Ascetic (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Members of this brotherhood embody the highest levels of ascetic virtue for their people. Disciplined and devoted to the arts of self-mortification, the brothers often set off into the wastes to pursue total mastery of the spiritual system.

The origin of the ascetic brotherhood comes from watching other paths to ascension. Outside the brotherhood, the path to wisdom—the path to one day becoming one of the spiritual elite—is one filled with uncertainty, one without guarantee of success or fruition. The process of transcendence involves an internal reconciliation of being and divinity at the moment of ascension, wherein the disciple must face down the void within and, guided only by his own will, step upon the path of divine balance. Few survive this moment of epiphany with their sanities intact. These sad souls know only madness, not truth, and may become dangerous creatures, sometimes even demonic. Thus, a rigorous path has arisen among the disciples. This route, which involves slowly drawing in the power and wisdom of the divine over time, takes longer to walk, but all but guarantees the acolyte will survive the transformation that awaits him at the end.

Class Information

Publisher: Purple Duck Games.

Role: Younger ascetic brothers are used by their brotherhoods as spies and scouts in the populated areas of the desert. They are not yet fully divine, so their presence and countenance do not frighten nor disturb. Still, they are wiser and more easily trusted than other agents, able to take the business of the brotherhood beyond its monastery’s walls. This makes them perfect agents for the order in the field. Such young agents often team up with worthy outsiders and form strong and lasting bonds. Older brothers prepare for ascension through quests and trials, often deep in the desert, dungeons, or on other planes of existence.

Class Features

These are all the features of the ascetic brother class.

Bonus Feats

At 1st level, the ascetic brother gains a bonus feat from the following list: Combat Expertise, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes. At 6th level add the following feats to this list: At 10th level, add the following feats to the list: He does not need to meet any prerequisites in order to gain these feats, and may select another bonus feat from this list at 2nd level and every four levels thereafter.

Way of the Body AC Bonus (Ex)

The ascetic eats almost nothing and spends countless hours conditioning her body to resist the heaviest of blows. Over time, her body comes to look like weathered rock, and is twice as hard. As long as she is not wearing any armor or using a shield, a ascetic gains a circumstance bonus to natural armor and CMD equal to her Constitution modifier. Note that temporary increases to Constitution, such as that gained from bear's endurance, do not affect the way of the body armor bonus.

At 3rd, level, and every three levels thereafter, the ascetic brother's natural armor bonus increases by 1, to a maximum of +6 at level 18.

Endurance

A 2nd level ascetic brother gains Endurance as a bonus feat.

Enduring Soul

At 5th level, an ascetic brother gains Diehard as a bonus feat.

Escalating Inhumanity (Ex)

At sixth level, the ascetic brother's route to perfection makes him extremely rugged, with chiseled features and skin like parched sand. He also attains a level of detachment that makes social graces alien to him. The ascetic suffers a -2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise checks. By standing perfectly still, the ascetic brother can appear to be part of a sandy landscape, this allows him to use Stealth without having cover or concealment, but only when remaining stationary.

At 12th level, the ascetic brother looks more and more like a sandy earth elemental. The ascetic brother suffers a -4 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise checks. He needs to pass a Disguise test (DC 10) to be taken as a humanoid, on a failure, he might be refused entry into cities and other guarded areas. He can use Stealth to hide in sandy areas even when he lacks cover or concealment.

At 18th level, the penalty to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise checks increases to -8. He can use Stealth to hide in sandy areas even when an onlooker is looking straight at him, as long as he is at least 10 ft. away.

Mind Over Body (Su)

At 9th level, an ascetic brother learns to draw upon his understanding of the divine to fuel the rapid regeneration of his physical form. Once per day, he may enter a brief trance (requiring a move action) which puts him into a state of heightened bio-awareness for a full 3 minutes. During this time, he gains fast healing 1 (allowing him to regain 1 hit point per round). He cannot call upon this ability when he is within a wild magic area.

Aura of Serenity (Su)

At 13th level, the ascetic brother gains the ability to project his understanding of the wisdom of the divine upon others, unburdening the souls of those in mental or spiritual turmoil. The ascetic projects his aura as a move equivalent action, and all living creatures within 30 feet (including himself) must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to 10 + ascetic brother class level + Wis modifier) or be stripped of any magical effect that alters their perceptions or state of mind. This includes all mind-affecting effects, effects negated by calm emotions, and effects that change or give a bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma or skills based on these abilities. This includes ability damage and drain to these ability scores from magical sources. Effects that have been affecting the target for 24 hours or more are not negated, nor are altered states of being that are not magical in nature (such as being under the effect of a poison that deals Int or Wis damage) are not affected.

Creatures can fail the save voluntarily, if they so choose. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same ascetic’s aura for 24 hours. This ability may be invoked a number of times per day equal to 1 + Wis modifier.

Damage Reduction (Su)

At 15th level, an ascetic brother has grown so powerful through his rigorous studies of the disciplined divine that his physical form gains damage reduction 5/chaotic. .

Sublime Transcendance

At 20th level, an ascetic brother ceases being merely a student and becomes a true master. After a simple but extensive ceremony, the character goes through a remarkable transformation. His type changes to outsider (native), and he thus becomes immune to spells or effects that target only humans or humanoids (such as charm person). As a native outsider, however, the ascetic can still be brought back from the dead as if he was a member of his previous creature type. In addition, the character no longer takes penalties to his ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any aging modifiers that he has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the ascetic still dies of old age when his time is up.

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