Empusa

Sometimes seen as daughters or emissaries of Hecate, Empusa are succubi who have undergone a process in which they have one of their legs replaced with a powerful constructed prosthetic. The prosthetic leg is not where their power lies however, but in the talon like claw that their other foot quickly becomes. Their power as a spell caster may have waned a bit, but they have learned to utilize their powers to their fullest extent and beyond despite the loss in power.

**Role**: An Empusa is an up close melee fighter usually, and she uses her skills as a spellcaster to enhance her physical capabilities

**Alignment**: any

**Hit Die**: d10

**Requirements**

**Race**: Succubus, Kitsune, or Pettanko

**Base Attack Bonus**: +4

**Feats**: Arcane Strike, Hecate, At least 1 combat feat

**Special:** The Succubus must lose a limb (Usually a leg)

**Class Skills**

The EMPUSA's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), Martial Knowledge (Natural), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

**Skill Ranks at Each Level**: 2 + Int modifier.

**Class Features**

All of the following are class features of the EMPUSA prestige class.

**Weapon and Armor Proficiency**: An Empusa is proficient with Light, Medium, and Heavy armor, as well as physical monster weapons.

**Techniques and Spells Known**: At levels 2, 3, and 4,  an Empusa gains the ability to ready martial techniques as if they had leveled up in it's previous class. If it had more than one previous class you must choose which class at Each level. You do not learn new techniques from this and must still train to learn them just as before.

**Race:**

The Empusa gains the following bonuses added to it's self on top of it's previous race. It's type does not change.

·         Dexterity +4, Charisma +2, Wisdom -2

·         Move speed: 40 feet, Fly 20 (Poor)

·         Size: Medium

·         The Succubus gains a +2 bonus to martial knowledge (Natural) skills, as well as to acrobatics

·         Darkvision: 60 feet

·         The Empusa gains the Paddle Tail racial trait of the demon race.

**Heritage Fulfillment (Ex):** At 1st level, an Empusa retains her skill with her heritage powers and still maintains them. The Empusa adds her Empusa level to her succubus, kitsune, or pettanko levels to determine the strength of any of her heritage powers. This does not grant new powers, but simply allows the previous ones to grow stronger.

**Partial Armory (Ex):** At 1st level the Empusa learns to wear armor in segments so as to armor herself and still retain her arcane capabilities. The Empusa can wear light armor without incurring any sort of arcane spell failure chance. In addition light armor worn by the empusa possesses no maximum dexterity and cuts the armor check penalty in half. Medium and heavy armors worn by the empusa take a -5% spell failure chance when worn, and increase the maximum dexterity by 1. This increases by 5% and the max dex by 1 at 3rd and 5th levels.

**Arcane Talon (Ex):** At 1st level, the Empusa loses her leg and has it replaced with a constructed one made of copper. This costs 10,400 hl, and must be surgically attached. As a alchemical prosthesis is installed (a process that takes no less than 1 hour), the bearer must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or the prosthesis doesn’t take hold. Either way, the bearer takes 2 points of Constitution damage from the surgery. It grants the following.

**Alchemical Leg**: An alchemical leg grants a +5 bonus to the creature's base land speed and a +6 bonus to acrobatics per leg. It allows its bearer to lift up to 2-1/2 times his maximum load off the ground (instead of double). A creature with two alchemical legs can lift up to 3 times his maximum load off the ground and stagger around with it. In addition, each installed alchemical leg grants its bearer a +4 bonus to CMD against trip and bull rush attempts.

Her other foot becomes an arcane Talon, gaining new power to make up for the one she lost. This talon is treated as a 3rd hand. It can hold and activate items and can be used as a free hand when the Succubus needs one. The Empusa gains another ring slot. When making a full attack, the Empusa can make an additional attack at it's highest base attack bonus with this claw. The claw deals 1d8 damage and has a X4 critical. The claw, like the Empusa's normal natural attacks, apply any bonuses or damage changes from any monster weapon the Empusa may be wielding. This additional attack with the claw does not stack with haste, nor can it benefit from two weapon fighting, multi weapon fighting, or anything similar.

**Arcane Enhancement (Su):** The Empusa has sacrificed much of her spellcasting capabilities to enhance her own physical powers. The Empusa can expend it's arcane power through other means than spellcasting now. The Empusa can expend a single spell slot of any level as a swift action, to activate her arcane enhancement. While active, The Succubus adds her Charisma modifier to her attack and damage rolls, as well as CMB and CMD instead of her strength or dexterity modifier. The succubus's saving throw DC's for her Succubus techniques, spells, and heritage abilities increase by +2. The succubus also gains Damage reduction 1/- and 10 temporary hitpoints. These hitpoints increase by 10, and the DR increases by 1, for every level in Empusa the succubus possesses. This lasts for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell that the Empusa sacrificed to activate the ability. Only one instance of this ability can be active at any given time.

**Battle Born (Su):** At 2nd level, when activating your Arcane enhancement, the Empusa can trigger her Arcane strike feat as part of the same swift action.  At 4th level, the Arcane Strike ability lasts for the entire duration of her Arcane Enhancement ability.

**Magus Arcana (Su):** At 2nd level and then again at 4th, The Empusa gains a Magus Arcana. The Empusa treats her character level as her magus level to determine what arcana she can select. If it requires points from the Magus arcana pool, the Succubus instead treats her uses of her Heritage Powers as a succubus as her Arcana pool.

**Greater Arcane Talon (Su):** At 3rd level the Empusa's Arcane Talon becomes more powerful. Whenever the Empusa casts a spell with a touch or ranged touch attack, the Empusa can instead make a melee attack with her claw and apply her monster weapon damage or claw damage to the spell's damage. This ability works just as the Magus's Spell Strike ability.

**Paragon Arcane Talon (Su):** At 5th level, the Empusa learns to fully utilize her arcane talon in combat. All spells the empusa casts that require a touch or ranged touch attack, apply her Arcane talon's damage to them as if she were using her Spell strike. Finally, the Empusa gains the spell combat ability of a Magus, allowing her to cast a spell with her arcane talon at the end of a full attack.

**Onokole (Su):** At 5th level, the Empusa has finally learned to use it's new body to it's fullest extent. Once per day as a standard action, The Empusa can enter her arcane enhancement, expending a spell slot as usual. The duration for the arcane enhancement is doubled, and the spell level is added to all attack rolls, armor class, and  damage rolls while the Arcane Enhancement is active. In addition, while this is active the Empusa can make an additional attack with her arcane talon on a full attack, though it is at a -5 penalty to the attack roll. The Empusa cannot cast extra spells with this attack, but it does mean the empusa could make a full attack, a talon attack, and still cast a spell all on the same turn.