Mephibosheth
2011-11-11, 01:14 PM
Sant-Kavi of the Maha Bhagwan
माहाभगवान का संत-कवि
As water to sea creatures
Moon nectar to chakora birds
Companionable dark to the stars –
My love is to my lord.
As if a day when no sun came up
And no color came to the earth –
That’s how it is in my heart when he goes away.
Vidyāpati says, cherish such love
And keep it young, fortunate one.
-- Vidyāpati, a sant-kavi
People experience an almost infinite variety of responses to divinity. There are a rare few, however, who embrace divinity with a totality that eclipses everything else in their lives. Their ecstatic devotion to their deity pours out of their bodies, hearts, and minds in the form of song, music, poetry, and dance. They just can’t keep it in! These people often become sant-kavis, itinerant poets and musicians whose devotion to their god pervades their music and their lives.
Sant-kavis are able to channel this devotion into inspiring songs, poems, and dances that enrapture those around them. They are able to give their friends and followers a glimpse of their special relationship with their deity; a relationship that often seems more like two lovers than like a master and servant or parent and child. Their intense faith gives them powers that few others possess.
A sant-kavi’s songs are what make her faith so magical and her abilities so potent. Through music, a san-kavi can invite outsiders to share in a relationship of devotion that is deeper and more passionate than mundane words can express. Her songs are an extension of this relationship; a musical manifestation of her overpowering faith. Without the music, there is no way to communicate the devotion she experiences. And without the devotion, there would be no music.
Becoming a Sant-Kavi
Most sant-kavis begin their adventuring careers as bards before multiclassing to cleric, favored soul or similar divine spellcasting classes. The sant-kavi prestige class emphasizes the bardic aspects of the character much more heavily, rewarding those who progress farther as bards than as divine casters.
Some sant-kavis choose to fulfill their arcane spellcasting requirement with levels in wizard or sorcerer, using one level dips to fulfill their bardic music and divine spellcasting requirements. This route is particularly attractive for sant-kavis with a more studious bent (in which case, they may find the cloistered cleric variant attractive as well) or a direct genetic connection to a source of arcane power.
Hit Dice: d6
Requirements:
Skills: Perform (any) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st level divine spells
Special: Bardic music
Alignment: Any good, must be the same as her chosen deity
Class Skills:
The sant-kavi’s class skills are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting
1|+0|+0|+2|+2|Bardic music, inspire bhakti|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class
2|+1|+0|+3|+3|Music domain|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/+1 level of divine spellcasting class
3|+2|+1|+3|+3|Beloved of the lord (1/week, energy resistance)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
4|+3|+1|+4|+4|Inspire virataa|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
5|+3|+1|+4|+4||+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
6|+4|+2|+5|+5|Beloved of the lord (2/week, damage reduction)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
7|+5|+2|+5|+5||+1 level of bardic spellcasting class[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
8|+6|+2|+6|+6|Inspire shurataa|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
9|+6|+3|+6|+6|Beloved of the lord (3/week, ability damage)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
10|+7|+3|+7|+7|Inspire satya bhakti|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class[/table]
[b]Class Features
Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: A sant-kavi gains no additional proficiencies with armor or weapons.
Bardic Music: Sant-kavi levels stack with bard levels for the purpose of determining the sant-kavi’s daily uses of her bardic music abilities and the value of the bonus granted by her inspire courage ability (if any).
Spellcasting: When a new sant-kavi level is gained, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if she had also gained a level in the bard class. Additionally, beginning at second level and continuing at every subsequent level, she gains new spells per day as if she had gained a level in any one divine spellcasting class she belonged to previously. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before she became a sant-kavi, she must decide to which class she adds each level of sant-kavi the purpose of determining spells per day.
Inspire Bhakti (भक्ति): A sant-kavi’s devotion to her deity is truly inspiring. Beginning at 1st level, a sant-kavi can spend a use of her bardic music ability to spread some of this devotion to those around her.
Initiating this ability is a standard action, during with the sant-kavi makes a perform check. All creatures who can hear the sant-kavi and whose Intelligence scores are greater than 3 make a Will save equal to the sant-kavi’s perform check. Creatures whose alignment is 2 or more steps away from the sant-kavi’s on a single alignment axis (evil-good or chaotic-lawful) or at least 1 step away from the sant-kavi’s on both alignment axes gain a +4 circumstance bonus on this save. Creatures who are active enemies or rivals of the sant-kavi gain a +8 circumstance bonus on this save. Those who fail their save move one step closer to “helpful” in their attitude regarding the sant-kavi (see the rules for the Diplomacy skill), consider the sant-kavi’s deity as their own, and cannot attack or otherwise attempt to hinder or harm the sant-kavi for the duration of the effect. However, if the sant-kavi deals damage (normal or ability) to a creature under the effect of her inspire bhakti ability, the effect immediately ends for that creature.
Creatures who voluntarily fail their saves against this ability gain its benefits but are not forced to take the sant-kavi’s deity as their own, though they may choose to do so. Their attitude with regard to the sant-kavi is also not automatically improved. They are considered under the effect of this ability, despite the lack of changes their attitude or their religious views. However, if they attack the sant-kavi or attempt to affect the sant-kavi with a damaging or otherwise harmful spell or ability, they must immediately make a save against the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability using the original save DC.
This effect lasts as long as the sant-kavi continues to perform and for a number of minutes thereafter equal to her class level plus her bard level.
This is a powerful and somewhat open-ended ability. DMs should be careful not to allow the scope of this ability to go too far. It should not be as powerful as spells like Charm Person or Suggestion. The sant-kavi should not be able to direct the actions creatures under the effect of this ability, but they should share similar goals for the duration of the ability and the sant-kavi should be able to use skills like Diplomacy to influence them with somewhat greater ease. This ability does not change a creature’s alignment nor can it cause a creature to do something it would otherwise have a strong resistance to doing.
Music Domain: At 2nd level, the sant-kavi gains access to the Music domain, described below. She gains the granted power associated with the domain, adds the spells in that domain to her class spell list, and can choose the spells as her daily domain spells (if any). If she casts divine spells spontaneously (for example, as a favored soul), she gains the domain spells as spells known.
Beloved of the Lord: The sant-kavi’s intense devotion has earned her the favor and protection of her deity. Once per week, when she would be brought to 0 or fewer hit points by energy damage of any type, she may, as an immediate action, gain energy resistance equal to twice her class level + her Charisma modifier against that type of energy. This energy resistance applies only to the effect that brought her to 0 or fewer hit points. The damage of the effect is re-calculated taking into account the sant-kavi’s energy resistance.
For example, Mira Bai, a 4th-level sant-kavi with a Charisma score of 21, is included in the radius of a CL 6 fireball spell. She takes 23 points of damage, which would bring her to -5 hit points. Mira Bai activates her beloved of the lord class ability as an immediate action and gains fire resistance 13 (twice her class level [8] plus her Charisma modifier [5]). This resistance reduces the fire damage she took to 10, leaving her with 8 hit points.
Beginning at 6th level, the sant-kavi can also use this ability when brought to 0 or fewer hit points by standard hit point damage. In this case, she gains damage reduction equal to twice her class level + her Charisma modifier and the damage she took is re-calculated.
Beginning at 9th level, she can use this ability to negate ability damage that would reduce one of her ability scores to 0. She negates ability damage equal to her class level + her Charisma modifier when she uses this ability. She can only use this ability to negate ability damage that directly reduces one of her ability scores to 0. For example, if the sant-kavi is affected by a poison and the secondary damage reduces her Strength score to 0, she can only use this ability to negate the poison’s secondary damage.
Finally, she gains one additional weekly use of this ability at 6th and 9th levels.
Inspire Virataa (वीरता): Beginning at 4th level, any creature the sant-kavi considers an ally who is under the effects of her inspire bhakti ability gains greater benefits from her other bardic music abilities. The bonus to attack and damage rolls they gain from the sant-kavi’s inspire courage ability increases by an amount equal to half the sant-kavi’s Charisma modifier.
Inspire Shurataa (शूरता): Beginning at 8th level, three times per day, the sant-kavi may spend a use of her bardic music ability to grant a measure of her divine blessing to her allies. When she uses this ability, all creatures the sant-kavi considers allies and who are under the effects of her inspire bhakti ability gain the use of the domain power for one of her domains. The sant-kavi does not count as an ally for the purpose of this ability and cannot grant herself additional facility with domain powers.
The sant-kavi can initiate this ability as a standard action. Each ally gains the use of the domain power until the end of the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability or, in the case of domain powers with limited uses per day, until she exhausts her daily uses. An ally’s ability to use the domain power follows all the normal rules for its use. Each ally affected is considered to have an effective cleric level equal to half his character level for the purposes of the domain powers.
Inspire Satya Bhakti (सत्य भक्ति): At 10th level, a sant-kavi’s devotion reaches its peak. The sant-kavi may choose make the duration of her inspire bhakti ability permanent for any creature under its effect. Doing so requires no extra actions or effort on the part of the sant-kavi. During any given inspire bhakti use, the sant-kavi may choose to make the duration permanent for all creatures affected by the ability, may also choose to exclude any number of creatures from this permanency effect, or may choose not to make the duration permanent, as she desires. However, the sant-kavi may only affect a number of creatures per day equal to her Charisma modifier with this ability. Any spell or effect that removes the effect of the Bestow Curse spell ends this effect as well.
This permanency does not affect the durations of any other abilities whose duration is specifically keyed off the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability, such as inspire shurataa. These abilities remain limited to the original inspire bhakti duration.
Music Domain
Granted Power: You add Perform to your list of class skills. You also gain the ability to use Ghost Sound as a spell-like ability 3 times/day.
Music Domain Spells
Hypnotism
Sound Burst
Sculpt Sound
Charm Monster
Song of Discord
Sympathetic Vibration
Shout, Greater
Irresistible Dance
Wail of the Banshee
माहाभगवान का संत-कवि
As water to sea creatures
Moon nectar to chakora birds
Companionable dark to the stars –
My love is to my lord.
As if a day when no sun came up
And no color came to the earth –
That’s how it is in my heart when he goes away.
Vidyāpati says, cherish such love
And keep it young, fortunate one.
-- Vidyāpati, a sant-kavi
People experience an almost infinite variety of responses to divinity. There are a rare few, however, who embrace divinity with a totality that eclipses everything else in their lives. Their ecstatic devotion to their deity pours out of their bodies, hearts, and minds in the form of song, music, poetry, and dance. They just can’t keep it in! These people often become sant-kavis, itinerant poets and musicians whose devotion to their god pervades their music and their lives.
Sant-kavis are able to channel this devotion into inspiring songs, poems, and dances that enrapture those around them. They are able to give their friends and followers a glimpse of their special relationship with their deity; a relationship that often seems more like two lovers than like a master and servant or parent and child. Their intense faith gives them powers that few others possess.
A sant-kavi’s songs are what make her faith so magical and her abilities so potent. Through music, a san-kavi can invite outsiders to share in a relationship of devotion that is deeper and more passionate than mundane words can express. Her songs are an extension of this relationship; a musical manifestation of her overpowering faith. Without the music, there is no way to communicate the devotion she experiences. And without the devotion, there would be no music.
Becoming a Sant-Kavi
Most sant-kavis begin their adventuring careers as bards before multiclassing to cleric, favored soul or similar divine spellcasting classes. The sant-kavi prestige class emphasizes the bardic aspects of the character much more heavily, rewarding those who progress farther as bards than as divine casters.
Some sant-kavis choose to fulfill their arcane spellcasting requirement with levels in wizard or sorcerer, using one level dips to fulfill their bardic music and divine spellcasting requirements. This route is particularly attractive for sant-kavis with a more studious bent (in which case, they may find the cloistered cleric variant attractive as well) or a direct genetic connection to a source of arcane power.
Hit Dice: d6
Requirements:
Skills: Perform (any) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st level divine spells
Special: Bardic music
Alignment: Any good, must be the same as her chosen deity
Class Skills:
The sant-kavi’s class skills are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting
1|+0|+0|+2|+2|Bardic music, inspire bhakti|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class
2|+1|+0|+3|+3|Music domain|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/+1 level of divine spellcasting class
3|+2|+1|+3|+3|Beloved of the lord (1/week, energy resistance)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
4|+3|+1|+4|+4|Inspire virataa|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
5|+3|+1|+4|+4||+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
6|+4|+2|+5|+5|Beloved of the lord (2/week, damage reduction)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
7|+5|+2|+5|+5||+1 level of bardic spellcasting class[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
8|+6|+2|+6|+6|Inspire shurataa|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
9|+6|+3|+6|+6|Beloved of the lord (3/week, ability damage)|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class
10|+7|+3|+7|+7|Inspire satya bhakti|+1 level of bardic spellcasting class/[br]+1 level of divine spellcasting class[/table]
[b]Class Features
Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: A sant-kavi gains no additional proficiencies with armor or weapons.
Bardic Music: Sant-kavi levels stack with bard levels for the purpose of determining the sant-kavi’s daily uses of her bardic music abilities and the value of the bonus granted by her inspire courage ability (if any).
Spellcasting: When a new sant-kavi level is gained, the character gains new spells per day and spells known as if she had also gained a level in the bard class. Additionally, beginning at second level and continuing at every subsequent level, she gains new spells per day as if she had gained a level in any one divine spellcasting class she belonged to previously. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before she became a sant-kavi, she must decide to which class she adds each level of sant-kavi the purpose of determining spells per day.
Inspire Bhakti (भक्ति): A sant-kavi’s devotion to her deity is truly inspiring. Beginning at 1st level, a sant-kavi can spend a use of her bardic music ability to spread some of this devotion to those around her.
Initiating this ability is a standard action, during with the sant-kavi makes a perform check. All creatures who can hear the sant-kavi and whose Intelligence scores are greater than 3 make a Will save equal to the sant-kavi’s perform check. Creatures whose alignment is 2 or more steps away from the sant-kavi’s on a single alignment axis (evil-good or chaotic-lawful) or at least 1 step away from the sant-kavi’s on both alignment axes gain a +4 circumstance bonus on this save. Creatures who are active enemies or rivals of the sant-kavi gain a +8 circumstance bonus on this save. Those who fail their save move one step closer to “helpful” in their attitude regarding the sant-kavi (see the rules for the Diplomacy skill), consider the sant-kavi’s deity as their own, and cannot attack or otherwise attempt to hinder or harm the sant-kavi for the duration of the effect. However, if the sant-kavi deals damage (normal or ability) to a creature under the effect of her inspire bhakti ability, the effect immediately ends for that creature.
Creatures who voluntarily fail their saves against this ability gain its benefits but are not forced to take the sant-kavi’s deity as their own, though they may choose to do so. Their attitude with regard to the sant-kavi is also not automatically improved. They are considered under the effect of this ability, despite the lack of changes their attitude or their religious views. However, if they attack the sant-kavi or attempt to affect the sant-kavi with a damaging or otherwise harmful spell or ability, they must immediately make a save against the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability using the original save DC.
This effect lasts as long as the sant-kavi continues to perform and for a number of minutes thereafter equal to her class level plus her bard level.
This is a powerful and somewhat open-ended ability. DMs should be careful not to allow the scope of this ability to go too far. It should not be as powerful as spells like Charm Person or Suggestion. The sant-kavi should not be able to direct the actions creatures under the effect of this ability, but they should share similar goals for the duration of the ability and the sant-kavi should be able to use skills like Diplomacy to influence them with somewhat greater ease. This ability does not change a creature’s alignment nor can it cause a creature to do something it would otherwise have a strong resistance to doing.
Music Domain: At 2nd level, the sant-kavi gains access to the Music domain, described below. She gains the granted power associated with the domain, adds the spells in that domain to her class spell list, and can choose the spells as her daily domain spells (if any). If she casts divine spells spontaneously (for example, as a favored soul), she gains the domain spells as spells known.
Beloved of the Lord: The sant-kavi’s intense devotion has earned her the favor and protection of her deity. Once per week, when she would be brought to 0 or fewer hit points by energy damage of any type, she may, as an immediate action, gain energy resistance equal to twice her class level + her Charisma modifier against that type of energy. This energy resistance applies only to the effect that brought her to 0 or fewer hit points. The damage of the effect is re-calculated taking into account the sant-kavi’s energy resistance.
For example, Mira Bai, a 4th-level sant-kavi with a Charisma score of 21, is included in the radius of a CL 6 fireball spell. She takes 23 points of damage, which would bring her to -5 hit points. Mira Bai activates her beloved of the lord class ability as an immediate action and gains fire resistance 13 (twice her class level [8] plus her Charisma modifier [5]). This resistance reduces the fire damage she took to 10, leaving her with 8 hit points.
Beginning at 6th level, the sant-kavi can also use this ability when brought to 0 or fewer hit points by standard hit point damage. In this case, she gains damage reduction equal to twice her class level + her Charisma modifier and the damage she took is re-calculated.
Beginning at 9th level, she can use this ability to negate ability damage that would reduce one of her ability scores to 0. She negates ability damage equal to her class level + her Charisma modifier when she uses this ability. She can only use this ability to negate ability damage that directly reduces one of her ability scores to 0. For example, if the sant-kavi is affected by a poison and the secondary damage reduces her Strength score to 0, she can only use this ability to negate the poison’s secondary damage.
Finally, she gains one additional weekly use of this ability at 6th and 9th levels.
Inspire Virataa (वीरता): Beginning at 4th level, any creature the sant-kavi considers an ally who is under the effects of her inspire bhakti ability gains greater benefits from her other bardic music abilities. The bonus to attack and damage rolls they gain from the sant-kavi’s inspire courage ability increases by an amount equal to half the sant-kavi’s Charisma modifier.
Inspire Shurataa (शूरता): Beginning at 8th level, three times per day, the sant-kavi may spend a use of her bardic music ability to grant a measure of her divine blessing to her allies. When she uses this ability, all creatures the sant-kavi considers allies and who are under the effects of her inspire bhakti ability gain the use of the domain power for one of her domains. The sant-kavi does not count as an ally for the purpose of this ability and cannot grant herself additional facility with domain powers.
The sant-kavi can initiate this ability as a standard action. Each ally gains the use of the domain power until the end of the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability or, in the case of domain powers with limited uses per day, until she exhausts her daily uses. An ally’s ability to use the domain power follows all the normal rules for its use. Each ally affected is considered to have an effective cleric level equal to half his character level for the purposes of the domain powers.
Inspire Satya Bhakti (सत्य भक्ति): At 10th level, a sant-kavi’s devotion reaches its peak. The sant-kavi may choose make the duration of her inspire bhakti ability permanent for any creature under its effect. Doing so requires no extra actions or effort on the part of the sant-kavi. During any given inspire bhakti use, the sant-kavi may choose to make the duration permanent for all creatures affected by the ability, may also choose to exclude any number of creatures from this permanency effect, or may choose not to make the duration permanent, as she desires. However, the sant-kavi may only affect a number of creatures per day equal to her Charisma modifier with this ability. Any spell or effect that removes the effect of the Bestow Curse spell ends this effect as well.
This permanency does not affect the durations of any other abilities whose duration is specifically keyed off the sant-kavi’s inspire bhakti ability, such as inspire shurataa. These abilities remain limited to the original inspire bhakti duration.
Music Domain
Granted Power: You add Perform to your list of class skills. You also gain the ability to use Ghost Sound as a spell-like ability 3 times/day.
Music Domain Spells
Hypnotism
Sound Burst
Sculpt Sound
Charm Monster
Song of Discord
Sympathetic Vibration
Shout, Greater
Irresistible Dance
Wail of the Banshee