Heart Taker

**Heart Taker**:

For some, power is the only path forward even at the expense of all that makes one human. With the sacrifice of their original form and soul, the Heart Taker becomes a living mass of thousands of needle sharp black wires that writhe and squirm constantly, stilled only when willed into action by the mind that now occupies them.

**Hit points per level**: 3+con mod (1d8 hit die)

**Requirements**: Heal 13 ranks, Must have killed another human being outside of self defense

**Class Skills**: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Handle animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (All) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Security (Int), Sense motive (Wis), Sleight of hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis)

**Skill Points at Each Level**: 4 + Int modifier

**Chakra multiplier**: The Heart Taker has a x4 chakra multiplier. As a reminder the chakra pool for each class is calculated separately and then added together to form their final chakra pool.

**Technique Points**: The Heart Taker gains the listed number of technique points at each indicated level.

**Protean**: At first level the Heart Taker gains access to the protean system if it did not already have it. If the creature already had access to the system it doesn’t gain any special benefit, but it looses any restrictions it may have previously had, while keeping any special abilities that improve protean abilities.

**Second Heart**: At second level the Heart Taker becomes able to integrate the heart of a recently deceased being into it’s body, allowing them to have two hearts. In order to integrate a heart the Heart Taker must spend a full round action extracting and implanting it. The “donor” must have died within the last hour and it’s heart must be fully intact. If the Heart Taker is already at their maximum number of hearts they may choose to discard an older heart to make room for the new one. The host is even capable of discarding their original heart, loosing whatever affinity they were born with in the process.

Immediately on integrating a new heart the host may choose to revert their body to the donor’s age category. This can undo the penalties accrued due to age but does not remove the ability score bonuses gained by aging. This change to age is not undone when the associated heart is lost. By periodically changing the their hearts the Heart Taker may effectively life forever, but even this is not the full extent of their power. If the Heart Taker is slain while it has more than one heart it instead looses that heart and heals back to full health, is freed of any harmful mental effects like genjutsu, and is cured of any ability damage, ability drain, bleed, or other harmful conditions not a result of outside factors such as being entangled.

The heart Retains the natural elemental affinity it was born with, and while integrated the host counts as having that same affinity. The heart does not retain any advanced element styles or other styles that were gained later in life. This ability can even be used to grant the Heart Taker a Kekei Genkai or Kekei Touta. The Heart Taker may choose to learn techniques of the appropriate element normally, however if they loose the heart that was providing the Basic element required they will be unable to use any of those jutsu until the Heart Taker either learns the appropriate elemental style on their own, or acquires another heart that grants that element.

**Masks**: The power of an absorbed heart does not end at enhancing the user, it can be enshrouded in black threads and transform into it’s own creature. This creature takes the form of a shifting morass of worm like threads, usually with a visible mask for a face. The Mask has the statistics of a small elemental of the same element as the Heart that was used to create it. In the case of a Kekei genkai the GM should select an appropriate elemental. This creature is under the control of the Heart Taker and shares all of their senses with them. The Mask has access to any elemental jutsu known by it’s creator as long as they match the element of the heart used to create them. Any chakra spent by the mask comes from the Heart Taker’s melded chakra pool. Slaying a Mask destroys the heart used to create it. At each class level after 2nd the Heart Taker gains the ability to retain an additional heart up to a maximum of 7 hearts and the type of elemental created grows stronger in the following order: Medium>Large>Huge>Greater> elder.

**Severed Limb:** Beginning at 3rd level, the Heart Taker is able to detach their own limbs by shunting one of their hearts to them. The Limb is able to move separately from the host, and even utilize it’s own in dependant actions,though generally their movement speed is reduced to 5 ft per round, and being a single limb greatly diminishes what they can do. Likewise the loss of one or more limbs is very likely to hinder the Heart Takers. Either by limiting their attacks or by reducing their base land speed to 5 ft for an arm or leg respectively. A severed limb is two size categories smaller than the host and has the same hit points as the largest elemental mask the host can create, any damage the limb takes is retained is dealt to the Heart Takers when it is re-attached. If a detached limb is destroyed the Heart Taker may immediately regrow it, but they do not regain the heart that was in it.

**Sacrificial mask**: Beginning at 4th level the Mask servants created by the Heart Taker are able to sacrifice themselves to save their master. While a mask servant is adjacent, or while an extra heart is still present in it’s host, the Mask may choose to take an incoming blow for it’s master. The Mask is struck instead of it’s master and takes any effects of the incoming attack. This can be applied to any successful attack made against the host as long as it requires an attack roll. A heart still currently inside it’s master retains the normal hit points it would have in it’s elemental form.

Even more impressive, If the Heart Takers should die, their Masks remain alive and able to act as their master would direct them. If such a mask is able to reach the square that their master died they may sacrifice themself and donate their heart to their master, immediately resurrecting the Heart Taker at full health. If there are no remains to revive the masks must may revive their master by conducting a 24 hour long ceremony during which they must remain adjacent to eachother taking no action, at the end of which one mask shatters and the Heart Takers is resurrected.

**Heart to Heart**: Beginning at 5th level the Heart Taker gains a more direct way to acquire hearts, ripping them form a living foes chest. When the Heart Taker successfully grapples an opponent they implant black threads directly into their chest. Their bonus for having control of a grapple is +10 instead of the usual +5. Additionally the victim is tethered to the Heart Taker. They are entangled, cannot move more than 10 ft from their attacker, even if they escape the grapple, and take 6 points of constitution damage per round. A foe slain while so tethered has it’s heart immediately extracted and added to the Heart Taker. Removing the tether requires either a second successful grapple check to escape, or a successful attack against the threads that deals at least 10% of the Heart Taker’s current hp. This attack takes a -4 penalty due to having to target a much smaller area.

**Fuse Forms**: Beginning at 5th level the Heart Taker is able to combine and condense their Masks in order to concentrate their power. When one mask moves into the same space as another it is absorbed into it granting the mask in that space the advanced templates simple template as well as an extra standard action. It’s possible to stack these effects multiple times potentially creating a single super powerful mask. Separating the masks requires a full round action and allows all but the “base” mask to still act during that turn. This ability is undoubtedly powerful, however if the mask should be destroyed all masks currently combined with it die as well.

**Incorporate**: Beginning at 6th level the Heart Taker is able to gain greater benefit from retaining their spare hearts inside their body. Each heart fortifies the Heart Taker with greater physical and mental acuity. For each heart beyond the first, the Heart Taker gains +2 on perception checks, +2 to strength and dexterity, and an extra action. The first Heart gives an extra swift action, the second an extra move action, the third an extra standard action, the fourth an extra standard and swift, the fifth an extra standard and move and if all 6 extra hearts are inside it provides two extra standard actions.

**Masked Monster**: Beginning at 7th level the Heart Takers sheds the last of their humanity, becoming even more like the nightmares they create. The Heart Taker may replace any of it’s ability scores with those of a greater elemental of their choice and likewise gains the greater elementals BAB of 16 unless their own would otherwise be better. This change alters the Heart Taker’s base ability scores before any other improvements or effects are applied. Once this change is made it’s effects are permanent.