Musician of the Spheres (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Musicians of the spheres are bards with an affinity for the planes and the creatures that live among the planes. The ability to summon creatures and inspiring them with bardic performance makes them very powerful, but they lack the healing and trickery powers of ordinary bards.

Class Information

This is an archetype for the bard and skald classes that casts summoner spells.

Publisher: Trailseeker magazine.

Alignment: Any. Unlike bards, musicians of the spheres can be of lawful alignment.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Features

The musician of the spheres has all the standard bard or skald class features, except as noted below.

Spellcasting

A musician of the spheres casts spells from the unchained summoner spell list rather than the bard spell list. Other than the spell list used, all rules on learning and casting bard spells apply to the musician of the spheres, including casting spells in armor and mandatory verbal components.

Warding Performance (Su)

At 3rd level the musician of the spheres can ward all allies within 30 ft. from attacks by summoned or extra-dimensional creatures. Warded creatures gain a +2 bonus to AC and saves against attacks made or effects created by summoned or extra-dimensional creatures. This bonus increases by one at level 7 and every 4 levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5 at level 19. The ward also prevents bodily contact by summoned creatures (but not extra-dimensional creatures which are not summoned). This causes the natural weapon attacks of such creatures to fail and the creatures to recoil if such attacks require touching the warded creature. The protection against contact by summoned creatures ends if the warded creature makes an attack against or tries to force the barrier against the blocked creature. This replaces the distraction performance for the bard and song of marching for the skald.

Resonance of the Spheres (Su)

At 5th level the musician of the spheres can create a planar resonance in a 60 ft. radius around herself as a bardic performance. This imbues the area with planar vibrations, strengthening summoned and extra-planar creatures. Every summoned or extra-planar creature in the area gains a +2 bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. A creature summoned into such an area gains +2 hit points per HD, and this bonus persists even when it is no longer in the area or effect. These bonuses increase to +3 at level 11 and +4 at level 17. This replaces the inspire competence performance for the bard and spell kenning from level 5 for the skald.

Dismissing Performance (Su)

At 9th level the musician of the spheres can use bardic performance to cast dismissal as a standard action. This effect is always Heightened to a spell level equal to half the musician of the spheres' caster level, giving it a save DC of 10 + 1/2 the musician of the spheres' class level + Charisma modifier. This replaces the inspire greatness performance for the bard and spell kenning from level 11 for the skald.

Banishing Performance (Sp)

At level 15 the musician of the spheres learns banishing performance. This is the same as dismissing performance, except that it duplicates banishment. Each round when using this performance, the bard can make a Knowledge check as if trying to identify a creature to be banished; on a success the bard incorporates one thing the creature opposes into the performance (with cumulative effect from round to round). This replaces the inspire heroics performance for the bard and spell kenning from level 17 for the skald.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

Bard

• Spells
• Distraction
• Inspire Competence (3)
• Inspire Greatness (9)
• Inspire Heroics (15)

Skald

• Spells
• Marching Song
• Spell kenning

Summoner Spell List Additions

Paizo's unchained summoner spell list can be found at Archives of Nethys. The spells listed here are my own additions.

Level 0: benign dispel, fireflies, summon zero.

Level 1: bone armor, celestial healing, protection from evil, rouse undead I.

Level 2: human potential, alter summoned monster, final sacrifice, gird ally, glitterdust, rouse undead II.

Level 3: deft digits, master's escape, rouse undead IV, phantom chariot.

Level 4: celestial healing (greater), devil contract, hollow heroism, instant restoration, rouse undead V.

Level 5: banishing blade, master's mutation, rouse undead VI, teleport beacon.

Level 6: baleful shadow transmutation, dissolution, human potential (mass), planar refuge, rouse undead VII, shadow transmutation, summon laborers, true seeing.

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