Messenger of the Heavens

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Darthsylver

Since the earliest days of Krynn, the wisdom of the gods has been brought to all races through the efforts of the Messengers of the Heavens. Many have seen the faces and names of gods over the centuries. Their precise names, appearances and demeanors have varied from land to land and people to people. Some nations have worshipped many gods and some have recognized only a few.

Yet while the names and faces of the gods may have been perceived differently from time to time and place to place, their general philosophies, laws and powers have remained constant and recognizable. What one clan might call Thak, another might call E'li, yet both were names by which Paladine was known and both people were equally worthy in his eyes.
Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Messenger of the Heavens, a character must fulfill the following requirements:

Base Will Save: +7.
Skills: Knowledge (religion) 13 ranks, Spellcraft 13 ranks.
Spells: Must be able to prepare and cast 5th-level divine spells.
Special: The character must have a patron deity, but that deity can be good, neutral, or evil.

Class Skills

The Messenger of the Heavens's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Messenger of the Heavens prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Messenger of the Heavens gains no proficiency with any weapon or armor. Any existing weapon or armor restrictions remain in place.

Spontaneous Casting: Upon becoming a Messenger of the Heavens, the character loses any ability to spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. However, the Messenger can spontaneously cast spells from one domain of the Messenger's choice, as long as the Messenger has access to that domain. If the character does not have domain spells (as is the case for druids), then she gains the ability to spontaneously cast spells from a single domain of the character's deity (player's choice). The Messenger must "lose" a prepared spell in order to cast the appropriate domain spell.

Example: A 10th-level cleric/1st-level Messenger of Kiri-Jolith has chosen the War domain for his spontaneous casting. If the cleric has prepared bless (a 1st-level spell), she may lose bless in order to cast magic weapon (a 1st-level spell from the War domain).

Domain Spell: At 1st level and again at 5th level, the Messenger may prepare one additional domain spell per spell level that she can cast. If the character did not previously have the ability to cast domain spells, she gains the ability to prepare and cast one domain spell per spell level that she can cast.

Turn/Rebuke Undead: At 2nd level, the Messenger can either turn or rebuke undead (as determined by the character's alignment and patron deity) at a level equal to her class level -1. This stacks with any existing ability to turn or rebuke undead.

Improved Turning: At 2nd level and every even level thereafter, the Messenger gains the Improved Turning feat.

Domain: At 3rd level, the Messenger gains access to another domain of her chosen deity. She gains the domain ability of the chosen domain and may prepare her domain spell from this new domain.

Divine Creation: At 5th level, the Messenger may be able to craft magical items without the expenditure of XP. After creating an item, the Messenger spends the normal amount of XP unless he makes a Will save with a DC of 15 + 1 per 100xp value (or fraction thereof) of the crafted item. If the Messenger makes the save, he does not spend XP but is fatigued for 1 hour per 100 XP value of the crafted item.

Domain Swapping: At 7th level, the Messenger may sacrifice a prepared domain spell in order to fuel her spontaneous casting.

Divinity: At 9th level, the Messenger gains access to all domains of her chosen deity (if there are any left). She gains all domain powers of her chosen deity, and may spontaneously cast any domain spell from these domains by sacrificing a prepared spell of an equal level.

Sacred Support: Whenever the Messenger casts a spell that requires an expenditure of XP, the Messenger loses no XP for the spell if he makes a successful Will save (DC 20 + spell level).

This item has been published here with permission from the author(s) and may not be reproduced without permission. This is a fan submission and its contents are completely unofficial. Some characters, places, likenesses and other names may be copyright Wizards of the Coast.