The Medium [Base Class, PEACH]

[Kellus]

Medium

A medium can reach the spirits of the dearly departed.

Although vestiges are most familiar to binders, powerful spirits that know no rest have always been known to those who can pierce the veil of the afterlife. Such magicians, known as mediums, can use the spirits of the dead to form a bridge into the afterlife in a ritual known as a séance. A medium can call upon the spirits of the dead to answer questions and provide guidance, or even to share some of their otherworldly nature with her own essence. Strange and mysterious, none really understand what it is that mediums can do, but their unnatural powers are not to be taken lightly.

Game Rule Information

Wisdom and Constitution are the most important ability scores for a medium. Wisdom determines the potency of most of her otherworldly abilities, while Constitution determines the total amount of spiritual energy her body can hold at any one time. Otherwise, a medium should invest in abilities based on how she plans to make use of her vestiges.

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d6
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int
Class Skills: The medium’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the Planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Sense Motive (Cha).

Table: The Medium
{table="head"]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |

Maximum Vestige Level

1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Contact vestige (1 vestige), harvest spirit, host séance|

1st

2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Spiritual augmentation (1 ability)|

1st

3rd|+1|+1|+1|+3|Final testimony|

1st

4th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Bonus feat|

2nd

5th|+2|+1|+1|+4|Contact vestige (2 vestiges)|

2nd

6th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Extract spirit (touch)|

2nd

7th|+3|+2|+2|+5|Spiritual augmentation (2 abilities)|

3rd

8th|+4|+2|+2|+6|Harvest spirit (aged)|

3rd

9th|+4|+3|+3|+6|Otherworldly communion|

3rd

10th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Contact vestige (3 vestiges)|

4th

11th|+5|+3|+3|+7|Bonus feat|

4th

12th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|Extract spirit (gaze), spiritual augmentation (3 abilities)|

4th

13th|+6/+1|+4|+4|+8|–|

5th

14th|+7/+2|+4|+4|+9|–|

5th

15th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+9|Contact vestige (4 vestiges)|

5th

16th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|–|

6th

17th|+8/+3|+5|+5|+10|Spiritual augmentation (4 abilities)|

6th

18th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Bonus feat, extract spirit (absolute)|

6th

19th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|–|

7th

20th|+10/+5|+6|+6|+12|Contact vestige (5 vestiges)|

7th

[/table]

All of the following are class features of the medium.

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: A medium is proficient with all simple weapons, as well as light armour. A medium is not proficient in martial weapons, medium or heavy armour, or shields of any kind.

Contact Vestige (Su): As a medium, you need no knowledge of signs, seals, or special requirements to make contact with the exceptionally powerful spirits known as vestiges. Beginning at 1st level, you can spend a single spirit point (see spirit points, below) during a séance (see host séance, below) to bind any vestige to yourself. As part of the séance, you makes a binding check (1d20 + your effective binder level + your Wisdom modifier) in order to make a good pact. The DC for the check is provided in the description of each vestige (see pages 16-49 of Tome of Magic). For each additional participant in the séance with a Wisdom of 12 or more, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the binding check (to a maximum circumstance bonus of +9).

Whether the binding check succeeds or fails, you gain the powers granted by the vestige for up to 24 hours or until you perform another séance. Success or failure does, however, determine other aspects of the pact. If you fail the binding check, the vestige influences your personality and your actions, and you are said to have made a poor pact (specifically, the vestige’s presence changes your general demeanour, and it can force you to perform or refrain from certain actions). If your binding check is successful, the vestige has no control over your action and does not influence your personality. In this case, you are said to have made a good pact.

While under the influenve of a vestige, you must adhere to its requirements to the best of your ability. If you are conscious and free-willed, and you encounter a situation in which you cannot or will not refrain from a prohibited action or peform a required one, you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws and checks until that vestige leaves you. If you are inflenced by more than one vestige, you must act according to all of their influences. If you fail to fulfill the requirements of more than one vestige or disobey a single vestige more than once, the penalties stack.

As long as you are bound to a vestige, you manigest a specific physical sign of its presence, as given in its entry. This sign is real, not an illusory or shapechanging effect, and someone using true seeing perceives it just as it is. You can spend an additional spirit point during the séance to not show the physical sign of the vestige during the entire duration of the pact.

As you advance in class level, you gain the ability to bind more than one vestige to you at any given time. All of your binding checks are made during the same séance. However, each successive failed binding check during the same séance imposes a cumulative -5 penalty on other binding checks made during the same séance. Whenever you enter a séance, all vestiges currently bound to you are released.

Your effective binder level is equal to your medium class level. You can use the host séance class feature in place of the soul binding class feature to qualify for prestige classes, feats, and other such venues. Any prestige class that advances your soul binding ability instead advances your host séance class feature to determine the number of vestiges you can bind at any one time and the maximum level of vestige you can contact. You do not need to meet any special requirements of vestiges in order to bind them.

The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against any supernatural power granted by a vestige is equal to 10 + 1/2 your effective binder level + your Wisdom modifier.

Harvest Spirit (Su): A medium acts as an intermediary between the Ways Beyond and the real world. As a standard action which provokes attacks of opportunity, she can harvest spiritual energy from the bodies of the recently deceased. To do this, she must be touching the body of a creature which has died within the past minute. The creature must have had at least as many Hit Dice as the medium has character levels for this ability to work.

If the medium successfully harvests the spirit of the creature, she gains a number of spirit points equal to her Wisdom modifier. A medium can have a number of spirit points at any one time equal to her class level + her Constitution modifier.

Beginning at 8th level, there is no restriction on how recently the target may have died, although you do not gain spirit points from such targets. The main purpose of this benefit is to be able to question beings that have died a long time in the past with your final testimony class feature (see below).

Host Séance (Su): As a conduit to the afterlife, a medium can host a communion with the spirits of the recently departed. A séance requires ten minutes of uninterrupted chanting and performing of rituals. A medium can include a number of other beings in the séance as well; for every additional ritualist with a Wisdom score of at least 12, the séance takes a minute less to perform (to a minimum of 1 minute). It costs one spirit point to host a séance in the first place.

During a séance, a medium can spend the spirit points she has accumulated to gain various otherworldly benefits, chosen from the following list.

Spiritual Augmentation (Su): When a skilled medium hosts a séance, some of their own spirit travels to the other side just as dead spirits travel briefly back to the land of the living. When the communion ends, the medium’s spirit returns, but is touched by otherworldly forces.

Beginning at 2nd level, whenever you host a séance you can spend spirit points to gain a special benefit until your next séance. You may choose your augmentation from the following list.

Spiritual Augmentation Abilities
2nd– Darkvision out to 60ft.
2nd– No need to eat, drink, sleep or breathe
2nd– Not at risk from massive damage or a coup de grace
6th– Immunity to nonlethal damage, fatigue, and exhaustion
6th– Immunity to poison and disease
6th– Fortification (50% immunity to critical hits, sneak attacks, and other precision-based damage)
10th– Immunity to sleep, paralysis, and stunning
10th– Power resistance 5 + class level
10th– Spell resistance 5 + class level
14th– Heavy fortification (immunity to critical hits, sneak attacks, and other precision-based damage)
14th– Immunity to death effects
14th– Immunity to energy drain and negative levels
18th– Gain the Incorporeal subtype
18th– Healed by negative energy (such as inflict spells)
18th– Mind blank

You must have a requisite class level before you can select most of the spiritual augmentations. Different tiers of augmentations require a different number of spirit points to unlock, as shown on the following chart:

{table]Minimum Level|Spirit Point Cost
2nd|1
6th|2
10th|3
14th|4
18th|5[/table]

At 2nd level you can only select a single augmentation. At 7th level, 12th level, and 19th level, you can select an additional augmentation of an appropriate level whenever you host a séance. You must spend spirit points for each augmentation you select.

Final Testimony (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, as part of a séance you can gain the benefits of a speak with dead effect with the spirit of a being whose spirit you harvested prior to beginning the séance (if you have hosted another séance since harvesting the spirit, you cannot contact it). For every spirit point that you spend on this ability, you may ask a single question of it.

The DC for the Will saving throw of this ability is equal to 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Wisdom modifier. No matter how many questions you ask, the entire effect takes place during the normal duration of the séance. You can use this ability on multiple creatures during the same séance as long as you spend spirit points on each of question as neccessary.

Bonus Feats: At 4th level, and again at 11th level and 18th level, you may select a bonus feat you qualify for from the feats presented on pages 72-75 of the Tome of Magic.

Extract Spirit (Su): Beginning at 6th level, you can extract the life from a dying creature by force. If you succeed on a melee touch attack against a dying creature (below 0 hit points) with Hit Dice at lease equal to your character level, the target is killed and you gain spirit points as normal for your harvest spirit class feature. You also gain the benefit of a death knell effect, with a caster level equal to your class level.

Beginning at 12th level, you can use this ability as a ranged touch attack against any target within 100ft. + 10ft. per class level.

Beginning at 18th level, any being killed by this ability (or whose spirit is harvested after its death) cannot be brought back to life without a magical effect to restore its soul cast first, such as wish, miracle, or a similar effect.

Otherworldly Communion (Su): Beginning at 9th level, you can gain the benefits of a commune spell during a séance as wise and knowledgable spirits answer your questions about any topic. Each question you ask requires three spirit points. There is no XP cost for this ability, and no matter how long you take to ask the questions, the duration of the effect is included in the séance.

Multiclassing Binding Classes: Unfortunately, a multiclass character cannot simultaneously bind vestiges from multiple classes that grant binding ability, although they can stack such classes to determine maximum vestige level available, the number of vestiges they can bind from each class, and their effective binder level in each class. Such a character entering a prestige class that advances soul binding must select one base class to receive the boost and cannot thereafter change it.

[Kellus]

I realize I posted this when most people were asleep. Any comments or critiques?

[Eerie]

We need more classes like this. The Small, The Medium, The Large, The Extra Large...

[Debihuman]

Your minimum level chart starts at 1. Shouldn't it start at 2nd level?

Debby

[Kellus]

Your minimum level chart starts at 1. Shouldn't it start at 2nd level?

Debby

As it turns out, I'm quite stupid. Thank you very much for pointing it out; it's been fixed.

EDIT: Otherworldly communion has also been moved to fill a now-dead level.

[Debihuman]

No problem. It keeps me on my toes.

BTW, it looks like Harvest Spirt should be give out at a higher level. What happens to a spirit when you harvest it? It should have an effect. Perhaps if it is later raised, reincarnated or resurrected, it is missing a few hit points. That could be quite nasty.

Debby

[Kellus]

Um... Harvest Spirit is pretty much neccessary to make the class work, because it provides it with spirit points to use during a séance. It needs to be at level 1. That being said, as you level up you get offensive uses for it with Extract Spirit, that can work like death knell. And at very high levels, yes, the target's soul is stolen so it can't be resurrected easily.

[SilverClawShift]

I'd just like to say that I love this classes flavor, and think we could use another soul-binding base class or three.

That said, the "Spirit Point" thing seems a little needlessly complicated, as well as not really meshing smoothly with the way other classes would regain or maintin power.
And the phrase "Spirit Point" sounds a little too mechanical and numerical for a class based on spirits and souls.

Really like this though, saving it for my groups own personal homebrew SRD if you don't mind

[sigurd]

I like this.

2nd– No need to eat, drink, sleep or breathe

Is this everything or one of the 4?



Sigurd

[Psyren]

I'd just like to say that I love this classes flavor, and think we could use another soul-binding base class or three.

That said, the "Spirit Point" thing seems a little needlessly complicated, as well as not really meshing smoothly with the way other classes would regain or maintin power.
And the phrase "Spirit Point" sounds a little too mechanical and numerical for a class based on spirits and souls.

I agree with all points.
I honestly think spirit points (I'd love a more spiritual name... like Essentia, but that's taken...) should just be a function of class level rather than tied to your modifiers. The whole leeching corpses mechanic doesn't seem very flavorful for a class so unconcerned with the material world.

[The Tygre]

Son, why you be thread-necroin'?

[Vaynor]

Son, why you be thread-necroin'?

The Red Towel: Quite.