So the other night I was reading through the prestige classes in the Book of Nine Swords and noticed the little addendum after Jade Phoenix Mage -- that the class would easily be adaptable as a cabal of evil mage/warriors, looking to bring back an aspect of the Ebon Phoenix.
Would it be possible to adapt that idea in terms of Kyuss? And if so, how would you do so, and who would you modify to fit the template?
My initial thought was to go with the obvious -- transform the Faceless One from a level 6 wizard into a level 2 swordsage/level 5 wizard. He wouldn't be quite as powerful spellcaster-wise, but he could clearly be an lesser brother of the Ebon Phoenix cabal. Throw in some Shadow Hand maneuvers and stances, maybe shift the fire focus of the Jade Phoenix class into something more sinister and insidious, and <i>voila!</i> instant evil mastermind.
Would this be an intriguing addition to the mythology of the Age of Worms, or would it be overpowered? Who else might be reasonably adapted into the Order of the Ebon Phoenix?
I don't see a great deal of problem with changing around the faceless one a bit. I have made some adjustments to some of the AOW characters that didn't meet my exacting NPC requirements. Filge for example I changed to a custome built Dread Necromancer 4 (instead of Wizard:Necromancer 3). A 2nd level Swordsage added and 1 wizard level dropped should keep him reasonably near the same power level, yet it will give The Faceless One some interesting abilities beyond what is printed.
I just might look into doing a similar build myself.
As far as the Ebon Phoenix is concerned...I am going to have to go read that. I'll get back to you.