The City of 7 Seraphs
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The Blackswords
CE preeminent organization
Leaders the Lord Executioner
Values accepted entropy, the destruction of static things, nihilistic thought
Nicknames “Enders,” “Breakers,” “Entrophs,” “Holes”
Public Goals to remove threats to the City by force or incarceration, to maintain Prisons for the City’s criminal populace, to execute the guilty and enforce the will of the City Council, to destroy rogue Eternals, to facilitate the end of things
Private Goals the prepare for the day when the dark and light collide and bring the Final End of All
Allies among fellow Parities, Scarlet Sovereignty, Steamstriders, Hands of Burden and the Descendants of Thunder. They alternate in conflicts and partnership with the Ashlords
Enemies House of Prominence, Cocoon Pact, Everlasting Dawn, Church of Coin and Foreseers
Membership Requirements trained in Craft (Alchemy), Knowledge (arcana), or BAB +1
Influence Limitations Each time the adventurers wish to reach a new rank, they must destroy a preserving force or destroy an enduring creation of value to the Parity significantly more noteworthy than the last. Succeeding at a special task more frequently than described below still gains you 1 favor (2 PP) but does not advance you toward the next rank of influence (or increase your Fame).
Special Tasks
Destroy Enduring Creation (1 Favor/2 Fame) Once every two months, you can increase your Fame score or take a step toward raising your influence with the Blackblades by destroying an enduring creation. This can be an object, building, or organization. Destroying an enduring creation that required overcoming a hazard or guardian with CR higher than your level satisfies this special task and an object or creation resulting from a Skill check of 10 + twice your level.
Defeat Preserving Force (1 Favor/2 Fame) Once every two months, you can increase your Fame score or take a step toward raising your influence with the Blackblades by killing or defeating a preserving force. Defeating a preserving force can include destroying the target of their preservation. Any conflict that required overcoming a hazard or guardian with CR higher than your level satisfies this special task.
Benefits
Passive Benefits (Fame Awards)
“Ender”—Rank 1 (5 Fame): You can access the Blackblades' extensive contacts with weapon merchants, demolitionists, and militaries. When within 100 miles of the city, you may purchase weapons and destructive magic items at 10% discount.
“Breaker”—Rank 2 (20 Fame): You gain a dreadful mien associated with those of the Blackblades Parity. When within 100 miles of Hyraeatan, a portal to Hyraeatan, or the Lattice, you gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
“Nihil”—Rank 3 (35 Fame): You are initiated in the mysteries of the Final End. You can cast disintegrate as a spell-like ability once per day at a caster level equal to your character level.
“Finality”—Rank 4 (50 Fame): You become an influential leader of the Parity and gain a +4 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks against those familiar with the Blackblades. In addition, you can retrain without expending money or favors (or PP).
Favors (Prestige Awards)
New benefits are marked with an asterisk (*). All other benefits are described in the Mastering Intrigue chapter of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Intrigue or the campaign setting intrigue guide.
Rank 1 (5 Fame, 1 PP): borrow resources (100 gp), case (+15), gather information, power of the destroyer*, sage (arcana, local, or planes +15)
Rank 1 (10 Fame, 2 PP): shattering blow*, skill specialization (Craft [any], Knowledge [planes], Perform [any])
Rank 2 (20, 5 PP): borrow resources (1,000 gp), command team (1 1st-level eclipse or nexus), put in a good word, retrain (locate trainer), reaper’s harvest*, tides of doom*
Rank 3 (35 Fame, 2 PP): blood of the destroyer*
Rank 3 (35 Fame, 5 PP): borrow resources (5,000 gp), command team (1 4th-level eclipses, 1d4 3rd-level nexus, or 3d4 1st-level cryptics), reciprocal benefits
Rank 3 (35 Fame, 15 PP): retrain (no gp cost)
Rank 4 (50 Fame, 25 PP): borrow resources (15,000 gp), command team (1d4 6th-level eclipses or nexus; or 5d4 3rd-level aethernauts or cryptics), final end*
New Benefits
Blood of the Destroyer (35 Fame, 2 PP): You may bind veils to the (blood) chakra as though you were a daevic. You must be able to shape veils to gain this benefit.
Final End (50 Fame, 25PP): The organization opens the power of the Void within you. If you drop a creature to 0 hit points you may use an immediate action to declare the blow as a final end. The creature instantly dies and cannot be targeted by resurrection magic or abilities until a wish or miracle is used to undo the effects of this ability. You must be mythic to use this ability on a mythic creature.
Power of the Destroyer (5 Fame, 2 PP): You become infused with the power to harm and destroy. All weapons and natural attacks you wield are considered magical for purposes of DR and at 10 Fame they gain a +1 enhancement bonus if they possess none.
Reaper’s Harvest (20 Fame, 5 PP): You gain 1 point of temporary essence when you bring a creature to 0 or lower hit points. This temporary essence fades after 1 minute. You may have no more than 1 temporary essence from this ability per 10 Fame you have with Blackswords.
Sage (5 Fame, 1 PP): You consult a sage, who makes one Knowledge check on your behalf.
Shattering Blow (10 Fame, 2 PP): As a member of the Blacksword you may use a swift action to make one attack per day ignore the hardness of an object or damage reduction of a creature, if you miss with the attack this ability is wasted. For every 10 Fame beyond 10, the Blacksword can use this ability again.
Tides of Doom (20 Fame, 5 PP): You gain the ability to make an Intimidate check against a creature that carries a promise of death before you ever meet in person. While speaking to any group of 10 or more creatures you may make an Intimidate check against a creature you are aware of and believe to be within 100 miles of the city. If successful the first time you meet that after 1d4 days creature they are subject to the results of the Skill as soon as they become aware of your identity. If the creature is not within range this ability fails.
Blackswords Views and Beliefs
Things exist to cease existing, so says the only scripture the Blackswords recognize. Life is then a journey to the Last Moment. A perfect end for all things and all things made perfect in the end. A Blacksword always presides over each Tribunal for crimes in the city, not as judge or bailiff but rather a swift executioner’s blade should it be deemed needed. Each tribunal consists of the five organizations of the Council most wronged by the criminal and is presided over by three of the organizations least. The Blackswords consider their executioner’s presence enough and rarely request any additional representation.
As that all life is the journey toward the end, known as the Last Moment, the Blackswords see themselves as purifiers and declarers of the Final State. The Final State is the recognizable form of thing or person that requires the Last Moment. Generally, the Blackswords claim that their members instinctively recognize the Final State and sense the coming of the Last Moment. The Jailers of the Blackswords then also claim to be keeping prisoners for in trust for the perfection of their Final States. This fact that makes their prison one of the most feared places in the city.
It should be noted that outside of the court and prison, the Blackswords don’t receive any special protections legally unless specifically bestowed by the City Council. This doesn’t stop members from “recognizing the end” and facing the consequences of their killings, arsons, and other destructive crimes outside their tower or prison. Other members just smile and nod as they haul their new charge back to the prison.
Blackswords Game Mechanics
-Apocalypse Shaper (ShifterUW Archetype)
-Blacksword Breaker (Soulknife Archetype)
-Fell-Handed Juggernaut (Barbarian Archetype)
-Mindbreaker (Mesmerist Archetype)
-Moment Bringer (Slayer Archetype)
| City of 7 Seraphs by Lost Spheres Publishing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classes | |||||||||||
| Aegis | Aethernaut | Echo | |||||||||
| Eclipse | Nexus | Radiant | |||||||||
| Shadow Weaver | Sphereshaper | Theurge | |||||||||
| Races | |||||||||||
| Ceptu | Judow | Mirrorkin | Rhyzala | Shadow Fey | Veryx | ||||||
| Xodai | |||||||||||
| Luminous Organizations | |||||||||||
| Ashlords | Children of Dreams | Everlasting Dawn | Foreseers | House of Prominence | Steamstriders | ||||||
| Neutral Organizations | |||||||||||
| Cocoon Pact | Descendants of Thunder | ||||||||||
| Umbral Organizations | |||||||||||
| Blackswords | Booksealers | Church of Coin | Frozen Graves | Hands of Burden | Scarlet Sovereignty | ||||||
| Get The City of 7 Seraphs | |||||||||||
| Get Spheres of Akasha | |||||||||||