Harvester: Servant of Nxla

Harvesters are a subclass of Necromancer described in much more detail in the Dark Harvest chapter of Rifts: World Book 12: Psyscape. They operate in groups, sometimes numbering in the dozens, even the hundreds for a major cult operation, and enjoy the protection of Lord Dunscon and the Federation of Magic, chiefly because Dunscon isn’t aware of the true intentions of the cult, which is to bring their godlike master to Rifts Earth to conquer the planet and grant them all immortality (or so they believe). When there are enough Harvesters present on Rifts Earth (what they call “True Believers”), along with enough of their mindless minions, the Soulless Xombies, Nxla, their massive overlord, will arrive from his realm in his physical form and begin the process of capturing every living soul for himself.

The Harvesters gain power through ritual murder, during which they capture and bind the souls of their victims to themselves, adding the victims’ PPE and abilities to the Harvester’s own. If he desires, for whatever reason, a Harvester can voluntarily release one or more of the captured souls, and loses the benefits gained from that soul. The souls are released en masse if the Harvester is slain.

Harvesters are unable to harvest and capture the souls of Psionics, and, for reasons unknown, they are especially vulnerable to Psionic attacks. See below.

The writeup below is a Harvester who has captured no souls yet. See the Special Abilities section for Harvesters who have already captured one or more souls. A Harvester with many captured souls is a formidable foe, albeit not a mentally or emotionally stable one.

Harvesters are not averse to using Techno-Wizard devices and magic items to boost their offensive and defensive capabilities. The higher-ranked Harvesters are likely to have the better gear, naturally.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d6, Healing d8, Intimidation d8, Knowledge (Alchemy) d8, Knowledge (Arcana) d10, Notice d10, Shooting d6, Spellcasting d10, Stealth d6, Survival d8

Cha: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness:10 (4)

Hindrances: Vow: Serve Nxla, Power-hungry, Murderous

Edges: Alertness, Arcane Background (Magic), Danger Sense, Master of Magic, Rapid Recharge, Soul Drain, Wizard

Powers: Armor, bolt, boost/lower Trait, darksight, deflection, dispel, drain Power Points, fear, greater healing, healing, intangibility, puppet, slow, slumber, wall walker, zombie. PPE: 20

Gear: TW Adventure Survival Armor (+4 Armor, +2 Vigor checks vs hostile environments), NG-33 Laser Pistol (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d4+1, RoF 1, AP 1), 2 extra clips, 2x silver-plated knife (Str + 1d4), basic vehicle or riding animal (motorcycle, horse), ritual items.

Special Abilities:

Mystic Awareness: Harvesters are attuned to the spiritual world. This grants them, among other things, the use of the detect/conceal arcana power as a free action at will, costing no PPE. They can also sense powerful supernatural beings with a Notice check, anywhere within line of sight. Harvesters can see magic energy but not well enough to spot anything made invisible by magic.

Soul Searching: A Harvester can look “into the very souls of men,” giving him immediate insight into the presence of psychic or magical abilities, any possessing entities, or a soul. He can tell the general level of PPE a character has, and also divine a character’s most intense desires and goals, which they will often use masterfully to manipulate others and provide conflict when it suits them.

Limited Ley Line Walker Abilities: Harvesters have Ley Line Sense, but only up to five miles rather than 10, sensing Rifts at 25 miles rather than 50. 

Necromantic Focus: Like Necromancers, Harvesters gain +2 to spellcasting rolls for lower Trait, drain Power Points, fear, slumber, and zombie.

Commune with Lost Souls: Harvesters possess the “Spiritual Channel” ability of Necromancers from Savage Foes of North America.

Soul Harvesting: Harvesters collect souls, one at a time, through a gruesome ritual sacrifice of a living victim, which must be conducted indoors (hut, cave, tower, temple, or such) in a magical environment such as near a ley line or other enchanted area. For each captured soul, add a die type to Strength and Vigor (a limit of d12+8 is probably a sensible idea), a +1 to Spellcasting (+8 should be the limit), a +1 to Toughness, +2d10 PPE, and a +1 bonus to two Skills (again +8 should be the limit). For every four captured souls, add a Power from the Ley Line Walker list. Invisibility is a likely addition, as are light/obscure and stun. The accumulation of power through torture and murder drives Harvesters insane. For every four souls captured, choose (or randomly roll) from the Psyche Degradation table in the Crazy Iconic Framework section of the Tomorrow Legion Player’s Guide. The Harvester will, upon encountering people known to one of his victims, recognize such people and understand what relationship they had to the victim.

Command Soulless Xombies. A Harvester can also command four Soulless Xombies per Rank. Treat each captured soul as an Advance, making a Harvester with four captured souls equivalent to Seasoned, one with eight equivalent to Veteran, and so on. A Legendary Harvester would have 20 or more captured souls, and would be both supremely powerful and almost cripplingly insane. Distribution of Ranks through a group of Harvesters should be more or less pyramidical. Xombies are the barely alive bodies whose souls have been stolen by Nxla and replaced with Nxla’s own foul essence. (A separate adaptation of Soulless Xombies is forthcoming.)

Vulnerability to Psionics: Psionics are a problem for the Harvester. Anyone with Arcane Background (Psionics) will immediately recognize a Harvester, seeing through any form of disguise, magical or otherwise. A Mind Melter, particularly, can sense how many souls a Harvester has captured, and will instinctively detect the evil of the Harvester, even if she’s never seen one before. Psionic attacks, including psionically-smited weapons, will deal +4 damage to the Harvester. Psionic characters are at +2 to resist a Harvester’s magic, and are impervious to the soul-capturing ritual.

Vulnerability to Holy Warriors and Champions: Harvesters are vulnerable to the Holy Warrior Edge available to Mystics and others with Arcane Background (Miracles). If the Harvester fails against it, in addition to being Shaken or taking a Wound, he loses one of his captured souls, often having a Skill, power, or Attribute gain evaporate as a result. However, a Harvester’s madness may also subside, opening them up to the possibility of de-conversion, see below. Harvesters also trigger the Champion Edge, suffering the enhanced incoming and reduced outgoing damage involved.

A Chance to Atone: For cautious political reasons, the Harvesters’ enemies at Psyscape have been careful not to commit to the wholesale slaughter of the Harvesters, trying instead to convince them to abandon their worship of Nxla and spread the word among the Harvesters that their evil master will bring them only the same madness and destruction he brings to all. When a Harvester, particularly one with eight or more souls captured, is forced to release them all via the Holy Warrior Edge, puppet, or some other means not involving his own death, he will sense an alleviation of the Psychic Degradation he has suffered. He will feel as though a heavy and painful weight has been lifted, and he’ll have a “moment of clarity,” during which a Persuasion roll vs the Harvester’s Spirit will convince him to consider giving up on Nxla altogether, and a Raise will have him thoroughly de-converted. If released otherwise unharmed, the former Harvester will shed his cloak and tearfully pledge to return to Soulharvest and carefully spread the message to his former comrades of “the lie of Nxla.” Naturally, anyone known among the Harvesters for achieving even one such victory will be marked for death and pursued with murderous fanaticism. A Hero who successfully de-converts a Harvester and sends him on his way should probably be awarded a Benny (the same session or the next) or an extra XP. A Mystic or Cyber-Knight who does so should feel a sense of blessing and achievement as well.