Blood Brothers (CR +2)
Blood brothers (and sisters) have trained together for years; perhaps their whole lives. They have thus gotten very good at watching each other’s backs. Each member has a number of tricks they can employ in combat.
Their tricks are simple to counter and avoid once they have been witnessed, but most people will fall for them the first time. Treat each trick as being usable only once per combat by any group of blood brothers (not once per creature), except against those who do not witness the trick when it happens. The blood brothers template can be applied to any humanoid creatures, but often applied to a group of the same creatures, and often sized small or smaller.
Special Abilities:
Ah! Move It Move It (Ex) As an immediate action, a blood brother can move an adjacent target blood brother to any other square adjacent to them. They may do this in response to an enemy moving adjacent to the target blood brother.
Ha Ha Broke Your Toy (Ex) As a reaction to an adjacent enemy missing with a melee attack on one of their brothers, a blood brother can make a free sunder attempt on the weapon the enemy used without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Just Kidding (Ex) As a free action, a blood brother can turn a missed melee attack into a feint. When the blood brother misses, they may make a Bluff skill check. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + their opponent’s base attack bonus + their opponent’s Wisdom modifier. If their opponent is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + their opponent’s Sense Motive bonus, if higher. If successful, the next melee attack made by a blood brother (other than the one who feinted) against the target does not allow him to use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). This attack must be made on or before the opponent’s next turn.
Mine Mine Mine (Ex) As an immediate action, a blood brother can make a free steal combat maneuver on an enemy that has just been struck by a different blood brother.
Hands Off (Ex) As an immediate action, a blood brother can attempt a trip combat maneuver on an adjacent enemy who just damaged another blood brother with a weapon attack.
Outta The Way (Ex) As an immediate action, a blood brother can swap places with an adjacent enemy without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Snap Out Of It (Ex) As an immediate action, a blood brother can let an adjacent brother reroll a Will save.
Step On Your Face (Ex) When a blood brother makes a charge attack through a square occupied by another blood brother, that blood brother may use an immediate action to launch the charging brother into the air. The charger may make a Athletics check with a bonus equal to their brother’s Strength modifier. The extra movement from the jump is added to their movement, and their bonuses from the charge are doubled. If the jump is vertical, it can be used to strike targets not accessible from the ground.
Toss Shorty (Ex) As a standard action, a blood brother can pick up and throw another blood brother. The blood brother being thrown must be conscious to guide the throw. The blood brother doing the throwing makes a Strength check with a DC of 10. If they succeed, they throw their brother 5 ft., plus an additional 5 ft. for every 5 they beat the DC by. If the thrown brother delayed their action, they can now take their action to make a full-round attack.
Damaged Soul (CR +0)
When a person is revived from the dead with a piece of their mind missing, the results are rarely pretty. The revived immediately sinks into a berserk rage, destroying everything around themselves in an effort to make sense of anything. If that wasn’t bad enough, the healing magic sustains them for as long as possible, making a damaged soul capable of wandering for eons.
Creating a Damaged Soul
Defensive Abilities: A damaged soul gains supernatural regeneration equal to their Hit Dice. This regeneration is only overcome by negative energy or an antimagic field. A damaged soul also gains extraordinary DR 5/-. A damaged soul does not need to eat, drink, or breathe, sustained instead by the healing magic that motivates it.
Weaknesses: A damaged soul is permanently confused, as if it were subject to the Mind sphere’s lesser Confusion charm permanently or an insanity spell. However, they can always choose to attack the last target that attacked them. If a target removes the confusion from the damaged soul with restoration, Restore Mind or a similar effect, the damaged soul will stand helplessly for as long as the effect lasts. If a target uses greater restoration, heal, limited wish, miracle, wish or Restore Mind and Body on the damaged soul, the damaged soul template is removed.
Ability Scores: Str +4, Con +6, all mental scores set to 2, if higher. Mindless creatures or creatures otherwise lacking a mental ability score may not acquire the damaged soul template.
Darkened (CR +Varies)
Through accident of birth, deliberate ritual, or simple longterm exposure, this creature’s very being has been suffused with darkness.
Creating a Darkened Creature
“Darkened” is an inherited or acquired template that can be applied to any creature. A darkened creature retains the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
CR 8 HD or less, as base creature +2; 9 HD or more, as base creature +3.
Type The creature gains the darkened subtype.
Senses A darkened creature gains low-light vision and darkvision 60 ft.
Weaknesses A darkened creature gains light blindness.
Special Abilities A darkened creature gains one of the following special abilities for every 4 HD or fraction thereof.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su) A darkened creature can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. As long as it is within 10 ft. of an area of dim light or darkness, it may hide itself from view in the open without the benefit of cover or concealment. It cannot, however, hide in its own shadow.
Evasion (Ex) In areas of dim light or darker a darkened creature gains evasion, as the rogue ability of the same name. This ability may be selected a second time, granting improved evasion in areas of dim light or darker.
Occulted (Su) A darkened creature is protected from divinations as if under the effects of a permanent Obfuscation talent using its HD as its caster level. This ability can be taken a second time, granting the benefits of a second instance of Obfuscation.
See in Darkness (Su) The creature can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness.
Shadow Rake (Su) A darkened creatures can strike with its shadow. It gains a claw primary natural attack in addition to any attacks it already possesses. The damage for this attack is 1d6 plus its Charisma modifier. This special ability can be selected multiple times, each granting an additional claw attack.
Casting: A darkened creature gains a caster level equal to its racial Hit Dice and a spell pool equal to its Hit Dice plus its Charisma modifier, as well as a number of bonus talents equal to 1/2 its Hit Dice (minimum 1). A darkened creature gains the Dark sphere, as well as the Photophobic Casting drawback. This drawback does not grant an additional talent and may be bought off as normal. If the darkened creature already possesses the Dark sphere, then it gains a Dark sphere talent without the drawback. Magic talents gained by the darkened creature must be used to acquire talents from the Dark sphere.
Destructive Elemental (CR +2)
“Destructive Elemental” is an acquired template that can be applied to any air, earth, fire, or water elemental (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A destructive elemental creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities, except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2.
Casting: The destructive elemental gains a caster level equal to its racial hit dice and the Destruction sphere as a bonus sphere and one blast type talent according to its element, as well as a spell pool equal to its CL plus its Charisma modifier. The destructive elemental may not use the default destructive blast and may only choose blast types from certain categories according to its type, listed below, but may select other talents normally. The destructive elemental gains one talent every odd racial HD beyond the first.| Elemental Type | Available Blast Types Groups |
|---|---|
| Air | Air, Electric |
| Earth | Crystal, Stone |
| Fire | Fire, Light |
| Water | Cold, Crystal (in the form of ice) |
Detonation: When slain, a destructive elemental explodes in a burst of energy as if having used a destructive blast at its CL with the Explosive Orb blast shape and any one blast type talent it possesses.
Elemental, Geomancy Born (CR +1)
Geomancy Born is an inherited template that can be applied to any creature, but usually to creatures with the elemental subtype. While most commonly found with matching elemental and geomancy packages, this need not always be the case. The CR of the creature increases by +1.
A geomancy born elemental’s gain the following traits:
Born of Geomancing: A geomancy born elemental possesses an affinity for a particular element above and beyond the usual manifestatinos of its elemental nature. The geomancy-born elemental gains the Nature sphere with the geomancing package most closely associated with its elemental nature (air elemental creatures instead gain the Weather sphere). A geomancy-born creature is considered a Low Caster, possessing both a number of magic talents and a caster level equal to 1/2 its Hit Dice (minimum: 1). These talents may only be spent gaining talents associated with its geomancing package.
Spell Points: A geomancy born elemental gains a small reservoir of energy that it can call upon to create wondrous effects, called a spell pool. This pool contains a number of spell points equal to 1/2 its racial HD + its Wisdom modifier. If the elemental has spell points from another source, it gains a bonus their spell pool equal to 1/2 the elemental’s racial hit dice instead.
Embodiment of Magic (CR +Varies)
This is a template applied to a sphere effect, granting it intelligence, life, and a motive force. The Embodiment of Magic is naturally invisible; effects that can see magical auras reveal that it appears to be an aura shaped into the vague likeness of the caster, with visual tweaks corresponding to the effect it was created from.
Creating an Embodiment of Magic
Embodiment of Magic is an acquired template that can be applied to any sphere ability with a duration longer than instantaneous. For the purposes of this template, a sphere ability’s “potency” is equal to its spell point cost plus the number of sphere effects it incorporates.
Challenge Rating: An embodiment of magic has a challenge rating equal to two-thirds of its hit-dice, plus one-fourth of its potency minus one, rounded down.
Size and Type: An embodiment of magic’s size is Medium by default; however, every 6 caster levels the effect has past the 1st increases its size by one, to a maximum of Huge. Its type is aberration (incorporeal).
AC: An embodiment of magic possesses a Deflection bonus to AC equal to its potency plus its Charisma modifier (minimum potency + 1).
Hit Dice: An embodiment of magic has hit dice equal to its caster level. Its hit dice are d8s.
Alignment: An embodiment of magic has the same alignment as its caster.
Defensive Abilities: An embodiment of magic is incorporeal, possesses damage reduction bypassed by magic equal to its potency, and spell resistance equal to 10 plus its hit dice.
Speed: An embodiment of magic has a 30 ft. base land speed.
Attacks: An embodiment of magic possesses an incorporeal touch attack that deals Force damage equal to 1d6 + its Charisma modifier for a Medium embodiment, 1d8 + its Charisma modifier for a Large embodiment, and 2d6 + its Charisma modifier for a Huge embodiment.
Special Attacks: An embodiment of magic created from an effect that targets creatures or objects possesses Mystic Touch; if it was created from an effect that affects an area, it instead has Mystic Aura:
Mystic Touch (Su): The embodiment of magic may use Embodiment Casting as part of an incorporeal touch attack made as a standard action. If they do so, they must target the creature they are attacking.
Mystic Aura (Su): The embodiment of magic possesses an aura that duplicates the effects of the sphere effect it was created from, centered on itself. If the area of effect can be moved, it reverts to centering on the embodiment at the beginning of its turn.
Abilities: As an incorporeal creature, an embodiment of magic lacks a Strength score. Three abilities have a score of 10 + its potency, while the rest have scores of 7 + one-half its potency, rounded up. These scores are given for a Medium embodiment of magic; adjust its Dexterity and Constitution scores accordingly for embodiments of other sizes.
Skills: An embodiment of magic possesses 4 + Int skill points, and treats the following as class skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Fly, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcane), Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth, Survival, and Swim.
Special Qualities: All embodiments of magic possess Embodiment Casting and Dispel Vulnerability. If the sphere effect was a positive effect that targets creatures, it also possesses Magical Nature.
Dispel Vulnerability (Ex): Whenever an embodiment of magic is targeted by a dispel effect, it takes 1d6 damage per point of MSB of the dispel effect, which bypasses the embodiment’s damage reduction; in addition, it must make a Will save or have its supernatural abilities suppressed for 1d4 rounds. For the purposes of supernatural abilities that duplicate a sphere effect, they are considered to be recast on the turn they resume.
Embodiment Casting (Su): The embodiment of magic may cast the sphere effect it was created out of as if it knew all of the required talents. It does not receive the benefits of any metamagic that was incorporated into the original effect and reduces any non-optional spell point costs to 1 if they are not already lower.
For all other purposes, the embodiment of magic has a spell pool equal to its potency, uses Charisma as its casting ability score, has a caster level equal to its hit-dice, and calculates its MSB and MSD as if its hit-dice were levels in a spellcasting class. This ability is considered to be the casting class feature for the purposes of prerequisites.
Magical Nature (Su): The embodiment of magic is permanently under the effects of the sphere effect it was derived from.
Environment: Any
Organization: Unique
Treasure: None
Meteorological Creature (CR +0–5)
Creating a Meteorological Creature
“Meteorological” is a template that can be applied to any creature.
CR: HD 1 or less, as base creature; HD 2–3 or less, as base creature + 1; HD 4–9, as base creature +2; HD 10–17, as base creature +3; HD 18 or more, as base creature +4; plus +1 for fallout or volcanic weather
Type: Animals and vermin with this template become magical beasts with the augmented subtype, but otherwise the creature type is unchanged.
Senses: A precipitation meteorological creature can see through magical and normal fog, mist, rain, snow, and similar obscurement.
Special Qualities
A meteorological creature gains the following:
Personal Climate (Su): A meteorological creature is constantly followed by a certain type of weather. This functions as the control weather base sphere ability, except that the creature doesn’t need to concentrate on the effect and it can only create one type of weather. The meteorological creature has no control over the severity of the weather, which depends on the creature’s Hit Dice. The range also depends on the creature’s Hit Dice.
| HD | Severity | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Medium |
| 2–3 | 2 | Medium |
| 4–5 | 3 | Long |
| 6–9 | 4 | Long |
| 10–13 | 5 | Extreme (1,000 ft. + 100 ft. per HD) |
| 14–17 | 6 | Extreme |
| 18+ | 7 | 2 miles |
The meteorological creature’s MSD for this effect is 10 + its Hit Dice and its MSB and caster level are equal to its Hit Dice.
Adaptation (Ex): A meteorological creature is immune to the negative effects of weather created by its personal climate ability.
Feats: Meteorological creatures gain Mantled Caster as a bonus feat. They can also select Extra Magical Talent for (mantle) talents activated by their Personal Climate and Weather talents that modify their personal climate (but not its range or duration). They need not meet the prerequisites of this feat to select them.
Rift-born (CR +2)
“Rift-born” is an acquired template that can be applied to any living creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A rift-born creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities, except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2.
Planar Rift: Each rift-born creature is attuned to one of the four elemental planes. As a standard action, the rift-born may create an aura with a 5 ft radius per HD, inside of which the planar traits (elemental and energy traits, gravity traits, and magic traits only) of their attuned plane override the traits of the plane they are on. The rift-born is immune to any negative effects of the traits of their attuned plane.
Virulent Sensor Template (CR +Varies)
Virulent Sensor is an acquired template that can be applied to any creature who, while using the Divination sphere talent Viewing, saw a creature who died or was destroyed suffering from the effects of madness (although not necessarily because of the madness).
The CR of the templated creature increases by +1 per 5 HD (minimum +0).
A virulent sensor gains the following traits and modifications:
Alignment Creatures with the virulent sensor template replace any good or evil alignment they have with neutral, thus lawful good becomes lawful neutral, and neutral evil becomes true neutral. Types of insanity or madness may override this alignment.
Type Changes to Undead (keeping any subtypes their previous form may have had)
Hit Dice Change all HD (including those gained from class levels) into d8s. Virulent sensors use their Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution)
Saves The base saves remain unchanged, except that fortitude uses charisma instead of constitution.
Defensive Abilities The templated creature loses all defensive abilities and gain the qualities and immunities of the undead type. In addition, the templated creature gain the insubstantial quality.
Speed Virulent sensors lose all movement speeds. If the templated creature has the scrying divination advanced talent, it gains a fly speed of 150 ft.
Attacks Virulent sensors lose all attacks (including special attacks) that are not sphere, spells or spell-like abilities.
Reach The templated creature has its reach reduced to 0 ft.
Abilities Virulent sensors have no Str or Con scores.
Special Qualities Virulent sensors lose special qualities that are dependant upon having a physical body. The virulent sensors gains insanity, insubstantial and naturally stealthy as special qualities.
Insanity The templated creature permanently suffers from the effects of whatever madness it had before its destruction.
Insubstantial (Ex) Virulent sensors may appear to be made out of flames, mist, smoke, or some other gaseous substance, and are effectively weightless. Virulent sensors being insubstantial are normally not hit or damaged by conventional means, but may still be attacked or even damaged by spells or abilities that do not target the virulent sensor, but rather affect everything in its area of effect. An insubstantial creature may still target itself however. Insubstantial creatures gain a size penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) and may squeeze through openings as if they are up to three sizes smaller, but gain a size bonus to Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) as if they are up to three sizes larger. In addition, insubstantial creatures gain DR 10/- and are not subject to precision damage or critical hits.
Naturally Stealthy (Su) The virulent sensor is particularly difficult to notice outside of combat and requires a perception check DC 20 + its caster level to spot. The virulent sensor if it casts a spell, instantly becomes visible to all creatures within line of sight for 1 minute before fading back into stealth.
Languages The templated creature continues to understand any language it had before it acquired the template, but loses all ability to speak.
Spell Points Lose all spell points, except those gained through feats and traits.
Walking Bomb (CR +1)
“Walking Bomb” is an acquired template that can be applied to any corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A walking bomb creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities, except as noted here.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +1.
Detonation: When the walking bomb is reduced to 0 or fewer HP, it detonates, dealing damage as a destructive blast (1d6 per odd HD) with the Explosive Orb blast shape and a blast type selected at creation with a caster level equal to its HD and save DCs equal to 10+1/2 HD+CON modifier.
Creating a walking bomb: This template can be acquired through a variation of the walking bomb incantations, or by magical accidents or wild magic zones overcharging an exposed creature.