originally posted by pennarin
(Thanks Bengeldorn and Squidfur- for those hours! 
)
Here is the only PrC I currently have in the works.
You might notice some stuff:
- The fluff text is nearly the same as that of the Royal Defiler PrC. My imagination failed there.
- The Animation Reserve ability appears in the Fleshwarper PrC, page 189 of Lords of Madness (WotC). In that book its designed to partially pay for making grafts and such things, items that are permanent. But the Animator Reserve is for making boosted undead, which will end up killed or turned to dust after some time…The numbers may have to be adjusted upward. Also, I barely changed the wording from that book.
- There is currently no # of ranks and cost in XP for any of the options found under the Shape Undead ability.
- Since the class mainly gets 1 ability per 2 levels, and sacrifices a +1 spellcaster level per 2 levels, I gave it another good save, Fort, to go with the undead theme.
Feedback and comments are welcomed.
Royal Animator
“If this spy refuses to tell us who his master is, then his corpse will in his stead. Kill him.”
- Ang-Thal, raamin royal animator
Royal animators in service of sorcerer-monarchs have similar duties as royal defilers, with an emphasis on the dead arts. They are often trained in those arts by more powerful defilers in service of the king or queen, and sometimes even personally by the sorcerer-monarch. Royal animators can exert the same authority as templars within the boundaries of their monarch’s city-state. In most of the cities that have lost their dragon kings, animators have been driven away or killed by the populace who have feared them all their lives. These defilers can attain powerful positions in the templar hierarchy and can achieve great personal power. Their duties in the dead arts extend to raising walking dead for gladiatorial games and the creation of undead armies and war machines in times of war. They are also used to pilfer of knowledge the dead minds of corpses, and some sorcerer-monarchs also employ them for particularly horrible punishments.
Humans are ambitious, elves are scrupulous and half-elves have the natural aptitude of their parent races’ aptitude for magic. These three races are the most common royal animators. All royal animators have levels in the wizard class. The most feared agents of the sorcerer-kings are multi-classed templar/defilers who sometimes become royal animators and are the most devoted tools of their liege.
Hit Die: d4.
Requirements
To qualify to become a royal animator, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Diplomacy 2 ranks, Intimidate 2 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Knowledge (warcraft) 4 ranks.
Spells: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.
Special: Must be a defiler.
Special: Must be specialized in the Necromancy school of magic.
Special: Acceptance by Sorcerer-King/Queen.
Class Skills:
The royal animator’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Literacy (none), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Animation Reserve Spells per Day
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 King’s library, secular
authority, shape undead 500 +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Animator secret 700 ―
3rd +1 +3 +1 +3 ― 900 +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th +2 +4 +1 +4 Animator secret 1,200 ―
5th +2 +4 +1 +4 ― 1,500 +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th +3 +5 +2 +5 Animator secret 2,000 ―
7th +3 +5 +2 +5 ― 2,500 +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th +4 +6 +2 +6 Animator secret 3,000 ―
9th +4 +6 +3 +6 ― 4,000 +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th +5 +7 +3 +7 Animator secret 5,000 ―
Class features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Royal animators gain no proficiency in any additional weapons, armors or shields.
Animation Reserve (Ex): A royal animator receives a pool of points he can spend instead of experience points when using the undead shaping ability. Each time he gains a class level, he receive a new animation reserve. When gaining a new level, unspent points from previous levels are lost.
Secular Authority (Ex): Once per day per class level, a royal animator can use secular authority within his city-state. Depending on the ranks he has in the Diplomacy skill, a royal animator can intrude, accuse, pardon and requisition. Failure to comply with royal animator’s demands is usually sanctioned with fines, imprisonment, outlaw status, and possibly execution. This ability works exactly as described in the templar class entry in the DS3 Core Rules, including rules for contests of Secular Authority.
King’s Library: Royal animators have access to the King’s Library, a vast resource of spells and magical knowledge. The royal animator gains four new spells for every level gained in royal animator (including 1st), rather than two at every level.
Shape Undead: Skilled at undead crafting, a royal animator can impart unto the undead, at the moment he animates or creates them, certain abilities depending on his number of ranks in Knowledge (religion). Each ability has a cost in XP and when applied affects all creatures produced through a necromancy spell. Imparting one or more of these abilities increases the casting time of the necromancy spell to 1 hour (unless it already is 1 hour or longer).
• Hardened Body: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell gains a +2 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.
Ranks: 4; XP Cost: 25.
• Nimble Body: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell gains a +4 bonus on initiative checks and a 10-foot increase to its base land speed.
Ranks: 4; XP Cost: 50.
• Toughened Body: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and +2 hit points per Hit Dice.
Ranks: 6; XP Cost: 75.
• Retributive Death: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell releases a burst of grayish vapors upon its destruction, dealing 1d4 points of negative energy damage per Hit Dice of the undead to every creature within a 10-foot spread (Reflex DC 15 half).
Ranks: 8; XP Cost: 100.
• Pestilent Body: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell carries the filth fever disease (see Glossary in the Dungeon Master’s Guide), transmissible upon physical contact with the undead or through a natural or melee touch attack.
Ranks: 8; XP Cost: 125.
• Swarm Body: Undead vermin that you animate break down into one or more bugdead swarm of your choice (see Appendix 2 of Terrors of the Dead Lands). The total Hit Dice of the undead swarm or swarms has to be equal to or less than the HD of the undead vermin they are composed of. For example, a 12 HD undead rhinoceros beetle can break down into one 8 HD undead athasian locust swarm and one 4 HD undead mini-kank swarm, or any combination of bugdead swarms whose total Hit Dice is equal to or less than 12 HD.
Ranks: 8; XP Cost: 150.
• Battleborn: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell gains a spark of intelligence and skill. Undead gain a bonus feat of the royal animator’s choice or access to a skill. Undead with Int ― can only gain a feat with combat applications, such as Power Attack or Improved Initiative. Creatures with an Intelligence score can gain any skill or general feat, including a skill-related feat such as Stealthy, or a feat from a specialized type like metamagic or divine. The undead must meet the prerequisites for the feat. Skill points gained equal (4 + Int Modifier, mimimun 1) per HD, with quadruple skill points for the first HD.
Ranks: 10; XP Cost: 250.
• Undead Lieutenant: An intelligent undead with this ability can take control of skeletons and zombies. The undead creatures must be uncontrolled and within 30 feet of the intelligent undead to fall under its control. Taking control is a standard action, and the undead decides which creature or creatures it gains control of. Undead remain under its control indefinitely. It can control only 2 HD worth of undead creatures per Hit Dice it possesses. If it exceeds this number, all the newly controlled creatures fall under its control, and any excess undead previously controlled become uncontrolled. (It chooses which creatures are released.) The undead creatures move with the intelligent undead, staying within 30 feet of it. If commanded to leave this radius they become uncontrolled.
Ranks: 12; XP Cost: 500.
Animator Secret: At 2nd level and every two other levels afterward, the royal animator learns an Animator Secret, chosen from the following list. A Secret may only be chosen once, unless the description says otherwise, and the royal animator must meet any prerequisites.
• Advanced Undead War Machine: You can make extraordinary use of the Knowledge (warcraft) skill to animate the corpses of Large or larger animals or vermins, such as war beetles, into advanced undead war machines. Such a creature receives 1 additional HD per 2 ranks in Knowledge (warcraft) that you possess. These additonal HD do not count against your limit of undead controlled and you do not need to pay the material components for their addition.
• Dark Crafting Knowledge: You can create magic items that pertain to the animation, creation, and control of undead, as well as those items that specifically affect them, as if you have the Craft Wondrous Item feat, and pay half the price in Cp and XP for their creation (the duration of the item creation process is left unchanged).
• Desecrated Animation: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell in a desecrated area gains +1 hit point per HD and +2 turn resistance.
• Enduring Control: Control undead has a duration of 10 minutes/level for you.
• Ignore Necromantic Components: You may cast necromancy spells that animate or create undead without any material components. The Eschew Materials feat is a prerequisite for this ability.
• Necromantic Knowledge: Study of necromancy texts allows you to cast a number of spells more easily. To you, animate dead is a 3rd-level spell, control undead a 6th-level spell, create undead a 5th-level spell, and create greater undead a 7th-level spell.
• Necromantic Specialist: This ability reduces the level requirement necessary to create a specific type of undead through a casting of create undead or create greater undead by 1 level. You can take this ability multiple times, each time reducing the level requirement by an additional 1.
• Raising Curse: When using bestow curse on a living creature, you can choose to impart a special curse unto it. On a failed save, the creature animates into an undead upon its death, as per the animate dead spell (caster level equals your own).
• Undead Horde: You can control an additionnal 1 Hit Dice worth of undead per caster level with any necromancy spell. You can take this ability multiple times, each time adding an additionnal 1 Hit Dice worth of undead per caster level.
• Unlife Mastery: Each undead you animate or create with any necromancy spell gains maximum hit points.