Phantom Tamer (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

The phantom tamer is a spiritualist who attracts new spirits as he encounters them, offering them to resolve their trauma in exchange for service. The phantom tamer is a martial artist of the way of force.

Class Information

This is a martial arts archetype, a spiritualist specialized in controlling undead.

Class: Spiritualist.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Features

The phantom tamer has all the spiritualists class features, except as follows

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Phantom tamers are proficient with all simple weapons, kukris, saps, and scythes. They are not proficient in any armor or shields.

Spells

Add the following spells to the phantom tamer's spell list at the indicated levels.

0—Disrupt undead.
1—Repair undead.
3—Command undead.

Phantom Armor (Su)

A character with this ability can project a powerful protective aura that functions as armor and becomes an expert at using bracers of armor. This aura is force armor, and protects against incorporeal touch attacks. It can be activated at will as a swift action, and the protection stays up until deactivated or as long as the user is conscious. At class level 4, this armor can be used alongside bracers of armor, with stacking benefits. It does not otherwise stack with armor, either normal or force. It can be affected by armor-enhancing effects like magic vestment, but such enhancements do not stack with braces or armor. This counts as heavy armor to abilities that require or work with armor and suffers a 25% chance of arcane spell failure.

Sacred aura provides an armor bonus of +5. The armor created by phantom tamers looks similar to their phantom, visibly displaying a mix of the phantom's and spiritualist's aura colors.

Phantom Block (Su)

While under 'phantom aura, the spook adds a +2 shield bonus to armor class. This is considered force armor, and improves by +1 for every 4 levels (+2 at levels 1-3, +3 at levels 4-7, +4 at levels 8-11 and so on). The spook must have one hand free, and she cannot carry a shield or two weapons when using this ability, not can she use a weapon in two hands. She may momentarily use the off hand for things like somatic components or drawing and throwing a weapon in the same round. This ability counts as a shield to abilities that require a shield.

Tame Phantom (Su)

When an undead creature is destroyed within 100 ft. of the phantom tamer, he has the option of absorbing it into himself within the next minute. This is a full-round action. The spiritualist learns all the details of the potential phantom and can then either accept the spirit or send it on its way.

If the spirit is sent on its way this power has no effect except the time spent. If the undead creature's challenge rating is three or more points lower than the spiritualist's class level, it is unable to serve as a phantom and must be released or the spiritualist loses the phantom ability.

If the spirit is accepted, it replaces the phantom tamer's phantom. It works as a normal phantom, except that the GM decides on all the details; the phantom's emotional focus, skill ranks, feats, and how it has spent its attribute increases. These should all reflect abilities the undead creature had, but need not be an exact match. It begins with full hit points and all abilities unused and available.

An undead creature whose phantom is accepted cannot rejuvenate or otherwise be restored to an undead creature as long as it is bound to the spiritualist. It must make a Will saving throw each day while the spiritualist prepares spells, using the Will saving throw it had as an undead creature and a save DC of 10 + half the phantom tamer's class level + the phantom tamer's Charisma modifier. If this check fails the phantom is freed from its mortal ties and proceeds to the afterlife and will not rejuvenate or otherwise return to being an undead creature without outside help. It can still be raised or turned into an undead creature, such as by the create undead spell.

An undead creature absorbed by tame phantom keeps the agenda it had as an undead creature, but it must still accept the spiritualists orders and fulfil them both in letter and spirit. The phantom has the undead creature's memories, but are not forced to divulge these to the spiritualist and often uses such knowledge to bargain for its personal goals.

This is a modification to the phantom ability.

Undead as Phantoms

Various undead creatures manifest as phantoms of different emotional focus. Here is a guide for what kinds of undead focus which emotion. If no clear focus suggests itself, the GM can simply roll a die, rerolling results that seem absurd.

1. Anger: Undead with class levels in a fighting class or who are offensive fighters doing a lot of damage or that inflict harmful conditions.
2. Dedication: Defensive or slow undead creatures, often with many resistances. Incorporeal undead focused of fighting.
3. Despair: Undead inflicting debilitating conditions.
4. Fear: Undead able to inflict fear and terror, or undead with compulsions that force them to flee certain situations.
5. Greed: Undead able to rejuvenate or otherwise restore themselves from destruction.
6. Hatred: Undead able to use stealth and trickery. Many of these are incorporeal, but not all incorporeal undead focus on hatred.
7. Jealousy: Undead that use possession or magic jar.
8. 'Lust: Undead that control others.
9. Pride: Undead able to use illusions or to alter their own appearance.
10. Remorse: Undead vulnerable to sunlight.
11. Zeal: Undead focused on a simple task or ability.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

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

• Armor Proficiency
• Phantom

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