Obituarist

A Dirge for the Departed

Obituarist (Obt)
“May the dead be long remembered, and no soul make the traverse to the beyond without remembrance!” – A typical Obituarist.

There are those who roam the land telling stories of ancient heroes, of their great battles and their amazing deeds.  Yet still, there are those who would rather focus on how a being passed – those who focus on the end of the tale, not on the middle.  These are the Obituarists.

Prerequisites:
Perform (Any one spoken skill – Poetry, Prose, Acting, etc.) 8 ranks
Bardic music ability
Ability to cast 1st level arcane spells

HD: d6

Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Spellcasting
1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Feel of the grave +1 level of arcane casting class
2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Ballad for the Lost +1 level of arcane casting class
3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Haunting Tune  
4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Funeral dirge 1/day +1 level of arcane casting class
5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Mourn for the dead +1 level of arcane casting class
6 +4 +2 +5 +5 Touching Ovation  
7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Revenance +1 level of arcane casting class
8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Remembrance +1 level of arcane casting class
9 +6 +3 +6 +6 Funeral dirge 2/day  
10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Great remembrance +1 level of arcane casting class

Class Skills:
Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Jump, Knowledge (All skills; taken individually), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device.
Skill points per level: 4 + intelligence modifier

Class features:
Weapon and armor proficiencies:   The Obituarist gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies.
Feel of the grave (Su): The mere presence of the Obituarist seems to unnerve most people. Any intelligent living creature within 10 feet of the Obituarist must make a Will save (DC 10 + levels in this class + charisma modifier) or be shaken for 10 minutes.  Once exposed to this ability, whether or not the save was failed, that creature is immune to this ability for 24 hours.
Ballad of the Lost (Sp): An Obituarist’s words are mesmerizing to those who would be departed.  Once per day per level in this prestige class, he may use command undead on a single undead, except the save DC is 10 + the level in this class + charisma modifier.  The caster level is equal to the class level.
Haunting tune (Su): An Obituarist at 3rd level attracts the attention of a restless spirit who has not yet crossed over.  The spirit now follows the Obituarist, granting him the benefit of the Alertness feat.  The spirit is a lot like a familiar – see the table below.
Funeral Dirge (Sp):   An Obituarist can move someone to death with mere words.  At 4th level, he may use finger of death once per day.  The DC is 17 + charisma modifier.  Unlike a regular finger of death , this effect can also be used on undead.  At 9th level, the Obituarist gains another use of this ability.  Caster level is equal to class level.
Mourn for the Dead (Su): An Obituarist can move a living being to grief and lament over fallen companions.  Once per day as a standard action that draws attacks of opportunity, an Obituarist can compose a eulogy for the recently deceased.  Any living creatures within 30 feet of the Obituarist must make a Will save (DC 10 + class level + charisma modifier) or be unable to do anything but mourn for 1d6 rounds.  A mourning creature can do nothing but cry.  It retains its dexterity bonus to armor class and can otherwise defend itself, but it cannot attack or cast spells.  A stricken character can move normally.  This is a mind affecting enchantment effect.
Touching Ovation (Su): Undead (even intelligent undead) cannot attack the Obituarist once he activates this ability unless they make a Will save (DC 10 + class level + charisma modifier).  This ability takes a free action to activate, lasts 1 minute per class level, and has a range of personal.  He can use this ability three times per day.
Revenance (Sp):  An Obituarist can cast revenance once per day as a caster of his class level.
Remembrance (Sp):   Once per day, an Obituarist can take a recently departed creature and bring its soul back as a ghost.  The target creature applies the ghost template to itself, then returns the next round to fight by the Obituarist’s side for 1 round per class level.  Once this time is over, the ghost disappears, free to carry on its trip to the afterlife.  At 10th level, the Obituarist gains the ability to bring back the creature as a ghost, a vampire, or a death knight (his choice).

The Obituarist’s Spirit Companion
The spirit that the Obituarist draws is a soul that has been stuck in between worlds.  Perhaps it is a being that the Obituarist defeated – or a friend or family member that has come to guard the Obituarist on their mission.  Regardless, the spirit follows the Obituarist around.  The Obituarist never really sees the spirit, but he can at the least feel it.  A spirit companion is a corporeal creature to which the ghost template has been applied.  Unlike typical ghosts, however, the spirit guide lacks the Manifestation special ability.  This special type of ghost is called a geist .  Any corporeal creature of less than 1/2 the Obituarist’s Hit dice can be the geist.
The geist grants the obituarist a +2 bonus to Spot and Listen checks, as it serves as a second pair of eyes and ears.  The geist, like a familiar, shares the Obituarist’s saving throws, skills, and base attack bonus.  The geist has 1/2 the Obituarist’s hit points.  If a geist is killed, it takes one year for the Obituarist to call another spirit.  Unlike a familiar, a geist does not gain any of the abilities or increases that a familiar gets.