Midnight Occultist [3.5 Binder/Meldshaper PrC] (PEACH)

[DragoonWraith]

"Harbinger of Forever,
you I call, souls I offer,
you I bind, life I offer,
you I make my own!"

--Krimgûl, Midnight Occultist binding Chupoclops

Vestiges do not live, do not die, do not exist. They are other and elsewise, spirits without souls, memories of past lives and past events that cling to reality even as they are outside it, desperately trying to return, desperate for existence once more. They feed on the experiences and lives of those who bind them, but there are those who offer them greater sustenance: those who feed them the very essence of life, the soul-stuff of incarnum.


A Midnight Occultist entices Vestiges to enter into even deeper Pacts with him through the promise of Essentia, potent energy and lifeforce derived from the souls of all those who have ever lived, currently live, or ever will live. Nothing of the sort exists in the not-place in which the Vestiges find themselves stranded, and Vestiges find its allure particularly tempting. In order to make such an offer, however, the Midnight Occultist must already have considerable skill in both Pact-making and Meldshaping.

Prerequisites

• Class Features
  
  • Ability to bind 3rd level Vestiges
  • Ability to bind a Soulmeld to a Chakra.
• Skills
  
  • Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks.

Hit Die
d8.

Skills
Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Table 1: The Midnight Occultist
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Pact Magic / Meldshaping

1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Chakra Pact (1 Vestige),[br]Favored Vestige Capacity | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Chakra Bind[br](Crown, Feet, Hands) | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Expanded Vestige Capacity +1 | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Chakra Pact (2 Vestiges) | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Chakra Bind[br](Arms, Brow, Shoulders) | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Double Vestige Bind | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

8th | +6 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Expanded Vestige Capacity +2 | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

9th | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class

10th | +7 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Chakra Pact (3 Vestiges),[br]Chakra Bind[br](Heart or Throat and Waist) | +1 level of existing Pact-making class[br]+1 level of existing Meldshaping class
[/table]
Armor and Weapon Proficiencies
The Midnight Occultist gains no armor or weapon proficiencies.

Pact Magic
At each level of Midnight Occultist, the character's Pact-making ability improves as if you had also gained a level in an Pact-making class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. His Midnight Occultist levels stack for the purpose of determining his bonus on Binding checks, the effectiveness of his Vestige granted abilities, his ability to bind higher-level Vestiges, and the number of Vestiges he can bind. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one Pact-making class before becoming a Midnight Occultist, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining his Effective Binder Level.

Meldshaping
At each level, the Midnight Occultist increases his Meldshaper level, the number of Soulmelds he can shape, the number of Chakra binds he can create, and his Essentia pool as if he had gained a level in a Meldshaping class to which he belonged prior to gaining the Midnight Occultist level. He does not, however, gain any other abilities of that class, such as new tiers of Chakra binds. If he had more than one Meldshaping class before becoming a Midnight Occultist, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining his Essentia pool, Meldshaper level, and the number of Soulmelds and Chakra binds available.

Chakra Pact
A Midnight Occultist may make Pacts with Vestiges during his time spent reshaping his Soulmelds. When doing so, he may choose to bind a Vestige he binds to a Chakra, thus treating it as both a Vestige and a Chakra-bound Soulmeld. Offering Essentia to the Vestige can even make the Binding process easier. The rules for making Chakra Pacts and for using the abilities they grant, as well as the effects of each Vestige bound to each Chakra, are given below. A Vestige bound to a Chakra uses up one of the Midnight Occultist's usual shaped Soulmelds and Chakra Binds, and typically makes suppressing the Vestige's sign fairly pointless as it comes with a much greater visual effect that cannot be suppressed.

At 1st level, only one Vestige at a time may be bound to a Chakra. Beginning at 4th level, two Vestiges may occupy two different Chakras. At 10th, three Vestiges may be bound three different Chakras (but see the Double Vestige Bind feature, below).

Favored Vestige Capacity +1
Any Vestiges for which the Midnight Occultist has the Favored Vestige feat gain +1 to their Essentia capacity when bound to a Chakra.

Chakra Binds
As the Midnight Occultist attains higher levels, he can bind his Soulmelds and magic items to new Chakras, gaining new powers based on the combination chosen.

At 2nd level, he can bind Soulmelds to his Least Chakras (Crown, Feet, Hands), in addition to any other Chakras available.

The Lesser Chakras (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) become available at 6th.

At 10th, the Midnight Occultist has a choice: he may open the two Greater Chakras (Throat and Waist), or he may instead open the Heart Chakra. He makes this choice upon reaching 10th level, and once made he cannot change it.

Expanded Vestige Capacity
The Midnight Occultist is focused on the Essentia he can offer Vestiges. Beginning at 3rd level, all Vestiges gain a +1 to their Essentia capacity when bound to a Soulmeld (this stacks with the bonus for being Favored). At 8th, this bonus increases to +2.

Double Vestige Bind
At 7th level, the Midnight Occultist can offer a truly unique position for a Vestige: He may bind it to two different Chakras simultaneously, where Essentia invested in the Pact gives the bonuses from both binds. Only one Vestige may be double-bound at a time, and it takes up two of the Midnight Occultist's Chakra Binds while doing so, though it only counts as a single Soulmeld for the purposes of determining how many he may shape, and as a single Chakra Pact for the purpose of determining how many Vestiges may be bound to Chakras.


As a Midnight Occultist, you are able to both shape Soulmelds and bind Vestiges: two of the most versatile power sources to be found in the world. What you do, what you are, depends greatly on the specific Soulmelds and Vestiges chosen, and how they are bound, and how much Essentia is invested in each. Careful thought should be given to how they are bound each day, but you should never worry about it too much: no combination will fail you.

Combat: Your combat prowess can be absolutely massive, if you wish it to be. Totemists, in particular, will find themselves able to slaughter endlessly in gruesome melee combat. Others can as well, or they can try ranged combat, or they can be a spellcaster of sorts. No one will have your ability to fill in any gaps that your party may have. Always try to consider which roles your party is lacking when making your binds.

Advancement: Advancement is an interesting issue for Midnight Occultists. Like all dual-progression classes, after level 10 the question of "now what?" becomes quite significant. Unlike most, however, you have good answers: almost anything in the game, short of attempting to start a spellcasting career this late in the game, will work well with your abilities - or, to put it another way, no matter what you choose, you'll have abilities to complement it. An interesting alternative, however, does present itself: One can qualify for Midnight Occultist without a single level in either Binder or any Incarnum class, through the use of feats. While expensive, and both the Pact Magic and Meldshaping progressions do you no good, there are interesting options here for a 1 level dip, if you wanted.

Resources: Socially, you are seen as more similar to a Binder than a Meldshaper, and you should expect to be treated as such; if anything, your relationships with the Vestiges is even more obvious than it would be otherwise. Do not expect a great deal of assistance from any but your closest allies.


"Take the blasphemy of the binders and multiply it tenfold: that is the evil of so-called midnight occultists. Not content merely to sacrifice their own souls to their dark lords, they offer up the souls of all life to their masters, so they may better revel in their depravity. I pray only that the gods are more creative than I, for I can think of nothing sufficient to punish these monsters."

--Bazut Stonehewer, Ironsoul Forgemaster

Midnight Occultists, if anything, anger traditional religious authorities even more than Binders, and even those unfamliar with the nature of their powers is likely to be terrified by their appearance once they have bound multiple Vestiges to their Chakras and display their favor so openly.

Daily Life: Your day begins with shaping your Soulmelds, during which you will also make any Pacts for the day that you wish to use. This is also likely to be the most pivotal moment in the entire day, so it is one that Midnight Occulitists revere and exult in. Once bound, your path for the day is set, and you must live with your choices.

With the binding done, the Midnight Occultist typically begins seeking more lore, more knowledge, more contact with the Vestiges and more Incarnum to offer them. Midnight Occultists rarely stay in one place for long, rarely travel in groups, rarely accept followers or fall under a leader, and rarely are interested in much besides learning more about their power. However, it is notable that of those with other goals, either ideals to champion or quests to complete or enemies to vanquish, most are especially powerful Midnight Occultists, and the most likely to get involved in an adventure.

Notables: Midnight occultism is a relatively recent development in the history of binders. Pact lore mentions nothing similar for ages, though of course due to the fragmented nature of the lore, it is entirely possible that the concept had been discovered - and lost - repeatedly through the centuries.

The modern incarnation, at any rate, began with a duskling totemist known as Touranisha. Little is known about Touranisha, though studies into duskling culture suggest that this was likely a family name and not a given name. At any rate, Touranisha is the author of the so-called "Touranisha Diaries", a series of small notebooks apparently kept by the duskling, who had been trained as a totemist, about his experiences with vestiges and about which vestiges enjoyed which chakras.

By some miracle, Touranisha's notes survived long enough to be discovered, in a small hut deep in a remote jungle, by a binder apparently of some note (but whose name has nevertheless been lost to time), who disseminated the writings among enough trusted colleagues that the name of Touranisha is well known among those who study binder lore.

Organizations: Thanks to Touranisha's writings, the Theurgian Society is aware of the practices of midnight occultists and encourages them, though the society has no meldshapers in its ranks with which to test the notes. They, and likely only they, would be thrilled to meet a midnight occultist, and would likely be very willing to help one in exchange for more information on how vestiges are bound to chakras.

Other than this, however, midnight occultists are even rarer and even more reclusive than binders, and no known groups of them exist.

NPC Reaction: Unless your Vestige and Chakra binds are chosen very carefully, you are likely to look hideous to others. While your overall humanity (or dwarfishness or elvishness or what have you) is probably visible, you are unlikely to get a warm welcome anywhere. That said, careful selection of Vestiges can reduce this issue, and many Vestiges and Soulmelds can help a great deal in dealing with the ignorant.


Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (Religion), or who have the Bardic Knowledge ability, can research Midnight Occultists and their unique method of binding Vestiges, but only if they are already aware of both Binders and Meldshaping (this requires DC 20 Knowledge checks for each, as described on pages 24, 28, and 32 of Magic of Incarnum, and on pages 14 and 15 of Tome of Magic). When a character makes a skill check or Bardic Knowledge check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs. A character with ranks in Knowledge (The Planes) can also gain some information about Midnight Occultists, though each of the DCs below increases by 5 for each check. A character with his own ability to bind Vestiges gains a +2 bonus on these checks, and a character who is able to bind at least one Soulmeld to at least one Chakra likewise gain a +2 bonus; characters who can do both, including Midnight Occultists themselves, gain a +1 bonus in addition to these two bonuses, for a +5 bonus in total.

DC 20: Midnight Occultists are Binders who, thanks to their training in the arts of Incarnum, can bind Vestiges to their Chakras, gaining unique powers in the process. If an established religion brands Binders as heretics, then a Midnight Occultist surely would surely be considered an absolute evil, as many view the Occultists as literally feeding the lifeforce of the past, present, and future to the Vestiges.

DC 25: Despite what the churches say, Vestiges bound to the Chakras of Midnight Occultists do not consume Essentia: it is only invested in the Pact in much the same way that it is routinely invested in Soulmelds. In this way, the Vestiges only maintain a temporary contact with the force of Incarnum. Midnight Occultists believe, through repeated study, that Vestiges are incapable of permanently taking Essentia for themselves, as Incarnum cannot exist in the not-plane that the Vestiges now occupy. Also, in spite of claims that Binders sell their souls to Vestiges, it is a well known fact in Binder lore that Midnight Occultists have found quite definitively that Vestiges cannot be bound to the Soul Chakra.

DC 30: The practice of Midnight Occultism - the binding of Vestiges to one's Chakra - begins its history with a duskling named Touranisha. Touranisha had been trained as a totemist before taking up the binding arts, and wrote extensive notes on his experiences with the Vestiges in a series of notebooks known collectively as the Touranisha Diaries. Though the original diaries are lost, the general content of the diaries are well known among scholars of binding, even those who do not follow this practice.

DC 32: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn specific details about to which Chakras a Vestige may be bound, the appearance of a Midnight Occultist with a Vestige bound to each Chakra, and the basic power granted to those who have it bound to a Chakra (but not the powers of the Chakra binds). In order to do so, however, they must already know about the Vestige (a DC 28 Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (Religion) check, or a DC 32 Knowledge (The Planes) check, as detailed on page 15 of Tome of Magic).

DC 35: Perhaps the most troubling secret in the Binder community is known only to a few, very experienced Midnight Occultists: the claim that Vestiges do not bind to the Soul Chakra is false. In fact, this is what all Binders do, though they do not know it. While melding the lifeforce of Incarnum into one's Soul is extremely difficult and only the most skilled of Incarnates can manage the feat, Vestiges are happy to do so and will for anyone who knows how to call. This is why Vestiges "cannot" be bound to the Soul Chakra: they already are, simply by being bound. The ramifications of this are heatedly, but extremely quietly, debated by the most learned of Binder scholars. Interestingly, Soulmelds can still be bound to the Soul Chakra despite the presence of a Vestige in that place, unlike every other Chakra; it is believed, however, that this is more a sign of the power of that Chakra than anything else.

DC 38: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn what a specific Vestige grants to a Midnight Occultist who binds that Vestige to a particular Chakra.

DC 40: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about the specific Midnight Occultists in the campaign.

A character trying to establish contact with a specific Midnight Occultist may make a DC 40 Gather Information check to discover the necessary intermediaries and protocols for contact. Unlike ordinary Binders, Midnight Occultists tend to be exclusively recluses, so while direct contact is unlikely to work, it is often the only option. However, this check is often necessary just to find the Midnight Occultist, as even learning about one from the Knowledge check is generally insufficient to reveal his location, and asking around the Binder lore community is usually the only way to find one. The Theurgian Society (see page 90 of Tome of Magic for information on the Theurgian Society) attempts to keep track of the whereabouts of known Midnight Occultists, though to date they have induced none to actually join their ranks.


Midnight Occultists get a staggering number of options, which the Binder and Meldshapers already had in spades. Don't allow someone playing one to waste too much game-time choosing their binds - they have an unbelievable number of options, and could easily spend all day comparing combinations if you let them. Make it clear to anyone looking to enter this class that they must prepare their binds ahead of time, or else must make do with a limited amount of time with which to make those decisions. There is no such thing as a bad series of binds, so do not be afraid to rush someone who is taking too long.

That said, much of the power of Midnight Occultists comes from combining Soulmelds and Vestiges in unique ways. Encourage players to be clever with their binds, on their own time, and let them enjoy the benefit of strategic combinations. On the other hand, the number of possible combinations also makes foreseeing the exact power of the class very difficult: make it clear to players that you may need to change things so they do not combine quite so nicely, if an overpowered combination comes up. They'll be able to change their binds in a day, anyway, so it should not come as a huge blow to their plans.

Adaptation: Soulmelds and Vestiges work together amazingly well, on a mechanical as well as a flavorful level. An interesting concept might be to make the two different sides of the same coin: spirits that can be bound in different ways by different people, with Midnight Occultists learning how to master both ways. Tome of Magic even recommends possibly adapting Vestiges to be totemic spirits - which works very well, obviously, with the Totemist. The semi-religious bent of Incarnate or Soulborn would also work exceedingly well with treating the Vestiges as either angels or fiends, as Tome of Magic suggests, so really any adaptation of the Binder can work very well with Incarnum and the Midnight Occultist.

Encounters: Ultimately, Midnight Occultists are Binders with some new tricks, and their motivations and abilities are similar. Many of the Vestiges have dark pasts, making them excellent motivators of villains: Tenebrous, no doubt, seeks to return to godhood, and Acererak would like to try that too. Others want vengeance, and others simply were great fiends. At the same time, many Vestiges were good souls, and a Midnight Occultist need not, by any means, be evil: finding a good Midnight Occultist may lead to some very interesting dillemas for the players, especially the religious ones, who have to reconcile the teachings of their faith with respect to Binders, and the good that the NPC is attempting to do and needs the players' help for.


Midnight Occultists are secretive and suspicious, and more than a few are megalomaniacs. Even if the priests are wrong about what it is they do, no one can claim to fully understand the Vestiges, and only a fool would deny that binding them is risky, since their motives cannot be known. Midnight Occultists only take this further than Binders. Given that Incarnates and Soulborns are typically extremely passionate about their own goals, and Totemists are known for their savagery even when working for the causes of Good, an Evil Midnight Occultist will be extremely grandiose in their plans: theirs will be to awaken banished gods and devils, summon elder evils from beyond, or perhaps return their favored Vestige to reality and power. A Midnight Occultist will often be extremely paranoid and meticulous, but drawing a small cult, especially with Anima Mages and Soulcasters, is quite possible.

ECL 13: Krimgûl is a Shifter Midnight Occultist whose tribe worships the Vestiges, hunting in their jungle home for appropriate sacrifices to offer to the spirits, and Krimgûl is the best of the hunters. The party may encounter him after he has stalked them for days, when he is likely to wait for them to sleep and ambush them. His goal is simple: to bring the corpses of great warriors to the high shaman for sacrifice to the vestiges.

Krimgûl (Shifting)
Male Wildhunt Shifter Totemist 2/Binder 3/Midnight Occultist 8
Chaotic Evil Humanoid (incarnum) (shapechanger)
Init +9, Senses: Listen +10, Spot +10
Languages Common
[hr]AC 22, Touch 16, Flat 20 (Armor 5, Dex 2, Insight 5, Natural 1, Trait -1)
HP 163 (13 HD)
Fort +21, Ref +17, Will +12
[hr]Speed: Land 30 ft. (6 squares), Climb 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee Balam's Bite +17 (1d6+1d6+14/x2) or
Melee Poison Bite +12 (1d6+1d6+9/x2) or
Melee Claw of the Wyrm +10 (1d6+1d6+2/x2)
Full-Attack Balam's Bites +17/+17/+17 (1d6+1d6+14/x2), Claws of the Wyrm +10/+10 (1d6+1d6+2/x2) or
Full-Attack Poison Bite +12 (1d6+1d6+9), Claws of the Wyrm +10/+10 (1d6+1d6+2/x2)
Base Attack +9; Grapple +14
Atk Options Chupoclops Poison +1d8 damage on natural attacks (included above)
Supernatural Abilities Balam's Cunning (reroll one attack, saving throw, or skill check per 5 rounds), Balam's Icy Glare (2d6 Cold damage Gaze, Will negates), Chupoclops' Web (as Web, but deals poison damage), Ethereal Watcher, Shifting 1/day (10 rounds), Teleport self only up to 10 ft.
[hr]Vestiges Typically Bound (EBL 11th, Binding Check of 1d20+9):
Balam, the Bitter Angel
Chupoclops, Harbinger of Forever
[hr]Soulmelds Typically Shaped (Meldshaper level 10th, Essentia 9)
Balam's Chakra Pact (Totem Bound) (5/6 Essentia)
Chupoclops' Chakra Pact (Feet Bound) (Totem Bound) (1/6 Essentia)
Blink Shirt (Heart) (0/3 Essentia)
Claws of the Wyrm (Hands) (0/3 Essentia)
Dread Carapace (Arms) (2/3 Essentia)
Totem Avatar (Shoulders) (1/3 Essentia)
[hr]Abilities Str 20, Dex 14, Con 24, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6
Special Qualities Scent, Chakra Bind (Totem, Crown, Hands, Feet, Arms, Brow, and Shoulders), Meldshaping, Soul Binding (2 vestiges), Pact Augmentation (1 ability), Suppress Sign, Chakra Pact (2 vestiges), Double Vestige Bind, Prescience (+5 Insight bonus to AC, Initiative, and Reflex saves), Weapon Finesse, Aura of Despair (-4 to Attacks rolls, checks, saves, and damage rolls to all in 10 to 20 ft.), Soulsense 10 ft., Deathwatch, Pounce.
Feats Dragontouched, Improved Binding, Multiattack, Bonus Essentia, Double Chakra (Totem)
Skills Balance +3, Climb +6, Jump +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Listen +10, Sense Motive +2, Spot +10, Survival +8, Tumble +8
Possessions +1 Light Fortification Chain Shirt of Improved Agility, Amulet of Health +4, Belt of Giant Strength +1, Vestments of Resistance +2
[hr]When not shifting, Krimgûl has the following altered statistics:
HP 150 (13 HD)
Fort +20
Abilities Con 22
Special Qualities loses Scent.
[hr]Hook "My Hunt ends only with you upon the pyre."


Incarnum is from Magic of Incarnum, © 2006 Wizards of the Coast. Pact Magic and the Vestiges are from the Tome of Magic, © 2005 Wizards of the Coast. Ashardalon, Pyre of the Unborn is from Dragon Magic, © 2006 Wizards of the Coast.

"Midnight Occultist" image is adapted from Invoker Idris by Aaron Foster, a.k.a. Razorb. All credit to him for the image.

[DragoonWraith]

In order to make a Chakra Pact, you must enact the Pact-making ritual while shaping your Soulmelds, and then while binding the Vestige, bind it to one of your Chakras as if it was a Soulmeld. Every Vestige bound in a Chakra Pact must also be bound normally, following the normal rules for Binding and conferring the usual benefits and drawbacks of binding that Vestige, though the offer of Essentia can make the process easier.

Offering Essentia in the Pact-making Process

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Offering a Vestige Essentia can make it easier to bind. Though Essentia can be invested into a Vestige as easily as any other Soulmeld, if, during the Pact-making process, you offer to have a certain minimum amount of Essentia invested in the Pact for its entire duration, the Binding DC to avoid the Vestige's influence is diminished: For every point of Essentia so offered, the DC is reduced by 5. If 2 or more Essentia is offered, the Vestige's Special Requirement is considered waived, as well. If 5 or more Essentia is offered, the Midnight Occultist automatically succeeds on the Binding check to avoid the Vestige's influence.

However, making this offer means that this Essentia cannot be divested from the Vestige without incurring its wrath. If you ever voluntarily has less Essentia invested in a Vestige's Pact than was promised to it, the Midnight Occultist is treated as ignoring its influence, which comes with its usual penalty even if the Midnight Occultist succeeded on his Binding check.

If you are affected by a spell or similar effect which forcibly removes Essentia from the Pact, you must shift your remaining Essentia as soon as possible to return the total to at least the amount promised, or you again offend the Vestige just as if you had willingly removed it. If you no longer have enough Essentia to fulfill your obligations, you must invest all of your Essentia in the Pact until enough of your Essentia returns to be able to keep the Pact at its promised level, or the Pact ends normally. Failure to do so means being considered going back on your promise, incurring the usual penalty.

Further, whenever you take the penalty for ignoring the Vestige's influence due to not having enough Essentia in the Pact, the next time you attempt to offer Essentia in exchange for an easier binding, the Vestige will refuse. In order to return to the Vestige's good graces, you must bind the Vestige as normal, but then keep as much Essentia invested in the Pact as you had offered previously for the entire duration of the Pact, never dropping below this value (unless forced to, and again you must return the Essentia as soon as possible). If you do so, the next time he seeks to make a Pact with the Vestige, you may again offer Essentia in return for an easier deal. Binding the Vestige without keeping this minimum Essentia in the Pact means it will still refuse your offers.

Each Chakra Pact is simultaneously a Vestige and a Soulmeld, and this Soulmeld must also be bound to a Chakra: Vestiges cannot be "shaped" as Soulmelds without being bound to a Chakra, as other Soulmelds can. Essentia may be invested in the Chakra Pact as part of the usual Swift Action used to rearrange the Essentia distributions of any Meldshaper's Soulmelds.

Unlike other Soulmelds, Chakra Pacts automatically unshape when the Pact ends (normally, 24 hours after it is made), and cannot be unshaped voluntarily before this time. Vestiges, as usual, are fearsomely resistant to magical attempts to end the Pact against their or the Binder's will, so that Suppress Magic and Dispel Magic do not suppress Chakra Pacts as they do for regular Soulmelds, and even Unshape Soulmeld and Soulmeld Disjunction only temporarily suppress the Chakra Pact. Whenever a Chakra Pact is subject to being forcibly unshaped, it automatically reshapes one hour later.

Chakra Pact Rules

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• Supernatural - All abilities granted by Chakra Pacts are Supernatural, just as the Granted Abilities of Vestiges are.
• Binder Level, Caster Level, Meldshaper Level - Vestiges are typically uninterested in your abilities with Incarnum beyond the ability to siphon Essentia towards them. As such, the effects of Chakra Pacts rely almost entirely on a combination effective Binder level and the amount of Essentia invested in the Pact, not Meldshaper Level. When a Chakra Pact mimics a spell or spell-like ability, the Caster Level is always equal to your effective Binder level unless the ability description specifically says otherwise (usually, to allow Essentia investment to increase the effective Caster Level).
• Signs and Appearance - If you have the Suppress Sign feature, you may use it with Chakra Pacts if you wish. However, this rarely makes much difference, as the Chakra Bind itself creates what is usually a far more noticeable sign, as described in the Chakra Bind entries, and this cannot be suppressed (though it may be hidden by mundane or magical means, if you have those available).
  
  • Unless the description of an ability granted by a Chakra Pact specifies that you must concentrate on the effect or that the use of the ability would be obvious (fire breath, for example, leaves very little question as to its source), using any ability granted by a Chakra Pact shows no outward sign that you are doing anything at all.
  • If an effect from a Chakra Pact allows a Saving Throw but has no obvious effect, the target feels a hostile force or tingle, but does not necessarily know the source or nature of the attack.
• Concentration Checks - The use of Vestige-granted abilities does not require Concentration checks unless their description specifically says otherwise, and binding them to a Chakra does not change this.
• Components - No Chakra Pact has any Components, at least in the way that Spells do. Though there are not specific Verbal or Somatic components, the granted abilities may require a certain degree of freedom of movement, or the ability speak, as described in the ability's entry. For example, if you are bound, you cannot use your Claw attacks, even though there is no "Somatic" component.
• Arcane Spell Failure - The abilities of Chakra Pacts are not Arcane (or Divine, for that matter), are not Spells, and have no Somatic components. Arcane Spell Failure does not affect Chakra Pacts in the slightest, even if they do mimic Arcane spellcasting.
• Descriptors - Vestiges are inherently amoral, being completely removed from reality. Though many have evil backgrounds, the morality of anything you do depends solely on your own choices: none of the powers that Vestiges grant inherently espouse any alignment, nor do they draw the user towards that alignment. As such, no Chakra Pact has an Alignment descriptor. Necrocarnum may be invested in Chakra Pacts as easily as any other Soulmeld, but the Vestiges themselves do not have any affinity for it, so no Chakra Pact has the Necrocarnum descriptor, either. Any other descriptors will be noted in the entries of the individual abilities of each Chakra Pact.
• Classes - All Chakra Pacts are usable only by Midnight Occultists, but the form of Meldshaper that you favored before taking up the practice does not matter: all Vestiges may be bound to their respective Chakras by any Meldshaper.
• Chakra - All Chakra Pacts use three Chakras, usually a Least and a Lesser, a Least and a Greater, or a Lesser and a Greater, along with the Totem Chakra. All Chakra Pacts may be bound to the Totem. All 1st and 2nd level Vestiges, as well as most 3rd level Vestiges, can be bound to the Crown Chakra.
• Saving Throws - The Saving Throws of Chakra Pacts are calculated as 10 + half your effective Binder level + the Essentia invested in the Pact + your choice of your Charisma modifier, or the ability score modifier relevant to your Meldshaping class (Wisdom for Incarnates, Constitution for Soulborns and Totemists).
• Basic Effect - The first thing listed under each Chakra Pact is what youts gain for simply making the Chakra Pact, similar to what a Meldshaper gains for shaping a Soulmeld (though you must also bind the Vestige to a Chakra).
• Essentia - The Basic Effect is always followed by what investing Essentia into the Pact does, no matter where the Vestige is bound. This typically improves the Basic Effect
• Chakra Bind (Chakra) - This is the information on what the Chakra Pact does in each Chakra location it can be bound to. This begins with a description of what the Chakra Pact looks like when so bound, and then describes the ability granted by the Chakra Bind. These are typically improved by the amount of Essentia invested in the Pact.

Vestiges by Name

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{table=head]

Vestige

| Level |

Chakras

| Basic Effect*
Acererak |

5th

| Hands and Shoulders (Totem) | Undead Empathy allows you to attempt to influence the Undead.
Agares |

4th

| Feet and Heart (Totem) | Aura of Courage grants +4 vs. Fear effects to nearby allies.
Amon |

1st

| Crown and Feet (Totem) | Darkvision functions even in magical darkness.
Andras |

4th

| Hands and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain the Special Mount of a Paladin.
Andromalius |

3rd

| Crown and Arms (Totem) | Sense Trickery bonus to Appraise, Sense Motive, and Spot is doubled.
Ashardalon |

8th

| Shoulders and Heart (Totem) | Fast Healing 10.
Aym |

1st

| Crown and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain Stability as the Dwarf racial feature.
Balam |

5th

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Detect Good and Detect Evil at will.
Buer |

4th

| Feet and Arms (Totem) | Buer's Knowledge bonuses to Heal, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival doubled.
Chupoclops |

6th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Aura of Despair penalty doubled to -4.
Dahlver-Nar |

2nd

| Crown and Throat (Totem) | Natural Armor bonus doubled to equal to full Constitution.
Dantalion |

5th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Dantalion Knows bonus to Knowledge checks increases to +10.
Eligor |

7th

| Arms and Heart (Totem) | Add a second 1d6 of elemental damage with your Chromatic Strike.
Eurynome |

4th

| Feet and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain damage for the Poison Blood granted ability every two levels instead of three.
Focalor |

3rd

| Crown and Brow (Totem) | Focalor's Breath also causes Sickness in a 30 ft. Cone.
Geryon |

5th

| Brow and Shoulders (Totem) | Supernatural attack as the Cloud Mind Psionic Power.
Haagenti |

2nd

| Crown and Waist (Totem) | Gain Weapon Focus in Battleaxes, Greataxes, Handaxes, and Throwing Axes.
Halphax |

8th

| Arms and Waist (Totem) | Halphax's Knowledge bonuses to Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) and Profession (Siege Engineer) checks increases to +20.
Haures |

6th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Gain +4 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks, and to Diplomacy checks made while impersonating authority figure.
Ipos |

6th

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Planar Attenuation occurs automatically, without the need for a Standard action.
Karsus |

3rd

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Gain +4 bonus to Use Magic Device checks.
Leraje |

1st

| Crown and Arms (Totem) | Gain Track, and +4 to Move Silently and Survival
Malphas |

2nd

| Crown and Shoulders (Totem) | Poison as a Free Action
Marchosias |

7th

| Brow and Waist (Totem) | Your Silent and Sure bonus to Hide and Move Silently increases to +20.
Naberius |

1st

| Crown and Brow (Totem) | Gain a +2 bonus to your Naberius's Skills.
Orthos |

8th

| Brow and Throat (Totem) |
Otiax |

5th

| Hands and Heart (Totem) |
Paimon |

3rd

| Hands and Feet (Totem) |
Ronove |

1st

| Crown and Arms (Totem) |
Savnok |

2nd

| Crown and Heart (Totem) |
Shax |

6th

| Feet and Shoulders (Totem) |
Tenebrous |

4th

| Hands and Waist (Totem) |
Zagan |

6th

| Arms and Waist (Totem) |
[/table]
* See full Vestige descriptions for effects of Essentia investment and Chakra Binds.

Vestiges by Level

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{table=head]

Vestige

| Level |

Chakras

| Basic Effect*
Amon |

1st

| Crown and Feet (Totem) | Darkvision functions even in magical darkness.
Aym |

1st

| Crown and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain Stability as the Dwarf racial feature.
Leraje |

1st

| Crown and Arms (Totem) | Gain Track, and +4 to Move Silently and Survival
Naberius |

1st

| Crown and Brow (Totem) | Gain a +2 bonus to your Naberius's Skills.
Ronove |

1st

| Crown and Arms (Totem) |
Dahlver-Nar |

2nd

| Crown and Throat (Totem) | Natural Armor bonus doubled to equal to full Constitution.
Haagenti |

2nd

| Crown and Waist (Totem) | Gain Weapon Focus in Battleaxes, Greataxes, Handaxes, and Throwing Axes.
Malphas |

2nd

| Crown and Shoulders (Totem) | Poison as a Free Action
Savnok |

2nd

| Crown and Heart (Totem) |
Andromalius |

3rd

| Crown and Arms (Totem) | Sense Trickery bonus to Appraise, Sense Motive, and Spot is doubled.
Focalor |

3rd

| Crown and Brow (Totem) | Focalor's Breath also causes Sickness in a 30 ft. Cone.
Karsus |

3rd

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Gain +4 bonus to Use Magic Device checks.
Paimon |

3rd

| Hands and Feet (Totem) |
Agares |

4th

| Feet and Heart (Totem) | Aura of Courage grants +4 vs. Fear effects to nearby allies.
Andras |

4th

| Hands and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain the Special Mount of a Paladin.
Buer |

4th

| Feet and Arms (Totem) | Buer's Knowledge bonuses to Heal, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival doubled.
Eurynome |

4th

| Feet and Shoulders (Totem) | Gain damage for the Poison Blood granted ability every two levels instead of three.
Tenebrous |

4th

| Hands and Waist (Totem) |
Acererak |

5th

| Hands and Shoulders (Totem) | Undead Empathy allows you to attempt to influence the Undead.
Balam |

5th

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Detect Good and Detect Evil at will.
Dantalion |

5th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Dantalion Knows bonus to Knowledge checks increases to +10.
Geryon |

5th

| Brow and Shoulders (Totem) | Supernatural attack as the Cloud Mind Psionic Power.
Otiax |

5th

| Hands and Heart (Totem) |
Chupoclops |

6th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Aura of Despair penalty doubled to -4.
Haures |

6th

| Feet and Throat (Totem) | Gain +4 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks, and to Diplomacy checks made while impersonating authority figure.
Ipos |

6th

| Hands and Brow (Totem) | Planar Attenuation occurs automatically, without the need for a Standard action.
Shax |

6th

| Feet and Shoulders (Totem) |
Zagan |

6th

| Arms and Waist (Totem) |
Eligor |

7th

| Arms and Heart (Totem) | Add a second 1d6 of elemental damage with your Chromatic Strike.
Marchosias |

7th

| Brow and Waist (Totem) | Your Silent and Sure bonus to Hide and Move Silently increases to +20.
Ashardalon |

8th

| Shoulders and Heart (Totem) | Fast Healing 10.
Halphax |

8th

| Arms and Waist (Totem) | Halphax's Knowledge bonuses to Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) and Profession (Siege Engineer) checks increases to +20.
Orthos |

8th

| Brow and Throat (Totem) |
[/table]
* See full Vestige descriptions for effects of Essentia investment and Chakra Binds.

Vestiges by Chakra

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{table=head]

Chakra*

|

Vestige

| Level | Basic Effect**
Crown | Amon |

1st

| Darkvision functions even in magical darkness.
| Andromalius |

3rd

| Sense Trickery bonus to Appraise, Sense Motive, and Spot is doubled.
| Aym |

1st

| Gain Stability as the Dwarf racial feature.
| Dahlver-Nar |

2nd

| Natural Armor bonus doubled to equal to full Constitution.
| Focalor |

3rd

| Focalor's Breath also causes Sickness in a 30 ft. Cone.
| Haagenti |

2nd

| Gain Weapon Focus in Battleaxes, Greataxes, Handaxes, and Throwing Axes.
| Leraje |

1st

| Gain Track, and +4 to Move Silently and Survival
| Malphas |

2nd

| Poison as a Free Action
| Naberius |

1st

| Gain a +2 bonus to your Naberius's Skills.
| Ronove |

1st

|
| Savnok |

2nd

|
Hands | Acererak |

5th

| Undead Empathy allows you to attempt to influence the Undead.
| Andras |

4th

| Gain the Special Mount of a Paladin.
| Balam |

5th

| Detect Good and Detect Evil at will.
| Ipos |

6th

| Planar Attenuation occurs automatically, without the need for a Standard action.
| Karsus |

3rd

| Gain +4 bonus to Use Magic Device checks.
| Otiax |

5th

|
| Paimon |

3rd

|
| Tenebrous |

4th

|
Feet | Agares |

4th

| Aura of Courage grants +4 vs. Fear effects to nearby allies.
| Amon |

1st

| Darkvision functions even in magical darkness.
| Buer |

4th

| Buer's Knowledge bonuses to Heal, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival doubled.
| Chupoclops |

6th

| Aura of Despair penalty doubled to -4.
| Dantalion |

5th

| Dantalion Knows bonus to Knowledge checks increases to +10.
| Eurynome |

4th

| Gain damage for the Poison Blood granted ability every two levels instead of three.
| Haures |

6th

| Gain +4 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks, and to Diplomacy checks made while impersonating authority figure.
| Paimon |

3rd

|
| Shax |

6th

|
Arms | Andromalius |

3rd

| Sense Trickery bonus to Appraise, Sense Motive, and Spot is doubled.
| Buer |

4th

| Buer's Knowledge bonuses to Heal, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival doubled.
| Eligor |

7th

| Add a second 1d6 of elemental damage with your Chromatic Strike.
| Halphax |

8th

| Halphax's Knowledge bonuses to Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) and Profession (Siege Engineer) checks increases to +20.
| Leraje |

1st

| Gain Track, and +4 to Move Silently and Survival
| Ronove |

1st

|
| Zagan |

6th

|
Brow | Balam |

5th

| Detect Good and Detect Evil at will.
| Focalor |

3rd

| Focalor's Breath also causes Sickness in a 30 ft. Cone.
| Geryon |

5th

| Supernatural attack as the Cloud Mind Psionic Power.
| Ipos |

6th

| Planar Attenuation occurs automatically, without the need for a Standard action.
| Karsus |

3rd

| Gain +4 bonus to Use Magic Device checks.
| Leraje |

1st

| Gain Track, and +4 to Move Silently and Survival
| Naberius |

1st

| Gain a +2 bonus to your Naberius's Skills.
| Orthos |

8th

|
| Marchosias |

7th

| Your Silent and Sure bonus to Hide and Move Silently increases to +20.
Shoulders | Acererak |

5th

| Undead Empathy allows you to attempt to influence the Undead.
| Andras |

4th

| Gain the Special Mount of a Paladin.
| Ashardalon |

8th

| Fast Healing 10.
| Aym |

1st

| Gain Stability as the Dwarf racial feature.
| Eurynome |

4th

| Gain damage for the Poison Blood granted ability every two levels instead of three.
| Geryon |

5th

| Supernatural attack as the Cloud Mind Psionic Power.
| Malphas |

2nd

| Poison as a Free Action
| Shax |

6th

|
Heart | Agares |

4th

| Aura of Courage grants +4 vs. Fear effects to nearby allies.
| Ashardalon |

8th

| Fast Healing 10.
| Eligor |

7th

| Add a second 1d6 of elemental damage with your Chromatic Strike.
| Otiax |

5th

|
| Savnok |

2nd

|
Throat | Chupoclops |

6th

| Aura of Despair penalty doubled to -4.
| Dahlver-Nar |

2nd

| Natural Armor bonus doubled to equal to full Constitution.
| Dantalion |

5th

| Dantalion Knows bonus to Knowledge checks increases to +10.
| Haures |

6th

| Gain +4 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks, and to Diplomacy checks made while impersonating authority figure.
| Orthos |

8th

|
Waist | Haagenti |

2nd

| Gain Weapon Focus in Battleaxes, Greataxes, Handaxes, and Throwing Axes.
| Halphax |

8th

| Halphax's Knowledge bonuses to Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) and Profession (Siege Engineer) checks increases to +20.
| Marchosias |

7th

| Your Silent and Sure bonus to Hide and Move Silently increases to +20.
| Tenebrous |

4th

|
| Zagan |

6th

|
[/table]
*All Vestiges can be bound to the Totem chakra, but the Pacts must occupy a different Chakra, so they are not listed by Totem chakra on the table.

** See full Vestige descriptions for effects of Essentia investment and Chakra Binds.

[DragoonWraith]

5th level Vestige, Hands and Shoulders (Totem)

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The Lich Acererak grants you power and influence over the legions of the dead. When Acererak is bound to any Chakra, the Midnight Occultist gains Undead Empathy, which functions as Wild Empathy but with Undead creatures, including mindless ones. Treat Undead Empathy as Diplomacy, except that your Empathy check is equal to 1d20 + your Cha modifier + your effective Binder level; with Undead who are not Mindless, you may instead treat this ability as a +4 bonus on Diplomacy checks. Influencing Mindless Undead is a Supernatural ability, while thoughtful Undead can be reasoned with even in an Antimagic Field, that is an Extraordinary ability.
Essentia: Every point you invest in your Pact with Acererak increases your Undead Empathy checks by +2, or increases your Diplomacy bonus when dealing with thinking Undead by +2.

Chakra Bind (Hands)

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Binding Acererak to your hands, your fingernails appear as if gemstones, and the Lich's paralyzing touch becomes ever so much more deadly.

The number of rounds for which a creature may be paralyzed by Acererak's Paralyzing Touch feature is extended by 1 round, plus 1 additional round for each point of Essentia invested in the Pact.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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On your shoulders, black bars of necromantic onyx form, looing for all the world like epaulets, military insignia marking you as the commander of your very own undead legion.

Acererak gives the ability to command Undead minions of your own. Depending on how much Essentia is invested in the Pact, you may as a Standard Action cast one of the following spells as a spell-like ability:
{table=head]Essentia | Spell

0+

| Summon Undead I

1+

| Summon Undead II

2+

| Summon Undead III

3+

| Summon Undead IV

4+

| Summon Undead V[/table]
The caster level on these spells is equal to your effective Binder level plus the amount of Essentia invested in the Pact. This ability may only be used once every 5 rounds, but having 5 Essentia invested reduces this to 4, 6 Essentia reduces this to 3, and 7 Essentia, possible only with Favored Vestige (Acererak), would reduce this limitation to just 2 rounds, allowing it to be used every other round.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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While bartering the with the Lich, you have chosen him as your Totem, and now your own head seems as if encased in a brittle, yellowing skull, with gemstones for eyes and teeth.

With Acererak bound to your Totem, you may treat his Paralyzing Touch as a Natural Weapon, which may be used as usual for a Natural Weapon during an attack sequence, rather than as a Standard Action. The limitation on how often the touch can be used remains, however. Each point of Essentia invested in the Pact increases the touch's save DC by 1.

4th level Vestige, Feet and Heart (Totem)

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Binding the Truth Betrayed to a Chakra allows you to extend your Fear Immunity out into a true Aura of Courage. Each ally within 10 ft. of the Midnight Occultist bound to Agares gains a +4 Morale bonus on saving throws against Fear effects.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Agares's Pact, the radius of the Aura of Courage extends another 5 ft., and the Morale bonus increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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Binding Agares to your feet, the stones and earth of the ground you stand upon is drawn up in cerulean strands of Incarnum, encasing your feet and legs in stone.

With Agares bound to your Feet, you may, as a Swift action, assume a special stance that literally causes the ground around you to slowly shift, crack, roil, and shake. The ground within 10 ft. of you, plus 5 ft. per point of Essentia invested in your Pact with Agares, is treated as Difficult Terrain. Moving more than 5 ft. ends this stance.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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By allowing the Truth Betrayed into your Heart, you become a bastion against all deception.

With Agares bound to your Heart, it becomes impossible to tell you lies. All creatures within 10 ft., plus an additional 5 ft. for every point of Essentia invested in the Truth Betrayed, become incapable of communicating any falsehood, as if they had failed a save against a Zone of Truth spell. However, this effect is not Mind-Affecting: they are certainly welcome to attempt to lie, but everyone who sees one under this effect try to do so automatically knows that it is a lie, even mindless creatures.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Agares was once among the greatest of Earth Elementals, and choosing him as your Totem can make you much like he once was.

On any attack which deals at least 10 HP worth of damage to an opponent, you may make a free Bullrush attempt to push the opponent back. You gain a +2 bonus on this attempt for every point of Essentia invested in Agares. If the enemy is pushed into a wall or other obstacle that prevents their movement, they take 4d6 + twice your Strength modifier + twice the Essentia invested in Agares in bludgeoning damage.

1st level Vestige, Crown and Feet (Totem)

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Amon's festering rage forbids the Midnight Occultist bound to him to overlook any slight, no matter how well hidden. When bound to a Chakra, Amon grants a superior form of Darkvision that can see even in magical darkness: the Midnight Occultist ignores the miss chance due to lack of illumination, even in total darkness.
Essentia: The Darkvision granted by Amon increases by 15 ft. for every point of Essentia invested in his Pact.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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With Amon bound to your crown, his horns grow and pulse with energy, coloring them midnight blue. In addition to the ram's horns of his sign, the dome of your head becomes hard, like horn itself.

Your Ram attack granted by Amon is treated as if you had the Knockdown feat, and you gain a +2 bonus on the resulting Trip attempt per point of Essentia invested in the Pact.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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As you bind Amon to your feet, Incarnum traceries detail bulging muscles on your legs which steadily become all the more real, until you find yourself standing on cloven hooves.

Your legs are treated effectively as a Mount, with a Move speed of 45 ft., and you are treated as having the Ride-By Attack feat. You do not need Ride checks to control your "Mount", however, and despite being a "Mount", your legs cannot be targeted as a separate creature. Your legs gain +5 ft. Land Move speed for every point of Essentia invested in this Vestige, as well.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With Amon as your Totem, your fiery vengeance shall not be thwarted!

For each point of Essentia invested in Amon's Pact, his Fire Breath ability may be used one round sooner than it otherwise would, to a minimum of 1 round. If the amount of Essentia invested in Amon's Pact would otherwise reduce it to 0 rounds or fewer, it may be treated as a Natural Weapon to be used as a part of an attack sequence. Any further Essentia is added to your effective Binder level for determining the damage of the Breath.

4th level Vestige, Hands and Shoulders (Totem)

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The Gray Knight can bring you even greater prowess in the saddle if you bind him to a Chakra. Offer him the magic of Incarnum, and he will show you the true ways of the paladin: the Mount he grants becomes the Special Mount of a Paladin three levels lower than your effective Binder level.
Essentia: For every point of Essentia in Andras's Pact, your Special Mount lasts an extra hour. For every two points of Essentia, it is treated as if your effective Binder level was one higher (that is, the three level reduction is decreased). If, due to Favored Vestige (Andras), you invest 7 Essentia in this Vestige, the Special Mount is treated as that of a Paladin one level higher than your effective Binder level (this is a replacement of, not in addition to, the bonuses to effective Binder level from having fewer points of Essentia invested).

Chakra Bind (Hands)

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Binding Andras to your hands, you gain gauntlets of incarnum, sure and steady and ready to strike.

Whenever you use Andras's Smite Good or Evil, the Critical Threat range of your weapon is extended by 1 plus the amount of Essentia invested in the Gray Knight's Pact. This extension occurs after the application of the Improved Critical feat or similar features, however.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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When taking up the Gray Knight's mantle, Incarnum flows from your shoulders in a lengthy gray cape, emblazoned with Andras's seal.

Once per battle, you may designate one target as the one Andras will influence for the battle. As a Standard Action, you may attempt to inject this influence into your foe; if they fail a Will save, in 8 rounds they must drop drop any items held in hand and retreat from melee combat, and avoid any offensive action for 1d4 rounds. If they succeed on the Will save, you may attempt retry, but you cannot choose a different target, you must continue trying to influence the same target, and the 5 round timer does not begin counting until they have failed the save. After a target has fled, you may attempt to influence a different target.

For every point of Essentia invested in this feature when the opponent fails their save, the time they have until they must flee is reduced by 1 round.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the former Paladin as Totem is an odd choice for Totemists, but the Gray Knight has much to offer. Andras sympathizes with the Totemist's disdain for the petty infighting of Good and Evil, and opens up his wrath for all targets.

With Andras bound to the Totem Chakra, Smite Good or Evil becomes merely Smite, and it functions against beings of any alignment. For each point of Essentia invested in Andras's Pact, the restriction on how often you may use Smite is decreased by 1 round, to a minimum 1 round. Each point of Essentia in excess of that necessary to reduce it to 1 round allows Smite to be used an additional time per round.

3rd level Vestige, Crown and Arms (Totem)

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When binding the Repentant Rogue to a Chakra, Andromalius's Sense Trickery feature becomes enhanced: the bonus on Appraise, Sense Motive, and Spot checks increases from +4 to +8.
Essentia: For every point of Essentia invested in Andromalius's Pact, the Sense Trickery bonus increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Upon making this Pact, you gain a the Repentant Rogue's hat, woven of pure Incarnum, to adorn your head.

When bound to your Crown, Andromalius can give you a veritable smörgåsbord of bonuses. Just for making this Pact, the See the Unseen bonus becomes to simply always see invisible creatures, without having to actively use See Invisibility to retain this ability.

With at least 1 Essentia, you gain the effects of Arcane Sight in addition to See Invisibility.

With at least 2 Essentia, you may cast Locate Creature instead of Locate Item if you wish. You may also use Jester's Mirth one round sooner than you would be able to otherwise.

With at least 3 Essentia, you can see any secret doors automatically, as if you had spent two rounds studying the area with Detect Secret Doors. You may then spend a Standard Action to examine one in particular as described in that spell.

With at least 4 Essentia, you may use Jester's Mirth two rounds sooner than you would be able to otherwise.

With at least 5 Essentia, you may spend a Standard Action concentrating to gain the benefits of True Seeing for the round.

With at least 6 Essentia, you may use Jester's Mirth three rounds sooner than you would be able to otherwise. Also, your sight is treated as if under the effects of Greater Arcane Sight.

With at least 7 Essentia, you may use Jester's Mirth every round, and you are treated as always being under the effects of True Seeing.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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With the jester bound to your arms, you gain an ephemeral blue second forearm for each, mimicking Andromalius's own.

Whenever you successfully use the Repentant Rogue's Sneak Attack feature, add your effective Binder level plus any Essentia you have invested in this Pact to the damage. This damage does not stack with that from the Craven feat, as Andromalius is teaching you the same tricks those dangerous cowards learn - without making you a coward.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Andromalius's arms are famous in binder lore, and with him as your totem, you gain a set of your very own.

With Andromalius bound to your totem, your arms split just like his, at the elbow. You effectively gain an extra pair of arms, plus another pair for every 2 Essentia invested in your totem; at 7 Essentia this becomes 4 pairs of arms. These arms can hold things, including weapons, or they may be used to allow more Claw attacks than you could otherwise use.

For example, a Wildclaw Shifter with Claws of the Wyrm shaped would be entitled to four Claw attacks, two from his Shifting racial feature and two from the Soulmeld, but would only be able to use one pair because he only has two arms. With Andromalius bound to his Totem, however, he has four arms and can use all four Claw attacks.

8th level Vestige, Shoulders and Throat (Totem)
Dragon Magic

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With Ashardalon bound to a Chakra, you gain even greater resilience. You gain Fast Healing 10.
Essentia: For every point of Essentia invested in the Pyre of the Unborn, your Fast Healing increases by 2.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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With the great fiendish dragon bound to your shoulders, enormous, evil-looking wings sprout and shroud you in their malevolence.

You gain a pair of draconic wings, which grant you a Flight speed of 60 ft. (Clumsy), and two Wing attacks which may be used as secondary Natural Weapons. These Wing attacks deal the damage of the Wing attacks of a True Dragon three sizes larger than the Midnight Occultist (so 2d6 for a Medium creature, 1d8 for Small and 2d8 for Large), plus one and a half times the Midnight Occultist's Strength score, plus one for each point of Essentia invested in the Pyre of the Unborn. Each point of Essentia also adds a +1 Enhancement bonus on attacks made with these wings.

Every point of Essentia invested in Ashardalon's Pact also upgrades the Midnight Occultist's maneuverability one step (Clumsy to Poor to Average to Good to Perfect at 4 Essentia). Points in excess of the Essentia necessary to attain Perfect maneuverability add 15 ft. to the Flight speed granted by Ashardalon.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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Ashardalon has granted you his great and terrible heart, and even now, it can be seen, beating inside the giant cavity this Pact has left in your chest. Strangely, you not only don't feel the wound, you feel stronger than ever.

You can cast the spells of the Chaos, Evil, and Fire domains as Arcane spells cast by a Sorcerer of your effective Binder level, but in order to cast spells of a particular level, you require a certain amount of Essentia invested in Ashardalon's Pact (you also must have a sufficiently high effective Binder level such that a Sorcerer of that level would be able to cast spells of that level):
{table=head]Spell Level | Essentia
1st | 0
2nd | 1
3rd | 2
4th | 3
5th | 4
6th | 5
7th | 6
8th | 7
9th | 7[/table]

You may cast these spells as many times during your Pact as you wish, but when you cast a spell, you cannot cast any other spell granted by this Pact for 5 rounds.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With the Pyre of the Unborn as your Totem, evil flares shine from your eyes, voicing your Pact with a monster of evil to all who meet your gaze.

You gain a Hellfire Breath Weapon dealing 10d6 damage in a 30 ft. Cone, half of which is Fire damage and half of which is Evil damage that is completely unresistable, though a successful Reflex save halves the damage. For every point of Essentia invested in Ashardalon, the Cone extends another 10 feet and another +1d6 damage is dealt by the weapon. This weapon is treated as a Natural Weapon and may be used during a normal attack sequence, but cannot be used again for 5 rounds after it has been used.

1st level Vestige, Crown and Heart (Totem)

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Binding Aym to a Chakra brings you closer to the Dwarves she ruined; an interesting position to be in, to be sure. With her Pact comes their innate stubbornness: you gain the Stability racial feature of Dwarves.
Essentia: Every point of Essentia in Aym's Pact, your Stability bonus increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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By donning the Queen of Avarice's Crown, Incarnum forms itself into a gaudy coronet by which all can see your wealth and might.

As a Standard Action, you may strike any foe with a melee attack, and if you successfully deal damage, they must make a Will save or have all forms of movement drop to 0 for one round. For each point of Essentia invested in this ability, this ability lasts one additional round. This ability, once used, may not be used again for another 5 rounds.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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Binding Aym to your Heart fills it with as much greed as the legendary Queen of Avarice herself - and the immensity of her envy fuels the flames that burn about you.

The intensity of Aym's Halo of Fire increases such that all creatures who pass within 5 ft of you, or you pass within 5 ft of, take 1d6 Fire damage plus 1d6 additional Fire damage for every point of Essentia invested in this ability (a successful Fortitude save halves the damage). No one may take this damage more than once per round.

Those who actually strike you, or who you touch as described in the Halo of Fire entry, take 1d6 Fire damage per effective Binder level, plus an additional 1d6 for each Essentia you have given the Queen of Avarice. This damage offers no save, and can be taken as many times per round as is relevant.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the Queen of Avarice as your Totem, you can take power from everyone around you. Your eyes grow green from the greed.

Whenever you destroy a weapon with your Ruinous Attack, your natural weapons each gain that weapon's enhancement bonuses and special abilities for a number of rounds equal to 1 plus the amount of Essentia you have invested in Aym's Pact.

Whenever you destroy armor with your Ruinous Attack, your very hide is magically enhanced as it was, and you also gain a Natural Armor bonus to AC equal to the armor's AC. This too lasts a number of rounds equal to 1 plus the amount of Essentia invested in Aym's Pact.

5th level Vestige, Hands and Brow (Totem)

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Bound, as you are, the the Bitter Angel, a Solar long since fallen, you know all about the ways of good and evil. So long as your Chakra Pact with Balam remains in force, you gain the effects of Detect Good and Detect Evil at all times.
Essentia: Balam allows you to see into the future, predicting your opponents' moves. Each point of Essentia invested in Balam's Pact increases your effective Binder level by 1 for the purpose of determining the bonus that Prescience offers to Initiative checks, Reflex saves, and AC.

Chakra Bind (Hands)

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Binding the Bitter Angel to your hands causes their backs to be lined in teeth, while simultaneously granting incredibly fluid and accurate movements.

You may add your Dexterity bonus, if any, to any and all damage rolls made on attacks that use your Dexterity modifier for attack. Every point of Essentia invested in Balam's Pact increases your effective Dexterity modifier by 1 for the purposes of determining your attack and damage bonus on such attacks.

Chakra Bind (Brow)

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Balam's icy glare is a thing of terror, and all who look into your eyes can see their frosty threat, as they appear as if frozen over.

You may add 1d6 Cold damage to Balam's Icy Glare attack for each Essentia invested in her Pact.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the Bitter Angel as your Totem turns you into a similar monstrosity as she, your lengthened neck splitting into thirds and your three heads being filled with gnashing teeth.

You gain three Bite attacks, each of which deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier in damage as a set of primary Natural Attacks, or 1d6 + half your Strength modifier in damage as a set of secondary Natural Attacks. You gain an enhancement bonus to the attacks and damages of these three attacks equal to the amount of Essentia invested in Balam's Pact.

4th level Vestige, Feet and Arms (Totem)

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When you bind Buer to a Chakra, the Grandmother Huntress grants you even greater knowledge of the natural world. Your Buer's Knowledge bonus to Heal, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival checks doubles to +8.
Essentia: Every point of Essentia adds +2 to the skills that Buer's Knowledge improves.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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With the Grandmother Huntress guiding your feet, no snare shall ever catch you. You cannot suppress their satyrical nature now, though.

You gain Trap Sense, as Rogue class feature, gaining a bonus Reflex saves to avoid traps and a dodge bonus to AC to avoid traps' attacks equal to 1 plus the amount of Essentia you have invested in Buer's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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Buer's healing abilities are famous, and they imbue your arms with similar skill. Bizarrely, however, they also appear weak and withered.

You gain the ability to heal more effectively with Buer's Healing Gift. Without any Essentia invested in the Grandmother Huntress's Pact, you may heal 1d8 damage as a Standard Action instead of just 1. With Essentia, you may, as a full-round action, choose more powerful healing magics in place of the usual healing that Buer grants, or simply add the amount of Essentia invested in the Pact to the damage healed with the full-round action. Your options in place of the regular healing for the full-round action are described in the following table, depending on how much Essentia is invested in the Pact.
{table=head]Essentia | Healing Spell

1+

| Lesser Restoration

2+

| Remove Blindness/Deafness

3+

| Restoration

4+

| Break Enchantment

5+

| Raise Dead, death may not of occurred more than 1 day previously.

6+

| Regenerate, no healing, and severed limbs must be present and touching the body.

7+

| Greater Restoration[/table]
In all cases, the limitation on how often the full-round healing may be used remains in effect, and none of these effects may be used within 5 rounds of any of the others being used.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the Grandmother Huntress as your Totem allows you track foes far more efficiently than before, granting you a great leonine nose with which to stalk them.

You gain Scent. If you have at least 1 Essentia invested in Buer's Pact, you also gain the effects of Pass Without Trace at all times. Investing 2 Essentia allows you to use this Scent to gain Blindsense 30 ft., and each additional point of Essentia extends this by 10 ft. At 4 Essentia, you gain the benefit of Hide in Plain Sight, as the Shadowdancer class feature except that you do not need shadows nearby, you must be in natural terrain. With at least 6 Essentia, you gain Blindsight 15 ft., and each additional point of Essentia more increases that by 15 ft.

6th level Vestige, Feet and Throat (Totem)

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The Harbinger of Forever, the devourer of hope, Chupoclops is a nightmare to behold, and offering to it Essentia may be a terrifying prospect even for you. With a Chakra Pact, Chupoclops's Aura of Despair becomes that much more dreadful to bear: the penalty on attack rolls, checks, saves, and weapon damage rolls due to the Aura doubles to -4.
Essentia: Incarnum can allow you to project the Aura of Despair even further. As a Free Action during your turn, you may change the radius of the Aura, from a minimum of 10 ft. to a maximum of 10 ft. plus another 10 ft. for each point of Essentia you have offered the Harbinger of Forever.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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Binding Chupoclops to your feet makes you more like him, more like the enormous arachnid that is the source of all nightmares. Your legs are replaced by eight very large spider legs, a hideous sight.

As an eight-legged creature, you receive a +4 Stability bonus to resist being Bullrushed or Tripped when standing on the ground. You also are treated as under the effects of Spider Climb at all times, except that the Climb speed is equal to your Land move speed. You are furthermore immune to the effects of any Web spell or similar effect. Once every 5 rounds, you may cast a transdimensional Web as the spell, except that it affects Ethereal creatures as well as others, and it is coated with a special poison that affects those who fail the save to avoid getting caught in it. This poison has a primary damage of 2d6 HP plus 1d6 HP per Essentia invested in Chupoclops's Pact, and a secondary damage of 1 Strength beginning at 1 Essenta, and increasing by 1 for every 2 Essenta additional that is invested.

Chakra Bind (Throat)

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The end times weigh heavy around your neck, having bound the Harbinger of Forever to your Throat. You have become partially ethereal as a result of your dealings with the Ethereal Watcher, and your neck cannot be seen at all. Your head simply floats above your shoulders.

When using Chupoclops's Ethereal Watcher ability, you may make one Move action, one Standard action, or one Full Round action, without ending your ethereality, plus one additional such action per point of Essentia you have invested in the Harbinger's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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By taking the Harbinger of Forever as your Totem, you have devoted yourself to death, despair, and fear. You gain six additional eyes, just like your normal eyes but smaller, covering your brow.

Chupoclops's poison is added to all of your Natural Attacks. Furthermore, your effective size for determining the damage of the poison increases one step for each point of Essentia you have invested in his Pact (for effective sizes larger than Colossal, continue the progression: 3d6, 3d8, 4d6, 4d8, etc.)

2nd level Vestige, Crown and Throat (Totem)

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Dahlver-Nar of the teeth can be a painful Vestige to bind, especially to a Chakra, but oddly the Tortured One has great protections to offer his binders. With him bound to a Chakra, the Natural Armor bonus he grants doubles, to your full Constitution bonus.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Dahlver-Nar's Pact, you gain another point of Natural Armor.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Binding the Tortured One to your Crown is dangerous, for his madness is contagious. Long fangs grow from your scalp, loosely attached and looking for all the world like a mop of insane hair.

When one Chakra-bound to Dahlver-Nar is affected by any effect to which Mad Soul grants him immunity, there is a 10% chance that the originator of the effect will be treated as if he had cast it upon himself (if the effect requires an Attack roll, he must try his best to make it, if it allows a Saving Throw he may attempt it, etc). For each point of Essentia invested in the Tortured One's Pact, this percentage increases by 5%.

Chakra Bind (Throat)

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The moans of the Tortured One have echoed through the ages and have haunted binders' dreams. Binding Dahlver-Nar to your Throat gains you what looks like a tight choker of fangs and teeth - but they are in fact embedded in your flesh.

Your Maddening Moan becomes beyond terrifying, into the truly eerie. The haunting sound of your voice reaches into the very fabric of reality, and neither the deaf nor even the mindless are safe from losing their sanity to your calls. Maddening Moan loses both the Mind-Affecting and Sonic descriptors for the sake of enemies' defenses (that is, they neither need to hear the moan nor need to be susceptible to Mind-Affecting attacks), though you may still treat it as either or both for the sake of features you may have that improve abilities with these descriptors.

Starting at 1 Essentia, and every 2 Essentia thereafter (that is, all odd numbers), the radius of your Maddening Moan increases by 10 feet. Starting at 2 Essentia, and every 2 Essentia thereafter (that is, all the even numbers aside from 0), the limitation on how often Maddening Moan may be used is reduced by 1 round.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the Tortured One as your Totem, your eyes are replaced by fangs that slide down your cheeks, but strangely your eyesight is unaffected. The hideous feeling of these fangs sinking into one's flesh is enough to drive many mad.

You gain a Bite attack that deals 1d6 damage plus your Strength modifier. Whenever this attack successfully deals damage, it also inflicts a Wisdom penalty equal to the amount of Essentia invested in Dahlver-Nar's Pact upon the target for a number of rounds equal to half your effective Binder level.

5th level Vestige, Feet and Throat (Totem)

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Dantalion the Star Emperor is perhaps the only Vestige with his own, continued connection to reality: the true scions of Dantalion join with him upon death, cursed as their line is, and add their knowledge to his. When binding him to a Chakra, that knowledge becomes yours: the bonus from Dantalion Knows to Knowledge checks increases to +10.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in the Star Emperor's Pact, the bonus from Dantalion Knows to Knowledge checks is increased by +1.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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Walking the way of the Star Emperor allows you to travel through the thoughts of others more easily, but causes the flesh of your feet to appear as if silhouetted, black without shade or depth, but pin-pointed with stars.

With Dantalion bound to your Feet, you may use Thought Travel as a Move action instead of a Standard action. Starting with 1 Essentia invested in the Star Emperor's Pact, and again for every 2 Essentia thereafter, the limitation on how frequently Thought Travel may be used is reduced by 1 round.

Chakra Bind (Throat)

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With the voice of the Star Emperor at your beck and call, you can cause others to refrain from attacking you and yours. Your voice, however, subtly shifts between yours and those of the various faces of Dantalion.

When you use Awe of Dantalion, you may keep the effect in place for an additional round by using a Swift action to maintain it. For each point of Essentia invested in Dantalion's Pact, you may maintain it for another round. Because this requires Swift actions, you cannot rearrange your Essentia while doing so. Furthermore, for each point of Essentia invested in the Pact, you may designate another creature (aside from yourself) that your targets may not attack. Those so designated cannot attack the targets without breaking the effect, either, however.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking the Star Emperor as your Totem gains you two smaller faces sitting right on your cheeks. These faces seem to mouth the same words you speak, but otherwise do not act.

When you use Dantalion's Read Thoughts ability, if successful, you may, as part of that same action, twist their thoughts yourself. This functions as the Suggestion spell, and targets are entitled to a second Will save against this effect, though the DC of this Will save is increased by +1 for each point of Essentia invested in the Star Emperor. If the target succeeds on their save, the suggested idea still occurs to them, though they will recognize it as odd and likely tie it to the Saving Throw they have just made, so though they may not know the source, they will know that someone is trying to get them to do this thing.

7th level Vestige, Arms and Heart (Totem)

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Eligor's service to Tiamat grants him a great many powers, and the Dragon's Slayer can give them to you if you bind him, especially to a Chakra. With Eligor bound to any Chakra, you may use Chromatic Strike a second time for each attack, though you cannot add the same damage type twice (so +1d6 Fire damage and +1d6 Cold damage is possible, but not +2d6 Fire damage).
Essentia: Starting at 1 Essentia, and again for every 2 Essentia thereafter invested in the Dragon's Slayer, you may add another 1d6 of elemental damage to your attacks, though again no type may be added more than once. If all four types have been added and you are entitled to another 1d6, you may add it as Force damage.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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Binding Eligor to your arms turns them each into scaly, draconic monstrosities, but with the Dragon's Slayer guiding your arms, your skill with any steed is unmatched.

Whenever you charge while mounted, you are treated as having the Improved Critical feat for whatever weapon you are using. For each point of Essentia invested in this Pact, you also expand the weapon's Critical Threat range by 2, though this expansion occurs after the bonus from Improved Critical.

Both the Improved Critical feat and the expanded threat range affect only the first attack you make on a charge, no matter how many you may be entitled to.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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As you bind Eligor to your heart, the sign of the Dragon's Slayer becomes emblazoned on your chest - painted on a breastplate, embroidered on a robe, tattooed on bare flesh - no matter what you wear, the icon is displayed prominently, in the scintillating colors of the chromatic dragons.

You gain one size category. If you have five or more Essentia invested in Eligor's Pact, you gain two. If you have nine Essentia invested in the Pact, then you gain three.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Your head grows and becomes scaled, draconic, in your veneration of Eligor as your Totem.

You gain a Breath Attack as a natural weapon. This attack deals your Chromatic Strike damage to all targets in a 10 ft. Cone, though a Reflex save halves the damage.

4th level Vestige, Feet and Shoulders (Totem)

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Eurynome was once a playful spirit, but now views any and all with suspicion. The damage from Eurynome's Poison Blood granted ability increases to 1d6 for every two effective Binder levels you possess.
Essentia: Each point of Essentia increases you effective Binder level for the purpose of Eurynome's Poison Blood feature by 1.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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Eurynome's hawklike legs may disturb those who see you, but they still hold no small portion of the Vestige's former playfulness.

You gain a +4 bonus on your Balance, Jump, Perform (Dance), and Tumble checks, and may both Balance without losing your Dexterity bonus to AC, and use Tumble untrained. Each point of Essentia invested in Eurynome's Pact increases the skill bonuses by +2.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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Binding the Mother of the Material to your shoulders gains you fish-like fins, making you a true child of the sea.

You gain a Swim speed equal to your Land speed, and also the effects of the Swim-by Attack feat (Stormwrack). Each point of Essentia invested in Eurynome's Pact increases your Swim speed by 10 ft.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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The Mother of the Material is a common choice of Totem by those who know her story; binding her can bring one much closer to the natural world.

You gain the Animal Companion of a Druid three levels less than your effective Binder level. For each point of Essentia that you offer to maintain in Eurynome's Pact, the level of the Animal Companion increases by one. The Animal Companion must be native to whatever environment you are in when you make the Pact.

3rd level Vestige, Crown and Brow (Totem)

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Making a Chakra Pact with the Prince of Tears allows you to fill others' with sadness and regret. Their tears will ever blind them to your threat: whenever you use Focalor's Breath, you may cause any targets you wish in a 30 ft. Cone-shaped Burst to make a Fortitude save, or become Sickened for one round. This area must include the target who is to be affected by Blindness, and that target is also Sickened if it fails its saving throw.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Focalor's Pact, the Blindness and Sickening effects of Focalor's Breath last an additional round.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Binding the Price of Tears to your Crown makes it impossible to stop the weeping, but this is nothing compared to crying your enemies will do.

Focalor's Aura of Sadness ability loses its Mind-Affecting descriptor for the sake of determining which targets it may effect, though it may still be considered Mind-Affecting for the sake of any beneficial effects you might apply to such effects. For every 3 points of Essentia, the penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks increases by 1.

Chakra Bind (Brow)

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A small lightning bolt appears to dance upon your Brow as you bind Focalor, heralding the storm you can call upon your foes.

Focalor's Call Lightning ability may be used as a Swift action. For each point of Essentia invested in the Prince of Tears, the ability deals an additional 2 Electricity damage.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Taking Focalor as your Totem wraps you in great griffon wings, as the Vestige himself is, and grants you further ability to sow storms of discord.

As a Standard action, you may use the wings that Focalor gives you to cause a small windstorm. This supernatural storm must be used in close range (that is, within 25 ft. plus 5 ft. per two effective Binder levels), and affects an area in a 10 ft. radius Burst from the chosen location. This attack deals 4d8 damage plus another 1d8 damage for every point of Essentia invested in Focalor's Pact, and also the area of the wind storm is treated as under the effects of your Aura of Sadness, instead of the squares adjacent to you until your next turn (you may choose to return the Aura to the squares around you as a Free action at any point on your turn, but if you have not done so by the end of your turn it automatically reverts).

5th level Vestige, Brow and Shoulders (Totem)

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Geryon, the Deposed Lord of the frozen Fifth Layer of Hell, Stygia, remains ever trusting, and can imbue you with the powers of the River Styx in exchange for a simple Chakra Pact. As a Standard Action, you may target a creature with a supernatural effect identical to the Cloud Mind Psionic Power, manifested with a Manifester Level equal to your effective Binder level. Once used, this ability cannot be used again for 5 rounds.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in this Pact, you may, when you use the Cloud Mind ability, either add another target, or designate another creature aside from yourself as ignored by the target(s). Any creature so ignored can break the effect or trigger new saving throws exactly as you can, but each target must itself be attacked or observe something that gives a saving throw.

Chakra Bind (Brow)

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Geryon's eyes are well known among Binders, being the source of his power. With the Deposed Lord bound to your Brow, however, you gain two additional faces, just as the former Lord of the Fifth himself.

Even if you attempt to suppress Geryon's sign, you retain the Acidic Gaze, All-Around Vision, and See in Darkness abilities, as well as the faces above. In addition, Acidic Gaze gains 1d6 Cold damage in addition to its normal Acid damage. Starting at 1 Essentia, and again for every 2 Essentia thereafter, the gaze does another 1d6 Cold damage. Starting at 2 Essentia, and again every 2 Essentia after that, the gaze does another 1d6 Acid damage.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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Your back is covered in scarlet lines, appearing as if fresh lacerations upon your skin. Binding Geryon to your Shoulders has covered you in his sigil, marking you as his.

When using the Swift Fly ability, you may fly for a number of rounds equal to 2 plus the amount of Essentia invested in the Deposed Lord's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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Before becoming known to Binders as the Deposed Lord, Geryon was known to all the planes as the Wild Beast. Binding him to your Totem gains you a measure of his abilities, in the form of a long tail ending with a scorpion's barb.

You gain a Sting attack that deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier in Piercing damage as a primary Natural Weapon, or 1d6 + half your Strength modifier in Piercing damage as a secondary Natural Weapon. By investing Essentia in Geryon's Pact, you may, as a Free action, add an injury poison to this Sting that deals Constitution damage as listed in the table below. The poison allows a save DC to ignore the damage, as usual for a poison, though the DC is set as is any other Chakra Pact granted ability save DC.
{table=head]Essentia | Primary Damage | Secondary Damage

1

| 1 Con damage | -

2

| 1d2 Con damage | -

3

| 1d3 Con damage | 1 Con damage

4

| 1d4 Con damage | 1d2 Con damage

5

| 1d6 Con damage | 1d3 Con damage

6

| 1d8 Con damage | 1d4 Con damage

7

| 1d10 Con damage | 1d6 Con damage

8

| 2d8 Con damage | 1d8 Con damage

9

| 3d6 Con damage | 1d10 Con damage[/table]
You may not add this poison to the sting attack again for 5 rounds, though the sting may continue to be used normally without the poison even during this time.

[DragoonWraith]

2nd level Vestige, Crown and Waist (Totem)

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Binding Haagenti to your Chakras improves your granted skills with arms and armor. With her bound, you gain the effects of the Weapon Focus feat for the battleaxe, greataxe, handaxe, and throwing axe.
Essenta: Starting with 1 Essentia invested in the Mother of Minotaur's Pact, you gain +1 to damage rolls on attacks made with a battleaxe, greataxe, handaxe, or throwing axe, and this bonus increases by a further +1 for every 2 Essentia beyond 1 that you invest. You also gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls made with those same weapons for every 2 Essentia you have invested in the Pact.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Glistening cerulean incarnum forms itself into a pair of icy blue minotaur horns when you bind Haagenti to your Crown, signifying that you, too, are her child.

Your effective Binder level for the purpose of determining the effects of your Confusing Touch ability increases by 1 for every point of Essentia you have invested in Haagenti's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Waist)

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Binding Haagenti to your Waist allows you access to still more of Thrym's martial prowess, as an icy shield forms on your forearm that you cannot remove.

For the duration of the Pact, you are treated as having a +1 Bashing Greater Soulbound Heavy Steel Shield of Fire Resistance equipped and bound to your Arms Chakra at all times, though it does not actually occupy your Arms Chakra for the purpose of determining what other effects you may bind. If you already have a shield equipped during the Pact-making process, it gets frozen over, stuck to your arm and gains the Bashing, Greater Soulbound, and Fire Resistance special abilities if it did not already have them, and it is again treated as bound to your Arms Chakra even if you already have items or Soulmelds occupying or even bound to that Chakra. You also are treated as having the Improved Shield Bash feat. Your shield bashes with this shield gain an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to the amount of Essentia invested in Haagenti's Pact.

Finally, as an Immediate action, you may make a Shield Bash attack against an opponent you threaten, though at a -2 penalty. If this attack hits, even if no damage is dealt, your target's next attack automatically misses. Once used, this counter attack may not be used again for 5 rounds.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With the Mother of Minotaurs as your Totem, you gain a pair of minotaur horns that brim with frost.

You gain a Gore attack that deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier in Bludgeoning damage as a primary Natural Weapon, or 1d6 + half your Strength modifier in Bludgeoning damage as a secondary Natural Weapon. It also deals 1d6 Cold damage for each point of Essentia invested in Haagenti's Pact.

8th level Vestige, Arms and Waist (Totem)

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Halphax grants you even greater knowledge of the arts of defense and armament when you bind him to a Chakra. Your bonus to Profession (Siege Engineer) and Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) checks from Halphax's Knowledge increases to +20.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in the Angel in the Angle's Pact, your Halphax's Knowledge bonus increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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With Halphax bound to your arms, they seem replaced by mechanical devices - ingenious joints connected by lengths of cold, black iron, reminiscent of nothing so much as prison bars.

When you create a Secure Shelter using Halphax's granted ability, it is topped by a mechanical automatic catapult. Once per round on your turn as a Free action, you may direct your Secure Shelter to attack an area with a 25 ft. radius within 100 ft. of the tower with this catapult; this attack deals 1d6 Bludgeoning damage per effective Binder level, and is treated as Adamantine for the purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction. Enemy targets may make a Reflex save to take half damage; friendly targets take half damage even on a failed save, and on a successful save they take no damage at all. Each point of Essentia invested in Halphax's Pact increases the damage dealt by the catapult by 1d6.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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The Vestige of the Angel in the Angle remembers none of his shame, but by taking Halphax into his heart you learn something of the grief he endured in life - and so do your foes.

Once during your Pact with Halphax, you may use Imprisonment such that it affects the target permanently on a failed save, as the spell. If you have at least 1 point of Essentia invested in Halphax's Pact, you may do so again, but you take 1 point of Essentia damage when doing so (which is taken from the amount invested in Halphax), and do not regain the lost point of Essentia until the Pact ends.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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The Angel in the Angle makes for a strange Totem, but he is powerful. You seem to be smaller, but lose none of your strength.

You gain the Slight Build feature: your physical stature lets you function in many ways as if you were one size category smaller. Whenever you are subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Hide), your are treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous to you. You are also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. You can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, your space and reach, as well as the damage of your natural weapons, remain those of a creature of your actual size. The benefits of this trait stack with effects that change your size category.

Furthermore, if you have at least one point of Essentia invested in Halphax's Pact and are showing his sign, you gain the ability to Hide in Plain Sight when in artificial environments: you may use the Hide skill without cover or concealment, even while being observed, as long as you are standing on or against worked metal or stone.

And finally, for every 2 points of Essentia invested in the Angel in the Angle, your Damage Reduction increases by 1.

6th level Vestige, Feet and Throat (Totem)

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The Dreaming Duke pulled off a grand charade for most of his long life, living so much with illusions that eventually he could not tell reality from invention any longer. With him bound to a Chakra, however, Haures can show you how to pull off a disguise at least for a time: you gain a +4 bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks, as well as a +4 to Diplomacy checks made while successfully impersonating a figure of authority.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Haures's Pact, your bonuses to Bluff, Disguise, and Diplomacy increase by +2.

Chakra Bind (Feet)

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With the Dreaming Duke bound to your Feet, your person seems to slowly fade out as one looks lower: your face is completely opaque, but anyone looking closely could see right through your boots and feet.

You may retain a 20% Miss chance due to your almost-incorporeal nature even while not moving, so long as Incorporeal Movement is activated. You may also move through up to 5 ft. of solid material per round for each point of Essentia invested in Haures's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Throat)

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Binding Haures to your Throat gives you what looks like a lion's mane, no matter your gender, and allows you greater control over the dreamworld.

Depending on the amount of Essentia you have invested in Haures's Pact, you have some additional options that you may use instead of Major Image. Using any of these spells prevents you from using another spell granted by this ability, even a different one, for 5 rounds.

You may use any spell for which you have at least as much Essentia invested as listed on the chart.
{table=head]Essentia | Spell

0

| Disguise Self, Major Image, Suggestion

1

| Hallucinatory Terrain

2

| Illusory Wall

3

| Mirage Arcana

4

| Persistent Image

5

| Seeming

6

| Mass Suggestion

7

| Programmed Image

8

| Veil

9

| Permanent Image[/table]

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With the Dreaming Duke as your Totem, your reversed hands end in vicious claws, which can lead your foes into a dreamworld.

You gain two Claw attacks that deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier in Slashing damage as primary Natural Weapons, or 1d6 + half your Strength modifier as secondary Natural Weapons. If both claws successfully deal damage, your opponent must make a Will save or be Confused for one round. For each point of Essentia invested in this Pact, the DC to avoid the confusion increases by +1.

6th level Vestige, Hands and Brow (Totem)

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The Prince of Fools succeeded in making his way to the realm of the Vestiges ages ago, long before the recorded history of Binder lore. His skill with the Planes can be yours, if you bind him to a Chakra. Upon the making of a Chakra Pact with Ipos, you automatically are immune to planar effects, without having to spend a Standard Action to attenuate.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia in Ipos's Pact, you can extend the benefits of your automatic Planar Attenuation to an additional creature besides yourself.

Chakra Bind (Hands)

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With the Prince of Fools bound to your Hands, Ipos's claws become quite permanent for the duration of the Pact, but ever the more deadly.

Whenever you successfully use the Rend feature granted by Ipos, you cause your opponent to bleed: for every successful claw attack that triggered the Rend, your target takes 1 HP of damage every round at the beginning of its turn. Each point of Essentia in this Chakra Pact increases this damage by 1.

Chakra Bind (Brow)

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Ipos grants you incredible knowledge and influence over the Vestiges when bound to your Brow, but you must also accept his cold, heavy, rusting crown.

Beginning at 1 Essentia, and increasing for every 2 Essentia thereafter, you gain a +1 bonus to the saving throw DC of any Vestige granted abilities you use. For every 2 Essentia in the Pact, you also add +1 to your effective Binder level for the purpose of determining the effects of your Vestige granted abilities.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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You grow the long, downward-curving beak of the ibis, signifying Ipos's place as your Totem.

You gain the effects of the Blood Wind spell, and may make Natural Weapon attacks at a range of 10 ft., plus 5 ft. for each point of Essentia invested in Ipos's Pact.

3rd level Vestige, Hands and Brow (Totem)

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Though Karsus failed in his bid at controlling magic at its source, he nonetheless remains excellent in his skills with it, and can grant you some of that ability if you bind him to a Chakra. You gain a +4 bonus on Use Magic Device checks while the Hubris in the Blood is bound to any Chakra.
Essentia: For every point of Essentia invested in this Pact, your Heavy Magic bonus to the save DCs of spells cast by items increases by +1.

Chakra Bind (Hands)

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With the Hubris in the Blood bound to your Hands, they turn a bright, scarlet red, but they become incredibly adept with the use of magic items.

When you make your Chakra Pact with Karsus, choose a Metamagic feat. You must meet any skill or feat requirements for this feat, and half your effective Binder level (rounding up) must be equal to or greater than the level of any spells that the feat normally requires you to be able to cast.

Whenever you use a spell trigger or spell completion item while you have at least as much Essentia invested in Karsus's Pact as the spell level increase of the chosen Metamagic feat, you may apply this feat to the spell cast by the item. In the case of spell trigger items, additional charges equal to this same spell level increase are also spent. Once used, this ability cannot be used again for 5 rounds.

Chakra Bind (Brow)

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With Karsus bound to your Brow, your eyes become as orbs filled with blood, but here's a surprise: there's magic in your eyes.

As a full-round action, you may scry on anyone, anything, or anywhere, as the Scrying spell, except that you need no Focus but are effectively both Blind and Deaf to your own environment, since everything you see and hear is from the area scried upon. You may continue scrying for up to 1 minute per effective Binder level by concentrating on the effect.

For each point of Essentia invested in Karsus's Pact, you are treated under the effects of any one spell from the Divination school with "Detect" in the name (e.g. Detect Evil). These always work when added via Essentia, as does Karsus's own Detect Magic effect, but have the standard 5% chance per effective Binder level of working if you have these effects operating on you at the time of the scrying. If you have at least 2 points of Essentia invested, you also gain the effects of See Invisibility while scrying. With at least 4 Essentia, this improves to include Arcane Sight as well. With at least 6 Essentia, Arcane Sight is replaced by Greater Arcane Sight. Finally, at 8 Essentia, you are under the effects of True Seeing while scrying.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With the Hubris in the Blood as your Totem, yours flows freely - from scarlet tear drops from your eyes, to under your fingernails, leaving bloody prints on all you touch.

You may make Karsus's Touch with any natural attack that hits. Your Dispel Magic check also gains a bonus equal to the amount of Essentia invested in Karsus's Pact.

1st level Vestige, Crown and Arms (Totem)

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The Green Herald may grant you her skills as a ranger in exchange for a Chakra Pact. When Leraje is bound to any Chakra, you gain a +4 bonus to Move Silently and Survival checks, and gain the use of the Track feat.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia in Leraje's Pact, your bonus to Hide, Move Silently, and Survival increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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With Leraje bound to your Crown, your ears become exceptionally long and pointy - almost a mockery of elven ears, as they extend quite far back behind your head.

The Green Herald is, quite possibly, the best archer the planes have ever known. Leraje can teach you some of the ways of the archer. If you are attacked by a ranged attack, you may make a Listen check with a +4 bonus against the attack's attack roll; if you succeed, you automatically know where the attack came from (the square, but without pin-pointing the location). If you beat the attack roll by at least 10, you can pin-point the target's location for one round, and take no penalties from concealment, including total concealment, though cover still applies. For each point of Essentia invested in this Pact, you gain +2 to this check. If you have at least 3 Essentia in the Pact, you may use the Deflect Arrows feat; if you have at least 6, this becomes the Snatch Arrows feat, and you may return an arrow immediately if you have a bow ready for the purpose, just like you could a thrown weapon. You gain the Essentia in the Pact as an enhancement bonus on any attacks made using Snatch Arrows.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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With Leraje bound to your Arms, there seems to be an arrowshaft embedded in your forearm, snapped off near the skin.

You may apply bonus damage from abilities such as Sneak Attack or Sudden Strike to any and all targets hit by your Ricochet ability. Furthermore, beginning at 1 Essentia and again every 2 Essentia thereafter, you may hit an additional target with Ricochet.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With the Green Herald as your Totem, you proudly bear Corellon Larethian's arrow buried deep in your heart.

You gain a Greatbow forged from Incarnum, and are considered proficient in the use of this bow. This bow is ephemeral and does not actually encumber the hand it appears in, except while shooting it. You are also considered to have the Manyshot feat, though you can also use the bow as part of a normal full-attack action. You gain an enhancement bonus equal to the amount of Essentia invested in this Pact while firing the bow.

2nd level Vestige, Crown and Arms (Totem)

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Malphas the Turnfeather was a vile traitor among the elves, but his skills at underhanded deception can prove useful to an Occultist. When you form a Chakra Pact with him, you may add poison to a weapon as a Free action as many times as you like, though no single attack can have more than one poison applied to it. If you have made a bad Pact with Malphas, he does not require that you poison every attack; once per round will be sufficient for meeting his requirements.
Essentia: You add the Essentia in your Pact with Malphas to the save DCs of any poisons that you use.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Your hair turns to raven's feathers, your Crown matching the Turnfeather's, whom you have bound there.

You may have as many simultaneous ravens or doves for Bird's Eye Viewing as you have Essentia invested in Malphas's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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A raven's eye appears on each of your forearms, marking Malphas's binding to your Arms.

You may make a number of attacks without breaking your Invisibility as you have Essentia invested in the Turnfeather's Pact. Further, half of your Sudden Strike damage becomes Sneak Attack damage, and therefore applies even against foes who are not flat-footed, if they are flanked.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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A cruel raven's beak grows from your face, showing the Turnfeather as your Totem.

You gain a Peck attack that deals 1d4 + half your Strength modifier as a Natural Weapon which may be either primary or secondary. This Peck attack always deals your Sudden Strike damage against foes who are not specifically immune to critical hits and precision damage, even if not flat-footed. You gain an enhancement bonus on this weapon equal to the Essentia invested in Malphas's Pact.

7th level Vestige, Arms and Waist (Totem)

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The King of Killers revels in death, in a silent kill. By making your Chakra Pact with him, you gain some more of that stealth: your Silent and Sure bonuses increase to +20 each to Hide and Move Silently.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Marchosias's Pact, your Silent and Sure bonus to Hide and Move Silently increases by +2.

Chakra Bind (Arms)

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With the King of Killers bound to your Arms, smoke seems to envelop them from the elbows down, shrouding even your hands.

Your fire damage from Fiery Retribution becomes fueled from the very depths of hell where Marchosias was torn apart. Half of the damage dealt by Fiery Retribution becomes pure hellish evil, and cannot be resisted in any way. In addition, Fiery Retribution deals another 1d6 damage for each point of Essentia in the King of Killer's Pact.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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The King of Killers grants you his fiery crown in acknowledgment of your acceptance of him as your Totem.

You retain the Death Attack ability while in Smoke Form, and may study a foe in that form. You may attack as you exit Smoke Form, and your foe is always denied his Dexterity bonus to AC against this attack, even if he retains that ability when flat-footed. You gain an enhancement bonus to attacks made while exiting Smoke Form equal to your Essentia investment in Marchosias's Pact.

1st level Vestige, Crown and Shoulders (Totem)

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The Grinning Hound can grant a Binder considerable talents in a wide array of areas, particularly in those the Binder never before had any skill in. By offering him a Chakra, however, he can augment these talents considerably: you gain a +2 bonus on all of the skills you've chosen to work with Naberius's Skills.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Naberius, you gain a +2 bonus to each of Naberius's Skills.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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With Naberius bound to your Crown, you cannot help but grin widely at all manner of situations, even when inappropriate. Those paying attention might feel that your smile shows a bit too many teeth...

Naberius makes you an orator of considerable skill: you gain a +6 bonus on Perform (Oratory) checks, and can use Inspire Courage of a 1st level Bard, but you cannot maintain the inspiration: you and your allies gain the benefit of the inspiration when you use this ability, and for 5 rounds thereafter. Once used, you may not use this ability again for 5 rounds. Each point of Essentia invested in the Grinning Hound's Pact adds +2 to your Perform (Oratory) checks, and for every three Essentia, you also add one to your Inspire Courage bonuses.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

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As you bind Naberius to your Shoulders, a dead crane settles upon them, wings wrapped about your neck. The significance of this burden is unknown to Occultist scholars.

Each hour, you may elect to convert 1 point of Ability Burn to Ability Drain instead of healing 1 point of Ability Drain. You may make this choice differently for each ability, as desired. Beginning with 1 Essentia, and for every 2 Essentia thereafter, the amount of Ability Damage healed each round, and the amount of Ability Drain healed each hour, increases by 1. You can never convert more than 1 point of Ability Burn to Ability Drain per hour.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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A pair of ephemeral, pit-bullish heads appear on either side of your own, signifying your Totemic devotion to the Grinning Hound.

You gain an additional pair of heads, which may make Bite attacks if you have Bite attacks available. This ability does not grant new Bite attacks, simply allows someone who has more Bite attacks than they have mouths with which to make those attacks. The Bites made with the two heads granted by Naberius are always secondary attacks. Each even point of Essentia (2, 4, etc) adds a +1 bonus to those heads' attack rolls; each odd point of Essentia (1, 3, etc) adds a +1 bonus to those heads' damage rolls.

8th level Vestige, Brow and Throat (Totem)



5th level Vestige, Hands and Heart (Totem)



3rd level Vestige, Hands and Feet (Totem)



1st level Vestige, Crown and Brow (Totem)



2nd level Vestige, Crown and Heart (Totem)

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Granting a Chakra to the Instigator can turn an Occultist, already a formidable warrior under Savnok's tutelage, into a fearsome dealer of death that wades into battle and lays waste to all about him. You gain the effects of the Heavy Armor Optimization feat; if you already have this feat, you gain the effects of Greater Heavy Armor Optimization instead. (These feats are from Races of Stone.)
Essentia: Each point of Essentia invested in the Instigator's Pact is added to your effective Binder level for the purposes of your Call Armor and Savnok's Armor abilities.

Chakra Bind (Crown)

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Donning Savnok's helm binds him to your Crown, and the incarnum around your head hides your face but reveals your loyalties.

The helm that Savnok's Crown adds is similar to a Helm of Battle - as a Swift action, gain a +2 bonus to your next attack roll or ability check when you attempt to make a bull rush, disarm, overrun, sunder, or trip attempt during your turn. When used, this ability may not be used again for 5 rounds. Each point of Essentia invested in the Pact adds another +2 to the check. If you have at least 3 Essentia invested in the Pact, the bonus applies to the chosen special maneuver each time you use it until the beginning of your next turn. With at least 5 Essentia, activating this ability is a Free action that may only be done once per round. With at least 7 Essentia, the bonus applies to all maneuvers at once, rather than a single chosen one.

Chakra Bind (Heart)

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With Savnok bound to your Heart, his armor cannot be removed, and no matter how much you attempt to clean it, the blood cannot be washed off...

Your damage reduction from Savnok's Armor is overcome only by epic piercing weapons. Further, for each point of Essentia invested in the Instigator's Pact, 1 Armor AC from the armor functions against touch attacks.

Chakra Bind (Totem)

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With Savnok as your Totem, you are an unstoppable onslaught, as the armor takes on the appearance of scaly plates and toughened hide.

A number of times per round equal to the Essentia invested in Savnok's Pact, when you successfully use a Natural Weapon to deal damage to a foe, you may make a Bull Rush attempt as a Free action.

6th level Vestige, Feet and Shoulders (Totem)



4th level Vestige, Hands and Waist (Totem)



6th level Vestige, Brow and Waist (Totem)

[DragoonWraith]

8th level Vestige
The Mind's Eye: Three Psionic Vestiges



4th level Vestige
The Mind's Eye: Three Psionic Vestiges



4th level Vestige
Urban Magic - A Web Enhancement for Cityscape



6th level Vestige
Urban Magic - A Web Enhancement for Cityscape



6th level Vestige
The Mind's Eye: Three Psionic Vestiges



6th level Vestige
Design & Development: Designing Your Own Vestige, Pt. 2



6th level Vestige
Class Chronicles: Binders

[DragoonWraith]

Reserved for emergencies, notes, commentary, standing questions, etc.

Comment: Wow, there are a lot of 6th level Vestiges. The online material adds four.

[mrcarter11]

Well, again I gotta say. I love this PrC. I really wanna try it out soon, so hopefully it gets finished soon.

[DragoonWraith]

Working on it; Naberius is started, but I'm heading out for a while now.

[Vulaas]

I love this! Well thought out, a massive undertaking, and nothing left out (that I can see). Bravo, sir, and wonderful work!

[lightningcat]

Congratulations on your victory. I completely approve of giving both binders and meldshapers the love they deserve. I was a bit worried by the unfinished nature of your project, but I do hope to see it completed soon.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

I love this class. Once you've got another page of Vestiges done, I'll throw a PEACH your way. From what I remember in the contest, nothing seemed too weak or too strong.

[Xzoltar]

I should be able to playtest it really soon, so I will give you more feedback afterward. But so far like it. Only thing is level 5 and 9, you gain no new abilities and I like gaining stuff every level even if its not something powerful, so even a +2 to Knowledge checks or anything really will help :P

[hamishspence]

I like the concept a lot.

Incarnum and Binding are two of more interesting magic concepts- synergizing them seems like a fascinating idea.

[DragoonWraith]

Finished Naberius then.

I love this! Well thought out, a massive undertaking, and nothing left out (that I can see). Bravo, sir, and wonderful work!

Congratulations on your victory. I completely approve of giving both binders and meldshapers the love they deserve. I was a bit worried by the unfinished nature of your project, but I do hope to see it completed soon.

I like the concept a lot.

Incarnum and Binding are two of more interesting magic concepts- synergizing them seems like a fascinating idea.

Thank you all!

I love this class. Once you've got another page of Vestiges done, I'll throw a PEACH your way. From what I remember in the contest, nothing seemed too weak or too strong.

Ooh, thanks!

I should be able to playtest it really soon, so I will give you more feedback afterward. But so far like it. Only thing is level 5 and 9, you gain no new abilities and I like gaining stuff every level even if its not something powerful, so even a +2 to Knowledge checks or anything really will help :P

Wow, a playtest - that would be excellent. As for 5 and 9, originally I was going to split up the Chakra Binds, but that ultimately became problematic because there were so few choices for too many Vestiges, so that went away. I agree with you about dead levels, but I can't really think of anything appropriate for those slots. If you have any ideas, I'm listening, but +2 to Knowledge checks doesn't seem especially appropriate - this class has more specialized knowledge, but that's already covered in the Lore section, and there's nothing about this class that means they're more likely than Wizards or Binders or whatever to know about Arcana or the Planes or whatever. Not really sure what to use.

[zagan]

First priority bookmarking this thread, done.
Second because I haven't done so yet, fellicitation for your victory.
And now commenting the new vestige:

1st level Vestige, Crown and Shoulders (Totem)
The Grinning Hound can grant a Binder considerable talents in a wide array of areas, particularly in those the Binder never before had any skill in. By offering him a Chakra, however, he can augment these talents considerably: you gain a +2 bonus on all of the skills you've chosen to work with Naberius's Skills.
Essentia: For each point of Essentia invested in Naberius, you gain a +2 bonus to each of Naberius's Skills.

Appropriate and potentially applying to lot of skill.

Chakra Bind (Crown)
With Naberius bound to your Crown, you cannot help but grin widely at all manner of situations, even when inappropriate. Those paying attention might feel that your smile shows a bit too many teeth...

Naberius makes you an orator of considerable skill: you gain a +6 bonus on Perform (Oratory) checks, and can use Inspire Courage of a 1st level Bard, but you cannot maintain the inspiration: you and your allies gain the benefit of the inspiration when you use this ability, and for 5 rounds thereafter. Once used, you may not use this ability again for 5 rounds. Each point of Essentia invested in the Grinning Hound's Pact adds +2 to your Perform (Oratory) checks, and for every two Essentia, you also add one to your Inspire Courage bonuses.

The flavor is really nice and the ability is simple but usefull.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)
As you bind Naberius to your Shoulders, a dead crane settles upon them, wings wrapped about your neck. The significance of this burden is unknown to Occultist scholars.

Each hour, you may elect to convert 1 point of Ability Burn to Ability Drain instead of healing 1 point of Ability Drain. You may make this choice differently for each ability, as desired. Beginning with 1 Essentia, and for every 2 Essentia thereafter, the amount of Ability Damage healed each round, and the amount of Ability Drain healed each hour, increases by 1. You can never convert more than 1 point of Ability Burn to Ability Drain per hour.

Situational but usefull.

Chakra Bind (Totem)
A pair of ephemeral, pit-bullish heads appear on either side of your own, signifying your Totemic devotion to the Grinning Hound.

You gain an additional pair of heads, which may make Bite attacks if you have Bite attacks available. This ability does not grant new Bite attacks, simply allows someone who has more Bite attacks than they have mouths with which to make those attacks. The Bites made with the two heads granted by Naberius are always secondary attacks. Each even point of Essentia (2, 4, etc) adds a +1 bonus to those heads' attack rolls; each odd point of Essentia (1, 3, etc) adds a +1 bonus to those heads' damage rolls.

Very, very situational unless build around it still it's very original and the image is awesome.

[DragoonWraith]

First priority bookmarking this thread, done.
Second because I haven't done so yet, fellicitation for your victory.

Thanks!

Appropriate and potentially applying to lot of skill.

Yeah, but not too many.

The flavor is really nice and the ability is simple but usefull.

Actually, rerunning the numbers in my head, you get better Inspire Courage than a Bard. Think I'll make it +1/3 Essentia.

Situational but usefull.

Faster Ability Healing is already one of the best Vestige-granted abilities in the game... I'm actually worried about this one being too good.

Very, very situational unless build around it still it's very original and the image is awesome.

Totemists having too many Bite attacks? Doesn't sound that unusual. Also, as for originality, check out Andromalius - he's got damn near the same thing but for Claw attacks...

[zagan]

Actually, rerunning the numbers in my head, you get better Inspire Courage than a Bard. Think I'll make it +1/3 Essentia.

Yeah, running the number you're probably right.

Faster Ability Healing is already one of the best Vestige-granted abilities in the game... I'm actually worried about this one being too good.

Yes, its is most well know ability. But ability burn isn't that common (well i don't think it is) so you don't use this soulmeld unless you've taken specific type of damage and you just change your chakra pact the next day to heal it.

Totemists having too many Bite attacks? Doesn't sound that unusual. Also, as for originality, check out Andromalius - he's got damn near the same thing but for Claw attacks...

Yes, i remember andromalius but claw are more common. To use it you need at least a racial bite attack and one granted by a soulmeld and or vestige. And to gain the one from a soulmeld you need to use double totem. So yeah I think it's situational. Still the idea is nice.

[Person_Man]

Well done sir.

Quibbles:

A Binder/Incarnate/Midnight Occultist is basically being screwed out of a class ability, in that he already has the ability to bind his Crown chakra, an ability the Midnight Occultist later gains. (This is a problem with several Incarnum PrC). He's also screwed by the fact that 1/3 of the vestige binding abilities are bound to the Totem. If you want to make this a Binder/Totemist only thing, you should just require that you can bind the Totem chakra.

On the flip side, with the Improved Binder feat, you can gain entry to this PrC with Binder 1/Totemist 2/Anything 2, which leaves a lot of room for shenanigans.

Also, as written a Midnight Occultist build has no natural place to go above ECL 15. Presumably you could enter another Binder PrC, but that basically gives up on your meldshaping abilities.

You may wish to consider re-formatting the class to mirror the Necrocarnate. Make the pre-reqs "Ability to bind 3rd level Vestiges, ability to bind soulmelds to your Crown, Feet, Hands chakra, Spellcraft 10 ranks." Extend the class to 13 levels long, and have it progress which pact making, chakra binds opened, chakra binds per day, and essentia. BUT NOT soulmelds per day (as they're essentially being replaced by Vestiges) or any other class ability.

Just my 2 cp. I might have more when I get a chance to read through everything. Again, good job.

[DragoonWraith]

Yeah, running the number you're probably right.

Updated.

Yes, its is most well know ability. But ability burn isn't that common (well i don't think it is) so you don't use this soulmeld unless you've taken specific type of damage and you just change your chakra pact the next day to heal it.

Wasn't talking about that, I was talking about the improved heal rate. The Ability Burn thing was tacked on there just because I didn't want people to get nothing with 0 Essentia.

Yes, i remember andromalius but claw are more common. To use it you need at least a racial bite attack and one granted by a soulmeld and or vestige. And to gain the one from a soulmeld you need to use double totem. So yeah I think it's situational. Still the idea is nice.

Certain Vestiges give Bites too.

Well done sir.

Thank you.

A Binder/Incarnate/Midnight Occultist is basically being screwed out of a class ability, in that he already has the ability to bind his Crown chakra, an ability the Midnight Occultist later gains. (This is a problem with several Incarnum PrC). He's also screwed by the fact that 1/3 of the vestige binding abilities are bound to the Totem. If you want to make this a Binder/Totemist only thing, you should just require that you can bind the Totem chakra.

Having Vestiges without Totem binds, I feel, screws over the Totemist, because those Vestiges are decidedly worse for him, which also limits his ability to bind them purely for their Vestige-granted abilities. You don't have many extra binds, Vestige or Chakra, with this class. Personally, I wish the Binder got up to 6 Vestiges instead of up to 4; it would work out more nicely. A Chakra Bind or two extra would help too.

As for the Crown thing... yes, but what can I do about that?

On the flip side, with the Improved Binder feat, you can gain entry to this PrC with Binder 1/Totemist 2/Anything 2, which leaves a lot of room for shenanigans.

No you can't. 3rd level Vestiges require EBL 5 - EBL 3 with Improved Binder. So you're a Binder 3/Incarnate-or-Totemist 2.

Or, you take Bind Vestige/Improved Bind Vestige and/or Shape Soulmeld/Open Lesser Chakra (Crown makes the most sense), and get in with different classes but have a very limited selection of Vestiges with which you can do anything, not enough Essentia to do much with them, or both, and you give up one or both progressions.

Also, as written a Midnight Occultist build has no natural place to go above ECL 15. Presumably you could enter another Binder PrC, but that basically gives up on your meldshaping abilities.

Yeah, I agree, to an extent. On the other hand, I kind of like the choice of more Vestiges versus more Essentia, plus both Pact Magic and Incarnum multiclass very nicely, so that really no matter what you do with those 5 levels, they should work out just because you can be or do anything.

You may wish to consider re-formatting the class to mirror the Necrocarnate. Make the pre-reqs "Ability to bind 3rd level Vestiges, ability to bind soulmelds to your Crown, Feet, Hands chakra, Spellcraft 10 ranks." Extend the class to 13 levels long, and have it progress which pact making, chakra binds opened, chakra binds per day, and essentia. BUT NOT soulmelds per day (as they're essentially being replaced by Vestiges) or any other class ability.

Can't say I like that idea at all. You get in rather late, I like having non-Vestige soulmelds going on as well, and Spellcraft has nothing to do with Pact Magic so Knowledge (Arcana) makes a lot more sense.

Also, it makes writing the Chakra Pacts excruciatingly difficult, because I cannot count on when people will have which Chakras available. As it is, the Crown Chakra has a ton of Vestiges associated with it just because it's the only thing an Incarnate entering the class will be certain to have until class level 2, and that means that all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level Vestiges should be available to him, which they wouldn't be if they didn't use the Crown.

It would be harder to write to begin with, and I'd have to rewrite what I've already done. That's... just not going to happen. I don't like having the Greater Chakras there at all, honestly, but they need to be just so I have something to bind the higher level Vestiges to. The framework pretty much has to be there as it is. I tried doing different things with it and it just became impossible.

Just my 2 cp. I might have more when I get a chance to read through everything. Again, good job.

Thanks, I do appreciate it; you clearly know a lot about Incarnum here, which is really helpful as a lot of people don't, and I really didn't until I started this (and as it is I still know far more about Pact Magic than Incarnum). So I really value your feedback especially.

[Xzoltar]

The Playtest should be next weak, character done, but im interested in the Zceryll and Savnok vestige that really fit the concept. So far its axed in Dragon Soulmeld/Vestige/Feats and look good just want to add a little bit of insanity to it.

[DragoonWraith]

The Playtest should be next weak, character done, but im interested in the Zceryll and Savnok vestige that really fit the concept. So far its axed in Dragon Soulmeld/Vestige/Feats and look good just want to add a little bit of insanity to it.

In that case, enjoy Savnok; he's up. I'll work on Zceryll when I get the chance.

[zagan]

Oh a new one.

2nd level Vestige, Crown and Heart (Totem)
Granting a Chakra to the Instigator can turn an Occultist, already a formidable warrior under Savnok's tutelage, into a fearsome dealer of death that wades into battle and lays waste to all about him. You gain the effects of the Heavy Armor Optimization feat; if you already have this feat, you gain the effects of Greater Heavy Armor Optimization instead.
Essentia: Each ponit of Essentia invested in the Instigator's Pact is added to your effective Binder level for the purposes of your Call Armor and Savnok's Armor abilities.

Giving the source of the feat is always appreciate I look in the phbII and complete warrior before looking in the official list of feat from the wotc site and discovering them in race of stone.
Apart from that it's a minor but appreciate benefit. The essentia effect is nice too.

Chakra Bind (Crown)
Donning Savnok's helm binds him to your Crown, and the incarnum around your head hides your face but reveals your loyalties.

The helm that Savnok's Crown adds is similar to a Helm of Battle - as a Swift action, gain a +2 bonus to your next attack roll or ability check when you attempt to make a bull rush, disarm, overrun, sunder, or trip attempt during your turn. When used, this ability may not be used again for 5 rounds. Each point of Essentia invested in the Pact adds another +2 to the check. If you have at least 3 Essentia invested in the Pact, the bonus applies to the chosen special maneuver each time you use it until the beginning of your next turn. With at least 5 Essentia, activating this ability is a Free action that may only be done once per round. With at least 7 Essentia, the bonus applies to all maneuvers at once, rather than a single chosen one.

Nice effect I like it

Chakra Bind (Heart)
With Savnok bound to your Heart, his armor cannot be removed, and no matter how much you attempt to clean it, the blood cannot be washed off...

Your damage reduction from Savnok's Armor is overcome only by epic piercing weapons. Further, as much of your Armor AC from the armor as you have Essentia invested in Savnok's Pact applies to Touch Attacks.

Hum, the DR is fine but you_ might want to reword the part about the touch AC I need to reread it thre time be sure I understand it right.
Something like:
In addition you gain a bonus to Touch AC equal to the invest essentia to a maximum equal to the armor bonus provive by the armor summoned with the Call armor abillity.

Chakra Bind (Totem)
With Savnok as your Totem, you are an unstoppable onslaught, as the armor takes on the appearance of scaly plates and toughened hide.

A number of times per round equal to the Essentia invested in Savnok's Pact, when you successfully use a Natural Weapon to deal damage to a foe, you may make a Bull Rush attempt as a Free action.

Ah very nice.

[Xzoltar]

Savnok
- The essentia effect is nice, but if you happend to already have EBL of 20 you gain nothing from the essentia invested.
- Crown Chakra is awesome and will help a lot.
- Heart Chakra is nice to have, but nothing more.
- Totem Chakra rock but I already have this Chakra bounded, may decide to switch however.

Looking good, playtest this week-end. So far however you can invest lot of essentia in your Vestige that's mean you have almost no Essentia left for any other soulmeld. I know its a choice, but I could really use more Essentia beside the Bonus Essentia feat.

[demidracolich]

I personally think the heart bind is more useful because I don`t make those checks that often with my characters.

[DragoonWraith]

Giving the source of the feat is always appreciate I look in the phbII and complete warrior before looking in the official list of feat from the wotc site and discovering them in race of stone.

Oops, right. Added. Honestly, I should probably just spell out the benefits.

Apart from that it's a minor but appreciate benefit. The essentia effect is nice too.

I thought so. Seemed fitting.

Hum, the DR is fine but you_ might want to reword the part about the touch AC I need to reread it thre time be sure I understand it right.
Something like:
In addition you gain a bonus to Touch AC equal to the invest essentia to a maximum equal to the armor bonus provive by the armor summoned with the Call armor abillity.

How's it look now?

Anyway, thanks again, zagan! Always appreciated!

- The essentia effect is nice, but if you happend to already have EBL of 20 you gain nothing from the essentia invested.

True... honestly, I'm not sure I really care. At that point, you can just keep it bound, enjoy the bonuses, and not have to worry about Essentia in it. Which, as you pointed out, is a good thing.

- Crown Chakra is awesome and will help a lot.

Cool! I was afraid it'd be a little weak.

- Heart Chakra is nice to have, but nothing more.

Yeah, it's a bit boring, but what are you going to do with an armor?

- Totem Chakra rock but I already have this Chakra bounded, may decide to switch however.

You can change every day, you know. That's one of the huge advantages of Incarnum.

Looking good, playtest this week-end. So far however you can invest lot of essentia in your Vestige that's mean you have almost no Essentia left for any other soulmeld. I know its a choice, but I could really use more Essentia beside the Bonus Essentia feat.

Yeah, Essentia is always short; that's true for regular Incarnum users, too. Try taking Feats that grant bonus Essentia; Shape Soulmeld's a pretty good one, once you already have Bonus Essentia.

I personally think the heart bind is more useful because I don`t make those checks that often with my characters.

Hmm? I'm afraid I don't quite understand you here.

[Xzoltar]

He probably dont do much Disarm, Sunder, Bull Rush, Grapple...

[zagan]

Oops, right. Added. Honestly, I should probably just spell out the benefits.

It would be easier yes and It would allow those that don't have the book to use Savnok without trouble. Plus its basic enough that you probably copy past it without trouble.

How's it look now?

Better

Anyway, thanks again, zagan! Always appreciated!

Glad to help.

[Darth Stabber]

The way this PRC makes me feel is so similar to true love that I cannot distinguish the two.

[Quarian Rex]

In regards to Savnoks' Heart bind...

Yeah, it's a bit boring, but what are you going to do with an armor?

Perhaps double the DR? At 15th level (min level to acquire the ability) you would have DR 8/Epic and Piercing. Nothing game-breaking, yet respectable.

Otherwise you are blowing a Heart bind (a semi-capstone ability) on what can essentially be duplicated with a suit of heavy admantine armour (aka. a puny DR/-).

[demidracolich]

I just joined a pbp today and am playing this class in it. Therefore I humbly request you make Tenebrous because he will be one of my main vestiges.