Protégé (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

A protégée has gained the favor of a supernatural patron. After having impressed the patron with her performing skill, the sponsored receives gifts of magic and power. Most protégées are much less proficient as adventurers than regular bard, having led a charmed life. Instead they are accompanied in their adventures by a familiar, an agent of their patron.

Class Features

The protégée has all the standard bard class features, except as noted below.

Alignment (Ex)

A protégée can be of any alignment.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency (Ex)

A protégée is proficient with all simple weapons. She is not proficient in any armor or with shields.

Familiar (Ex)

At 1st level, a protégée forms a close bond with a familiar, a creature that helps to guide her along her path. Familiars also aid a protégée by granting her skill bonuses, additional spells, and help with some types of magic. This functions like the wizard’s arcane bond class feature.

A protégée's familiar is an agent of the patron (see below), sent to keep the protégée alive and in line. The ultimate loyalty of the familiar is to the patron, and it can be a constant nagging reminder to a protégée that it feels is straying from the patron's ideals. As long as the protégée and patron are well aligned, the familiar is loyal. If the familiar feels the protégée has betrayed the patron, it might turn hostile and betray her in various ways. It has no control over the protégée's powers, but can alert her enemies, share her secrets, and otherwise work to counter her ambitions in various ways. When the protégée advances in level, the patron asks the familiar to report on the activities of the protégée. If the familiar gives a bad report, the protégée might not be allowed to select the new spells she wants upon gaining the new level, or might be denied new spells altogether. If the familiar's reports that the protégée is a traitor, the patron will deny the increase in power and the protégée cannot level up as a protégée until she makes up with the familiar. A possible theme of such a story might be how the protégée subverts the familiar's loyalty, making it give false reports. An evil solution is to slay the familiar just before leveling and summoning a new one that knows nothing of the protégée's actions.

A protégée that for some reason does not have a familiar when leveling up comes under the direct scrutiny of the patron, who is in this case all-knowing about the protégée.

If a protégée takes the Improved Familiar feat, the familiar options available are decided by the patron's alignment, not the bard's.

This replaces countersong and distraction.

Mage Armor (Ex)

Add mage armor to the protégée's spell list as a first level bard spell and as a bonus known spell. At 4th level the protégée becomes a master at using force armors, and the armor bonus of mage armor and bracers of armor stack when worn by a protégée.

Patron Spells

At 1st level, when a protégée gains her familiar, she must also select a patron from the same list used by the witch. This patron is a vague and mysterious force, granting the protégée power for reasons that she might not entirely understand. While these forces need not be named, they typically hold influence over one area of magical forces.

At 1st level, and every three levels thereafter until level 19, a protégée’s patron adds new spells to a protégée’s spells list and known spells. At level 19, the protégée learns the seventh-level patron spell as a known spell and gains the ability to cast that spell once per day. This spell slot cannot be used for other purposes, such as powering metamagic-modified spells.

The spells gained depend upon the patron chosen. Each patron is listed by its theme. Its actual name is up to the GM and the protégée to decide.

Patrons are powerful extra-planar entities, often fey but sometimes from the outer or inner planes; agathions, archons, angels, azatas, devils, genies, kami, oni, and proteans all make good patrons. A bard's alignment need not resemble the patron's, but too great a difference is likely to cause poor relations. The actual personality and goals of the patron should be worked out between the GM and the player of the protégée, taking into consideration alignment, the type of familiar, and theme of the patron. The GM should not force a hostile patron on the protégée, but some tension between protégée and patron increases the role-playing potential. The patrons primary interest in the bard is in experiencing the bard perform and sponsoring her artistic development, patrons generally treat their favorite's adventuring careers with benign neglect.

This replaces bardic knowledge and the jack of all trades ability gained at 19th level.

Patron Audience (Sp)

At any time, the protégée can be called back to his patron to entertain. This takes the form of a gate spell that opens and transports the protégée into the patron's presence, then sends her back to her companions when the patron is satisfied. This is basically a random event the GM can spring on the protégée at any time, but it should not be allowed to disrupt the story being told. The most common use of this ability is to explain where the protégée is when the player is away from the game, but it can be used as a plot device by the GM to bring the protégée (and possibly any willing companions) to the sponsor. An audience takes a minimum of eight hours but can take much longer on the whim of the patron. The bard and any friends return from the audience fully healed, fed, rested, and with spells prepared.

At level 16, the protégée can request an audience with her patron once per day. This is a gate spell that brings the bard and her companions into the patron's presence, possibly escaping some dire situation. After the audience is completed, the patron will return the group to a familiar safe location, such as their home, a beautiful glade in the forest, and so on. This replaces the jack of all trades ability gained at level 16.

At level 20, the protégée can return from the audience with her patron to any spot she knows of, as long as that spot is not inside a building or being guarded. This ability can deposit the bard in exotic locations such as the City of Brass or a specific angelic mountain, but not inside any building or secure area there. This replaces deadly performance.

Commune (Sp)

At level 10, the protégée can cast commune at will to communicate with her patron. This ability requires using four rounds of bardic performance per question asked. This replaces the jack of all trades ability gained at level 10.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

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

• Class Skills
• Weapon and Armor Proficiency
• Bardic Knowledge
• Countersong
• Distraction
• Deadly Performance
• Jack Of All Trades