Kuzak

Each day, a medium can channel a spirit through a ritual known as a seance. Seances take 1 hour to perform and require the medium’s concentration. At the end of a seance, the medium invites a local spirit to inhabit him and serve as his spirit for that day. A medium of the master can channel only a champion spirit. A medium of the master can channel that spirit in places of quiet introspection, such as a Darklands grotto, peaceful glade, or windswept peak, in addition to a champion spirit’s favored locations (arenas, battlefields, places of violence, practice yards). He must channel that spirit from an appropriate location. Each spirit has a favored location it usually inhabits, though spirits may also be present at other locations appropriate to their legends; such locations are listed in each legend’s Favored Locations entry. The medium gains the spirit’s listed (+2 bonus on all non-spell damage rolls) and lesser spirit power for 24 hours. The medium also gains the spirit’s intermediate spirit power at 6th level. After 24 hours, the medium loses contact with the channeled spirit and can perform another seance. In addition to granting power to the medium, a channeled spirit can influence the medium. By channeling a spirit, the medium allows the spirit to gain 1 point of influence over him. If the medium loses that 1 point of influence, he loses contact with the spirit, though he is still unable to perform a new seance until the normal 24 hour period has elapsed since his last seance. When the spirit leaves after the 24-hour duration and before the next seance, the spirit’s influence over the medium resets to 0. Certain abilities allow the medium to gain additional power in exchange for allowing the spirit more influence over him. When a spirit gains at least 3 points of influence over the medium, the dual impulses housed within the same body cause the medium to meld with his spirit’s consciousness. The resulting muddled sense of self and struggle for control causes the medium to take a –2 penalty on initiative checks as well as a specific additional penalty listed in each spirit’s entry (You take a penalty equal to your spirit bonus on Intelligence checks and Intelligence-based skill checks, and to your caster level (to a minimum of caster level 0); as usual, a reduced caster level may render you unable to cast spells. You can’t benefit from effects that increase your caster level.). However, the spirit’s mental presence grants the medium a +4 bonus against possession effects and a +2 bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects that are not related to possession. If a spirit ever attains 5 or more points of influence over the medium, the medium completely loses control to the spirit. He effectively becomes an NPC under the GM’s control until after he awakens the next day with the spirit gone. During his seance, the medium can choose to channel a weaker spirit to gain its help without incurring as much of its influence. If he does so, he can forgo any number of spirit powers, starting with his most powerful spirit power. For each spirit power he forgoes, the medium can use his spirit surge ability twice without incurring influence.

After failing a d20 roll that was modified by his spirit bonus, a medium can allow his spirit to gain 1 additional point of influence over him in order to add 1d8 to the check’s result without taking an action. This can cause the check to succeed instead of fail. The medium must be conscious and aware to use this ability, and he can use this ability at most once per round. At 10th level, the medium’s spirit surge die increases to 1d10. A medium of the master can use her spirit surge ability twice per day without incurring any influence (this stacks with any additional uses she gains from accepting a taboo, starting at 2nd level).

You gain proficiency in all martial weapons and in one exotic weapon of your choice, which you choose each time you channel a champion spirit. When a medium of the master channels a champion spirit, she treats her unarmed strike damage as that of a monk of her level. For the purpose of determining damage, these levels stack with levels from any other class that grants increased damage to unarmed strikes.

When a medium channels a spirit, he gains a bonus on certain checks and to certain statistics. When you channel a champion, your spirit bonus applies on attack rolls, non-spell damage rolls, Strength checks, Strength-based skill checks, and Fortitude saves. A 1st-level medium’s spirit bonus is +1; it increases by 1 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

The medium of the master’s unique bond allows her to briefly call on a champion spirit without performing a seance. As a standard action, she can allow a spirit to gain 1 point of influence over her to channel it for a number of minutes equal to her level. This influence remains for 24 hours, stacking with any influence the medium gains by using this ability multiple times or by channeling a spirit in a seance during that time.

At 2nd level, a medium of the master’s spirit endows her with greater martial expertise. She gains a dodge bonus to AC equal to her spirit bonus as long as she is wearing light or no armor.

At 2nd level, during his daily seance, a medium can accept a taboo in order to appease his spirit. Each spirit lists example taboos, and the GM may allow additional taboos as well. Accepting a taboo allows the medium to use his spirit surge ability twice without incurring influence. The medium can select only a single taboo. The medium is not magically prevented from breaking his taboo, but if he breaks the taboo for any reason, he takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws for 1 hour and his spirit gains 1 point of influence over him. If the medium continues violating the taboo while taking the penalty, the duration of the penalty extends, but the spirit doesn’t gain additional influence over the medium. If a spirit attains 5 points of influence because of a violated taboo, instead of possessing the medium, the spirit leaves the medium’s body entirely, and the medium loses access to his spirit powers, spirit bonus, and spirit surge abilities until the next time he can perform a seance. Banishing a spirit in this way damages the medium’s connection to that spirit’s legend; the medium cannot channel spirits of that legend for 1 week, and the next time the medium channels a spirit of that legend, it starts with 2 points of influence over him instead of 1. Choose one: you are superstitious about arcane spellcasting, so you must not be the willing target of arcane spells or abilities and you must attempt a Will saving throw against even harmless arcane spells and abilities; you may not make an attack with any weapon except a specific manufactured weapon (such as “my father’s +2 falchion”) that you choose when you take the taboo, and you may not choose unarmed strike for this taboo; you must accept any challenge to prove your prowess in battle, including challenges to single combat—if you or an ally breaks the rules of the challenge, you break this taboo.

At 3rd level, a medium can use his familiarity with spirits to assist him when dealing with haunts. He can always act on the surprise round against a haunt, and his touch funnels a portion of the haunt into himself, dealing 1d6 points of damage to the haunt per 2 medium levels he possesses as if via positive energy and allowing the medium to ask the haunt a single question. The haunt can answer the question however it chooses. Additionally, the medium can forgo his saving throw against a haunt’s effects to funnel the haunt entirely into himself. If he does so, the medium suffers the haunt’s full effect, but the haunt doesn’t affect anyone else (even if it normally would). The haunt then gains control of the medium’s body for 24 hours. Once per minute, the medium can attempt to end this possession early by succeeding at a Will save (DC = 20 + 1/2 the medium’s class level).

At 5th level, a medium can perform a special seance at the site of a person’s death—or a location that was precious to that person in life—to call forth that person’s spirit into the medium’s body so his allies can ask it questions. The effects are similar to the spell call spirit, except that the duration is 1 round per medium level and the spirit possesses the medium’s body instead of appearing in a wispy form. The other participants of the seance must ask the questions. Once the medium attempts to call a spirit, he cannot attempt to call the same spirit again for 24 hours. Once per round, the medium can attempt to end the seance early by succeeding at a Will save (DC = 20 + 1/2 the medium’s class level).

At 6th level, when a medium of the master gains the intermediate power granted by her champion spirit, she also learns one type of style strike. Whenever she gains an additional attack from sudden attack, she can designate one of the blows as a style strike as long as she makes it with an unarmed strike. She can select a different style strike each time she channels a champion spirit.

Whenever you take a full-attack action, you gain one additional attack at your highest base attack bonus. This ability stacks with the extra attack from haste, but it doesn’t stack with special actions that grant extra attacks, such as flurry of blows or spell combat. Sudden attack works as normal with full-attack options such as two-weapon fighting.

At 7th level, a medium can use his location channel ability at any location, so long as he possesses some connection to the deceased. If another participant in the seance is more familiar with the deceased than the medium, the medium can substitute that participant’s familiarity in place of his own to determine the DC of the call spirit effect.

At 1st level and every 2 levels thereafter, the esoteric knight gains a bonus combat feat. She must meet the prerequisites of the feat. Her esoteric knight levels count as fighter levels and stack with any levels of fighter she might have for meeting the prerequisites for feats. An esoteric knight can learn a new combat feat in place of the most recent martial esoterica feat she has learned by expending a 1st-level spell slot. In effect, the esoteric knight loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. She can change only the most recent combat feat gained. Whenever she gains a new bonus combat feat, the previous feat becomes set and cannot be changed again.

When wearing armor or using a shield, the esoteric knight adds 1 point of her Intelligence or Charisma bonus (if any; whichever is higher) per esoteric knight class level as an enhancement bonus to her armor or shield (maximum +5). The esoteric knight can forgo 1 point of enhancement bonus per ability to instead grant the benefit of the glamered, shadow, or slick armor special abilities. Each day when regaining spell slots, the esoteric knight can adjust these benefits and can transfer them to a different armor or shield; the benefits cease to function if the esoteric knight is not wearing the armor or wielding the shield.