Prestige Class Spotlight 11: Blackfire Adept
(art by Yuan Chang on Artstation)
The idea of there being a cosmology of planes, of spaces beyond space as we know it, where all sorts of wonders might be found is truly an exciting prospect, and I for one know many people who would be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to visit such places if they existed and such a thing were possible.
…but there’s such a thing as being too eager, isn’t there?
Knowledge is power, after all, and power corrupts those without the conviction to stay true to their principles. Thus can an erstwhile planar explorer go from being a wide-eyed scholar to being a servant of the end times.
Naming themselves after the black flame-like energy release that is sometimes seen when planar barriers are torn asunder without regard for stability, the Blackfire Adepts are a loose cabal of mages with an interest in conjuration. Certainly they wish to see and study other planes, but true to their name they are also very interested in the blackfire itself, a cosmic destructive force that eats away where the threads of reality have been severed, consuming matter on a molecular level when it gets in the way as well. To that end, they specialize in using conjuration in deliberately “wrong” ways to induce flareups of blackfire to observe the effects and turn against their foes.
It should be no surprise to you that they learned most of these secrets from fiends of all descriptions, nor should it shock you to know that blackfire burns away at the barriers towards the lower planes the fastest.
That the blackfire adepts, so obsessed with mastering the planes and studying the very fabric of reality by, of all things, destroying it, that they cannot or will not see they are being used to erode at reality to make it easier for fiends to enter and cause harm and destruction is the very picture of hubris. Even those that are in on it surely think that they will be spared, or that whatever knowledge and power they gain will be worth it.
Needless to say, this makes them the sworn enemies of the Riftwardens, who seek to protect the barriers between planes.
Whether they are unscrupulous scholars who don’t realize or care about the harm they cause, or full on villains, this is the very picture of a mage taking things to far, and they can start this path with knowledge of planar and magical lore, mastery of summoning spells, and knowledge of how to enhance said conjurations.
As a spellcasting prestige class, they do continue their mastery of spells, though sometimes they are too busy mastery other aspects to master the traditional spellcasting aspects.
They do, however, learn to enhance their casting of summoned fiends, conjuring them faster than other summoned beings.
By channeling a few elusive flickers of blackfire between themselves and a foe, these mystics can enhance their attacks and spells against them for a brief while, but said foe must remain within a certain range.
As part of their pursuit of forbidden knowledge, these adepts make dark pacts with entire categories of fiends, choosing several throughout their careers. These pacts may not mean much more than a slight amount of mercy from fiends they encounter in the wild, but when they call a fiend to perform greater services, the pact enhances the outsider, making them that much more powerful.
By sacrificing a spell, these conjurers can harness the power of the blackfire, causing an eruption of the stuff. The greater the amount of magic expended, the greater the unholy destructive power they unleash.
Perhaps their most infamous ability, however, is their ability to use blackfire to breach boundaries, most notably by empowering their summoned allies to be conjured through dimensional locks, or pass through wards that would normally keep summoned creatures at bay. It does take energy to do so though. Later on, they can pierce through antimagic fields, the greatest abjurations, and even extradimensional havens that normally would not let invaders inside, though doing so is obviously difficult.
More dangerous is that these adepts can choose to empower (or perhaps unshackle) the summoning power many fiends have that they could not ordinarily use as summons. However, such extra summoned beings are not under their control, making it a gamble to use.
Later on, their ability to enhance their spells with traces of blackfire improves, causing destructive resonance when their enhanced attacks and spells strike true, dealing additional damage, and even granting a little vitality to the caster when they slay a foe.
Finally, their mastery becomes so great that they can turn their blackfire power against the conjuration effects of foes, causing those that are summoned, called, or teleported in to be seared by a flash of that blighted flame as they enter.
As you can see, this prestige class is all about bolstering your fiendish summoning and having an untyped damage blasting spell they can use pretty much whenever. This truly is a powerful, if morally bankrupt option for a neutral or evil summoner. Naturally, no matter what your base spellcasting class is, you’ll want to favor the whole summoning and calling suite, as well as a variety of other spells you can use or sacrifice for those unholy blight spells. Naturally, assume that you’ll be fighting from the back line most of the time, supported by your fiendish allies.
At their worst, these mages are villains in the service of fiends, witting or unwitting. Some less villainous ones might channel their powers in moderation, but they are still playing a dangerous game. By default good blackfire adepts aren’t allowed, and honestly, I don’t think there’s any way to reflavor the class to be otherwise. Even the most chaotic good character appreciates at least enough stability that the multiverse isn’t collapsing. While you could go a neutral character that thinks they are using the power for good, blackfire is such an inherently destructive force that they’re just kidding themselves.
Normally, the Flame of the Rifts leaves little to nothing behind, but not even the breakdown of reality can be perfectly thorough. Such remnants are usually left to rot, but sometimes the anguish of such utter destruction reanimates the pieces into a swarm of blighted bits similar to the undead horrors known as the undigested.
Despair can rip apart the soul just as easily as blackfire consumes matter and reality. Such was the case with a young trox scion who lost the love of his life to an accident of fate, and has begun to heed the whispers of the shadows in the dark, who offer absolution from his pain if her brings reality crashing down on a cosmos that ripped his love from him.
Once a common sight, the eidolon Rivasai, a plant-like draconic creature hasn’t been seen with his summoner Valtas in months. He assures everyone that Rivasai is simply not needed or out doing errands, but the truth is more horrific. Valtas’ secret experiments into blackfire obliterated his companion, and left something horrible and empty in it’s place.