Diabolist (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Some face damnation willingly, selling their souls to gain arcane power. Born without natural affinity for magic, they gain this affinity by literally dealing with the devil. Seeking to control the awesome might of the infernal legions and twist the very powers of Hell to their whims, these blasphemous spellcasters jeopardize their immortal souls for mastery over devilkind.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. The diabolist is a sorcerer with hellish power.

Prestige Class: Diabolist from Pathfinder Chronicles: Princes of Darkness, Book of the Damned Vol. I.

Build Classes: Sorcerer.

Role: A diabolist casts spells rivaling sorcerers, and also draws directly upon the powers of hell to aid her cause.

Alignment: Lawful evil, lawful neutral, or neutral evil only. Though some tread the path of the diabolist to enslave the forces of Hell and turn them towards goals other than corruption, only the most stalwart of diabolists can resist the temptations of the Pit. Regardless of whatever grim path leads spellcasters to seek power over the diabolical, their destination is nearly always the same—an eternity of damnation in the depths of Hell.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills

The diabolist's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

These are all the class features of the diabolist. The prestige archetype is open to many classes, with slight modifications. Because the archetype has so many abilities, it replaces all of the class features of whatever class it is taken with, except as noted under spells and build class, below.

Spells

The diabolist learns and casts spells exactly like the build class, including the effect of ability scores on spellcasting and cantrips or knacks. Since the number of spells per day, spell slots, and known spells depend on the build class, these numbers are not given in Table: Diabolist.

Aura

The diabolist has an alignment aura as if she was a cleric of a lawful evil patron. See detect evil for details.

Build Class

The diabolist inherits just a few class features from the build class, as follows.

Arcanist The arcanist gains an arcane reservoir with a number of points equal to 2 + half her class level and an arcanist exploit at level 6, 12, and 18. She cannot choose greater exploits.

Psychic The psychic diabolist gains the psychic's psychic discipline class feature, including discipline spells and discipline powers. Because she lacks a pherenic pool, certain discipline powers do not work, notably those of the Enlightenment discipline.

Sorcerer The sorcerer diabolist gains Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at level 1 and adds the spells gained from false ritual to her list of known spells. Many sorcerer diabolists delude themselves into believing in their false creed, this might even be responsible for awakening their power.

Witch A witch diabolist keeps the patron spells and witch's familiar class features. She can chose to not use illusory healing when casting spells to restore hit point damage. Spells on the witch spell list learned from the false ritual class feature are learned at their witch spell level.

Wizard. The wizard keeps the arcane bond class feature, and can choose a divine focus item as her bonded item if she picks that option

Damned

When a diabolist is killed, her soul is instantly sent to Hell. Any character attempting to resurrect her must succeed at a caster level check equal to 10 + ½ the diabolist's level or her spell fails. That character cannot attempt to resurrect the diabolist again until the following day, though other characters can attempt as they please.

Infernal Familiar

The diabolist gains a familiar identical to that of a wizard's arcane bond feature. A diabolist may not bond with an object, and the familiar is always lawful evil in alignment and black and/or crimson in color.

Sacred Summons

At 14th level, a diabolist gains the Sacred Summons feat even if she does not meet the prerequisites. If she already knows this feat, she can choose any other feat she qualifies for instead.

Bonus Spells

A diabolist gains bonus spells as she advances in level. At 3rd level, and every two levels thereafter, a diabolist learns an additional spell from the list below. These spells are added to the diabolists familiar, known spells,or spellbook, as appropriate to the build class. These spells cannot be exchanged for different spells at higher levels.

Burning hands (3rd), scorching ray (5th), suggestion (7th), charm monster (9th), dominate person (11th), planar binding (13th), limited wish (15th), power word stun (17th), meteor swarm (19th).

Infernal Charisma

At 2nd level a diabolist gains a +2 bonus on all Charisma skills and checks made when interacting with devils and creatures with the half-fiend and fiendish templates and on checks made to research specific devils' true names or sigils. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level and to +6 at 14th level.

Augment Summoning

At 4th level, a diabolist counts as having the Spell Focus (conjuration) feat for the purpose of feat prerequisites and gains the Augment Summoning feat as a bonus feat. If she already knows this feat, she can choose any other feat she qualifies for instead.

Imp Companion

At 6th level, the diabolist gains the Improved Familiar feat but must choose an imp. At will this imp can assume the shape of the animal familiar the diabolist had before gaining this ability, as beast shape II but with no change in ability scores.

Infernal Transport (Sp)

At 8th level, a diabolist can transport herself through Hell in a burst of brimstone. She may use this ability twice per day as per dimension door or plane shift (only to hell or to her native plane), or expend both uses to travel as if using teleport. She cannot use this ability to enter or leave areas warded against teleportation or evil creatures.

Hellish Soul

At 10th level, a diabolist has been deemed useful enough to the cause of Hell to be allowed a brief respite from damnation. If killed by any means outside of the will of the archdevils or another influential force in Hell, the diabolist can be resurrected as normal.

Channel Hellfire

At 12th level, the diabolist can alter spells that deal fire damage to instead deal hellfire damage. She can do this as a free action a number of times per day equal to her Intelligence or Charisma modifier (whichever is higher, minimum 1). Spells altered to use hellfire gain the lawful and evil descriptors.

Hellfire deals half fire damage and half damage from unholy energy. Damage dealt by hellfire is known as hellfire damage. Evil-aligned creatures and creatures with the evil subtype take no damage from the unholy energy, but good-aligned beings and those with the good subtype take double the normal damage from it. Creatures under the effects of spells like protection from evil or protection from law are unaffected by this unholy energy, though they may still take fire damage.

Master Hellfire (Su)

At 16th level, when a diabolist may use channel hellfire with any spell that deals energy damage. Spells altered to use hellfire lose any energy type descriptors and gain the fire, lawful, and evil descriptors.

Master Conjurer

At 20th level, the diabolist may use her Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate modifier rather than a raw Charisma check when bargaining for services using planar binding spells. When she calls a devil whose name she knows, she may cast the calling spell as a standard action and bargain with it as a move action.

Table: Diabolist

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Channel hellfire, damned, eschew materials, infernal familiar	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3		4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Bonus spell, infernal charisma +2	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4		6	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Bonus spell	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5		6	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Bonus spell, imp companion	6	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Infernal charisma +4	6	6	5	3	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Bonus spell, infernal transport	6	6	6	4	—	—	—	—	—
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Hellish soul	6	6	6	5	3	—	—	—	—
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Bonus spell	6	6	6	6	4	—	—	—	—
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Augment Summoning	6	6	6	6	5	3	—	—	—
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Bonus spell	6	6	6	6	6	4	—	—	—
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	Infernal charisma +6	6	6	6	6	6	5	3	—	—
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9	Bonus spell , hellfire ray	6	6	6	6	6	6	4	—	—
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10		6	6	6	6	6	6	5	3	—
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Bonus spell	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	4	—
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11		6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	3
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Bonus spell, Sacred Summons	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	4
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Master conjurer	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

Summary of Lost Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Bloodline Arcana
• Bloodline Feats (All)
• Bloodline Powers (All)
• Bloodline Spells (All)

The text in this article is Open Game Content. It is covered by the Open Game License v1.0a, rather than the Action copyright. To distinguish it, these items will have this notice. If you see any page that contains OGL material and does not show this license statement, please contact one of the Action administrators. Please note that images used in article may have different copyright than the text.