The Spirit Speaker
It’s Shadespawn Week, a week all about the new player race we introduced in yesterday’s Exotic Encounters. Yes, shadespawn are kind of creepy, and sure, they have some occult powers, and okay, they can even talk with dead people, but how good are they at talking to spirits really? While the race as a whole is naturally talented in speaking to spirits, a select few are even better, taking their inborn gifts a step further and learning more effective ways to interact with spirits, both alive and dead.
New Spiritualist Archetype
Spirit Speaker
Spirit speakers are shadespawn who use their natural attunement to the souls and spirits which inhabit the great beyond to focus their psychic energies, allowing them to contact the spirits of both the living and dead. They can use their talents to gain insights into living creatures, readily detect perilous haunts, and easily affect ghostly entities.
Detect Haunt (Su): Spirit speakers have the ability to observe spiritual disturbances caused by haunts, granting them great insight into cursed haunts. Starting at 5th level, a spirit speaker automatically becomes aware of the presence of a haunt within 30 feet, although this does not allow her to pinpoint the exact location of the haunt (she may attempt to locate the haunt through other means, such as a detect undead spell). Additionally, the spirit speaker gains a bonus on all Knowledge checks made to identify the haunt equal to 1/2 her level.
This ability replaces the detect undead class feature.
Observe Spirit (Su): A spirit speaker can directly observe the spirits of living people and use them to gain insights into the individual. At 7th level, the spirit speaker can focus on a living creature within 30 feet as a move action in order to observe its spirit and gain insight into the target. The target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the spirit speaker’s level + the spirit speaker's Wisdom modifier) to conceal his spirit from her; if he succeeds, he is immune to this effect for 24 hours. If the target fails to conceal his spirit, the spirit speaker can gain insight into the target, granting her a +1 insight bonus on attack rolls made against the target, as well as a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws versus attacks and effects originating from the target. These bonuses last until you have gone 1 minute without spending a move action to observe the target, or until the target is dead. At 11th level, and every four levels thereafter, the insight bonuses granted by this ability improve by +1.
Additionally, the spirit speaker can ask a question of a creature that is currently affected by this ability. The question must be regarding the individual, or an event of which the individual has knowledge. Unless the target succeeds on a secondary Will save (same DC), the target’s spirit reveals the information to the spirit speaker. Because this ability is subject to the target’s spirit, it cannot be used to reveal information the target does not know, and might provide inaccurate information based on what the target believes to be true. At 7th level, the spirit speaker can use this ability once per day. At 11th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the spirit speaker can use this ability an additional time per day.
This ability replaces the calm spirits class feature.
Ghost Sight (Su): A spirit speaker is attuned to the world of spirits and can readily see incorporeal creatures. At 9th level, the spirit speaker can see ghosts and other incorporeal undead on the Ethereal Plane, though she cannot see other creatures or objects on the Ethereal Plane. Additionally, she can see ghosts and other incorporeal undead that are possessing creatures, or which are concealed within objects. Finally, the spirit speaker’s attacks and spells do full damage against incorporeal undead as though affected by the ghost touch weapon special ability.
This ability replaces the see invisibility class feature.
Banish Spirits (Su): A very powerful spirit speaker is able to banish spirits, dispersing them to the far corners of the Ethereal Plane. At 16th level, a spirit speaker can attempt to banish spirits from a haunt or creature within 30 feet once per day as a full-round action. This ability has a different effect depending on whether it is used on a haunt, an incorporeal undead, or a living creature. If used on a haunt, the spirit speaker must make a caster level check (DC 10 + the haunt's CR). If she succeeds, and the haunt’s CR is less than the spirit speaker’s level, it is automatically destroyed. If used on an incorporeal undead, that creature must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the spirit speaker’s level + the spirit speaker’s Wisdom modifier) or be banished to the Ethereal Plane, in a location which is 1d100 miles away from the spirit speaker’s location on the Material Plane. If used on a living creature, that creature must succeed on a Will save or have his spirit banished to the far reaches of the Ethereal Plane, preventing the target from being returned to life if he should die before his spirit returns. In addition, until his spirit returns, the target’s aura cannot be read, and he cannot be targeted by the spirit speaker’s observe spirit special ability. The target’s spirit returns to his living body after 1d4 days.
This ability replaces the call spirit class feature.