AGENT OF THE GRAVE
On their twisted route to immortality, necromancers learn secret rites that aid them on their path. Every step brings them that much closer to the final secret. Agents of the grave learn the deepest arcane secrets of necromancy in their quest for undeath, gaining undeadlike traits before their final elevation to a state beyond death. These vile powers, paired with the ability to veil their intentions and increased breadth of knowledge, make agents of the grave perfect collectors of the foul relics, components, corpses, and morbid secrets that lie scattered across the world.
Requirements
To qualify to become an agent of the grave, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Alignment: Any evil
Skills: Knowledge (arcane) 5 ranks, Knowledge (divine) 5 ranks
Feats: Spell Focus (necromancy) or Sphere Focus (death)
Spells: Must be able to cast animate dead or the [reanimate] ability from the Death sphere
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: The agent of the grave’s class skills are Heal (Wis), Influence (Cha), Knowledge (arcane) (Int), Knowledge (divine) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Table: The Agent of the Grave
CLASS FEATURES
The following are the class features of the agent of the grave:
Magic:
When an agent of the grave gains a level, he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefits a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of agent of the grave to the level of whatever other spellcasting class she has.
If the agent of the grave is a spherecaster, he instead gains new magic talents and spell points as if he was a High-caster
Lich's Touch (Su)
At 1st level, the agent of the grave becomes a conduit for negative energy and the chill powers of death, allowing him to make a melee touch attack dealing 1d6 negative energy damage per agent of the grave level. When used on an undead creature, this ability instead heals a number of hit points equal to half the amount rolled.
Undead Manipulator (Ex)
At 2nd level, the agent of the grave gains great insight into the minds and necromantic forces controlling undead creatures. An agent of the grave’s spells, spell-like abilities, and spherecasting abilities with mind-affecting effects treat undead creatures as their original type.
Necromantic Prowess (Ex)
At 3rd level, an agent of the grave gains true power over undeath. When he casts a necromancy spell or uses an ability from the Death sphere, he gains a -1 bonus to his caster.
Death's Shroud (Su)
As an agent of the grave gains power within the organization, he often must infiltrate other groups to gain further knowledge. At 4th level, he learns how to cloak his true intentions, gaining the ability to use nondetection or undetectable alignment once per day. The caster level for this ability is equal to the agent of the grave’s highest caster level.
Negative Energy Affinity (Ex)
At 4th level, the agent of the grave, gains Necromantic Affinity as a bonus feat. If he already possesses this feat or a similar ability, he instead gains a Necrosis feat of his choice.
Fear Aura (Su)
At 5th level, an agent of the grave can radiate a 5ft-radius fear aura as a free action. Enemies in the area must succeed at a Will save or become shaken. A creature who successfully saves is immune to this ability for 24 hours.
Undeath Initiate (Ex)
At 5th level, an agent of the grave has prepared his body and mind for the transition into undeath. He gains a +5 bonus on any ability check, skill check, or saving throw related to the process of transforming into an undead creature and halves the cost of crafting a lich’s phylactery. If he possesses a temporary phylactery from the Wandering Spirit feat, he can instead upgrade this to a full phylactery at no cost if he becomes a lich. Additionally, if slain by an undead creature with the create spawn ability, the agent of the grave retains his Intelligence (regardless of the type of undead he is transformed into) and free will (he is never under the control of the creature that killed him). Unless otherwise noted by the undead creature’s create spawn ability, the newly created undead agent of the grave loses all of his class levels.