Conduit of the Lower Planes (3.5e Class)

Author: Frank and K Contributors: Catharz, Kaelik Date Created: 2006 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Conduit of the Lower Planes

“

My powers are more than enough to deal with the likes of you!

”

A fiend is more than an individual; he is a representative of a particular brand of evil, and that role carries power with it. To become a Conduit of the Lower Planes is to embrace that role and become a living pathway by which the energies of the Lower Planes can be made manifest. Raw magical power is the result of this process, and a fiend that walks this route refines his mastery of his innate mystical arts to a terrible degree.

Making a Conduit of the Lower Planes

Abilities: The Conduit of the Lower Planes primarily performs spellcasting via an unusual mechanic, the Sphere.

Races: The Conduit of the Lower Planes is only available to creatures with a plane of origin in the Lower Planes. Creatures from the prime material plane whose ancestors were from a Lower Plane may take this class.

Alignment: A character must be non-good to take any levels in Conduit of the Lower Planes. Nothing happens to a Conduit of the Lower Planes if he becomes Good, save that he must look elsewhere for class advancing.

Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp (100 gold)

Starting Age: As Wizard.

Table: The Conduit of the Lower Planes

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Petitioner Channeling, Petitioner Immunities
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Sphere
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+3	Enhanced Sphere Access
4th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Sphere
5th	+3	+1	+1	+4	Expert Sphere Access
6th	+4	+2	+2	+5	Sphere
7th	+5	+2	+2	+5	Petitioner Locomotion, Petitioner Skills
8th	+6/+1	+2	+2	+6	Sphere
9th	+6/+1	+3	+3	+6	Bonus Feat
10th	+7/+2	+3	+3	+7	Sphere
11th	+8/+3	+3	+3	+7	Planar Bubble
12th	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8	Sphere
13th	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8	Bonus Feat
14th	+10/+5	+4	+4	+9	Sphere
15th	+11/+6/+6	+5	+5	+9	Planar Apotheosis

Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Int) (Arcana), Knowledge (Int) (History), Knowledge (Int) (Religion), Knowledge (Int) (The Planes), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Conduits of the Lower Planes are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as the whip, the scourge, and the dire flail. Conduits of the Lower Planes are proficient with light armor but not with shields of any kind.

Petitioner Channeling (Su): The Petitioner may make a ranged touch attack against a single target within close range. If this attack hits, the target is subject to the effects of a Petioner's plane as follows. All saving throws are 10 + 0.5 ½ the Petitioner's Character Level + the Petitioner's Charisma modifier.

• Pandemonium: A wave of sound does 1d8 damage and forces a Fortitude Save against deafening.
• The Abyss: A line of electricity arcs to the target, doing 1d6+Cha damage and arcing to another target of your choice within 30ft. Use the same attack roll to see whether the arc hits.
• Carceri: An area the target is standing on is coated in ice. Treat this a grease spell cast with CL equal to your Character Level.
• Hades: A surge of negative energy does your Charisma modifier in damage, and forces a Will save. If failed, the target takes one point of Wisdom damage. This is a mind-affecting effect.
• Gehenna: A ball of acid strikes the target, doing 2d4 Acid damage. This repeats on the following round unless the target removes it with a full-round action.
• Baator: (No ranged touch attack required) A gout of flame appears in a square, dealing an automatic 1d6 Fire damage to the occupant and doing the same damage to any adjacent creatures if they fail a Reflex save.
• Acheron: A stream of sharp metal shoots out, doing 2d6+Cha mod slashing damage to the target.

Petitioner Immunities: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and is protected by the nature of that plane:

• Pandemonium: Immunity to Sonic.
• The Abyss: Immunity to Electricity.
• Carceri: Immunity to Cold .
• Hades: Immunity to Fear and Morale Effects.
• Gehenna: Immunity to Acid.
• Baator: Immunity to Fire.
• Acheron: Immunity to [Compulsion] effects.

Sphere: The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains basic access to a Sphere at every even numbered level. If the Conduit of the Lower Planes selects a sphere that he already has basic access to, he upgrades it to advanced access. If he already had advanced access, he gains expert access.

Enhanced Sphere Access: At 3rd level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains extra uses of the spell-like abilities that he gains from his Spheres. The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a number of extra uses of any spell-like ability equal to half the number his character level exceeds the minimum character level to use the spell-like ability (rounded up). So if the Conduit of the Lower Planes has a character level of 4, he would gain 1 extra use of a spell-like ability that is granted by one of his spheres at character level 3 and 2 extra uses of any spell-like from one of his spheres with a minimum level of 1. Upon gaining this ability, the Conduit of the Lower Planes immediately gains a number of extra [Fiend] feats equal to the number of spheres he has expert access to. If he ever gains expert access to another sphere, he also gains an extra [Fiend] feat.

Expert Sphere Access: At level 5, the Conduit gains Expert Access in a single sphere he already has access to. If he had Advanced Access to this sphere, he immediately gains another sphere at Basic Access.

Petitioner Skills: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and at 6th level gains abilities from the nature of that plane (this must be the same plane as was chosen at 1st level):

• Pandemonium: +10 to Listen checks.
• The Abyss: +10 bonus to Survival checks.
• Carceri: +10 bonus to Bluff checks.
• Hades: +10 bonus to Hide checks.
• Gehenna: +10 bonus to Climb checks, if he doesn't already have a climb speed, he gains one equal to half his normal ground speed (bonuses to Climb from having a Climb speed gained in this way would be included in the +10 bonus).
• Baator: +10 bonus to Disguise checks.
• Acheron: +10 bonus to Intimidate checks.

Planar Locomotion (Su): At 6th level a Conduit gains a movement ability defined by his plane:

• Pandemonium: A Conduit of Pandemonium may use gaseous form at will as a spell-like ability with Caster Level equal to his Character Level and a range of Personal. However, his DR is 10/- instead of 10/magic.
• Abyss: A Conduit of the Abyss gains a fly speed of 30' (perfect maneuverability). If he already has a fly speed, it gains perfect maneuverability and increases in speed by 30'.
• Carceri: A Conduit of Carceri may affix themselves relative to another creature as an immediate action. This may be any creature within close range. The Conduit will then stay in a fixed position relative to that creature until he uses a swift action to dismiss the effect. While affixed, if the creature moves, he may follow the creatures movement pattern exactly. He is treated as having a perfect fly speed for the purposes of staying aloft. Additionally, if any magic should cause that creature to move to another location on the current plane, or to send it to another plane, the Conduit may choose to follow to that position or plane. He may only be affixed to a single creature at a time, but otherwise the duration is permanent.
• Hades: A Conduit of Hades may become incorporeal for up to 20 rounds per day. It is a free action to begin or end this effect. If it is activated at all, a minimum of one round is expended, regardless of how long it stays active.
• Gehenna (Ex): A Conduit of Gehenna is treated as being under the effect of a spider climb spell at all times (this counts as an extraordinary ability, not supernatural or spell-like). He also gains a burrow speed equal to his land speed.
• Baator: A Conduit of Baator is so in touch with the natural teleporters of his Planar home that he gains Greater Teleport as a bonus feat. If he already has this feat, he may use the ability as a swift action 3 times per day.
• Acheron: A Conduit of Acheron always operates under subjective directional gravity, no matter what plane he is on.

Bonus Feat: At 9th level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a bonus feat. This feat may be any [Fiend], [Monstrous], or [Item Creation] feat, and the Conduit of the Lower Planes must meet the prerequisites. He gains another such feat at level 13.

Planar Bubble (Su): A Conduit may create a location on any plane that reflects an area of his home plane. He may have no more than one such area active at any time, and the creation of a second removes the first. However, when he dies, the area remains.

This area is in all respects treated as a Planar Bubble, which has all the traits of the Conduit's Plane, and many of the common features, such as fiery explosions of Baator or cliffs of Gehenna.

This Area may be of a radius of half a mile per day spent creating it. Creating it requires 8 hours of channeling each day, and is so exhausting that it cannot be done if you have engaged in combat during the last 8 hours. The maximum size of the Planar Bubble is a radius of 5 miles per Character Level.

During its creation, as the Bubble expands, it deforms and destroys all terrain and replaces it with a replica of the Conduit's plane and subjects creatures to the new effects.

If the process is halted by any means, including interruption or combat, the Bubble ceases expansion and maintains itself. The next day spent creating the bubble does not increase the radius, but the day after does.

Planar Apotheosis (Su): At 15th level, the Conduit takes on an aspect of his Plane:

• Pandemonium: The Conduit cannot be heard by anyone he does not want to hear him. He can also use a swift action to Intimidate everyone who hears a very loud noise within short range of him.
• The Abyss: .......
• Carceri: The Conduit may prevent planar travel by the means of spells, including those that use the Astral such as Teleport, within his line of sight. This ability is either on, and no one can use any such spell, or off, and anyone can use such spells. Switching state requires a free action.
• Hades: ......
• Gehenna: ......
• Baator: A Conduit may invoke the right of contract on any agreement he and another make, verbal or written. If he does so, he is compelled to honor the agreement, and he will be notified via magic if the opposing party does not abide by the agreement. At that time he may use gate as a spell-like ability at Caster Level equal to his Character Level. This calls a Devil from Baator who will agree to a long term service without payment, so long as that service takes no longer than one day per Character Level and involves the punishment of the deal breaking party. If the Conduit shall break the agreement, then a Balor will attack him and fight him to the death in 1d4 days.
• Acheron: A Conduit of the Plane of Battle is hardened beyond imagination. He gains immunity to all negative mind-affecting effects and he creates a battle aura. The aura gives himself and all allies in line of sight a +4 Moral Bonus to saving throws and attack rolls.

Human Conduit of the Lower Planes Starting Package

Weapons: Morningstar

Skill Selection: Concentration 2, Diplomacy 3, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (Planes 1), Knowledge (Religion) 1, Spellcraft 4 ranks.

Sphere: Sleep. This gives Deep Slumber as a Spell-like ability once a day.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty
Concentration	2	Con	"—"
Diplomacy	3	Cha	"—"
Knowledge (Arcana, Planes, Religion)	1 rank each	Int	"—"
Spellcraft	4	Int	"—"

Feat: Product of Infernal Dalliance

Bonus Feats: Improved Initiative

Gear: Studded Leather Armor, clothes, rations, bedroll, other essentials

Gold: 50 GP

Campaign Information

Playing a Conduit

Religion: Much as the Fiendish Brutes don't worry about religion, neither do Conduits.

Other Classes: Paladins and goodly clerics do *not* like Conduits of the Lower Planes? Why? They're a walking pipeline to the magic of the Lower Planes! Aside from that, they could get along well with casters in general, because of their common interest in magic.

Combat: Conduits throw around spell-like abilities, but they have 3/4 BAB, so they can mix it up in melee a little bit; they are more certain to hit with a Touch Attack than the usual Wizard of Sorceror.

Advancement: The other two Fiendish classes, Fiendish Brute and True Fiend would help increase the physical abilities of the Conduit. As a side note, if a Conduit specializes in the Fire and Pyre spheres, he can't go wrong with taking Fire Mage. Also, the Conduit can pick up some extra spellcasting as sorceror.

Conduits in the World

“	Your blood will freeze until you die, and then your body will stand up and obey my will	”
—Hakor, Human Conduit of the Lower Planes

Conduits of the Lower Planes are walking lines to infernal magic. Despite that, what they do with that magic is up to them.

Daily Life: Conduits don't have to have a set routine, unlike wizards and clerics and druids. So it's pretty much a crap shoot.

Notables: None I can think of.

Organizations: Conduits aren't any more inclined to band together than other classes, but should a group of them cooperate, they could unleash frightening amounts of magic--waves of fire, sheets of ice, hordes of frighteneing apparitions.

NPC Reactions: Conduits do not look particularly fiendish (unless they've taken fiend feats), so they get along with commoners fairly well. Still, good religious people do not like them, the prejudiced so-and-so's. Casters are likely to express interest in the abilities shown by the conduits.

Conduit Lore

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

Knowledge (Planes)

DC	Result
5	Some people channel fiendish magic
10	The Conduits to the lower planes have powerful natural magic and some of the traits of their linked plane.
15	Beware. Just because a Conduit uses a power doesn't mean he can't do it to you again. And again. And again.
20	The natural affinity for elements means a Fiendish magic user is greatly in tune with some of the universe's energies, and able to use them more effectively than even a strong wizard in some cases.

Conduits in the Game

Conduits bring spell-like abilities and weird bonuses to a party. They can also score some free item creation feats to get equipment cheaper. Or they could use the feats to go fiendish, with claws and slime trails and swirling butts of fire.

Adaptation: You could easily make this a kind of Sorceror class tailored to whatever theme you want--Good, Evil, Law, Chaos. You just have to come up with new Spheres and new bonuses to get.

Sample Encounter: Hakor the Bonechiller

EL 9: Hakor is depopulating towns with his spell-like abilities to make a zombie army. Stop him on the Kyserian Plains!

Hakor

CR —

	CE Medium Humanoid (Human and Cold)
Init/Senses	+4/Listen -1, Spot -1
AC	15, touch 10, flat-footed 15
hp	50 (9d6 + 18 HD)
Fort/Ref/Will	+3/+3/+6
Speed	30 feet
Base Atk/Grp	+6/+1/+8
Abilities	Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 16
SQ	Immunity to Cold, Intimidate as a free action once a round
Feats	Product of Infernal Dalliance, Fiend Cabalist, Improved Initiative, Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Elemental Aura (Cold), Heighten Spell-like Ability
Skills	Concentration 12, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 12, Intimidate 12, 12 points in miscellaneous Craft.
Advancement	—
Possessions	+1 Mithril Chain Shirt, +1 Freezing Heavy Mace, a grab-bag of potions (Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance mostly), lots and lots and lots of 1-HD human zombies, with a few other races represented as well.

Hakor is an overly ambitious Conduit who wants to make an empire of undead, with him ruling the top. He's a big man--over six feet--and his hair and clothing is covered in frost; you can't even tell his hair is black. He also has unnaturally bright blue eyes--but they're different shades of blue. His Elemental Aura ensure he's surrounded by a constant swirl of ice crystals (unless he has a reason to turn it off).

He has quite a lot of low-HD zombies from depopulating villages. He also made his own weapon. To get to him, you'd have to hack your way through a lot of low-level zombies. But melee is tricky, because he does 4d6 cold damage to those within a ten-foot radius (every round at the start of his turn).

He has the Bone, Cold, and Terror Spheres from the Tome of fiends, giving him the ability to turn anyone killed by his spell-likes into a zombie. He also has the [Cold] subtype and can make an intimidate check once a round as a free action. He took Cold and Terror twice, giving them to him 3/day--and then his second level of Conduit lets him use his lower-level spell-likes more often (See Below)

Hakor is meant to be a quickie little adventure--very simple.

Here's his Spheres and the number of times a day he can use them.

Bone

Special: Any creature of 10 HD or less killed by one of your spell-like abilities rises as a zombie under your control, with no control limits.

Level - Benefits

• 1 - command undead (5/day)
• 3 - desecrate (4/day)
• 5 - animate dead(3/day)
• 7 - black sand (Sandstorm) (2/day)
• 9 - summon undead v (LM) (1/day)

Cold

Special: You gain the [Cold] Subtype.

Level - Benefits

• 1 - cone of cold (7/day)
• 3 - creeping cold (CDiv) (6/day)
• 5 - ice storm (5/day)
• 7 - wall of ice (4/day)
• 9 - freezing sphere (3/day)

Terror

Special: Gain Intimidate as a class skill, and may make an Intimidate check to Demoralize Opponent as a free action once a round.

Level - Benefits

• 1 - cause fear (7/day)
• 3 - scare (6/day)
• 5 - halt undead (5/day)
• 7 - fear (4/day)
• 9 - phantasmal killer (3/day)

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