Spirit Blade
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Ultimate Spheres of Power
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A person that learned to take the shape of a weapon or a weapon powerful enough to take shape and wield itself, spirit blades blur the line between warrior and weapon, granting their skill or commanding those that would use them.

Proficiencies

Spirit blades are proficient with simple weapons, as well as light armor and bucklers. In addition, if this is the character’s first level in any class, they may select a martial tradition of their choice.

This alters proficiencies.

Blended Training (Ex)

Whenever a spirit blade would gain a magic talent from her class levels (not the 2 bonus talents gained when first gaining the casting class feature), she may instead choose to gain a combat talent. A spirit blade uses her casting ability modifier as her practitioner modifier.

This alters magic talents. This archetype may be combined with other archetypes that replace magic talents; she can not gain a combat talent in place of a magic talent the other archetype loses.

Shapechanger

At 1st level, the spirit blade gains the shapechanger subtype.

Weapon Form

At 1st level, the spirit blade may take the form, including all properties (such as masterwork status, enhancement bonus, materials, and special abilities), of one of her bound weapons as a full-round action. This is a polymorph effect and persists until the spirit blade changes back or to a different weapon form. Returning to her normal form is a fullround action. While in weapon form, the spirit blade may be targeted as a magic weapon of the chosen type despite not being an object, though is always counted as being attended. The spirit blade in weapon form may communicate telepathically with her wielder. As part of transforming into weapon form, the spirit blade may touch a willing creature that has at least one hand free; the transformation completes with the weapon form held by that creature. The touched creature may drop a held object to free a hand for this purpose as a free action that can be taken even when it is not that creature’s turn. While wielded, the spirit blade is treated as an object for the purpose of effects that target an area.

In weapon form, the blade spirit has no Strength or Dexterity scores (they are treated as having a score of 10 for determining bonuses if required, though if making an attack roll with a sphere affect the normal score is used) and gains hardness equal to her class level or the hardness of the bound weapon, whichever is higher, and takes damage as an object. The spirit blade in weapon form retains her normal senses and communication abilities. While in weapon form, the spirit blade is immune to bleed, disease, paralysis, and poison. Ongoing effects of these kinds are suspended while in weapon form, not expending duration or forcing subsequent saving throws, resuming their normal effects and duration when weapon form ends.

Striking a creature or object as part of an attack does not damage the spirit blade in weapon form, nor forces her to attempt a concentration check to maintain an ongoing effect. If the spirit blade has more than one bound weapon, she may change between their forms with the same action as required to assume weapon form.

The spirit blade may resize her weapon form to suit her wielder as part of changing form. Should the spirit blade possess the ability to have a bound natural attack, she may graft herself to a willing wielder either as part of her transformation into weapon form or as a move action.

This replaces summon equipment and boost equipment.

Possess Wielder (Su)

At 2nd level, the spirit blade may spend a spell point to attempt to actively possess any creature that wields her, treating her spirit blade levels as wraith levels for determining the possession DC. The spirit blade’s weapon form body is not absorbed into the host; instead the host may wield it as a weapon while possessed. This otherwise functions as the possession ability of the wraith class.

Guiding Blade (Su)

The spirit blade gains the following abilities:

Guide Strike

At 1st level, the spirit blade’s influence allows the wielder to focus on other matters; the spirit blade momentarily controls her wielder, spending her actions (free, swift, move, standard, and/or full-round) to cause the wielder to make attacks (including combat maneuvers and sphere abilities that require an attack roll made with the spirit blade) with the spirit blade as a free action even when it is not the wielder’s turn. These actions may also be spent to cause the wielder to reload the spirit blade. If an ability, such as the shove ability of the Brute sphere, grants movement as part of the ability, the wielder may make that movement within the limits of that ability. The wielder may attempt a Will save against the spirit blade’s possession DC (10 + half the spirit blade’s class level + casting ability modifier) if unwilling to attack the chosen target. Attacks made this way use statistics as if the wielder was actively possessed.

Additionally, the wielder may supply material, somatic, and verbal spell components for the spirit blade’s casting. Attacks of opportunity provoked by the spirit blade’s casting are made against the spirit blade herself.

Grant Skill

At 3rd level, the spirit blade may grant her skill to her wielder. The spirit blade guides the wielder’s attacks that are made with the spirit blade’s weapon form, allowing them to be made with the spirit blade’s base attack bonus. The spirit blade may choose to share her magic and combat talents with her wielder. Duplicate talents do not grant any benefit unless the talent may be taken more than once; if such a talent allows for selections from a list, the choices made cannot change as part of this ability and any limits on the number of additional times a talent may be taken are unchanged.

Additionally, the spirit blade may use her Strength or Dexterity modifier (as determined by her attributes when not in blade form) to determine the results of attacks made with her blade form if beneficial.

Coordinate Opening

At 7th level, while the spirit blade is in weapon form, if a creature provokes an attack of opportunity from the spirit blade, she may spend her attacks of opportunity to direct the wielder to attack with her weapon form. Treat the spirit blade as a creature of her wielder’s size and natural reach occupying her wielder’s space with her normal ability scores for determining when these attacks can be made, applying the reach special feature if the weapon form possesses it.

Teamwork

At 11th level, while in weapon form, the spirit blade may share a number of teamwork feats she possesses with her wielder up to her casting ability modifier (minimum 1). Treat the spirit blade as a creature of her wielder’s size occupying her wielder’s space and natural reach (applying the reach special feature if the weapon form possesses it) with her normal ability scores for determining the application of these feats. Attacks made with the guide strike and coordinate opening abilities count as being made by the spirit blade for this purpose.

Shared Recovery

At 15th level, the spirit blade and wielder share the benefits of any effect that would grant temporary hit points or restore hit points to (including fast healing and regeneration) or remove ability damage or ability drain from either. Both gain the full benefit of such effects.

Symbiotic Skill

At 19th level, the wielder may choose to use the spirit blade’s base attack bonus for all attacks made by the wielder, even if not made using the spirit blade for as long as the spirit blade is in its possession.

This replaces armor training.

Equip Wielder

At 5th level, when summoning a bound armor, shield, implement, or weapon while in weapon form and being wielded or possessing a wielder, it may appear on the wielder or possessed creature as if they were the spirit blade. She may resize weapons and reshape armor to suit the wielder as part of summoning it.

This alters bound equipment.

Independent Control (Su)

At 20th level, the spirit blade and wielder fully share all combat talents, magic talents, and combat feats known with each other.

This replaces infinite arsenal.


Arsenal Tricks

The spirit blade gains exclusive access to the following arsenal tricks:

Absorbing Block

As an immediate action, the spirit blade may direct all damage, healing, and effects of an attack, spell, sphere effect, or other ability that targets her wielder or creature she is possessing to herself.

Dancing Blade (requires Telekinesis sphere)

When the spirit blade targets herself in weapon form and only herself, she treats her class level as her caster level for the Telekinesis sphere.

Focusing Attack

When the spirit blade in weapon form is used to deal damage with an attack action or to make a successful combat maneuver, she may spend a move action before the end of her next turn to regain martial focus. This ability cannot be used if she does not have an expended focus at the time the triggering attack is completed.

Fuse Implement (requires the ability to bind implements)

If one of the spirit blade’s pieces of bound equipment is an implement, she may fuse that implement with a bound weapon when assuming weapon form, granting the benefits of the implement to herself and her wielder. Only a single implement may be fused with a weapon form at a time.

Grappling Impale

The blade spirit gains the Lancer sphere, or another talent from that sphere if it is already possessed. If the spirit blade has a drawback that removes the impale ability of the Lancer sphere, this talent must be used to buy off that drawback. Any time the spirit blade in weapon form is used to impale a creature, she may return to her normal form and attempt to initiate a grapple targeting the impaled creature as an immediate action. This grapple check gains the benefit of any enhancement bonus the spirit blade possesses while in weapon form.

Hidden Essence

The spirit blade may choose to make her weapon form appear to be ordinary or even broken. An Appraise check with a DC of 10 + her spirit blade level + her casting ability modifier is required to determine that the weapon form is masterwork. The spirit blade may also choose to suppress the magical auras while in her weapon form, forcing any creature using effects that detect magic to have to succeed on a magical skill check against her MSD to detect any magical auras originating from her or her worn equipment while in weapon form.

Impaling Possession

The blade spirit gains the Lancer sphere, or another talent from that sphere if it is already possessed. If the spirit blade has a drawback that removes the impale ability of the Lancer sphere, this talent must be used to buy off that drawback. Any time the spirit blade in weapon form is used to impale a creature, she may attempt to possess that creature as an immediate action. If successful, dealing damage by removing the spirit blade’s weapon form does not grant the possessed creature a new save against the possession. If the creature is no longer impaled with the weapon form and is not wielding the weapon form at the end of the spirit blade’s turn, the possession ends automatically.

Intuitive Skill

The wielder of the spirit blade in weapon form gains proficiency with the weapon form for as long as it is wielded. If the wielder is already proficient with weapons of that type, it instead gains a +1 insight bonus on attack and damage rolls, increasing by +1 for every 7 class levels the spirit blade possesses.

Quick Shift

The action required to enter or leave weapon form is reduced to a move action. At 7th level, it becomes a swift action. At 14th level, it may be done as a free or immediate action.

Share Skill

The spirit blade may choose a number of skills equal to her casting ability modifier each day after resting to regain spell points. She may share her skill ranks in the chosen skills with her wielder.

Wraith Haunt

The spirit blade may select a wraith haunt for which she qualifies, using her spirit blade level as her wraith level. These wraith levels stack with any she possesses from other sources.

This arsenal trick may be taken more than once; each time it grants an additional wraith haunt.


Permanent Weapon Form Alternate Rule

Some spirit blades may wish to abandon the ability to assume a humanoid form entirely. In such cases, the PC loses all benefits from her race and replaces her creature type with the construct type, retaining her subtypes. Unlike most constructs, the spirit blade has a Constitution score, does not gain additional hit points based on size, and is not immune to mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, or stunning and remains subject to ability damage, ability drain, and effects that require a Fortitude save. A spirit blade may be raised or resurrected. The spirit blade may be healed normally by positive energy effects.

Since the spirit blade cannot don items if unable to leave weapon form, she may instead absorb magic items that provide a constant effect with a 1 hour ritual, merging them into her weapon form. Permanent weapons do not age, do not gain bonuses or take penalties from age categories, and do not eat, breathe, or sleep. The spirit blade gains a bonus feat at 1st level, then again at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter (10th, 15th, 20th).


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