VERMIN LORD
The skittering of multiple legs across the floor, the droning
of wings—these phenomena mark the passing of a vermin
lord. This unthinkable entity prefers the caress of the crawling
legs of an insect or the fluttering wings of a fly more
than the touch of another person. The vermin lord offers
itself as a host for all manner of parasitic organisms and
insects that feed on it body. It not only allows the infestation,
it revels in it.
Clerics and druids comprise the majority of the vermin
lord ranks; some cleric/rogues are present as well. Many
monstrous vermin lords, such as drider clerics, exist.
Humanoid vermin lords work with monsters such as
driders, phase spiders, and other creatures associated with
vermin. Otherwise, they operate alone, for most other
humanoids will have nothing to do with them.
Hit Die: d6.
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a vermin lord, a character must fulfill
all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any evil.
Skills: Hide 3 ranks, Knowledge (nature) 2 ranks, Move
Silently 3 ranks.
Feats: Verminfriend.
Special:Must be able to cast the giant vermin spell.
Special: The vermin lord must be ordained by an intelligent
evil creature with a physical resemblance to vermin—
a drider, chasme, gelugon, aranea, bebilith, phase spider, evil
formian, or similar creature. The ordaining creature must be
intelligent enough to communicate with the vermin lordto-
be. Of course, such a creature will demand service or payment
in return.
CLASS SKILLS
The vermin lord’s class skills (and the key ability for each
skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con),
Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move
Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Pick Pocket (Dex), Search
(Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the
Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int
modifier.
CLASS FEATURES
All the following are class features of
the vermin lord prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
A vermin lord is proficient
with no weapons, armor, or
shields.
Spells: When a vermin lord attains
1st level and every two levels
after that (plus 10th level), the character
gains new spells per day as if he
had also gained a level in whatever
spellcasting class he belonged to
before he added the prestige class.
He does not, however, gain any other
benefit a character of that class
would have gained (improved chance of
controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic
or item creation feats, hit points
beyond those received from the prestige
class, and so on), except for an increased effective
level of spellcasting. This essentially
means that he adds the new level of vermin
lord to the level of whatever other spellcasting
class the character has, then determines
spells per day, spells known, and caster level
accordingly. For example, if Silican, an 8th-level
wizard, gains a level in vermin lord, he gains new spells as if
he had risen to 9th level in wizard, but uses the other
vermin lord aspects of level progression such as attack
bonus and save bonus. If he next gains a level of wizard,
making him a 9th-level wizard/1st-level vermin lord, he
gains spells as if he had risen to 10th-level wizard.
If a character had more than one spellcasting class before
he became a vermin lord, he must decide to which class he
adds the level of vermin lord.
Chitin (Ex): A vermin lord gains a +1 natural armor
bonus to Armor Class from the chitinous plates that begin
to grow on his flesh. Every three levels beyond 1st, this
bonus increases by +1.
Vermin Servant: A vermin lord
gains a servant in the form of a
vermin of up to 1 HD. This servant
is treated as a familiar; its
intelligence increases, and it is
considered a magical beast (see
the Familiars section in Chapter
3 of the Player’s Handbook). The
vermin servant is in addition to
any familiar the character may
already have.
A vermin lord gains additional
vermin servants at higher levels.
At 5th level, the vermin servant
gained can be of up to 4 HD. At
9th level, the vermin servant
may be of up to 16 HD.
Blood Drain (Su): A 2ndlevel
vermin lord can grow insectoid
mandibles at will. He can use
these mandibles to make a bite
attack that deals 1 point of damage.
Furthermore, the vermin lord can
attempt to start a grapple, provoking
no attack of opportunity. If successful,
the mandibles automatically deal 2d6
points of damage each round as they
suck blood from the victim. The blood
drain ability only works on living creatures.
Spider Hand (Sp):Once per day, a 3rd-level
vermin lord can produce an effect identical to
that of a spider hand spell cast at his effective caster level.
Swarm Armor (Su): Each day, a 4th-level vermin lord
automatically summons a swarm of insects, spiders, or scorpions
that cover his flesh when he regains his spells. These
insects absorb up to 10 points of damage from any damaging
attack (weapons or spells). The insects die off when they
CHAPTER 5:
PRESTIGE
CLASSES
Table 5–17: The Vermin Lord
Class Base Fort Ref Will
Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Spells Per Day/Spells Known
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Chitin +1, vermin servant 1 HD +1 level of existing class
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Blood drain —
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Spider hand +1 level of existing class
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Chitin +2, swarm armor —
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Wings of the vermin, vermin servant 4 HD +1 level of existing class
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Spider legs —
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Chitin +3, spew vermin +1 level of existing class
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Poison, pincer claws —
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 Vermin servant 16 HD +1 level of existing class
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Chitin +4, hivemind +1 level of existing class
absorb such attacks, and a total of up to 5 points per vermin
lord level can be absorbed per day. Thus, a 7th-level vermin
lord’s swarm armor can absorb up to 35 points of damage,
although no more than 10 points from any one attack.
If a vermin lord is already wearing
armor, the swarm armor has no
effect.
Wings of the Vermin (Su):
A vermin lord of 5th level or
higher can sprout massive,
buzzing insectoid wings from
his back once per day. With
these wings, he can fly at his
normal land speed with average
maneuverability for 1
hour. The vermin lord can
carry his normal carrying
capacity, and greater burdens
affect his speed as they would
affect his land speed. It is
impossible to move silently
with these wings.
Spider Legs (Sp): Once per
day, a 6th-level vermin lord
can produce an effect identical
to that of a spider legs spell cast
at his effective caster level.
Spew Vermin (Sp): Once per
day, a 7th-level vermin lord is
able to spray out a swarm of vermin
from his mouth, as a breath weapon
in a 30-foot cone. Anyone in this
area takes 1d6 points of damage
per vermin lord level, with a
successful Reflex save reducing
the damage by half (DC
10 + vermin lord’s class level
+ vermin lord’s Con bonus). The vermin then
remain as if a summon swarm spell had been cast at the
vermin lord’s class level. The vermin are under the command
of the vermin lord.
Poison (Ex): In a vermin lord of 8th level or higher, the
mandibles gained from the blood drain ability now carry a
natural venom that deals 1 point of Strength damage with
each successful bite attack and 1 point of Strength damage 1
minute later. The Fortitude save DC to resist the poison is 10
+ vermin lord’s class level + vermin lord’s Con modifier.
Hivemind (Su): A 10th-level vermin lord can form the
impetus to create a hivemind (see Hivemind in Chapter 2).
The hivemind must include the vermin lord, although he
counts as only a single individual and his Intelligence and
Charisma scores are unaffected. However, he controls the
hivemind, gains the insight bonuses, and can take advantage
of the spellcasting abilities of the hivemind if enough individuals
are present. The vermin lord’s vermin servant can
also join the hivemind if the vermin lord wishes.
Subject: Vermin Lord Presitge Class 
Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:33 am
