Judicator

Dark elf society, though corrupt in every sense of the word, is not without its laws. Judicators, the elite warrior-judges of Vastra, are the judges, juries, and executioners of dark elf society, and often decide the fate of suspected criminals in a matter of minutes. Justice is elusive, however, and a criminal’s fate has more to do with his House’s relation to the judicator’s House than whether the criminal is actually guilty. A judicator’s decision is final; not even another judicator is able to reverse a criminal’s sentence, and a suspect released by a judicator is considered to be innocent, regardless of future evidence or even a later admission of guilt by the suspect. Judicators, however, are notorious hanging judges, and many would-be criminals attempt to avoid attracting their arbitrary attention altogether.

The only sure protection against a judicator’s malicious whims is allegiance to Vastra; by law, judicators are prohibited from passing judgement of any type upon priests of Vastra or upon other judicators. This does not, however, prevent cunning judicators from simply executing members of a target’s family, friends, and business partners until one of them eventually becomes worried enough to have the offending priest discreetly assassinated. Rivalries between judicators are common, though conflicts typically result in the judging and subsequent execution of each other’s friends and associates rather than direct confrontation. Needless to say, few dark elves carry on meaningful relationships with judicators.

Fighters, clerics, and rangers are the most typical judicators, though the occasional crusader or rogue is not unheard of. Members of other classes rarely possess the desire to become judicators, and thus are rare.

Hit Dice: d10

Requirements

In order to qualify to become a Judicator, a character must meet the following criteria.

Race: Dark Elf

Alignment: Lawful Evil, Lawful Neutral, or Neutral Evil

Patron Deity: Vastra

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Skills: Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks

Feats: Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Weapon Focus (katana)

Special: The character must survive the rites of entry administered by clerics of Vastra.

Class Skills

The Judicator’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+2	+0	+2	Daisho of Hatred, Voice of Authority
2	+2	+3	+0	+3	Command, Dark Blessing
3	+3	+3	+1	+3	Meatbone Slash 1/day
4	+4	+4	+1	+4	Fell the Weak
5	+5	+4	+1	+4	Powerful Grip
6	+6	+5	+2	+5	Meatbone Slash 2/day
7	+7	+5	+2	+5	Retaliation
8	+8	+6	+2	+6	Fell the Weak
9	+9	+6	+3	+6	Meatbone Slash 3/day
10	+10	+7	+3	+7	Judgement

Class Features

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

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Judicators are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as all types of armor.

Daisho of Hatred (Su): Upon becoming a judicator, the character is given a pair of blades (a katana and a wakizashi) that have been specially forged by the clergy of Vastra for his use. These blades are each considered to be +1 weapons, and become more powerful as the judicator advances. Each time the judicator gains a class level beyond 1st level, he may grant one of his daisho blades of his choice an additional +1 bonus. This bonus may be either an enhancement bonus or a special ability (such as the flaming or keen abilities), and the judicator may elect to “save up” available bonuses in order to purchase more costly special abilities (such as the unholy or vorpal abilities). Once chosen, these abilities cannot be changed in any way. The judicator may choose to enhance his katana or wakizashi exclusively, or he may alternate between the two as he sees fit.

Voice of Authority (Ex): Judicators are the judges, juries, and executioners of dark elf society. Because the decisions of a judicator are final, arbitrary, and often bloody, most dark elves are quite willing to give a judicator what he wants with little more than a token objection. Judicators receive a +4 bonus on Charisma checks made to influence other dark elves, and they may add their class level to any Intimidate check they make.

Command (Su): At 2nd level, the judicator is able to issue a command once per day per class level, as if he were casting a spell of the same name. The save DC against this ability is equal to 10 + the judicator’s class level + his Charisma modifier.

Dark Blessing (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a judicator applies his Charisma modifier (if positive) as a bonus on all saving throws.

Meatbone Slash (Su): As devoted servants of Vastra and the militant arm of her faith, judicators have the ability to channel her hatred to deal incredible amounts of damage to their opponents. Once per day beginning at 3rd level, the judicator may declare one normal melee attack to be a meatbone slash. If he hits, he deals 2d4 points of Constitution damage in addition to his regular damage. The target may attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the judicator’s class level + his Charisma modifier) to halve the Constitution damage dealt by this ability.

The judicator gains an additional use of this ability each day at 6th and 9th levels.

Fell the Weak (Ex): A judicator of at least 4th level wastes no time in dispatching fallen enemies. He gains the ability to take a coup de grace action against a helpless opponent as a move action. At 8th level, the coup de grace action requires only a free action on the part of the judicator.

Powerful Grip (Su): Beginning at 5th level, the judicator gains a damage bonus equal to one-half his Strength bonus (rounded down) on damage rolls when wielding one of his daisho blades in melee. Thus, the damage bonus for his weapons is 1 ½ times his Strength bonus while wielding a blade one-handed, or twice his Strength bonus while wielding a blade two-handed.

Retaliation (Ex): Judicators rarely allow their opponents an easy victory, and are able to turn even a mortal wound into an opening for attack. Once per day per point of Charisma bonus possessed by the judicator, he may make an immediate attack of opportunity against an opponent that just struck him in melee. The judicator may use this ability even if the original attack disabled or killed him, after which he falls to the ground, dying or dead (as appropriate).

Judgement (Su): At 10th level, the judicator gains the ability to judge all creatures within 100 feet of him that he can see. The judicator can base his decision on any parameters he chooses, but all eligible creatures are judged according to the same criteria. Those found wanting are wracked with unbelievable pain, taking 1d6 points of damage per class level (Fortitude save for half, DC 10 + the judicator’s class level + his Charisma modifier). This ability is usable once per day as a standard action.

Ex-Judicators

A judicator who willingly changes alignment or betrays the dark elves as a whole immediately loses all spell-like and supernatural abilities granted by this class. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his actions (see the atonement spell on page 201 of the Player’s Handbook).

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