The Goddess of Murder (CBN)

__TOC__
This evil deity embraces cold murder as the quintessential act of destruction, symbolic of the primordial chaos and the unpredictable forces of nature that oppose humanity. This deity is the patron of all unnatural and premeditated killing, whether it is inflicted on others or upon oneself. She opposes order, creation, and all existence.
The male priests of this goddess, sometimes called Stranglers or Assassins, spread death around the world by murdering for their Dark Mother, the Queen of the Noose, our Maid of Despair. Her priests advance the religion into the heart of civilization, efficiently eliminating any who speak out against them. Assassination is their most sacred mission, a holy and meritorious enterprise undertaken in the service of their deity. The priesthood's goal is to subvert societies and destroy civilizations through strife, terror, and coercion. Because of their evil nature, the DM should only allow these priests to be NPCs in the campaign.
Alignment: This deity is utterly chaotic and evil. Her priests and worshippers may be of any evil alignment, but the majority will match the disposition of their goddess.
Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 9, Dexterity 9.
Weapon Proficiencies: Only high-ranking members of the priesthood (at least 8th level) may shed a victim's blood. All priests must learn how to wield the silken cord to strangle their targets. This form of garrote is used to choke a victim to death and is generally used to strike from behind. Surprise provides a +3 attack roll bonus; no surprise provides a –3 penalty. Holding a victim in the garrote for 3 consecutive rounds kills the victim. A THAC0 roll is needed to hit the victim on round 1; successful THAC0 rolls are needed on rounds 2 and 3 to hold the victim. However, on rounds 2 and 3, the victim's armor class is calculated using only magical armor and Dex bonuses; physical armor offers no protection.
For example, a warrior wearing plate mail and a cloak of protection +2 has a Dex of 17. Her normal armor class is –2, but on rounds 2 and 3 of a garrote attack, her armor class is only considered to be 5.
The silk cord, when wielded in this fashion, has a speed factor of 2 and inflicts 1–4 hit points of damage for each round of effective use. The weapon is useless against creatures that are larger than man-sized. At 1st level, the priest devotes his or her two weapon proficiency slots to specialize in this weapon, gaining a +1 to hit/+2 on damage.
At 8th and higher levels, a priest may learn from among the following weapons: battle axe, club, dagger, knife, lasso, scimitar, khopesh, scythe, sickle, short sword, long sword, stiletto, dart, javelin, or bow.
Dress/Armor Allowed: Stranglers intermingle with every level of society. As such, they are forced to take great pains to appear as a mundane member of whichever social class they are trying to infiltrate during a particular assignment. They can wear any form of armor and type of dress that is necessary to complete their disguise.
In ceremonial occasions (assassinations), the priests dress in pure white robes and hide their faces behind a white silk mask. Their garb is accented only by a black or red cord worn about the waist, which will eventually be used to strangle an unfortunate victim. The cord is usually left behind as a message to survivors.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: disguise (this proficiency takes 1 slot only). Recommended: (General) languages (modern), etiquette, heraldry, rope use; (Warrior) set snares, hunting, tracking; (Priest) astrology, local history, musical instrument, reading/writing, religion, spellcraft; (Rogue, these take 1 slot only): blind-fighting, reading lips, tightrope walking, tumbling, jumping; (Wizard) any. Forbidden: healing.
Role: Priests of the goddess form a secret society, a fanatical cult which operates at the heart of many civilizations. Members of this religion lead double lives, sometimes as dual-classed characters, serving in the community as respected leaders by day and sneaking out into the streets by night to exact the dark will of the goddess. Their chief targets include innocent travelers, government officials, and wealthy merchants who refuse to contribute to the cult's coffers.
The priesthood uses its own power to extort fabulous wealth from the terrified populace—all for the greater glory of goddess, who promises earthly riches and success to her worshippers. Young priests are frenziedly eager to prove their devotion, frequently offering up their own children to her bloodstone altar. These zealots are only mildly reprimanded for such fanaticism. As their religious ardor matures, Stranglers are taught to slay only the enemies of the priesthood.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Charm, Healing (harmful reverse spells only), Necromantic, and Chaos (TOM). Minor Access to Combat, Divination, Elemental, and Protection.
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: ebony hand, spectral senses; 2nd: aid, hear heartbeat; 3rd: life drain, speak with the dead; 4th: heart blight, poison; 5th: slay living/raise dead; 6th: asphyxiate; 7th: death pact, destruction/resurrection, energy drain, mindkiller (TOM); Quest: None.
The Goddess of Murder typically only grants necromantic spells which inflict damage, bring death, or provide divinatory insight and inspiration during a holy slaying. On rare occasions, she may permit a loyal follower to be revived with raise dead, resurrection, or death pact.
Granted Powers: In return for their devoted service, Stranglers gain magical abilities from the goddess, making them very difficult to apprehend. Starting at the 1st level, her priests may move silently and hide in shadows (in both natural and urban surroundings) as a ranger of the same level. At 10th level, they may become invisible for up to 1 turn, plus 1 round per level. The priests may exercise this power only once each week. Stranglers of all levels can both turn and command undead.
Other Limitations: All members of the priesthood are male, since the priest and goddess are joined in a symbolic marriage. Although the priests are thus forbidden from marrying mortal women, they are not required to be celibate. Indeed, most cults have temple prostitutes as proxies for the goddess during the seasonal ceremonial rituals and weekly orgies.
However, since worship of the opposite sex is a central tenet of their religion, Stranglers are generally forbidden from harming them. The male priest views himself as the son, husband, and father of all the women in the world. To harm any of these relationships would damage his intimate link with the goddess, resulting in an immediate loss of all granted powers and highest level spells until the priest has suitably atoned for such an outrage (ritual suicide by strangulation is usually considered to be a suitable apology). On rare occasions, the goddess may make exceptions to this rule, but only when specific women have offended her.
In addition to all women, priests are prohibited from attacking any males (usually merchants or high government officials) who have been granted specific immunity by the goddess. These individuals usually purchase their immunity by making lavish contributions to the priesthood or swearing to serve the religion as a mole or spy.
Possible Symbols: The Female Face, the Four-Armed Woman, the Noose, the Silk Cord, the Curved Dagger, the Skull.