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MONSTERS (Templates Class): The Half-Fiend

Half-fiends are the spawn of mortals and fiends -- powerful demons, devils, or other evil outsiders. Tainted from conception with evil, half-fiends are mistreated by true fiends and feared by mortals. "Half-fiend" is usually an inherited template, but it could be acquired through special magical rituals as well.

Some depraved mortals voluntarily subject themselves to evil power in hopes of becoming more like fiends, and occasionally such tampering results in a half-fiend. Such beings can advance in the half-fiend template class, just as natural-born half-fiends can if they wish to develop their powers more slowly. Because almost all half-fiends are evil, the DM is free to require that a good or neutral character who advances as a half-fiend become fully evil by the time she has completed the class progression.

Because the half-fiend template and half-celestial template differ only in alignment focus, the half-fiend template class can easily be used as a model to create a half-celestial template class. (See the "About the Author" section at the end of this article for more information on another half-celestial class option.)

Table SP-5: The Half Fiend Template Class

Level CR Special
1 * Dex +2, natural armor +1, 2 claws, darkvision 60 ft., outsider type, spell-like abilities
2 ** Str +2, Con +2, bite, poison immunity, resistances (acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5), spell resistance (lesser), spell-like abilities
3 *** Str +2, Int +2, damage reduction, smite good, spell-like abilities
4 *** Dex +2, Int +2, Cha +2, (acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10), spell resistance (greater), spell-like abilities, wings
* A 1st-level half-fiend with fewer than 11 HD has a CR adjustment of +0. One with 11 or more HD has a CR adjustment of +1.
** A 2nd-level half-fiend with fewer than 11 HD has a CR adjustment of +1. One with 11 or more HD has a CR adjustment of +2.
*** A 3rd or 4th-level half-fiend with fewer than 5 HD has a CR adjustment of +1. One with 5-10 HD has a CR adjustment of +2. One with 11 or more HD has a CR adjustment of +3.


All of the following are class features of the half-fiend template class.

Ability Score Changes: The indicated ability score increases or decreases by the amount noted.

Natural Armor Improvements: At 1st level, the half-fiend's natural armor bonus increases by +1. A character that does not normally have a natural armor bonus (such as a human) is considered to have an initial natural armor bonus of +0 for the purpose of this ability. Thus, a human's natural armor bonus would increase to +1 at 1st level.

Claws: At 1st level, the half-fiend gains two claw attacks if she didn't already have them. For the base damage of her claw attacks, use the appropriate value from the table below if the base creature did not previously have claw attacks. If she did, use either the value from the table or the base creature's claw damage, whichever is better. The half-fiend's claws are natural attacks.

Bite: At 2nd level, the half-fiend gains a bite attack if she didn't already have one. For the base damage of the half-fiend's bite attack, use the appropriate value from the table below if the base creature did not previously have a bite attack. If she did, use either the value from the table or the base creature's bite damage, whichever is better. The half-fiend's bite is a natural attack.

Size Bite
Damage		 Claw
Damage
Fine 1 --
Diminutive 1d2 1
Tiny 1d3 1d2
Small 1d4 1d3
Medium 1d6 1d4
Large 1d8 1d6
Huge 2d6 1d8
Gargantuan 3d6 2d6
Colossal 4d6 3d6


Darkvision (Ex): At 1st level, the half-fiend gains darkvision to a 60-foot range.

Spell-Like Abilities: Starting at 1st level, a half-fiend with an Intelligence or Wisdom score of 8 or better gains spell-like abilities. The exact abilities gained depend on the half-fiend's character level and level in the template class, according to the following table. In each case, the caster level equals the half-fiend's character level. Save DCs, where applicable, are Charisma-based (10 + spell level + half-fiend's Charisma modifier).
Minimum
Half-Fiend Level		 Minimum
Character Level		 Spell-Like Abilities Gained
1st 1st Darkness 3/day
  7th Poison 3/day
  13th Unhallow 1/day
2nd 3rd Desecrate 1/day
  6th Unholy blight 1/day
  13th Unholy aura 3/day
3rd 9th Contagion 1/day
  15th Horrid wilting 1/day
  17th Summon monster IX (fiends only) 1/day
4th 11th Blasphemy 1/day
  19th Destruction 1/day


The character gains each spell-like ability as soon as she meets both qualifications for it. Spell-like abilities are cumulative, so a 2nd-level half-fiend whose character level is 6th has darkness (1st-level half-fiend) plus desecrate and unholy blight (2nd-level half-fiend).

Outsider Type: At 1st level, the half-fiend completes her metamorphosis. Her type changes to outsider (native). She becomes vulnerable to spells and effects that work on creatures of the outsider type but is immune to effects that target her original type. For example, an evil half-human/half-fiend would be subject to the extra damage from an evil outsider bane sword, but she is immune to hold person because that spell affects only humanoids.

Poison Immunity (Ex): At 2nd level, a half-fiend becomes immune to all poisons.

Resistances (Ex): At 2nd level, a half-fiend gains resistance 5 to acid, cold, electricity, and fire. At 4th level, each of these resistances increases to 10.

Spell Resistance (Su): At 2nd level, a half-fiend gains spell resistance equal to her character level (maximum 25). At 4th level, her spell resistance increases by +10 (maximum 35).

Damage Reduction (Su): A 3rd-level or higher half-fiend has damage reduction 5/magic if her character level is 11th or lower, or damage reduction 10/magic if her character level is 12th or higher. A half-fiend treats her natural weapons as magic weapons for the purpose of bypassing the damage reduction of other creatures.

Smite Good (Su): Once per day, a half-fiend of at least 3rd level may attempt to smite a good creature with one normal melee attack. This attack deals extra damage equal to her character level (maximum +20) against a good foe. If she accidentally smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect but is still used up for the day.

Wings (Ex): At 4th level, a half-fiend grows batlike wings, which she may use to fly at up to her base land speed with average maneuverability.