Bloodmaven

War has always been the greatest icon of mankind’s inhumanity. Soldiers betray their brothers for the sake of their own survival, knights force themselves upon civilians under threat of death, and warlords offer up entire cities as holocausts to the gods of war. In the midst of this desolation, there exists a special caste of men and women at-arms who embrace this madness at the most primal level, drawing in the horrific might of the violence around them and becoming living icons of war’s destructive potential. Every commander fears what these bloodmavens can do to their ranks, corrupting their allegedly perfect soldiers with doubt and murderous desire. The presence of one of these nightmarish soldiers upon the battlefield is enough to bring an entire legion to ruin, breaking these men who are supposed to be the paragon of their nation but are instead no more than sniveling whelps.

### **Class Skills**

A bloodmaven gains 2 additional skill ranks each level.

### **Maneuvers**

A bloodmaven begins his career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Black Seraph, Cursed Razor, and Leaden Hyena. Undead and other bloodmavens healed by negative energy can exchange one of these disciplines for Unquiet Grave instead. Once the bloodmaven knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by bloodmavens is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in it or its discipline’s description. A bloodmaven’s maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one.

The bloodmaven learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as indicated on Table: Archetype Maneuver Progression. The maximum level of maneuvers gained through bloodmaven levels is limited by those listed in that table as well, although this restriction does not apply to maneuvers added to his maneuvers known through other methods, such as prestige classes or the Advanced Study feat. A bloodmaven must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered initiator level thereafter (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), the bloodmaven can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes the restriction on the highest-level maneuvers he knows; the bloodmaven need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. He can swap only a single maneuver at any given level. A bloodmaven’s initiation modifier is Charisma, and each bloodmaven level is counted as a full initiator level.

### **Maneuvers Readied**

A bloodmaven can ready all three of his maneuvers known at 1st level, and as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he is able to ready more, but must still choose which maneuvers to ready. A bloodmaven must always ready his maximum number of maneuvers readied. He readies his maneuvers by performing weapon drills or praying to his deity for ten minutes. The maneuvers he chooses remain readied until he decides to meditate again and change them. The bloodmaven does not need to sleep or rest for any long period of time in order to ready his maneuvers; any time he spends ten minutes in prayer and practice, he can change his readied maneuvers. A bloodmaven begins an encounter with all his readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he might have already used them since he chose them. When he initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless he recovers them, as described below).

In order for the bloodmaven to recover maneuvers, he must draw on the despair of his enemies by activating her maven’s claim class feature; the bloodmaven recovers a single expended maneuver whenever he Claims a creature, and he recovers a number of expended maneuvers equal to his initiation modifier (minimum 2) whenever a creature he has Claimed is reduced to 0 or less hit points. Alternately, the bloodmaven may focus inward and recover a single maneuver as a standard action.

### **Stances Known**

A bloodmaven begins play with knowledge of one stance from any discipline open to bloodmavens. At 4th, 7th, 11th, and 13th levels, he can select an additional stance to learn. The maximum level of stances gained through bloodmaven levels is limited by those listed in Table: Archetype Maneuver Progression. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended and the bloodmaven does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he is currently maintaining as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance or discipline description. Unlike with maneuvers, a bloodmaven cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

This ability replaces spells.

### **Maven’s Claim (Su)**

Starting at 1st level, a bloodmaven may concentrate the malevolence that spurs his actions into a manifestation that wracks opponents with doubt and incapacity. As a swift action, the bloodmaven may Claim an opponent that he can see (including with special senses such as blindsense or tremorsense) within close range (25 feet + 5 feet per 2 bloodmaven levels) for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 his class level (minimum 1 round). A bloodmaven can have a maximum number of creatures Claimed equal to his bloodmaven initiation modifier (minimum 1), and may not Claim a creature he has already Claimed until or unless the Claim expires. Claimed creatures take a –1 penalty on damage rolls and to the save DCs of any abilities they may possess. The penalty increases to -2 at 10th level and -3 at 20th level. In addition, the bloodmaven automatically knows the position of creatures he has Claimed. Any opponent the bloodmaven cannot see still has total concealment (50% miss chance) against him, and the bloodmaven still suffers the normal miss chance when attacking creatures that have concealment. The bloodmaven is still denied his Dexterity bonus to him AC against attacks from Claimed creatures he cannot see. This counts as the Dark Claim class feature for the purpose of meeting prerequisites.

This ability replaces smite good.

### **Destructive Insight**

At 1st level, the bloodmaven is able to channel pseudo-divine power from the destruction that inspires him, enabling him to purge this world of the falsehoods that many claim justify war. He selects one of the following abilities to learn at 1st level, and gains another ability at 4th level and every three levels thereafter. Available destructive insights are:

* *Detect Alignment (Su):* The bloodmaven gains the ability to use *detect chaos*, *detect evil*, and *detect law* as spell-like abilities at-will, with caster levels equal to his class level.
* *Detect Spellcasters (Su)*: The bloodmaven gains the ability to use *detect magic* as a spell-like ability, and upon observing a creature with this ability automatically knows if it is capable of casting spells as well as what type of spells it is capable of casting (arcane, divine, psychic, or psionic)
* *Inescapable Demise (Su)*: Once per encounter, as a swift action, the bloodmaven may move his speed to a square adjacent to a creature he has claimed. This movement does not provoke attack of opportunity.

* *Angelbane (Su)*: The bloodmaven can expend one use of his malicious claim ability as a swift action to enchant his weapon with unholy power that banishes Good outsiders. The next time the bloodmaven hits with that weapon, if the target is an outsider with the good and extraplanar subtypes, that creature must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the bloodmaven’s class level + the bloodmaven’s initiation modifier) or be banished back to its home plane. A bloodmaven can keep a weapon charged with this ability indefinitely, although he may only have one such weapon charged at any one time.
* *Spiritfoe (Su):* The bloodmaven’s weapons and armor gain the effects of the *ghost touch* weapon special ability in addition to their other properties for as long as he wields or wears them. These properties vanish one round after they leave the bloodmaven’s possession
* *Know Thine Enemy (Ex)*: The bloodmaven can make untrained Knowledge checks to identify creatures with no limit to the DC, and gains a bonus on Knowledge checks to identify lawful and/or good creatures equal to 1/2 his class level.
* *Faithrender (Su)*: When the bloodmaven strikes a creature with a melee attack, he may expend one use of his malicious claim ability to affect the target as if by *dispel magic*, with a caster level equal to his class level.

* *Contagious Misery (Su)*: Any time a creature strikes a bloodmaven with a melee attack, the bloodmaven may claim the creature as a free action.
* *Inhibiting Claim (Su):* Creatures Claimed by the bloodmaven have the chance of spell failure increased by 15% + the bloodmaven’s class level.

This ability replaces fiendish boon.

### **Malicious Claim (Su)**

At 1st level, a bloodmaven gains the ability to amplify the power of his Maven’s Claim ability, crippling the creature to a greater magnitude. As a free action, he may double the penalties granted by the bloodmaven’s claim ability on one claimed creature. he may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + ½ his class level + his initiation modifier. This ability counts as the touch of corruption class feature for the purposes of the Extra Lay on Hands feat.

This ability replaces touch of corruption

### **Spell Familiarity (Ex)**

Starting at 1st level, a bloodmaven can use spell completion and spell trigger items (such as scrolls and wands) as if he possessed the ability to cast antipaladin spells, using his initiator level as his effective caster level.

### **Cruel Claim (Su)**

Starting at 3rd level, the overwhelming hatred of the bloodmaven’s malicious claim begins to assume new effects. The bloodmaven gains cruelties as a normal antipaladin, but rather than channeling them through touch instead manifests them through his maven’s claim ability. When a creature is Claimed, they must make a fortitude save or suffer from one cruelty that the bloodmaven claiming them possesses, using the normal method for determining the save DC of a cruelty.

### **Ruin Feed (Su)**

At 4th level, a bloodmaven feeds off of the misery and frustration of his foes, whenever a creature within 10 feet of the bloodmaven misses with an attack, the bloodmaven gains a number of temporary hit points equal to his initiation modifier, to a maximum of half his max hit points in temporary hit points.

This ability replaces channel negative energy

### **Aura of Absolution (Su)**

At 11th level, the bloodmaven radiates an overwhelming aura of agony and destruction that spurs others to join in the oblivion of conflict. When he initiates a boost that affects himself, he may have it also affect all allies within 10 feet. Likewise, if he initiates a boost that affects an enemy, that boost affects all enemies within 10 feet of the initial target.

This ability replaces aura of vengeance

### **Armageddon of Steel (Su)**

At 20th level, the bloodmaven becomes a twisted god of the battlefield, sowing ruin wherever he treads and reducing all opposition to ash. He gains DR 10/good. In addition, any creatures claimed by the bloodmaven must make a will save at the beginning of their turn (DC 10 + the bloodmaven’s class level + the bloodmaven’s Charisma modifier). Failure indicates that they must attack a creature within range this turn (which may be an ally) to the best of their ability.