Psychopath

Psychopath

A Base Class for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

There are two types of potential serial killers. The first are brutish mass murderers who have little to no plan or endgame, just creatures filled with malice and inadequacies.The second is a psychopath. A psychopath looks down upon such unintelligent clods. No. a psychopath is a collected serial killer, with a deep mental affliction, who is as obsessive about meticulous details as he is about the manner in which he stalks his victims. Psychopaths are surgical, careful, and conscientiously frayed. They plot and plan for days, weeks, months, or even years before striking out of their dark errands. They leave no trace, no reminder, and no evidence. Unless of course, they want to.

Hit Dice: D8.

Role: What psychopaths possess in murderous potential they lack in defense. Not traditionally front line fighters, psychopaths intimidate, maim, and disable their way through the enemy ranks. Think of them like a scorpion or a wasp- they can be crushed by a wayward object but can inflict serious damage if they are not watched.

Alignment: Lawful Evil or Neutral Evil

Psychopaths are serial killers of the highest caliber with no remorse for their victims. They have an obsessive fixation on something and, though they indulge in it, they must live structured lives (or at least non-chaotic ones) as part of their psychological affliction. A psychopath who ceases to be lawful evil or neutral evil cannot progress in the psychopath class until he regains one of those alignments. He does not lose access to his class features however.

Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

## Class Skills

The psychopath class skills are Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (any) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex). Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier

## Class Features:

The following are the class features of the psychopath.

## Weapon and Armor Proficiencies:

The psychopath is proficient with all simple weapons and all non-exotic weapons in the fighter’s light blade weapon group. He is proficient with light armor but not with shields.

## [Code of Conduct] Obsession (Ex):

At 1st level, a psychopath must select one behavior that is deviant, disgusting, repugnant, and illegal to obsess over. This might be something like cannibalism, the torture of animals, pyromania, or other dark behaviors. A psychopath must indulge in their obsession at least once per month per level of psychopath. If a psychopath of 4th level or higher goes a week without indulging his obsession he must make a Will save (DC 15 + 1/2 psychopath level) or be compelled to immediately and irrationally seek to fulfil that need. Should a psychopath go 1 month without indulging his obsession he loses access to all his psychopath class features other than his weapon and armor proficiencies. This does not cure him of his psychopathy and he still must follow his obsession. After taking 1 level in psychopath, a psychopath can only be cured of his affliction by a spell like wish or miracle. If cured, he loses access to all of his psychopath class features. Any morale bonuses or benefits that a psychopath gains from the psychopath class do not apply against obsession rolls.

## Premeditation (Ex):

“Psychopaths are marked by an innate understanding of, and bolstered by a lifetime of practicing, the predator/prey mechanism our animal forebears. It’s kill or be killed and they are at the top of the food chain. They are literally hunting us.”

At 1st level, once per day, a psychopath can identify a single target within he wishes to kill as a swift action. He must have line of sight to the creature and once in his sight, the psychopath is obsessively fixated on them. His mind fills with fantasies, justifications, and he notes every detail about them. Each round he is within line of sight of the target of his premeditation, the psychopath can study that creature as a free action.

When he studies a creature for at least 1 round, he gains a +6 insight bonus on Knowledge checks to identify the creature and may attempt to do so as a free action. Premeditation, and its associated bonuses last until the psychopath selects a new creature or the creature dies.

A psychopath’s premeditation (and the tally of number of rounds he has studied him for) lasts until the target is dead, he defines a new target, or the psychopath rests.

At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, a psychopath can define one additional creature per day as the target of his premeditation. A psychopath can never have more than one creature targeted with premeditation at a time.

## Psychopathy (Ex):

“A psychopath is characterized by psychopathy which presents with diminished emotional empathy, a distinct lack of remorse, and an ability to overcome inhibitions normally present in typical people.”

-Medical analysis of psychopath

At 1st level, a psychopath gains an insight bonus to saving throws against mind affecting effects equal to 1/2 his psychopath level (minimum 1). In addition, the DC to affect a psychopath with a Intimidate or Diplomacy check is increased by an equal amount. This bonus does not apply against a psychopath’s obsession class feature.

## Assault (Ex):

“The difference between assault and homicide is how long they want you to suffer.”

At 2nd level, a psychopath gains bonuses against the target of his premeditation.If the psychopath has studied his target for at least 1 round he gains a +2 insight bonus on attack and damage rolls against him. At 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter he may increase this insight bonus by 2 by studying his target for an additional round to a maximum of a +10 insight bonus to attack and damage after 5 rounds of study on a 20th level psychopath.

* At 6th level this bonus also applies to Wisdom and Charisma based skill checks against that target.
* At 10th level, a psychopath gains an equal insight bonus to his AC and CMD against attacks from the target of his premeditation.
* At 14th level, a psychopath ignores the DR of a creature he has studied for at least 2 rounds.
* At 18th level, a psychopath automatically confirms critical hits against a creature he has studied for at least 2 rounds.

## Deadly (Ex):

“Anything can be a weapon in the hands of a killer. It’s just a matter of effectiveness and personal taste.”

At 2nd level, all weapons wielded by a psychopath are treated as if they had the deadly weapon property.

## The Mask of Sanity (Ex):

“Psychologist Hervey Cleckley discerned that not only are serial killers typically superficially “charming”, but they also have developed deeply rooted behavioral mechanisms that conceal their abnormal mental state.”

At 3rd level, a psychopath may use his Intelligence in place of his Charisma for skill checks. In addition, a psychopath is treated as if he were under a mundane version of an undetectable alignment spell.

## Torment (Ex):

“Sometimes the worst torture comes when the wounds are healed; when there are no scars left to heal but you can still feel the damage inside.”

At 4th level, a psychopath can inflict severe physical and psychological damage on the victim of their premeditation class feature. Upon confirming a critical hit against a creature he is observing with his premeditation class feature, a psychopath can inflict any of the following conditions upon the creature if they fail a Will or Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 psychopath level + Intelligence modifier).

At 8th level, once per use of premeditation a psychopath may inflict torment on their victim as part of a normal attack.

At 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter the psychopath masters new ways to torment the creature. A psychopath knows all torments a psychopath of his level has access to.

4th Level Torments

* Shaken (Will): The creature gains the shaken condition for 1d4 rounds.

8th Level Torments

* Bleeding, Lesser (Fort): The creature takes 1d4 + 2 points of bleeding damage per round until healed.

12th Level Torments

* Frightened  (Will): The creature gains the frightened condition for 1d4 rounds.
* Bleeding (Fort): The creature takes 3 + 1d6 points of bleeding damage per round until healed.

16th Level Torments

* Panicked  (Will): The creature gains the panicked condition for 1d4 rounds.
* Bleeding, Greater (Fort): The creature takes 4 + 1d8 points of bleeding damage per round until healed.

20th Level Torments

* Cowering  (Will): The creature gains the cowering condition for 1d4 rounds.
* Bloodshed (Fort): The creature takes 5 + 1d10 points of bleeding damage per round until healed.

## Cleaner (Su):

“A ranger may chose to leave no tracks as he walks and in the same way a psychopath may chose to leave no sign of a brutal murder he has committed.”

At 5th level, a psychopath who kills a creature leaves no evidence of his manslaughter due to combat. A psychopath can clean up the messy remains of a battle in 5+1d10 minutes per 60 ft. x 60 ft. area, leaving no evidence of combat. Additionally, he may chose to not leave tracks while traveling.

A creature investigating the scene can make an Perception or Survival (to detect tracks) check to try to ascertain that the scene was cleaned, but gather no information (DC 10 + psychopath level + Intelligence modifier).

This does not fool magical sensors and forms of divinations until a psychopath is at least 10th level. At this level a psychopath leaves no trace detectable by divination. Questions about the murder (such as augury) get muddled or incorrect answer and attempts to view the incident within 20 minutes before or after (including during) return nothing but an unremarkable scene. However, a character who makes a Spellcraft check (DC 10 + psychopath level + Intelligence modifier) notes that there is clearly interference with the spell.

At 15th level a psychopath can clean a 60 ft. x 60 ft. area in just 1 minute (as with his cleaner class feature) and the DC to discern the cleaning is improved by 5  (DC 15 + psychopath level + Intelligence modifier). At 20th level his work is undetectable (this includes things like wish, deities, etc).

## Deface (Ex):

“A dead man still can rat you out if the investigator is keen enough. Best dispose of all of the evidence.”

A psychopath can take 1 minute per dead creature he wishes to deface to obscure their identity to the point that even loved ones can't identify them reliably. Any attempt to identify the victim adds the psychopath’s Intelligence modifier to the DC of the check.

## Kidnapping (Ex):

“Steal five gold and no one bats an eye, but steal five children and suddenly it’s the end of the world.”

At 5th level, the DC for a creature to escape from bindings applied by a psychopath with Escape Artist is equal to 20 + his psychopath level + Intelligence modifier. In addition, a psychopath gains a +2 morale bonus on grapple maneuvers. This bonus improves to a +4 bonus at 10th level, a +6 bonus at 15th level.

## Homicide (Ex):

“Manslaughter, homicide, murder... Humans have such a large number of words for the simple act of killing one of their own kind.”

At 8th level, a psychopath who has studied a target for 3 rounds with his premeditation class feature can deliver a single death attack as a standard action. A target successfully hit by a psychopath’s death attack needs to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 psychopath level + Intelligence modifier) or be reduced to 0 hp. A psychopath can only attempt such an attack a number of times per day equal to his Intelligence modifier. A death attack must be declared before an attack roll is made and it is expended even if the attack is unsuccessful.

## Laughing Madness (Ex):

“The only joke I laugh at is free will for it’s the greatest trick ever pulled on mankind. It was given to us by the gods and we use it to such pittius and debauched misuse.”

At 7th level, a psychopath is immune to fear effects. If he is targeted with with a fear effect he must make a Will save (DC equal to the DC of the fear effect) or burst out laughing. While this does not impede him in anyway, it makes sound.

## Monster Within (Ex):

“The worst part about psychopaths? They look just like everyone else...”

At 10th level, a psychopath can lower his mask of sanity (gaining no benefit from it) as a free action and let his true unbridled, seething madness out. So long as he is not benefitting from mask of sanity, a psychopath can activate a frightful presence (as per the universal monster rules) that has a 30 ft. radius as a move action (or as part of a charge). The Will save to resist this fear effect is DC 10 + 1/2 psychopath level + Intelligence modifier. He may sustain this effect for a number of rounds equal to his Intelligence modifier per day. These rounds need not be consecutive.

## Bloody Murder (Ex):

“The phrase “bloody murder” is such a dark phrase. I prefer something more cheery like artistic homicide assistant. It looks so much better on a resume.”

At 11th level, on a successful hit any bleed damage the creature is currently suffering is added to the damage roll. This may occur no more than once per round. Bleed damage inflicted during the same round that this attack is made does not apply.

## Mirror of the Beast (Ex):

“We want to believe that there is something wrong with them; that they are fundamentally different. The truth is that they are not and that the potential to be a psychopath exists in all of us. Perhaps that is the truly terrifying thing about them.”

At 11th level, when targeted by a fear effect and the psychopath choses to either employ his laughing madness class or succeeds on the Will save against it (if it allows one), he may turn the effect back upon the source of the fear effect.

## Nightmare (Ex):

“In a normal person feel-good chemicals, like endorphins and oxytocin, are released during activities like reaching a goal, making love, exercising, bonding with your baby, etc. In a psychopath, those same chemicals are released during activities like dismembering, eviscerating, torturing, and stalking. In short, the stuff of our nightmares are the stuff of their wildest dreams.”

At 13th level, a psychopath improves the DC of any fear or death effects he inflicts by +2. In addition, creatures normally immune to fear effects can be affected by a psychopath. Such creatures gain a +6 bonus against such effects however. This class feature does not function with effects caused by mirror of the beast.

## Serial Killer (Ex):

“Without remorse, without pity, and with a great big toothy grin, he drew his still wet knife from his third victim and I knew that it would only take a minute or two for him to dispatch the next two in line before it was my turn.”

At 17th level, if a psychopath successfully kills a creature with his homicide class feature may, as a free action, immediately target another creature within line of sight with his premeditation class feature. A psychopath must have a use of premeditation remaining to utilize this. He is counted as having studied this new creature for 3 rounds. If the creature is within the psychopath’s threat range he may make a free attack that delivers a death attack as per his homicide class feature (consuming a use of it).

## Random Violence (Ex):

“Random acts of violence are rarely random- more... spontaneous.”

-Confession of South Street Scott the Serial Stabber

At 19th level, a psychopath can expend one use of his premeditation class feature as a swift action to utilize his homicide class feature against a creature who he has not targeted with his premeditation class feature. The option to utilize the homicide class feature against this creature lasts for a number of rounds equal to the psychopath’s Intelligence modifier. The psychopath gains no other benefit from this expenditure of premeditation.

## Twisted Psychosis (Su):

“It’s about control. Everything is about control. If I control you, I own you. I own everything about you. I own your pleasure and your sickness and your health and and... and my own sickness. If I own you... I own myself.”

-Final words of Insane Ian before he was decapitated, losing his head

At 20th level, any creature within 30 ft. of the psychopath who is suffering from a fear effect must follow the commands of the psychopath as if they were under the effects of dominate monster. Issuing such commands is a move action, unless the creature is also the subject of his premeditation; in which case it is a swift action. Each creature receives a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 psychopath level + Intelligence modifier) to resist an individual command.

## Section 15 OGL Copyright Declaration:

• Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

• System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors

Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and

Dave Arneson.

• Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Inc.; Author: Jason Bulmahn,

based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

• The Book of Experimental Might. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.

• Tome of Horrors. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott

Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance

Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original

content from TSR.

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide. © 2010, Paizo Publishing,

LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide. © 2012, Paizo Publishing,

LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam

Daigle, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-

MacFarland, Owen K.C. Stephens, Todd Stewart, and Russ Taylor.

• Little Red Goblin Games Race Guide I, Copyright 2011 Little Red Goblin Games LLC,

Authors: Scott Gladstein, Caleb Alysworth

• Tome of Twisted Things, Copyright 2013, Little Red Goblin Games LLC, Authors: Ian

Sisson, Caleb Aylsworth, Scott Gladstein, and Christos Gurd.

• Collected Goblin Rations 2012-2014, Copyright 2014, Little Red Goblin Games LLC, Authors: Caleb Aylsworth and Scott Gladstein.

• Tome of Wicked Things Redux, Copyright 2014,Little Red Goblin Games LLC, Authors: Scott Gladstein and Sasha Hall