Spiritist[]
Description: The Spiritist believes in the omnipresence of spirits. They inhabit people, animals, inanimate objects (trees, stones, the moon), and forces of nature (wind, thunder, death), and have profound effects on the physical world. According to the Spiritist, all spirits exude a mystical force called wakan. Wakan fastens itself to humans in touch with the spirit world and grants them special powers.
Requirements: A Spiritist must be of lawful alignment.
Homeland Terrain: Any.
Role: The Spiritist sees most worldly events as consequences of spirit activity. A volcanic eruption is the result of an angry mountain spirit. Rain falls when cloud spirits are unhappy. Recovery from disease means that the death spirit was asleep or preoccupied. The Spiritist compulsively shares such interpretations with his companions.
The Spiritist performs a variety of improvised rituals intended to curry favor with good spirits and keep evil ones away. He may fast for a week, insist on sleeping 10 feet away from his companions, or wake up one morning and decide to cut off his beard. He may address a tree by name, weep when an axe shatters, and fall on his knees and beg for mercy during a hailstorm. These actions defy logic, vary from week to week, and produce no obvious results. A Spiritist persists in acting on his whims, convinced that his behavior will be rewarded in the afterlife.
His eccentricities aside, the Spiritist makes a loyal friend and courageous fighter. He respects the natural world, afraid that killing animals for sport or throwing refuse in a stream will offend the spirits. Though even-tempered, he is skittish and easily frightened;a sudden wind might be an evil spirit passing by, a hooting owl might be the cry of an ancestor.
Secondary Skills: Primitive Artist, Dancer, Soothsayer, Storyteller.
Weapon Proficiencies: Any barbarian weapon of the culture.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
- Recommended: Alertness*, Artistic Ability, Dancing, Hiding*, Soothsaying.
- Barred: Horde Summoning*.
Economic System: Both simple barter and animal products barter.
Wealth Options: A Spiritist begins with 2d4 gp worth of animal products or tradable goods.
Armor and Equipment: A Spiritist prefers not to wear armor, believing it offensive to the spirits of animals. He will, however, wear simple animal skin smocks and loincloths to keep him warm. He will also carry a shield. He avoids bone weapons, again so as not to offend animal spirits
At 1st level, a Spiritist receives a totem bone made from a foot-long shaft of bone from an animal that died of natural causes. The totem bone is engraved with various symbols representing at least four key spirits held sacred in his home- land (the DM determines the symbols; a typical selection might include a lightning bolt, a sun, a bear, and a tree). Without his totem bone, a Spiritist can't use any of his special benefits, nor can he cast 3rd-level or higher spells.
To replace a lost or damaged totem bone, a Spiritist must locate a suitably sized animal bone in his homeland terrain, then engrave it with his spirit symbols, a process requiring about a day's work. If a Wisdom check fails, the bone won't function; he can try again with a new bone. If the check succeeds, he expends 1,000 of his earned experience points (subtracting them from his current total), and the totem bone functions normally.
Spheres: Standard.
Talisman: The Spiritist's totem bone also serves as his talisman.
Special Benefits[]
Spirit Armor: Protective spirits constantly hover around the Spiritist, protecting him from danger. In complete darkness, these spirits are visible as a hazy blue aura composed of swirling humanoid figures. The spirit armor provides him with an Armor Class boost of -3 (to a maximum of AC 0). Additionally, the Spiritist suffers only half damage from all attacks from undead. Level-draining undead only drain half of their usual amount of levels, subject to a minimum level drain of one.
If affected by dispel magic (cast against the Spiritist's level) or a similar spell, the spirit armor disappears for 24 hours (no saving throw). Likewise, an evil priest can turn the spirit armor as a ghost; if turned, the spirit armor vanishes for a full day.
Spirit Horde: Once per day, the Spiritist may attempt to summon a horde of sympathetic spirits to annoy his opponents and reduce their combat effectiveness. If the Spiritist makes a successful Wisdom check, the horde appears in one round, then harasses the indicated opponents by fluttering around their heads, shrieking in their ears, and tickling their skin. The horde will harass a number of opponents whose total hit dice or levels are less than or equal to the Spiritist's level. For example, a 4th-level Spiritist could harass a 4 HD monster or two 2nd-level warriors. While harassed, the opponents suffer a penalty of 1 to Armor Class, attack rolls, and damage rolls. The harassment lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Spiritist's level, then the horde disappears.
The horde can be repelled by protection from evil or similar magic that shields the victim from conjured and summoned creatures.
Speak with Spirits: By closing his eyes, concentrating for one round, and making a successful Wisdom check, a Spiritist can summon and speak with the spirit of any dead creature or character he knew in life; the departed being must have the same alignment as the Spiritist. Otherwise, this ability functions identically to the 3rd-level speak with dead priest spell; casting times and components aren't needed. As with speak with dead, the Spiritist's level determines which creatures he can summon, how long he can question them, and how many questions he can ask. The ability may be used once per day.
Special Hindrances[]
No Special Physical Skills: A Spiritist lacks the standard barbarian's expertise in leaping, springing, back protection, and climbing. He doesn't use Tables 14 and 15 in Chapter 1; he has the same skills in these areas as a normal human. Spirit War: As compensation for use of their wakan, spirits may occasionally call on the Spiritist to aid them in their battles. Whenever the Spiritist rolls a natural 20 when using speak with spirits or spirit horde, his spirit has been conscripted to participate in an otherworldly war; the Spiritist has no choice in the matter. The participation occurs the next time the Spiritist falls asleep and lasts only a few moments. When he awakens, the Spiritist remembers nothing about the battle, but damage incurred by his spirit may affect his physical body. Occasionally, the spirits may reward him nstead. The DM chooses the effect from Table 26, or rolls 1d20. The effects begin as soon as he wakes up.
| D20 Roll | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | No effect |
| 11-13 | 2d4 hp damage |
| 14-16 | Suffers the effects of a curse for the next 24 hours (-1 to moraleand attack rolls) |
| 17-18 | No spirit armor for the next 24 hours |
| 19 | Spirit armor increased to +4 for the next 24 hours |
| 20 | Any one of the Spiritist's weapons (DMs choice) functions as a +2 magical weapon for the next 24 hours |
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