Body Control
Table of Contents
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Spheres of Guile
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Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle
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Operatives of the Body Control sphere are skilled at meditation and unlocking the limits of their internal physiology. They can make their bodies do extraordinary things otherwise thought possible only with magic.

Associated Skill: Escape Artist.

You gain the following benefits when you gain the Body Control sphere.

When you gain the Body Control sphere, you gain 5 ranks in Escape Artist, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Body Control sphere (maximum ranks equal to your Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in Escape Artist, you may immediately retrain them.

Skill Leverage: You unlock skill leverage with the Acrobatics and Escape Artist skills.

Bonus Talent: You gain a (control) talent of your choice when you gain the Body Control sphere. It cannot be an exceptional talent. If the (control) talent you choose is a [utility] talent, you can take the base sphere as a [utility] talent.

You also gain the Meditate and Slip Past abilities.

Meditate [approach] (Ex)

Adopting this approach is a swift action or a move action. You may abandon this approach as a free action that can be taken even outside of your turn. While you maintain this approach, you gain some conscious control over your physiological processes and your emotional responses determined by the (control) talent you choose when you adopt the approach. You can endure certain effects listed in the talent when you fail an ability check, skill check, or saving throw against an effect permitted by your current (control) talent. To endure an effect, you attempt an associated skill check as a swift or immediate action. The DC and effect depend on whether it was an ability check, saving throw, or skill check.

  • Ability Check (twice the DC): If your skill check succeeds, you get a +2 insight bonus on the ability check, which can cause you to succeed instead of fail.
  • Saving Throw (DC 150% the save DC): If your skill check succeeds, you get a +3 insight bonus on the saving throw, which can cause it to succeed instead of fail.
  • Skill Check (DC 5 + the skill check DC): If your associated skill check succeeds, the failed skill check becomes a success.

When you meditate, you may add up to two (control) talents to the approach, but you cannot have more than one unless at least one of those talents has the [utility] tag.

Slip Past (Ex)

You can move through a space as narrow as half yours without squeezing, as narrow as one-quarter your space at half speed, as narrow as your shoulders at one-quarter speed, and as narrow as your head at a rate of 5 feet per full-round action. You can move freely through the spaces of creatures one size category closer to yours (usually reduced from three sizes different to two sizes different; you still provoke attacks of opportunity). You can use your Escape Artist modifier in place of your Acrobatics modifier for checks to move through the spaces of creatures closer to you in size and to avoid attacks of opportunity.

Associated Feat: Serpentine Compression (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Monster Codex).

Body Control Talent Types

Clarity

Some talents are marked (clarity), allowing you to trigger an effect whenever you abandon a meditate approach that has lasted at least 1 round. You may only apply one (clarity) talent at a time. You can apply the clarity talent even if the approach was ended by something outside your control (such as you losing consciousness).

Contemplation [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

Some talents are marked (contemplation), granting a meditate approach greater benefits the longer it has been maintained.

For every hour you are meditating (and the first time you start meditating in a day), you can contemplate as a free action, granting you the benefits of a single (contemplation) talent. This hour does not need to be consecutive, and if you choose to not contemplate, the opportunity is wasted.

Unless otherwise specified, multiple applications of the same (contemplation) talent stack, but only last for 24 hours (or until you next rest, whichever comes first), and persist even while not meditating. You can only retain a number of contemplate benefits equal to 1 + your operative modifier—subsequent attempts to contemplate beyond this maximum require you to choose a benefit to replace it with.

Control

Some talents are marked (control), granting you additional benefit options when you meditate.

Body Control Talents

Breath Control [utility]

You can hold your breath for an additional 1 minute per rank in the associated skill you possess. In addition, while holding your breath, you do not have to stop holding your breath to speak. Instead, you lose 1 minute of remaining breath per round that you speak.

You can always endure a failed saving throw from any suffocation or inhaled effect or a failed Constitution check attempted to hold your breath while meditating.

Confounding Escapist

You can use your ranks in Escape Artist in place of your base attack bonus and your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier for combat maneuver checks to grapple. Your grapple attempt does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target.

In addition, when you escape a grapple with Escape Artist and reverse the grapple, you can damage your opponent with the same action.

Associated Feat: Improved Grapple.

Endurance Training [utility]

You have trained your body to use only what it needs. You need only half the usual amount of food or water. You treat exposure to hot or cold environments as if they were one step safer for you (such as treating extreme cold as severe cold). You get a +3 insight bonus on Constitution checks to avoid nonlethal damage from starvation or thirst, as well as on saving throws against diseases and poisons with a frequency of 1 day or longer. For every 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess, the bonus increases by 1.

You may sleep in medium armor without becoming fatigued. If you sleep without armor, you can get a full night’s rest in 6 hours. For every 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess, you reduce the total required by 1 hour. At 5 ranks, you can reduce your sleep time in light armor. At 10 ranks, you can sleep comfortably in heavy armor and can reduce your sleep time in medium armor.

Associated Feat: Endurance.

Feign Weakness [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

Whenever you succeed a saving throw against an effect originating from a hostile creature, you can choose to have the effect appear to affect you normally as a free action usable outside of your turn. This functions as though you were feigning a condition, although you can use an associated skill check in place of Bluff if it is opposed. The creator of the effect does not automatically know that you have succeeded at your saving throw (if they would, such as with magical effects), and must attempt to foil your feigned condition as normal.

For as long as you appear to be affected by the effect (or are feigning a condition separate to this effect), you can outwit a creature by revealing the truth of your condition—once a creature has been outwitted this way, they cannot be outwitted again using this talent for 1 minute.

Flexible Contemplation [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

Whenever you have at least 8 hours of rest (or the equivalent of such), the first time you contemplate in the next hour allows you to instead contemplate a number of times equal to your operative modifier (minimum 1).

Alternatively, you can choose to contemplate as a standard action—if you do, you lose all contemplation benefits and instead contemplate at the end of each of your turns for 1 minute. After this minute, these contemplation benefits last for 1 round. Once you contemplate this way, you cannot contemplate again until your next 8 hours of rest.

Guided Meditation [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

Whenever you teach an Escape Artist skill use, you can do so in 10 minutes.

You can also spend 10 minutes with up to a number of creatures equal to 1 + your operative modifier, allowing them to adopt a lesser meditate approach with one (control) talent and either one (clarity) or (contemplation) talent you possess of your choice (although these choices can differ between creatures).

The creature can use your associated ranks when determining its effects (including endure checks), but once a creature successfully endures an effect, the meditate approach is abandoned (unless they could already adopt the meditate approach).

Intense Meditation

As a swift or move action, you can concentrate on your current meditation to add an additional (control) talent to the current meditation until the end of your next turn. For every 7 ranks in the associated skill you possess, the number of (control) talents added is increased by 1. You can spend 1 use of skill leverage as part of activating this talent to gain its benefits for a number of rounds equal to your operative modifier. These extra (control) talents end as normal when you abandon the meditate approach, but if you adopt the approach again during this extended duration, you can benefit from the extra (control) talents for the remaining duration as normal.

Lightning Escapist

You can attempt to escape from an entangling effect as a standard action or escape from restraints in 1d4 rounds with no penalty for rushing. By accepting a –2 penalty, you can attempt to escape from a grapple or maintain a grapple as a move action or escape from restraints as a full-round action.

In addition, you get a +1 competence bonus on combat maneuver checks to grapple, to Combat Maneuver Defense against grapple attempts, and on Escape Artist checks to escape a grapple or pin, entangling effect, and restraints; this bonus does not stack with that from Improved Grapple (or Greater Grapple). The bonus increases by 1 for every 5 ranks in Escape Artist you possess.

Associated Feat: Greater Grapple.

Loose Restraint

You take half the usual penalties for squeezing and the entangled and grappled conditions.

Optimal Recovery

You heal twice the usual amount of hit points and ability damage from rest and from the treat deadly wounds task of the Heal skill. Bonuses to these values are not doubled. You can also use your associated skill modifier in place of your Heal modifier to heal yourself and you take no penalty for lacking a healer’s kit when healing yourself.

Additionally, you can recover ability damage from the treat deadly wounds task as if you had rested long enough to recover hit points. If you possess at least 10 ranks in the associated skill, this extends to the ability drain and temporary negative level recovery at 5 ranks.

If you possess at least 5 ranks in the associated skill, you can also recover from either 2 points of ability drain or 1 temporary negative level each day when you rest long enough to recover hit points.

Special—If you have the Guided Meditation talent, you can grant any number of creatures granted the lesser meditate approach the benefits of this talent (and any talent that has Optimal Recovery as a prerequisites), using your associated ranks when determining its effects.

Perfect Parallel

You can share the space of any creature who considers you an ally. While you are in an ally’s space and neither of you is helpless, you and your ally each occupy one corner of your shared space for the purpose of determining soft cover (if either of you is large enough to provide the other with cover). You can change which part of the space you are in as part of any movement or as a swift action. Flanking provides no bonus to hit either of you (although it does permit sneak attacks). You can use soft cover from an ally in your space to hide if your ally is no smaller than you, but while you are hidden only you gain cover.

Physiological Mastery [utility]

You can optimize your body's energy expenditure and renewal patterns. You do not abandon your current approach while you sleep, and your effective level of alertness is raised to oblivious while sleeping. You need only half the usual amount of food or water. If you would already only need half the usual amount of food or water, you instead require as little sustenance as a single grain of rice and a single sip of water per day. If your sleep is interrupted, you do not lose any progress toward getting enough rest for the night.

Push Through

Whenever you attempt to endure a condition and are still affected by it, you can ignore any numerical penalties associated with the condition for as long as you maintain the meditate approach (although they can still prevent you from taking certain actions or activating abilities like fatigued preventing a barbarian's rage). The condition must be one which your active Body Control talent(s) specifically state you can endure.

Reflexive Meditation [plan]

You can meditate as an immediate action to preempt the action of another creature. If you do so, you can endure an effect as part of the action to meditate and the meditation only lasts until the end of your next turn (it does not last long enough to use a (clarity) talent).

You can reveal and spend a plan as part of this action to ignore this restriction on duration and treat the meditation as having lasted since you last prepared plans so long as you have not adopted an approach since doing so. This enables the use of (contemplation) talents.

Still Form [utility] [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

While meditating, you gain a circumstance bonus equal to 1/2 your associated ranks to Bluff checks made to feign a condition or lie, Disguise checks to disguise yourself as a stationary object, Stealth checks to hide while not moving, or any other skill check made related to remaining stationary or posing yourself precisely.

You can also choose to use your associated skill modifier in place of the normal skill modifier for such checks.

Transcendent Meditation [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

When you abandon the meditate approach, you can do so as an immediate action to apply an additional (clarity) talent.

You can also endure an effect you are currently suffering from as a standard or swift action, as long as its duration has started within the last round and you could normally endure such an effect. If you successfully endure an effect this way, you either halve its remaining duration or reduce its duration by a number of rounds equal to your associated ranks (to a minimum of 1 round), whichever reduces the duration more.

Special—If you possess the Reflexive Meditation talent, you can endure as a free action usable outside of your turn by outwitting the originator of the effect as a cost. You can also do this to endure an effect as part of the action to meditate.

Clarity, Contemplation, and Control Talents

Affliction Manipulation (clarity, control)

While you meditate, as a (control) talent you can prolong the frequency of a disease or poison affecting you by your ranks in the associated skill (measured in the disease or poison’s usual time units). For example, a poison with a frequency of 1 minute would increase its frequency to 4 minutes if you have 3 ranks in Escape Artist. You add half your associated skill ranks as a bonus to your saving throws against disease, drug, and poison effects (minimum +1).

In addition, as a (clarity) talent you may excrete through your skin a dose of disease or poison you cured through successful saving throws since you adopted the meditate approach. This excreted poison does not affect your skin and can be collected for later or applied to an object as a move action if the method of delivery was contact, ingested, or injury. If the disease or poison was inhaled, you can instead expel it from your body as a move action made before the end of your turn, affecting everyone adjacent to you. Either way, you do not risk exposing yourself to the disease or poison for 1 round after your meditation ends. Afflictions which did not have a delivery method cannot be excreted or expelled this way.

Circle Dodge (clarity, control)

You meditate on an opponent’s movements, moving as one with it. While you meditate, as a (control) talent you can end your movement in that creature’s space. While you are in an opponent’s space, you and the opponent each can determine cover as if in whichever part of the space is most advantageous to yourself or itself; neither of you has cover from each other or against attacks that hit both of you. If you are the same size or one size apart, you both take penalties for squeezing. If you attack the creature whose space you share, you are effectively flanking it with yourself unless it has all-around vision. You have positional concealment from the creature as long as you are in its space and have not attacked it since the start of your last turn (which gives you concealment unless it has all-around vision).

While you meditate, you can ready an action to move with your target as a move action. This readied movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target opponent as long as you end your movement within its threatened area. When an opponent moves and either of you is in the other’s reach, you can abandon your meditate approach as a (clarity) talent to move up to your speed to follow it. Your movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from the moving opponent but you must end your movement in a space they threatened during their movement. If you do not end your movement in their threatened area at the end of their movement, you provoke an attack of opportunity from them when they move beyond reach of you as if you had moved out of their threatened area.

Control Reactions (clarity, control)

You can endure a failed Reflex save (you must succeed at an associated skill check to get the bonus). You can also protect yourself from a Reflex saving throw you already succeeded against using an immediate action. Either way, as long as you succeed at the saving throw, you are completely unaffected by the effect even if it would normally deal half damage or have some other partial effect.

In addition, as a (clarity) talent you may abandon your approach as part of enduring an effect to move up to half your movement speed after enduring the effect. If your associated skill check to endure the effect is a success, this movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the source of the effect.

Controlled Sleepwalking (control) [utility]

You can maintain your meditate approach even after you fall asleep (the only time this talent functions). You are not immobilized while you sleep and can take one planned, methodical physical activity during sleep while still getting the benefits of rest as long as you meditate. You cannot react to unexpected problems, or interact with other creatures beyond simply keeping a casual pace behind someone, or use most Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (other than taking 10 or making prolonged use of Craft, Disable Device, Perform, or Profession you planned out while awake). You could perform simple labor or travel a safe route you are familiar with.

While sleepwalking, you are effectively oblivious (see alertness rules)—you can pay attention only to things you have right at hand involved in performing your action. You can perform a controlled sleepwalk for no more than 1 hour of your sleep time, plus another 1 hour per 5 ranks you possess in the associated skill. You choose before you go to sleep what the activity is and cannot change the choice once you begin. If the activity becomes infeasible, you mime an approximation for the rest of the period you intended to sleepwalk, and become no more alert than you would otherwise be while asleep. You can endure a failed Perception check while sleepwalking, or any other skill check or saving throw that would prevent you from waking up.

If you have the Physiological Mastery talent, your effective level of alertness is raised to distracted, and you can sleepwalk for the entirety of your sleep duration. While sleepwalking for the entire duration of your sleep this way, skill uses which are measured in days or weeks such as Craft and Profession can be counted as progressing twice as fast if you dedicate the normal amount of effort during waking hours and the entirety of your sleepwalking.

Detached (contemplation) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

As a (contemplation) talent, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 1/2 your associated ranks + your operative modifier (minimum 1). This stacks with itself up to a maximum equal to 4 × your associated ranks.

These temporary hit points replenish each time you contemplate using this talent.

While you are benefitting from these temporary hit points, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against emotion and pain effects.

Emotional Restraint (control)

You can endure a Bluff, Intimidate, or Perform check (or any skill check used to inflict a disorientation condition) that succeeds against you (using the skill check DC for enduring—this can cause the skill check to fail, but only against you (not other targets). You can also endure any charm, emotion, or fear effect. The first time you fail a saving throw against a suitable effect each round, you endure it reflexively without using an action; the GM secretly rolls the associated skill check for you.

Hold Onto Life (clarity)

Prerequisites: Body Control sphere (Staunch Wounds).

While meditating with Staunch Wounds, you are not staggered while disabled or having nonlethal damage equal to your current hit points. You can also endure a failed saving throw from any death or negative energy effect.

As a (clarity) talent, you can abandon your meditate approach in response to being reduced below 0 hit points, knocked unconscious from nonlethal damage, or killed by hit point damage, to gain the benefits of the Diehard feat as well as enough temporary hit points to remain at 0 hit points and conscious, to a maximum amount of temporary hit points equal to twice your associated ranks. These benefits last for 1 minute per associated rank.

Inexorable (clarity, control) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

As a (control) talent, if you would become battered from a hostile source and the condition does not normally allow a saving throw to negate it, you gain a Fortitude saving throw to negate the condition, using the sphere DC that the sphere ability originates from (for example, the Berserker sphere save DC for a brutal strike). If this is not applicable, the GM determines what the DC is (usually 10 + 1/2 the source’s HD + a relevant ability score modifier).

Additionally, you can endure a failed saving throw against the battered, confused, dazed, staggered, or stunned condition, as well as against any effect that would reduce your movement or ability to take actions.

As a (clarity) talent, you can abandon your meditate approach as an immediate action, as a free action on your turn, or as part of successfully enduring an effect, to choose an ongoing spell or effect affecting you that is causing one of these conditions—you gain a new saving throw against the original effect’s save DC with a +1 insight bonus to the attempt per 4 associated ranks. Once you attempt a new save against this effect, you cannot do so again against this effect.

Intentional Movements (clarity, control)

You can take 10 on an Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Fly, or Swim check even while in combat. You can spend 1 use of skill leverage to use your Escape Artist modifier in place of your usual skill modifier for the check and all other Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, or Swim checks for as long as you meditate, up to 1 minute.

In addition, as a (clarity) talent, until the start of your next turn you can outwit as a cost any creature that targets you with an attack as a free action that can be taken even outside of your turn to force them to roll their attack roll twice, taking the worse result.

Utility Option: This talent can be taken as a utility talent or used as a utility talent if it doesn't enable you to take 10 on skills in combat and loses the (clarity) benefit.

Introspective (contemplation) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

As a (contemplation) talent, you gain 2 points of introspection.

Whenever you attempt an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, you can spend up to 2 points of introspection (+1 per 5 associated ranks) to add an equivalent insight bonus to the attempt—or twice as much when applied to an ability check or skill check. This bonus stacks with the insight bonus granted by enduring an effect, and can be applied after the results of the roll, which can change a failure to a success.

Utility Option: You can take this talent as a utility talent by having it only be able to apply to skill checks.

Associated Feat: Meditation Master (Faiths and Philosophies).

Iron Concentration (clarity, control)

You can endure a failed concentration check in a manner similar to a failed saving throw or a failed saving throw against effects with the pain descriptor or that would make you fascinated, distracted, oblivious, or asleep (provided you succeed at an associated skill check against the same DC).

In addition, as a (clarity) talent, you can use your associated skill modifier in place of your usual bonus to concentration checks until the end of your next turn.

Maintain Stamina (control)

You can endure any failed ability check, skill check, or saving throw to avoid the exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, paralyzed, or sickened conditions. You can also ignore up to 2 total points of ability penalties and ability damage to each physical ability score, which increases by 2 for every 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess.

Physiological Suspension (clarity) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

You can spend 1 minute in deep concentration to store a liquid consumable (such as a potion, ingested poison, Herbalism sphere concoction, etc.) within your body. The effects of the consumable are suspended during this time, although you can only have 1 such consumable suspended this way, +1 per 5 associated ranks—consumables that become inert after a certain amount of time, such as [instill] talents or Alchemy sphere formulae expire as normal.

As a move action (or as a (clarity) talent), you can gain the benefits of a stored consumable as if you had consumed it. In the case of an ingested poison or similar harmful consumable, you can choose to excrete it through your skin, allowing it to be collected for later or applied to an object as a move action. If it remains on your skin for longer than 1 round, you risk exposing yourself to it (if relevant).

Regain Senses (clarity)

You can abandon your meditate approach as an immediate action, as a free action on your turn, or as part of successfully enduring an effect or falling unconscious, to roll a new save against an ongoing blindness, charm, deafness, emotion, or sleep effect you are suffering from that you failed a saving throw against. You get a +1 insight bonus to the new saving throw for every 4 ranks in the associated skill you possess (minimum 1). If you succeed, you get the normal benefits of success. If you fail, the effect does not worsen but you cannot use this talent against the same effect again.

Regulate Heat (contemplation, control, clarity)

As a (control) talent, while you meditate, you are not harmed by being in a hot or cold environment. You can exist comfortably in conditions between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 and 60 degrees Celsius) without having to attempt Fortitude saves and you treat more extreme cold or heat as one step less severe. Your equipment is likewise protected. You can also endure saving throws to avoid choking on smoke or against cold, disease, or fire effects.

Additionally, choose either cold or fire. You heat or cool your skin in order to gain resistance to the chosen energy equal to 5 + your associated ranks while you meditate. You can change this choice while meditating by spending a swift action.

As a (clarity) talent, you can abandon your meditate approach in response to completely negating an instance of cold or fire damage to gain temporary hit points equal to half the negated damage for 1 minute.

As a (contemplation) talent, you gain cold and fire absorption equal to 3 × your associated ranks. For each subsequent contemplation using this talent, you replenish the energy absorption.

Utility Option: This talent can be taken as a utility talent or used as a utility talent if it doesn't grant you energy resistance, as well as removing the (clarity) and (contemplation) abilities.

Associated Feat: Bend with the Wind (Faiths and Philosophies).

Shake It Off (clarity)

You can abandon your meditate approach as an immediate action, as a free action on your turn, or as part of successfully enduring an effect, to choose an ongoing spell or effect on you that gives you the exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, paralyzed, or sickened condition. You attempt a new saving throw against the effect’s save DC.

You get a +1 insight bonus to the new saving throw for every 4 ranks in the associated skill you possess (minimum 1). If you succeed, the effect ends. If you fail, you cannot use this talent against the same effect again.

Staunch Wounds (clarity, control)

While you meditate, as a (control) talent you reduce any ongoing or new bleed you experience by your operative ability modifier, and convert an amount of lethal damage taken from any given instance into nonlethal damage by the same amount which ignores any resistance or immunity to nonlethal damage you may possess. (Bleed damage returns to its usual value when your approach ends.)

In addition, as a (clarity) talent you may either automatically stabilize when reduced to negative hit points or attempt an associated skill check to end any bleed damage affecting you as if you received magical healing (DC 15 or the Heal or caster level DC listed for the bleed effect).

Steel Skin (control, clarity)

While you meditate, as a (control) talent you gain either a +2 bonus to your natural armor which doesn't stack with other sources of natural armor or a +2 enhancement bonus to your natural armor, increasing by 1 for every 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess.

In addition, as a (clarity) talent you may gain this bonus until the beginning of your next turn and an equal amount of DR/—.

Stony Demeanor (clarity, control) [utility]

While you meditate, as a (control) talent you gain a +4 morale bonus on Bluff checks to lie, make a claim, or mislead a creature’s skill check, increasing by +1 per 5 associated ranks.

If you fail to resist a mind-affecting effect, creatures observing you must succeed at a Sense Motive check opposed by your Bluff or associated skill check (as though feigning a condition) to determine if you are affected or not. You gain the morale bonus from this talent for the opposed skill check, but take a -4 penalty to your roll if the mind-affecting effect compels you to take certain actions such as fleeing or attacking someone.

In addition, as a (clarity) talent you may outwit a creature who you successfully mislead into believing that you weren't affected by their mind-affecting effect by revealing the extent of your affected psyche.

Tune Out (clarity, contemplation, control) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

As a (control) talent, you can endure auditory, sonic, language-dependent, and visual effects (including gaze attacks). Additionally, whenever you attempt a Perception check, you reduce the total penalty to the check (if any) by your associated ranks (minimum 1).

As a (contemplation) talent, you gain a +1 bonus to Perception checks, a +1 competence bonus to saving throws against the previously listed effects, as well as sonic absorption 5. Each time you contemplate using this talent beyond the first, you replenish the sonic absorption as well as increasing it by 5.

As a (clarity) talent, you can abandon your meditate approach as an immediate action, as a free action on your turn, or as part of successfully enduring an effect, to roll a new save against one of the previously listed effects against the original effect’s save DC, gaining a +1 insight bonus to the attempt per 4 associated ranks. Once you attempt a new save against this effect, you cannot do so again against this effect.

Unnerving Revelation (clarity, contemplation, control) [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

As a (control) talent, you can endure failed Knowledge checks. Additionally, you can endure an Intelligence- or Wisdom-based skill check that succeeds against you (using the skill check DC for enduring)—this can cause the skill check to fail, but only against you (not other targets).

As a (contemplation) talent, you can retry a failed Knowledge check you have made within the past hour.

As a (clarity) talent, you can attempt to demoralize, insult, or make a troubling claim to a creature using this sphere’s associated skill modifier (which includes the DC to recover from a condition caused from a troubling claim).

Utility Option: You can take this talent as a utility talent by having it only apply to Knowledge checks made to recall information or infer, and when used as a (clarity) talent, cannot be used to demoralize.

Exceptional Talents

Complete Recovery

Prerequisites: Associated skill 10 ranks, Body Control sphere (Optimal Recovery).

You recover from all ability damage and ability penalties to one ability score of your choice whenever you rest long enough to recover hit points. Once per week, you can remove 1 permanent negative level at the same time.

If you possess at least 15 ranks in the associated skill, you can regenerate a lost body part instead of removing a permanent negative level.

Decrease Mass (control) [utility]

Prerequisite: Body Control sphere.

You can decrease your mass while you meditate, which reduces your weight by 50%, granting you the following benefits:

  • You may spend 1 use of skill leverage as an immediate action to reroll a failed Climb check, Swim check, or Acrobatics check to balance.
  • You are always considered to have a running start for Acrobatics checks to jump. When you high jump, you can clear a distance equal to half your Acrobatics result. When you long jump, you can clear a distance equal to twice your Acrobatics result (but not farther than the maximum distance you can move in the round).
  • Wind effects and location-based traps treat you as if you were one size category smaller; if you have a fly speed, you can use your Escape Artist modifier in place of your Fly modifier if it is better.
  • Falling damage you take is measured in d4s.
  • You do not sink in quicksand, lava, thin ice, or snow (although you are not protected from any harm that you might take for simply standing on the substance). If you were already under the surface of quicksand or lava, you float 10 feet upward at the end of each of your turns, up until your whole body breaks the surface (allowing you to stand on it).
  • You do not sink in water, acid, oil, or other liquids if you charge or run across it. If you turn or otherwise walk on a liquid, you sink immediately.

If you would come under the effect of Decrease Mass and Increase Mass at the same time, they cancel each other out.

Energetic Touch

Prerequisites: Associated skill 5 ranks, Body Control sphere (Regulate Heat).

You can emit incredible cold or heat from your hands, depending on the temperature chosen with the Regulate Heat talent. You can change the temperature as a swift action. Your unarmed attacks and metal weapon attacks gain either the flaming weapon property or the frost weapon property. Alternatively, you can make a touch attack as an attack action or during a full attack in order to deal 1d6 points of cold or fire damage per 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess.

In addition, you can shatter mundane cold glass objects or work metals with low melting points with your hands, including copper, tin, and lead. You can reshape 1 cubic foot of the metal with 1 minute of work. This allows you to attempt Craft checks with these metals using your hands as masterwork artisan’s tools, making progress measured in hours rather than days.

Expel Kinetic Energy (clarity) (Su)

Prerequisite: Body Control sphere.

You can abandon your meditate approach as an immediate action, as a free action on your turn, or as part of successfully enduring an effect to force each creature within a 10-foot burst or cone centered on you to succeed at a Reflex save or be pushed back by 5 feet + 5 feet per 5 associated ranks. If they fail by 5 or more, they also fall prone. For every 5 associated ranks you possess, the area increases by 10 feet.

Expel Life Energy (clarity) (Su)

Prerequisites: Body Control sphere, living or undead creature.

When you abandon your meditate approach, you can emit a burst of your own life energy to affect living and undead creatures within 10 feet. For every 5 ranks in the associated skill you possess, Expel Life Energy affects every creature within an additional 5 feet from you. You must spend hit points to activate this talent, but no more than your ranks in the associated skill you possess and never enough to reduce you below 1 hit point. Living creatures other than you in the area are healed of 1d4 hit points per hit point you spent and undead in the area take the same damage (Will save for half damage). Once you use this talent, you cannot use it again until you naturally heal hit points from rest.

Special: If you are undead, you expel negative energy instead of positive energy, and its effects are reversed (healing undead and damaging living creatures).

Featherweight (Su)

Prerequisites: Associated skill 5 ranks, Body Control sphere (Decrease Mass (exceptional)).

When you Decrease Mass, you can further reduce your weight to a tiny fraction, which adds the following additional effects.

  • Wind effects and location-based traps treat you as if you were an additional size category smaller (two smaller including Decrease Mass).
  • You fall no more than 60 feet per round, and never take falling damage.
  • Increase each of your speeds by 10 feet (this gives you a +4 bonus to Acrobatics checks to jump as normal). When you high jump, you can clear a distance equal to your Acrobatics result. When you long jump, you can clear a distance equal to triple your Acrobatics result. You can end your movement in mid-jump, in which case you continue your movement on your next turn.
  • You do not sink in any liquid or break any fragile surface due to your weight (although you are not protected from any harm that you might take for simply standing on the substance). If you were already under the surface of a liquid, you float 30 feet upward at the end of each of your turns, up until your whole body breaks the surface (allowing you to stand on it).
  • By holding a cloak, tarp, blanket, or other loose article and flapping or angling it with two hands, you can gain a fly speed of 15 feet with clumsy maneuverability. You lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while flying this way.

Impossible Escape (control) (Su)

Prerequisites: Escape Artist 10 ranks, Body Control sphere (Incredible Flexibility (exceptional)).

You can stretch your body into dimensions beyond the material plane. You can move freely through the spaces of creatures one size category closer to yours (usually reduced from one size different with the base sphere and Incredible Flexibility to no difference, allowing you to move through all creatures’ spaces; you still provoke attacks of opportunity). You can move through any space wider than your head without slowing and you can slip through a gap narrower than your head but wider than a finger at half speed by succeeding at a DC 35 Escape Artist check. You cannot end your movement squeezing through a space your head cannot fit and the surface’s hardness cannot be higher than the number of ranks you possess in Escape Artist.

As a move action, you can supernaturally teleport to a space adjacent to your natural reach. You must be able to see or touch the location you teleport to.

Increase Mass (clarity, control)

Prerequisite: Body Control sphere.

You can increase your mass while meditating, which increases your weight by 50%. This has the following effects.

  • You can endure bull rush, drag, grapple, reposition, and trip combat maneuvers—either that you fail or that an opponent succeeds against you. The DC is equal to 5 + the target’s CMD, and grants either a +3 insight bonus to your CMB or CMD respectively, which can change the results of the attempt. You can also endure any failed ability check, skill check, or saving throw to avoid forced movement or falling prone.
  • Wind effects and location-based traps treat you as if you were one size category larger, but if you have a fly speed, your maneuverability worsens by one step.

In addition, when you successfully endure an opponent's combat maneuver check with Increase Mass and cause their check to fail, as a (clarity) talent you can immediately abandon your approach to perform a bull rush or trip combat maneuver against that opponent within your natural reach as a free action that can be taken even outside of your turn, gaining an insight bonus to your combat maneuver bonus equal to the insight bonus gained from enduring the effect. Performing a combat maneuver this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity, and you cannot move as part of this maneuver.

Incredible Flexibility [utility]

Prerequisites: Escape Artist 5 ranks, Body Control sphere.

You can move through any space wider than your shoulders without slowing, or through a space no wider than your head at half speed (by succeeding at a DC 30 Escape Artist check). You can move freely through the spaces of creatures one size category closer to yours (usually reduced from two sizes different with the slip past ability to one size different; you still provoke attacks of opportunity). In addition, you can slip through a gap narrower than your head in an object with hardness less than the number of ranks in Escape Artist you possess. The gap must be at least as wide as your finger (or similarly minor appendage), you must arrive in a space wider than your head within a distance no longer than your natural reach, and you must succeed at a DC 35 Escape Artist check as a full-round action.

If you have the Loose Restraint talent, you completely negate the usual attack roll and AC penalties for squeezing and you can still perform attacks while squeezing regardless of the size of the space.

Iron Solidity (Su)

Prerequisites: Associated skill 10 ranks, Body Control sphere (Increase Mass (exceptional)).

While you Increase Mass, you can choose to octuple your weight and gain the density of solid iron, with the following additional effects.

  • Each of your speeds is reduced by 10 feet. Traps and wind treat you as an additional step larger (two steps including Increase Mass).
  • You gain damage reduction 5/piercing or adamantine. For every 2 ranks in the associated skill you possess beyond 10, your damage reduction increases by 1.
  • You sink 20 feet each time you end your turn in acid, water, or a similarly dense liquid.
  • You are considered armed when making unarmed attacks, and you increase the damage die for your unarmed attacks by one step.
  • The insight bonus granted by successfully enduring a maneuver or effect listed in Increase Mass increases to +5.

Stretchy Limbs

Prerequisites: Associated skill 10 ranks, Body Control sphere

You can spend a swift action to increase your reach by 5 feet until the start of your next turn.

Subjective Gravity (control) (Su)

Prerequisites: Associated skill 5 ranks or Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Body Control sphere.

While meditating, you can control your effective direction of gravity, as if you were on a plane with subjective directional gravity. You can only change your effective direction of gravity this way centered on a solid surface that could support your weight which is as close or closer to you than the closest solid surface capable of supporting your weight in the normal direction of gravity, or back to the normal direction of gravity. Attempting to use the ability on a surface which could not support your weight automatically fails. You also negate any height bonuses opponents above you would receive if you are standing on a horizontal surface. You can calculate the distance of your high jumps as if they were long jumps oriented in any direction. (As mentioned in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: GameMastery Guide, you can move normally along a solid surface by imagining “down” below your feet).

If suspended in midair, you fall in a straight line 150 feet in the first round and 300 feet in each succeeding round. To stop, you must change the designated “down” direction to counteract your fall, reducing your falling speed by one step each round.)

You can choose this talent a second time if you possess at least 10 ranks in the associated skill or Fly. When you do, you gain a supernatural fly speed of 30 feet with poor maneuverability while meditating, and you can change your effective direction of gravity to any direction with this talent regardless of proximity to surfaces which could support your weight.

Vacuous Respiration [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

Prerequisites: Body Control sphere (Breath Control), associated skill 5 ranks.

You can harmlessly inhale an area-based effect as a standard action (or as part of enduring a saving throw against such an effect). If the effect is magical, you must attempt an associated skill check as though enduring the effect (unless this is performed as part of enduring such an effect); if the effect does not normally have a saving throw, either use 150% the save DC of the sphere it originates from, or 10 + 150% the caster level or CR of the creator of the effect (whichever is more relevant). This causes 10 feet + 5 feet per 5 associated ranks of the area to be removed from the radius’ (if a circular area) or length’s (if a line or cone area) total area, which can result in certain effects (such as a breath weapon) no longer subjecting creatures to its effects.

You can keep such an effect harmlessly contained within you for up to 1 minute per associated rank you possess, although you must hold your breath to do so (even if you do not normally need to breathe). If the effect has a duration, its duration is suspended during this time. If the effect is not released within this time, you immediately suffer its effects as though you failed any saving throws associated with it.

As a standard action, you can release the contained effect as a breath weapon, filling a close-range cone (or the effect’s original area, if smaller), subjecting creatures within the area to its effects. The area-based effect functions as normal (including its original save DC), and its duration resumes (if any). Once exhaled this way, you cannot inhale it using this talent again.

Drawbacks

Breathing Exercises [alternate start] [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

You do not gain the Slip Past ability, and you gain the Breath Control talent instead.

Enduring Physicality [alternate start] [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

When you gain this alternate start, choose either Strength or Constitution—You must use your Strength or Constitution modifier in place of the normal ability score modifier when attempting any associated skill check required in the Body Control sphere (usually when enduring an effect).

Incredible Stamina

You do not gain the Slip Past ability, and you gain the Endurance Training talent instead.

Physiological Focus [alternate start]

You use Heal instead of Escape Artist for the associated skill, and unlock skill leverage with Heal in addition to the usual skills.

Zen Mind [alternate start] [DRS]

Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle

You cannot endure, and do not gain the bonus (control) talent as part of gaining the Body Control sphere. Instead, you gain a (contemplation) talent of your choice, as well as the Flexible Contemplation talent as a bonus talent.

Body Control Sphere Feats

Exceptional Discipline

You have mastered your body so completely that you can control its processes without even a thought.

Prerequisites: Associated skill 10 ranks, Body Control sphere.

Benefit: Choose one (control) talent you have. You have its effects permanently, as if constantly meditating on it. While you maintain the meditate approach, the chosen (control) talent does not count towards the maximum number of (control) talents you can have applied at one time. You can spend a free action to suppress (or reactivate) the effects of the chosen (control) talent.

Archetypes Specializing in Body Control

Adamant Disciple

Adamant disciples train their body to be as resilient as possible, and are capable of withstanding the deadliest of blows.

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