Source: Spheres Apocrypha: The Barista
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The barista grinds coffee and steeps tea leaves, brewing refreshing, bold and delicious drinks for himself, his companions, and anyone around him in need of a pick-me-up. A barista is a warm and welcome member to any adventuring party who can prepare miraculous and invigorating brews.
Where the blacksmith and iron chef provide static, reliable buffs to their party, the barista instead offers a more conditional (but often more potent) boost exactly when it is most needed, letting allies reroll crucial checks with scaling bonuses at the cost of a self-stacking debuff that is as customizable as the benefits.
Skill Ranks per Level
The barista gains a number of skill ranks equal to 6 + his Intelligence modifier at each level, instead of 4 + his Intelligence modifier skill ranks.
This alters skill ranks per level.
Professional Brewer
The barista gains a free rank in Profession (barista) every class level.
Invigorating Brews (Ex)
The barista is able to spend 1 hour (which may be done concurrently with other daily preparation activities, such as studying a spellbook or praying for spells) and 1 gallon of water to prepare a batch of invigorating brews equal to 1 + his practitioner modifier. Each brew may be individually prepared with different effects. Brews must be consumed within 1 hour of preparation to provide their benefits, and preparing a new batch renders any previously made brews inert, removing any special qualities of an unconsumed brew.
At 1st level, the barista has access to all foundations and styles for his brews.
At 4th level, the barista unlocks all mixes for his brews.
At 8th level, the barista unlocks all toppings for his brews.
Any brew must have 1 foundation and 1 style. Mixes and toppings are optional, and any given brew may have up to 1 of each option (unless stated otherwise by another class feature or effect).
Unless otherwise specified, the benefits of an invigorating brew last for 24 hours; activating the brew’s benefit does not expend it. Drinking a new brew ends the effects of the old one, including any ongoing crash effects.
All invigorating brews provide a +1 alchemical bonus to initiative checks and to saving throws vs. any effect that causes sleep, fatigue, or exhaustion. These bonuses increase by 1 per 5 class levels.
If the drinker cannot suffer from the effects of a crash (due to immunity or because you are already suffering the worst level of the effects in question, for example), they cannot trigger any brew effect that would cause that specific crash. If a drinker has immunity to a crash effect, they may voluntarily choose to bypass that immunity in order to use the brew. A brew’s primary effect cannot be used more than once per qualifying condition.
Any time class levels are mentioned in the description of a brew, this refers to the class levels possessed by the barista, not the drinker.
This replaces maintenance.
Foundation: The foundational beans, leaves, or other base ingredient determines the brew’s primary effect. Activating a primary effect does not take an action unless otherwise specified, but can only be done once per roll.
- Arabica: The drinker may re-roll a failed attack roll with a +2 bonus, but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 class levels you possess.
- Black Tea: The drinker may re-roll a failed Reflex save with a +2 bonus, but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 class levels you possess.
- Decaf: The drinker may gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the drinker’s Hit Dice plus the brewer’s class level as an immediate action (which may be applied before damage they are reacting to is dealt), but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn. These temporary hit points expire at the end of their next turn. Decaf brews do not provide the standard alchemical bonus to initiative and saves vs. sleep, fatigue, or exhaustion. Brews with this foundation (and no mix or toppings) do not violate Oaths of Abstention.
- Green Tea: The drinker may re-roll a failed Will save with a +2 bonus, but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 class levels you possess.
- Red Tea: The drinker may re-roll a failed Fortitude save with a +2 bonus, but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 class levels you possess.
- Robusta: The drinker may re-roll an initiative check with double the normal alchemical bonus all invigorating brews provide, but suffers a crash at the beginning of their next turn.
Style: How the brew is made determines the effects of its crash.
- Cold Brewed: The drinker is flat-footed for 1 round. If they are already flat-footed, they become staggered for 1 round. If they are already staggered, they become dazed for 1 round.
- Espresso: The drinker becomes shaken for 1 minute. If they are already shaken, they become frightened for 1 round. If they are already frightened, they become panicked for 1 round. If they are already panicked, they become cowering for 1 round.
- Frappe: The drinker is sickened for 1 minute. If they are already sickened, they also become nauseated for 1 round.
- Percolated: The drinker becomes fatigued. If they are already fatigued, they become exhausted. If they are already exhausted, they fall asleep.
Mix: Mixing in other ingredients provides an additional twist on the effects of the brew.
- Black: Calculate the other effects of the brew as if the brewer had two more class levels. Note that this represents exceptional quality of the fundamentals of the brew, not a default; you do not gain this benefit if no mix is used.
- Cream: The drinker gains a +10 feet alchemical bonus to all movement speeds so long as they are not currently suffering from a crash. This bonus increases by 5 feet per 5 class levels.
- Dwarven (Whisky): The drinker may delay the onset of any crash by 1 round. The brew counts as an alcoholic drink, and if the drinker has the Barroom sphere, they gain the drunk status as per Hard Drinker whenever they activate the brew’s primary effect.
- Foamed: The drinker may move 5 feet immediately before or after they trigger the primary effect of the brew. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity but is not considered a 5-foot step.
- Honey: The drinker negates the first crash they suffer after consuming this brew.
- Mocha: The drinker may choose to provide the benefits of the brew’s primary effect to an ally within reach instead of themself; the drinker is still the one suffering crash and spending any required actions.
Toppings: Toppings provide a benefit while the drinker is suffering from a crash.
- Bubble Tea Pearls: The drinker gains a +1 alchemical bonus to AC while suffering from a crash. This bonus increases by +1 per 4 class levels.
- Cinnamon: The first attack or hostile effect during this crash that targets or includes the drinker while they are suffering from a crash provokes attacks of opportunity from all creatures threatening the attacker.
- Rainbow Sprinkles: While suffering from a crash, the drinker gains energy resistance equal to the baristas class level towards the first type of energy damage the drinker would take damage from during that crash.
- Sugar: The drinker gains a +10-foot alchemical bonus to all move speeds so long as they are currently suffering from a crash. This bonus increases by 5 feet per 5 class levels.
- Whipped Cream: The drinker ignores the first square of difficult terrain they enter each round while suffering from a crash; at 5th level and every five class levels thereafter, they may ignore one additional square of difficult terrain each round.
Author's Note: Crash effects are intended to not be bypassable by any means (which is why a wide variety of crash effects are available). This includes effects that would allow a creature to suffer a different negative effect than the crash's intended effect (such as a magic item that allows a creature to take nonlethal damage instead of being fatigued). Treat such interactions as being similar to immunity, preventing the creature from activating that invigorating brew's primary effect.
Sneak Attack (Ex)
Starting at 3rd level if the barista can catch a creature when he is unable to defend himself effectively from his attack, he can strike a vital spot for extra damage. The barista’s attack deals extra damage anytime his target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the barista flanks his target. This additional damage is 1d6 at 3rd level, and increases by 1d6 every three levels thereafter. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet. This additional damage is precision damage and is not multiplied on a critical hit.
With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (such as a sap, unarmed strike, or whip), a barista can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. He cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.
The barista must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A barista cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with total concealment.
This (optionally) replaces thunderous blows.
Brewing Insights (Ex)
In addition to the smithing insights available to all blacksmiths, the barista may select from any of the following brewing insights whenever he would gain a smithing insight:
Double-Shot
The barista may prepare any brew as a double shot. A double shot brew’s effects are calculated as though his barista level was 5 levels higher, but when the drinker suffers a crash from a double shot, the crash’s duration is doubled (if a crash effect does not have a set duration, instead gain the next level of that crash, as if they had suffered from a crash twice).
Esoteric Brewing Techniques
The barista’s brews may be consumed by any creature, even those that cannot drink or have no corporeal form. The barista no longer requires a source of water to prepare his brews.
Magic Beans
The barista may mix a potion, or alchemical consumable into a brew as he is preparing it, or allow it to be the target of an instill talent; the effects of said potion, consumable, or instill are delayed until the drinker first activates the brew’s primary effect. The barista must be at least 6th level to choose this brewing insight.
Sweet Tooth
The barista may spend a swift action to treat himself as suffering from a crash for the purposes of topping benefits for 1 round. Multiple contiguous rounds of sweet tooth activation count as a single crash. The barista must be at least 8th level to choose this brewing insight.
Tea Ceremony
The barista may substitute his bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks with his Profession (barista) bonus, as the bard’s versatile performance class feature.
The Morning Grind
The barista increases the number of brews he can make in a single batch to his barista level plus his practitioner modifier.
Unhealthy Caffeine Tolerance
The barista may ignore the first crash he suffers each day. This stacks with honey mixed brews.
Vacuum Extracted Ichor
Whenever the barista prepares a batch of brews, he may choose to prepare part of the batch as condensed, miniature vials. The barista may prepare a number of condensed brews this way up to his practitioner modifier (minimum 1). Condensed brews prepared stay fresh and ready to drink for up to 24 hours, but cannot have toppings. If the barista prepares a new batch, any condensed brews lose their potency and become inert.
Secret Menu (Ex)
The barista’s skill at adapting to his party’s increasingly impractical drink orders waxes as his ability to feel empathy towards customers wanes, and he may now create brews with extra components. At 9th level, any brew he creates may have two foundations. At 13th level, any brew he creates may have two foundations or two mixes. At 17th level, any brew he creates may have two foundations or two mixes or two toppings.
This replaces rapid maintenance.
Espresso Soul (Ex)
At 20th level, the barista no longer suffers crash effects from invigorating brews, allowing him to trigger their effects without downsides - this is an exception to the usual rules regarding crash and immunities. He still cannot use a brew’s primary effect more than once per qualifying condition.
In addition, he no longer requires sleep and is immune to all sleep effects.
This replaces smith’s masterpiece.
New Feats
Part-Time Barista
Prerequisite: Invigorating brews class feature.
Benefit: Add 1/2 your ranks in Profession (barista) to your barista class level when determining the effects of your invigorating brews class feature. This cannot increase your effective barista class level above your Hit Dice.
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (Aristeia)
Benefit: You require half the amount of time you otherwise would to get the benefits of a full night’s rest.
In addition, you may activate Aristeia even while unconscious (and even if your unconsciousness would make you unaware of the reason to activate Aristeia in the first place), and doing so immediately brings you fully awake. While in Aristeia, you can still suffer from crashes from the barista blacksmith’s invigorating brew class feature, but all negative crash effects, as well as any penalties from fatigue and exhaustion, are delayed until after you leave Aristeia.