Shinigami (revised) (3.5e Class)
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[edit] Shinigami
"Death Gods", they channel restless spirits back to where they belong. They are exorcists who do battle with the ghosts and shadows in their world.
[edit] Campaign Information
[edit] Playing a Shinigami
Religion: Shinigami typicly worship neutral deities of death.
Other Classes: Shinigami typicly get along with paladins and samurai, feeling a sence of justice in their didication to law. Knights are less inclined to ally with shinigami, feeling their lack of armor a weakness. Ninja's, Rogues and evil Clerics are often under close suspicion when traveling with a shinigami.
Combat: Shinigami are to paladins as what barbarians are to fighters. For the barbarian, they excel when raging. For the shinigami, they excel in shikai or bankai. Knowing when and where to activate their bankai is key to victory. Shinigamis are highly focused on their weapons and benefit the most from weapon based feats, for a shinigami will never willingly change weapons.
Advancement: Shinigamis who multiclass lose out on the bankai and other advance abilities. However, the shinigami's flavor goes well with any divine melee class, making paladin prestige classes a good opportunity to explore their more religious side.
[edit] Shinigamis in the World
| “ | This sword is one with me. That is why you cannot beat me | ” |
| —Zukoe, Human Shinigamis/Fighter | ||
Shinigamis are a secrative lot, working across the planes and keeping the material plane free from harm. Most normal people have never heard, or seen a shinigami. But without them extraplanar horrors would surely reach out and consume them all.
Daily Life: The shinigami can never rest, always on the look out for demons who threaten the world from beyond this dimension. Like a vigilant police officer, they are never really off duty, and must always be on call. Most of the time Shinigami's work in groups of 3 or more and have to complete an assigned task.
Notable NPC's: Ichigo is a strange shinigami, who is completely freelance. He is said to have a sinister side which seems unbefitting of the otherwise good-minded hero.
Organizations: On the neutral and good outer planes, and specifically within the Outlands and the city of Sigil, the shinigami are organized travelers who look out for dangerous demonic invasion attempts and terrible hauntings of souls who refuse to pass on. Here the counsel of Seireitei is ruled over by 13 captains in control of 13 squads, each specialized by their bankais and fighting styles. Each of the 13 Squads are specialized in a different fighting style as in other ways of combat as well. For example the 4th Squad of the Gotei 13 is the squad that takes care of the wounded and heals their wounds during times of need like wars while the 11th Squad is the most offensive Squad of the Gotei 13 leading recklessly in every battle and strangely winning every single time with raw strength.
NPC Reactions: A common NPC would have no idea to the purpose of a shinigami. To them, they are just another man with a sword, some sort of fighter perhaps. Often shinigami go out of their way to look inconspicuous as well, and it may result in absolutely no reaction at all. Those NPCs who see a shinigami leave his body however may think the poor soul has dropped dead.
[edit] Shinigami Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (The Planes) or Knowledge (Religion) can research Shinigami to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs. A character may be allowed a knowledge check about shinigami's only if he meets the following requirements :
Have met a shinigami during his lifespan knowing that the man/woman he met was a shinigami. Been in Sigil and heard about the shinigami's there.
DC 20: A shinigami hunts ghosts and other incorporeal and extraplanar beings with their powerful weapon.
DC 25: A shinigami may leave their body at will and drift as a ghost. They possess both spell and sword to handle their meneces.
DC 30: A shinigami's magical weapon is an expression of their soul, and through it they can achieve "bankai" and unlock massive power for a short time.
DC 40: Those who reach this level of success can find information on a specific shinigami, their powers and abilities, legends surrounding them, and their common whereabouts.
[edit] Shinigamis in the Game
Shinigamis are protectors, and thus are not evil. Those which fall until evil lose their powers or worse, become as demons themselves. They are best in campaigns against incoporeal enemies, but do just fine in the material plane.
Adaptation: By reducing the BAB to Poor, giving a Poor Reflex save, reducing the HD to d6, and granting the cleric's spell list and progression the shinigami becomes much more caster focused while still maintaining the iconic shikai and bankai abilities.
Sample Encounter: The party encounters a comatose man in a field. Attempts to revive him fail, but shortly after the discovery, a gate opens in the nearby town from the shadow plane and monsters roll out. The gate remains open, where the wounded shinigami is found inside beset by more monsters. Assist him and close the gate.
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