 1st unarmed strike made by the Arc Lord against any target, or a successfully grappled target, or the source of an attempt to grapple the Arc lord. This effect applies each round the shield is active, the shield has a duration equal to half the characters Arc Lord level (round down).

Evasion: The character recieves the Evasion special ability, as the Rogue ability of the same name. If the character already has Evasion, he gains Improved Evasion instead. If he already has Improved Evasion, he recieves a cumulative +2 bonus to saves associated with the ability.

Lightning Speed: Due to the electricity that is constantly coursing through his nerves, the reactions of the Arc Lord are significantly higher than those of normal people, seeming to move almost as fast as the lightning that he contains. The character receives the Improved Initiative feat & Fast Movement +10 ft.. If he already has Improved Initiative, he recieves an additional +2 bonus to initiative.

Shocking Synergy: The infused electrical energy within the Arc Lords body allows him to enhance the effects of certain shocking weapons. When wielding a metallic melee weapon that does a variable numeric amount of shock damage, the die code of the shock damage is increased 1 stage (eg Shocking weapons do an additional D8 damage, rather than D6 & Shocking Burst weapons use a D12(s) for additional damage on successful criticals, rather than D10(s)).

Defibrilate^[2]: As his control over his own abilities gets finer, the Arc Lord gains the ability to produce limited healing effects as a result of his shocking abilities. He may expend a Shock Charge to automatically stablise a target that is on negative hit points.

“

Clear!

”

Shocking Stun: The character may choose to manipulate the frequency of his electrical energies, making all shock damage he deals subdual damage. This is in addition to the elemental damage type, so if something is resistant to either shock or subdual, it is resistant to this damage, but if it has a vulnerability against either shock or subdual, it has a vulnerability to this damage. If the target has a resistance to one form of damage & a vulnerability to the other, the resistance wins.

Improved Shocking Synergy: As his power & control extends, the Arc Lord gets better at augmenting the abilities of shocking weapons - in addition to the effects of Shocking Synergy, all eligible weapons count as having an additional +1 bonus, on top of any they may possess.

Greater Elemental Absorbtion (shock): With greater immersion into electrical mastery, the characters damage resistance (shock) is increased to 10/-. Furthermore, for each 5 points of shock damage or part thereof recieved (including that negated by this effect), the character now recieves an additional 2 Shock Charges.

Improved Evasion: The character gains the Improved Evasion special ability. If the character already has Improved Evasion, he recieves a cumulative +2 bonus to saves associated with the feat.

Bolt From The Blue: The character recieves an additional +2 to initiative & his Fast Movement increases to 20 ft. Additionally, on a natural initiative roll of a 20 gets second full action at the end of the first combat round, which does not affect his initiative score. If the character opts to ready an action, wait or in any way delay his first action, this second action is negated.

Shock Nova^[3]: The character may expend Shock Charges to blast nearby enemies with D8 shock damage per charge expended. All targets within 10' are hit, regardless of whether they are friend or foe (or inanimate object that wasn't bothering anyone, but just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time). The maximum charges that can be expended in this way are equal to the characters Constitution modifier

Elemental Conversion: The character now gains Shock Charges as per Greater Elemental Absorbtion (shock) when hit by elemental damage of any type, though the resistance remains confined to shock damage.

Grater Shocking Synergy: In addition to the effects of Improved Shocking Synergy, all eligible weapons count as weapons of Speed. If already a weapon of Speed, the weapon gains an additional attack at the second highest attack bonus.

It Lives!^[2]: The character may restore a target corpse to life on 1 HD of hit points (use the most common hit die of the target, adding the targets Constitution modifier. If the target has equal numbers of 2 or more hit dice, use the lowest), as long as the target has died within the last hour. This effect can be applied once per day & drains a number of Shock Charges equal to half the total hit dice of the target. If the character has insufficient charges, the effect fails, all remaining charges are drained & no more attempts can be made that day.

“

I'm hitting him again! Don't you give up on me now, move away from the light, damn you! Clear!

”

Detonate^[3]: If reduced to negative hit points, the character automatically discharges all remaining Shock Charges in a massive, 20 ft. radius version of Shock Nova that does D12 damage per charge. Additionally, the Arc Lord gains D6 hit points per charge expended. While this is usually effective at getting revenge on the source of the damage, it can also be dangerous for any allies standing too close. This effect can only be applied once per day.

Elemental Immunity (shock): The character gains total immunity to all shock damage.

Improved Shock Charge: For each level of Epic Arc Lord, the character adds 2 Shock Charges to his starting allotment instead of 1.

Master of Shocking Synergy: When wielding a metallic melee weapon that does a variable numeric amount of shock damage, the die code of the shock damage is increased 2 stages (eg Shocking weapons do an additional D10 damage, rather than D6 & Shocking Burst weapons use 2D8(s) for additional damage on successful criticals, rather than 1D10(s)) & gain an additional +2 modifier in addition to any that may be present. Furthermore, metallic weapons that do not possess a variable numeric amount of shock damage count as having the Shocking ability.

Hyperactive: The Arc Lord is so energised by his electrical energy that the only limit to his speed is that his body would start to fly apart if he went faster. The character gains an additional +10 ft. to his fast movement & adds his Constitution modifier to his Initiative. He may also add an additional amount equal to 25% of his total character level (round down) to his Initiative, but this additional speed comes at a cost - for every additional +1 added to his initiative in this way, the character takes D6 fire damage from friction burns.

Power Drain: The character can draw bioelectrical energy from living targets. On a successful melee strike against a living target, the character gains a Shock Charge.

Arc Form: The character becomes a living lightning bolt. In this form, he gains the benefits (but not the drawbacks) of being 2 size categories smaller, gains flying at 250 ft. per round with poor maneuverability & cannot be harmed by unenchanted wooden or projectile weapons, only taking enchantment damage from such weapons, due to their not being earthed. Arc Form drains 1 shock charge from the Arc Lord to initiate & an additional shock charge per round it is active, taken at the end of any actions. Arc form cannot be ended volountarily - the Arc Lord only returns to his natural form once he has depleted his final shock charge, at which point he is Exhausted

* Metal Armour Issues: While an Arc Lord can wear metal armour, they rarely do as it interferes with most of their abilities. If clad in metal armour, the Arc Lord counts as being immersed in water.

[edit] Campaign Information

[edit] Playing an Arc Lord

Combat: Arc Lords are dangerous warriors who excell at rapid assaults. With a nervous system that is constantly tingling with raw electrical energy, they serve as excellent "shock" troops (pun intended). They are most effective at melee & close support roles, as they lack any inherant long-range abilities (even at maximum (non-epic) level, their longest range ability tops out at 65 ft.) & are highly effective when not supported by other melee classes, due to some of their abilities being indiscriminate in who is affected. The exception to this unsupported role is when two or more Arc Lords fight side-by-side, as their energies rebound off each other, extending their longevity in combat.

Advancement: Arc Lords are at their best at the forefront of any battle, surrounded by enemies (or in a "Target-rich environment" as many are known to call this), as such, the wild assault of a typical barbarian is often to their liking, especially as their inability to wear metal armour precludes the use of many heavier protective garments. Those who follow a more lawful path often find satisfaction in the ways of the monk, though the lack of weaponry with which to syenergise their shock abilities can be off-putting. The bonuses to initiative can be useful to rogues, allowing them ample opportunity to get in a first strike with a Sneak Attack before an enemy has readied his defences.

Resources: Arc Lords are often found in the employ of arcane mages, especially those who possess the metamagical feat Energy Substitution (Shock), since such individuals can "power-up" an Arc Lord to keep him in battle for longer. Outside of this, Arc Lords often band together with each other (for much the same reason as their alliances with arcane casters), or join groups that lack any frontline combatants that could be zapped as a byproduct of the Arc Lords abilities.

[edit] Arc Lords in the World

“	I told you to clear!	”
—"Doc" Sy Monsoon, Halfling Arc Lord

NPC Reactions: Many individuals are somewhat wary of all Arc Lords, even those who appear friendly to their cause. While the potential to inadvertantly damage allies is not common knowledge, there's just something a bit worrying about the bloke at the bar of the inn with lightning skittering across his skin. Some - more primative - barbarian tribes have been known to fall to their knees & worship Arc Lords, especially if they consider natural lightning to be a god.

[edit] Arc Lord Lore

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

Knowledge (arcana)

DC	Result
11	Arc Lords are combat types who are often employed by arcane casters as bodyguards.
16	They use electrical energy, including any thrown at them offensively, to enhance their combat prowess.
21	They are significantly less dangerous at long range.
26	Powerful Arc Lords explode when killed & rise from the remains like a high-voltage phoenix!

[edit] Arc Lords in the Game

Arc Lords are specialised melee combatants who combine electrifying speed with powerful attacks to defeat their enemies. While not without their drawbacks, they can make excellent first strikers, often devastating powerful foes in a the first few rounds. Though powerful, the class does have limitations, the most significant of which is also the source of their strength - their dependance on stored electrical energy. When in water or when faced with enemies who have a resistance to electrical damage, the utility of many of the Arc Lords powers is significantly reduced. In addition to this, the Arc Lord has a limited store of power from which to draw his electrical energy & once out of charges, he becomes a much less capable combatant.

Adaptation: Arc Lords are melee combatants, as such they are useful in most games, though if there is likely to be considerable time spent in an underwater environment a fair DM should probably encourage a different path.

Sample Encounter: While searching the docks of a major coastal city for information on a cursed item trafficing ring, the party enters the "Drunken Bishop" inn. Despite the bar being crowded, a male halfling is stood alone at the counter - hardly suprising as he appears to have lightning arcs skittering up & down his body & occasionally earthing themselves on the bar rail.

EL 13: "Doc" Sy Monsoon

"Doc" Sy Monsoon, L5 Ranger, L8 Arc Lord

CR —

	CG Small humanoid (halfling)
Init/Senses	+12/Listen +2, Spot {{{spot}}}
Languages	Common, Hafling, Gnome, Dwarven
AC	23 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +6 armour, +2 Deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 17
hp	107 (13 HD)
Fort/Ref/Will	14/12/5(+2 vs. Fear)
Speed	40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee	+2 Shocking Greatsword +18/+13/+8 (1d10+4+1D8 Shock/19-20)
Ranged	Masterwork Daggers +19/+19/+14/+9 (1d3+1/19-20)
Base Atk/Grp	+13/+10
Special Actions	Wild Empathy, Arc Bolt, Shock Nova.
Abilities	Str 12, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 11, Cha 19
SQ	Favoured Enemies (Monsterous Humanoid +4, Magical Beast +2), Animal Companion, Elemental Absorbtion (Shock), Shock Charge, Arc Field, Evasion, Lightning Speed, Shocking Synergy, Defibrilate, Shocking Stun, Improved Shocking Synergy, Greater Elemental Absorbtion (Shock), Improved Evasion, Bolt From The Blue, Elemental Conversion.
Feats	Track, Rapid Shot, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus-Dagger, Weapon Focus-Greatsword
Skills	Climb +11, Handle Animal +7, Heal +8, Hide +12, Jump +9, Listen +10, Move Silently +12, Spot +4, Survival +4
Advancement	—
Possessions	+3 studded leather, +2 Shocking Greatsword, 8x Masterwork Dagger, +2 Ring of Deflection, 17 pp, 28 gp, 9sp

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