In the deepest pits of forgotten cemeteries, certain undead return back to the living with an incomprehensible, insatiable hunger for the world. They seek out the living, draining them of what holds them together in their pursuit to stabilize their own existence; one of life that defies life.
This archetype is primarily created for creatures with an undead ancestry or nature, but any creature may take levels in it.
Bared Fangs, Empty Soul
The primeval learns to utilize her natural savagery in ways blades and bows could never achieve. At 1st level, the primeval gains a primary bite attack that deals 1d8 damage. If the primeval already has a bite attack, or gains one from another source, she instead increases the damage of their bite attack to 1d10 if it would otherwise be lower.
The life drain also gains the following vitae ability:
- Black Maw: When making an attack with her bite attack, she may spend 1 point of vitae to convert all bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage dealt by the attack to negative energy damage. This negative energy damage does not heal creatures normally healed by negative energy, but does not harm them either.
Additionally, the primeval’s soul becomes permanently aligned with negative energy. The primeval heals from negative energy, and is hurt by positive energy. No effect, magical or otherwise, can change or reverse the way the primeval is hurt or healed by negative or positive energy.
This replaces autocautery.
Blood Drain
The primeval forgoes the ability to cause horrible bleeding in creatures in favor of directly absorbing the blood she would shed. When using the bloodletting ability, rather than applying bloodletting bleed damage, she deals additional negative energy damage, and the creature gains a number of rot points equal to the bonus damage granted by this ability. While a creature has rot points, they do not regain hit points naturally from rest and cannot benefit from effects that require them to have a full night’s rest without first removing their rot points.
Rot points are removed through healing or by gaining temporary hit points, removing 1 rot point per point of healing or temporary hit point, which also reduces the amount of healing or temporary hit points granted. Rot points can also be removed with a Heal check with a DC of 20 + 1/2 the primeval’s level, which removes any rot points that creature possessed. At 10th level, two points of healing or temporary hit points are required to remove one rot point.
Although rot points do not deal damage each turn, they are considered to be a bleed effect for all purposes. Additionally, any class features that rely on bloodletting bleed damage for any purpose treats rot points as if it was bloodletting bleed damage.
This includes abilities that alter the maximum amount of bloodletting bleed damage that can be applied, abilities that scale based on how much bloodletting bleed damage a creature has, and abilities that apply bloodletting bleeds instead apply rot points. Creatures with the maximum amount of rot points that can be inflicted are still exsanguinated.
The first time each round the primeval applies rot points to a creature with Hit Dice equal to half her level or more, she heals for the amount of rot points applied to that creature.
This alters bloodletting.
Consumptive Vitae
The primeval gains the vitae feature as normal, but replaces some vitae sources gained.
- Consume: When the primeval applies rot points to at least one creature, she gains 2 points of vitae.
- Devour: When the primeval successfully reduces a creature that has at least half her level in Hit Dice to 0 hit points or lower, she gains 1 point of vitae.
- Drain (requires gluttony): At the end of her turn, if the primeval was healed for at least one point of damage since the end of her last turn, she gains one point of vitae.
This alters vitae and replaces the bloodletting, relish and voracity vitae sources.
The Forgotten Path
The primeval must take the path of the lost ravager, listed at the end of this archetype. This alters crimson path.
Gluttony
At 4th level, when the primeval is at or below half her maximum hit points, she doubles the healing gained from inflicting rot points to a creature the first time she inflicts rot points each round.
This replaces voracity
Consumption
Starting 7th level, the primeval can give into her hungering desires, and utterly shred a single creature in the effort to restore her body. She may expend her martial focus as a standard action in order to make a special attack action with her bite attack, referred to as a consumption attack. This special attack action resolves normally against creatures that do not have any rot points, but against creatures with rot points it causes the rot within the creature’s body to rapidly spread, draining them of their power. For every 2 points of rot points a creature had at the time of the attack, they suffer a -1 penalty to their Strength and Charisma scores for 24 hours, but may attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the number of rot points they have + the primeval’s Charisma modifier) to resist the effect. If a creature is exsanguinated, they are additionally staggered for 1 round on a failed save. After a creature fails this saving throw and suffers the effects of this ability, all rot points they have are removed. If a creature dies from the attack, the primeval regains her martial focus, and gains a +2 morale bonus to her Strength and Charisma, which increases to +4 if the creature has 8 or more Hit Dice, and +6 if the creature has 16 or more Hit Dice. These benefits last for 1 hour.
This replaces decimation.
Path of the Lost Ravager
Initiation: The primeval is imbued with necrotic, hateful energy. By spending 2 points of vitae as a free action, the primeval can enter a bloodcraze, which modifies her other abilities. While in a bloodcraze, the primeval gains DR 2/-, which increases by 1 at 8th level and every 5 levels thereafter, and stacks with other sources of similar damage reduction. At the start of each of her turns while in a bloodcraze, the primeval must spend 1 point of vitae or else exit her bloodcraze.
Understanding: The primeval can extract powerful essences from dead, and even living bodies. The primeval can take a move action to cannibalize (which provokes attacks of opportunity) the corpse of a creature within their natural reach, or a living creature that is helpless, dealing damage as if she struck with her bite attack. Alternatively, she can take a full-round action and expend her martial focus as well as spend 2 points of vitae to cannibalize a helpless creature as part of using her consumption special attack action. The creature must succeed at a Fortitude save equal to 10 + the damage dealt or otherwise be slain as their soul is cannibalized by the primeval. Cannibalizing a creature grants the primeval the ability to answer a number of questions equal to her Charisma modifier based off the dead creature’s memories, as per the Read Mind talent of the Mind sphere, as well as the benefits of slaying a creature as per the consumption feature if she chose to cannibalize a creature with it. This act also provides the primeval with a number of temporary hit points equal to twice the dead creature’s Hit Dice, which last for 10 minutes. A corpse can only be cannibalized once per month, even if its body is regenerated by magic or the creature is revived and slain again. Creatures slain by this ability are particularly difficult to bring back to life, requiring a magic skill check against a DC of 11 + the primeval’s level, otherwise the attempt fails. Creatures brought back to life remember the haunting memory of the primeval, and are shaken for 24 hours after being revived.
If the primeval is in a bloodcraze when using this ability, she rigorously devours the body in a gruesome and horrific fashion. All enemies in a 30-foot radius suffer a -2 penalty to their attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks and weapon damage rolls for a number of rounds equal to the primeval’s Charisma modifier. This is a fear effect.
Revelation: Creatures attempting a Heal check on a target with rot points suffer a -1 penalty on the check for each rot point. Additionally, if a creature fails a Heal check to remove rot points, the creature with rot points immediately suffers nonlethal damage equal to the amount of rot points they possess. Exsanguinated creatures cannot benefit from fast healing.
If an exsanguinated creature possesses regeneration that is weak to a type of damage, they are treated as if they are actively suffering damage of that type for as long as they are exsanguinated.
Secret of Blood: The primeval’s maw can make even the purest hearts falter. As a standard action, the primeval may make a bite attack against a creature within reach and spend 2 points of vitae. If the primeval deals damage to a creature, they must succeed at a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1d4+1 rounds.
If the primeval was bloodcrazed when performing this attack, the target must attempt an additional Will save. On failure, rather than be stunned, the target immediately falls under control of the primeval, attacking any creatures in the vicinity that are hostile to her for the duration. The primeval may command the creature with basic orders (such as ‘go’, ‘fight’, ‘help me’, etc.), but the creature will not obey obviously suicidal commands, and if not given any orders will simply attack creatures hostile to the primeval.
Secret of Heart: The void within the primeval coats her body. While in a bloodcraze, the primeval’s body is covered in an immutable black substance, granting her spell resistance equal to 11 + her class level. Whenever this spell resistance successfully prevents a hostile sphere effect from affecting her, she gains 2 points of vitae if that sphere effect required at least 1 spell point to be created.
Secret of Soul: The horrible energy within the primeval corrupts all it touches. When the primeval utilizes her consumption special attack, she may spend 6 points of vitae to empower the dark energy within it. If her target fails their Fortitude save against the consumption special attack, they must immediately succeed at a Will save against the same DC or have their powers be tainted by the energy. As long as that creature possesses rot points, they must attempt a new Will save any time they attempt to utilize a supernatural or magical ability that requires a swift action or greater to activate. If they fail, they lose the action and any resources involved (such as spell points, or limited uses of the ability) to use the ability, and the ability does not function.
If the primeval is bloodcrazed when using this ability, the primeval treats the creature as if they had the maximum amount of rot points she can apply when determining the penalties bestowed by the consumption special attack.
Realization: The primeval’s rot points can no longer be removed with a Heal check, and require ten points of healing or ten temporary hit points per point of rot point to be removed.